Each year, Tour Hosts selects a charity campaign and activities are held throughout the year to raise money. 2008/2009’s charity is the Heart Foundation. Funds will be put towards vital improvements and advances for prevention and research of cardiovascular diseases, the number 1 factor of death in men and women that the Heart Foundation supports.

Tour Hosts was the Professional Conference Organiser for the Heart Foundation Conference 2009 held at the Brisbane Convention Centre. The Conference was held alongside a successful exhibition.

From left to right: Anna Palacio (TH), Sara Foda (TH), Cameron Prout (CEO Heart Foundation Queensland Division), Tricia Tate (TH), Tara Caetano (TH)

Enquiries:

For further information on Tour Hosts, or to request an interview with our Executive or Event Management experts, please contact

Rachel Walker,
Tour Hosts Business Development & Marketing Manager
Ph: + 612 9265 0700 or rwalker@tourhosts.com.au

Thursday 27 May 2009

In a year when MEA received a record number of award nominations, Tour Hosts were overwhelmed to sweep the board at the Awards Ceremony held in Adelaide last Tuesday night. And the awards were:

Meetings Manager of the Year and Hall of Fame
Awarded for the best Meetings Management Company. Following 3 successive wins Tour Hosts has now been inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame.

Meeting of the Year - Over 500 delegates - 54th Asian Patent Attorneys Association Council Meeting (APAA) held at the Adelaide Convention Centre
A hotly contested category for the best meeting of the year assessed on outcomes achieved, significance of the event, smooth organisation, partnerships and solutions to the challenges. A special thank you goes to Mr Craig Vinall and Mr Greg Bartlett and their partners for taking their time to attend the Ceremony and helping us to accept the award.

Incentive of the Year - CEPSA
Awarded to our DMC (Destination Management) department. CEPSA was for a Spanish Company to undertake an action packed program to Sydney, Uluru and Port Douglas - all put together in just 6 weeks prior to departure!

The Platinum Award
An absolute honour is the prestigious award for best of the best - the highest ranking award submission overall, won by Incentive of the Year - CEPSA.

Roslyn McLeod, Managing Director said:

"Winning one MEA award is a very well regarded tribute. To win four awards and enter the Hall of Fame is the greatest honour. Cornerstone to this feat is the valued relationships we have with each and every member of our organising committees, our international and national partnerships and affiliations, our superb suppliers and the magnificent team at Tour Hosts. We were particularly delighted that four members of the Local Organising Committee from the APAA Meeting shared the moment and experienced first hand the industry that creates successful meetings and events held in Australia.".

From left to right: Rachel Walker, Sonja Soderbom, Monique English, Daniel Branik, Inge Garofani

Enquiries:

For further information on Tour Hosts, or to request an interview with our Directors or event management experts, please contact

Rachel Walker,
Tour Hosts Business Development & Marketing Manager
Ph: + 612 9265 0700 or rwalker@tourhosts.com.au

Thursday 16 April 2009

Tour Hosts were recognised with the following awards:

• 2008 Meeting of the Year - more than 500 delegates for the 54th Asian Patent Attorneys Association Council Meeting NSW MEA AWARD
• 2008 Incentive of the Year - The Cepsa Incentive Australia NSW MEA AWARD
• 2008 Meetings Management - 8 or more employees NSW MEA AWARD

The MEA Awards are the premier accolade of best industry management practice and outstanding performance in the Australian meetings and events industry and are highly sought after and celebrated. State winners will compete for the National Awards in Adelaide 7 April 2009.

Enquiries:

For further information on Tour Hosts, or to request an interview with our Directors or event management experts, please contact

Rachel Walker,
Tour Hosts Business Development & Marketing Manager
Ph: + 612 9265 0700 or rwalker@tourhosts.com.au

Monday 2 March 2009

"The association and its members have come a long way since 1968 and today IAPCO is internationally recognised as the brand name for quality in professional congress organisation. But this is not the time to sit and relax", says IAPCO President, Patrizia Buongiorno, "with the recently implemented Code of Quality Control programme, IAPCO members have a tool to measure, benchmark and improve their quality standards at the very highest level."

