Anthony Wong awarded AIME 2007 Industry Person of the Year - Asia Pacific

Earlier today, Reed Travel Exhibitions presented awards to the winners of  the AIME 2007 Awards.

The AIME Awards recognise people who have contributed to the success of the meetings and incentives industry and promote excellence in stand design and presentation.

The AIME 2007 International Personality went to a real veteran of the global meetings industry, Martin Sirk.

With a career in destination and hotels and now the industry association world, Martin Sirk is one of the best informed meeting professionals. During his time at the at the helm of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), this pre-eminent trade association experienced dynamic growth with record membership, record attendance at their international conference, and is positioned to play an ever more influential role in the future.

The award for