It is well-known within the industry that meeting stringent criteria is a requirement for membership of IAPCO:proof of management of a minimum number of events and participants, duration, local and foreign participation, etc. References are checked with other members and clients. A current event is then audited by a Council Member together with an inspection of the applicant’s offices and systems. A scoring system is in place, with checks at each stage of the process; ultimately a minimum score has to be achieved. It is these strict criteria, applied since the formation of the Association and recently strengthened which have continued to ensure that IAPCO has put the P in PCO.

But it is not enough to be able to meet the application criteria. It is essential that the high standards required at entry are maintained throughout the membership. To meet the growing need for maintaining standards, IAPCO then put the Q in Quality.

Consisting of an Internal Survey, mandatory Congress Checklists, Self-Assessment and Educational Quality Seminars, the onus is upon the member to maintain their quality standard. The IAPCO Quality Control process as managed by the Quality Committee (QC) is member-driven and a continuous process.

In the end, a list of all members indicating whether they did or did not comply and achieve the approval for the submission by the QC, is published on IAPCO’s website so that information about member compliance with IAPCO’s Code of Quality Control is public and accessible.

Part of the Quality Control requirement is the attendance at the annual IAPCO Quality Seminar.The Seminar includes a general overview of the importance of quality as a key constituent of IAPCO, covering such issues as "how is quality measured", and "how is quality safeguarded within the Association". Non-attendance at the Quality Seminar for three consecutive years may lead to exclusion of the member.

And there is further recourse: if a third party reports concerns about quality of services as provided by a member, this is referred to the Committee of Ethics who will follow the general guidelines of IAPCO’s Code of Conduct, as approved by the members.

Implementation of the Quality Code of Conduct was mandatory for the first time this year, and the results can be viewed on the IAPCO website. 87% of members achieved the required quality checks, ensuring the Q in Quality of IAPCO’s anniversary strapline "Meeting Quality".

About IAPCO: Meeting Quality

IAPCO, founded in 1968 and celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, is the worldwide association representing professional congress organizers. With over 100 members, IAPCO plays a leading role in the promotion and professionalism of congress organization throughout the world. Over 4000 meetings representing 1,798,000 delegates and 492,000 m2 exhibition space were handled by IAPCO members during 2007, representing an economic impact of approximately 2.9 billion euros. IAPCO also publishes a number of documents including a code of ethics, a dictionary of technical terms (in 14 languages) and working guidelines. IAPCO is a member of the Joint Meetings Industry Council [JMIC] and the Convention Industry Council [CIC].

For further information, please contact:

IAPCO Head Office:
Brambles House, Colwell Road, Freshwater, PO40 9SL, UK
Email: info@iapco.org Web: www.iapco.org

Friday, 8th October 2008

This is believed to be the largest and most complex use of electronic posters at a conference in Australia to date:

• 8,554 electronic posters were watched by delegates
• 4,704 searches
• 2,778 browse enquiries and
• 702 electronic posters were downloaded onsite by delegates.

Dr James Mackie, member of the Local Organising Committee for the XXII Congress of the Transplantation Society, said: “the system was exceptionally well received for it ease of use for the submitting authors. Delegates found reviewing the material to be very easy, large numbers of poster presentations could be searched to find articles of particular interest and relevance to individual delegates. The opportunity for email communication to authors provided additional avenues for effective discussion of the science. Worldwide electronic poster presentations at scientific meetings are growing in popularity. The ePresenter system sets the benchmark for poster presentation at scientific meetings."

One of the poster authors, Peter Horton from USA, said "the advantages of electronic posters over physical posters are so significant. It is cheaper, quicker and more effective for me to submit an electronic poster than designing and getting produced a physical one. Delegates can watch my poster throughout the entire duration of the congress and contact me at their own convenience. This is much better than standing in front of a physical poster during one break waiting for delegates to approach me. In my opinion, electronic posters will replace physical poster exhibitions completely in the next years."

Another author, Debbie Watson from Australia, adds "this is the first time I used an electronic poster system and the submission process was very easy. Overall, electronic posters are more environmental friendly, easier and more convenient than physical posters."

Daniel Branik, Information Technology Manager of Event Infotech, a division of Tour Hosts Pty Limited, said "we have been overwhelmed by the usage and acceptance of ePresenter by authors, delegates and also industry professionals who wanted to experience our electronic poster system in action. We are very proud of the development and success of ePresenter."

Event Infotech is the pioneer in providing an electronic posters presentation system at conferences, workshops, meetings and seminars in Australia. ePresenter is the latest technology enabling conference organisers to manage the submission and display of scientific posters in an efficient and easy way. The ePresenter system has already been used at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) Annual Scientific Meeting in October 2007, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in May 2008 and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand 56th Annual Scientific Meeting in August 2008.

Enquiries:
Daniel Branik,
Information Technology Manager for Event Infotech

Ph: +61 2 9265 0820 or enquiry@eventinfotech.com.au
www.eventinfotech.com.au

Friday, 2nd September 2008

Read more...

ENQUIRIES:
Paul Boustani Corporate & Special Events a division of Tour Hosts Pty Limited
Ph: + 61 2 9265 0729 or pboustani@tourhosts.com.au
www.tourhosts.com.au/cse.asp

At a gala event of the MEA National Conference in Alice Springs, Tour Hosts founder and Managing Director, Roslyn McLeod OAM, accepted the awards for Best Meeting Under 500 Delegates, Best Meeting over 500 Delegates, and Meeting Management Company Over 8 Employees. It was also with great emotion that she accepted a personal accolade: The Outstanding Contribution Award for an Individual.

"These awards are a tribute to our clients who entrust us with their events, and to our great team who work tirelessly through all the detail over years and months to make those events a success," said Roslyn McLeod, "and we are thrilled at this overwhelming recognition."

This is the first time in the history of the awards that the major awards of Meeting of the Year Less than 500 delegates and More than 500 delegates have been awarded to the same company.

Meeting of the Year over 500 Delegates was for the 16th Annual VM Goldschmidt Conference 2006, a Geoscience Conference won for Melbourne by the MCVB and held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event exceeded all expectations and was a resounding success for the Australian Geoscience community.

Meeting of the Year under 500 Delegates recognised the prestigious G-20 Ministerial 2006 summit which brought leading world economic powers to Australia for high-level discussions. Held at the Melbourne Hyatt with Reserve Bank Governors and Treasury Ministers in attendance, the meeting ran flawlessly, demonstrating the way in which skilled conference managers can work hand in hand with government officials. It was a praiseworthy partnership between government and the private sector, with the result being a highly successful event that served well to enhance Australia’s reputation for economic and political meetings.

Roslyn McLeod is a former National President of MEA and board member of global events industry associations such as ICCA and IAPCO. Roslyn is a regular lecturer at industry forums in Australia and overseas, is a member of the Business Events Council of Australia - BECA (the peak body for the industry), and also serves on the Starwood Hotel Group Asia Pacific Business Events Advisory Board.

"As I approach my fourth decade in this industry, I grow increasingly convinced of the great career choice the business events sector offers. We believe in the excellent accreditation via MEA, and the will to raise standards and innovate remains strong," said Roslyn. "In my early years in business I took advice to reinvest profits back into our Company, which has been the secret for our tremendous growth, and in more recent times we have put a consistent effort into our staff retention through a deliberate plan to become the industry's employer of choice…and it's working. These awards are a testament to this achievement. Thank you MEA."

Enquiries

For further information on Tour Hosts, or to request an interview with our Directors or event management experts, please contact

Rachel Walker,
Tour Hosts Business Development and Marketing Manager
Ph: + 612 9265 0762 or rwalker@tourhosts.com.au

Friday, 16th May 2008

It was an ecstatic Tour Hosts team who attended the annual NSW Meetings and Events Australia Awards ceremony last Thursday night in “A Night of Motion and Emotion” where we were honoured with three industry awards for excellence.

The Tour Hosts team were acknowledged with:

• the NSW Award for Meetings Management (8 or more employees)
• the NSW Award for Meeting of the Year (more than 500 delegates) for the 16th Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Melbourne 2006
• the NSW Award for Meeting of the Year (less than 500 delegates) for G-20 held in Melbourne

Of the Meetings Management recognition, Inge Garofani, Executive Manager, Operations attributed this to the Tour Hosts staff:

"Our staff is our most important asset. They enable our company to grow and develop and produce amazing events for our clients. Tour Hosts has created a team that are dedicated, hard working, committed and have a true passion for what they do - they love success and sharing this with our clients and suppliers. To win this award last year was fantastic and to win this again is a wonderful feeling."

On accepting the award for G-20, Rachel Walker, Business Development & Marketing Manager said:

"G-20 made headlines around the world and we were immensely proud to be part of the experience. It provided a test of many similar elements for the APEC experience. It was highly complex and demanding for our team who worked closely with The Treasury and the end result was an outstanding success that raised the profile of Australia and our country’s capacity of producing outstanding high-level meetings."

Sara Foda, Conference Manager for the 16th Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference said:

"Goldschmidt was a unique geochemistry conference with its own set of challenges but it was lots of fun! We had a fantastic relationship with the OC and our suppliers which really made this meeting such a success. We tribute this award in particular to both our sponsorship and marketing teams who broke so many records for our client. We also owe much to our client who put their trust in us, we thank them for appointing us and being such a pleasure to work with over the last 2 years."

The MEA Awards are the premier accolade of best industry management practice and outstanding performance in the Australian meetings and events industry and are highly sought after and celebrated. State winners will compete for the National Awards in Alice Springs 12 May 2008.

Enquiries

For further information on Tour Hosts, or to request an interview with our Directors or event management experts, please contact

Rachel Walker,
Tour Hosts Business Development and Marketing Manager
Ph: + 612 9265 0762 or rwalker@tourhosts.com.au

Wednesday, 19th March 2008

We invite you to join us at AIME 08 stand 1325 for a demonstration of this exciting new technology!

Please click here to register online today.

For more information about ePresenter please go to www.eventinfotech.com.au

This accolade acknowledges the positive impact Tour Hosts has made on Australia's significant meetings and events industry through the role it has played in the securing of major international meetings, the company's success in raising the quality of these events and by attracting tens of thousands of national and international delegates to Australia.

In addition to delegate boosting and other marketing initiatives, Tour Hosts has been instrumental in raising the profile of its meetings thus paving the way in securing top notch speakers to raise the credentials of Australia as a centre of excellence in many disciplines.

Among the achievements for 2006/07 were:

• Securing and managing 16 international association meetings
• Running 55 corporate and special events
• Exceeding conference sponsorship targets substantially, with two conferences 100% - plus over target
• Almost 15,000 participants at conferences, special events and incentive travel groups
• 1,600 participants in day touring

"We're delighted with this award as it underscores just how important the meetings and events industry is to the economy and profile of New South Wales," said Managing Director Roslyn McLeod. "International competition to host association meetings is intense and our success in winning bids has a lasting benefit in that the various, medical, scientific and corporate entities get exposure and profile on a bigger stage. The meetings industry is highly labour intensive and we need to remain highly focused to ensure we have the most talented people and the facilities to service this market."

Ms McLeod, a former National President of Meetings & Events Australia, is also very active with several international organisations servicing the global conference industry. The Australian meetings industry generates more than $17 billion a year, according to Tourism Research Australia.

Tour Hosts is the largest meetings and events company in Australia, with 75 staff, headed by the company founder, Roslyn McLeod OAM.

Services at Tour Hosts include conference management, destination management, accommodation, special events, marketing, sponsorship & exhibition, conference interpreting services, transport, information technology and delegate registration services.

Tour Hosts is now through to the National Tourism Awards which will be held in Canberra in February 2008.

Media Enquiries

For further information on Tour Hosts, or to request an interview with our Directors or event management experts, please contact

Rachel Walker, Tour Hosts Business Development and Marketing Manager
Ph: + 612 9265 0762 or rwalker@tourhosts.com.au

Monday, 26th November 2007

Leading meetings and events management company Tour Hosts introduced its ePoster technology to the Australian conference industry at a major scientific meeting in Melbourne in October.

The new technology, launched at The Australia and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) 58th Annual Scientific Meeting, enables scientific research that was previously reproduced on paper posters to be presented in electronic format.

As ePosters, the presentations enjoy greater longevity and can be more easily shared between delegates. Benefits of the technology include:

• ALLOWING poster authors to upload their presentation ahead of the event;
• ENABLING authors to edit posters via a dedicated web based portal;
• EASE of poster review for scientific program committee approval process;
• ABILITY for other delegates to request a copy of the poster;
• SPONSORSHIP opportunities for related business sectors.

Posters have been an integral part of many scientific and medical conferences as a way of illustrating key concepts and to ensure that quality abstracts are included in the program when the oral slots are full.

Managing Director Roslyn McLeod said the beauty of the ePoster technology was that it made posters more accessible – even after the event was over.

“Hard copy posters demand a lot more time in their presentation format and authors who forget to collect them have sometimes lost their valuable research,” Roslyn McLeod said.

“In addition to the ability for delegates to request copies of specific presentations, RANZCR will now make some of these ePosters available through its own educational portal after the scientific meeting is finished.”

“It makes presentation of research findings easier for authors and more accessible for delegates and College members. It was met with overwhelming enthusiasm and requests for it to be available at next year’s ASM.,” Don Swinbourne said.

For demonstrations or tutorials of ePosters or webcasting please contact the Tour Hosts team.

Media Enquiries

For further information on Tour Hosts, or to request an interview with our Directors or event management experts, please contact

Rachel Walker, Tour Hosts Business Development and Marketing Manager
Ph: + 612 9265 0762 or rwalker@tourhosts.com.au

The IAS Conference is the second largest conference in the world for the fight against HIV and AIDS and brought some 6,700 delegates, partners and exhibitors from over 150 countries to the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre in late July this year.

The planning and management of the event saw the Berlin-based K.I.T. association management and conference organising company handle delegate registration, abstract management and speakers, while Tour Hosts looked after the local arrangements such as accommodation, tours, logistics and registration at the event itself.

"We've managed a number of meetings for the IAS in recent times, including the 32,000 delegate World AIDS Conference in Toronto last year,” says Joycelyne Mülli, the conference manager for the 4th IAS Conference. “We know the society and its workings very well because of this history and it simply makes sense that the areas of delegate registration and abstract management be handled by ourselves, while the partner PCO in the destination looks after accommodation and local logistics. The IAS itself looks after the marketing of its events."

Ms Mülli said the running of such a large conference had proved quite painless, thanks to the efficiency of Tour Hosts, the venue operators and all the suppliers contracted to the event.

There was intense media interest in the conference, with some 450-plus journalists from all around the world registered to attend. A 24 hour media centre operated within the convention centre throughout the conference.

"We had some 45 staff on hand to welcome and register the delegates, make last minute accommodation and tour bookings, hand out satchels; liaise with the production team at the convention centre; ensure the poster sessions ran smoothly and the exhibitors were happy,” says Roslyn McLeod, Managing Director of Tour Hosts. "I know the K.I.T. team through my membership of IAPCO (International Association of Professional Conference Organisers) and we were delighted to assist them to bid for and manage this meeting. They are consummate professionals and hold the same values as ourselves when it comes to service standards at all phases of the planning and management of meetings."

The IAS meeting incorporated the Australian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM) annual conference, which in itself attracts some 1,000 delegates annually from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Chief Executive Officer for ASHM, Levinia Crooks, said Sydney had certainly played a part in the appeal to delegates and that the Sydney Convention Bureau has paid a significant part in the effort to win the event for Sydney, with Bureau CEO Jon Hutchison taking a personal interest in the bid process.

"We mounted a vigorous campaign with associated research units around the world with mail outs and downloadable information for medical press and attracted a good number of delegates dealing with education, social issues and behaviour in addition to the ranks of the clinicians who make up the bulk of delegates to this meeting."

Ms Crooks said she had every expectation there would be a favourable financial outcome for the conference as delegate numbers had exceeded expectations. She was also delighted with the show that Sydney put on for the international delegates and the expertise of all suppliers from the local PCO Tour Hosts through to the freight forwarders Schenker.

The next World AIDS conference happens in Mexico City next year and the 5th IAS takes place in Cape Town in 2009.

Media Enquiries

For further information on Tour Hosts, or to request an interview with our Directors or event management experts, please contact

Rachel Walker, Tour Hosts Business Development and Marketing Manager
Ph: + 612 9265 0762 or rwalker@tourhosts.com.au

Friday, 3 August 2007

The team at Tour Hosts has taken out two major awards from the peak body for the meetings sector, Meetings & Events Australia.

Tour Hosts Founder and Managing Director Roslyn McLeod was on hand to accept the awards on behalf of the company at the National Awards Gala Dinner at Wrest Point Hotel Casino which capped off the National Conference of MEA in Hobart.

The MEA Awards are the premier accolade of best industry management practice and outstanding performance in the Australian meetings and events industry and are highly sought after and celebrated.

The awards covered the National Award for Meeting of the Year - More than 500 delegates and the National Award for Meetings Management - 8 or more employees.

The National Award for Meeting of the Year - More than 500 delegates was a joint submission with the Alice Springs Convention Centre (ASCC) and the Northern Territory Convention Bureau (NTCB) for the International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases held on 2-6 April 2006 at the Alice Springs Convention Centre. Alice Springs was chosen as a location for this meeting as Aboriginal children in Central Australia experience the highest reported rate of invasive Pneumococcal disease. This is a disease that largely affects children in remote communities and is believed to result in the deaths of over a million children per year worldwide.

The National Award for Meetings Management - 8 or more employees recognises the company which performed the best in running a 'meetings management' organisation. This is the first time Tour Hosts has received this particular award and it now completes our set!

"Our clients' meetings are often years in the making and we're delighted to receive these awards on behalf of everyone involved in the planning and management of these events. It's a collaboration on the part the organising committees, our suppliers, the venues and the people right across our company," said Roslyn McLeod.

We are delighted to announce that we are the winners of the 2006 MEA award for ‘Meeting of the Year’ over 500 delegates (state-level, Northern Territory)!

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Tour Hosts now have things covered in all weather with the introduction of our new hard-to-miss pink Driza-bones. Upon their debut at a recent top secret government meeting in Melbourne, the freezing weather promoted the federal and Victorian police to ask if they could keep the pink coats as a souvenir! We look forward to wearing them at your next meeting.

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Professional Conference Organiser Tour Hosts and Hilton Sydney provided the perfect prize to Dr Jan Ewing from Queensland who was on the Organising Committee for the International Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting (INS) held in 2004. The prize called "Cloud 9" consisted of a night for two in a Hilton Delux PLUS room, dinner for two at Luke Mangan's glass brasserie, sumptuous breakfast for two at glass brasserie, VIP entry for two to the exclusive Zeta or Marble bar, complimentary access to LivingWell Health Club and valet parking.

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The Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC) was held early August 2006 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Convention Centre. This was the first time this conference was held in the Southern Hemisphere and the Victorian Government was principle sponsor and host state.

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Professional Conference Organiser Tour Hosts accepted on behalf of their clients, the prestigious National Award for Meeting of the Year Less than 500 delegates presented by The Meetings Events Industry Association (MEA). The Award is the premier accolade of best industry management practice and outstanding performance in the Australian meetings and events industry and was presented at the MEA Convention on the Gold Coast on Saturday, 20th April to Tour Hosts for the management of the 4th International Skull Base Congress.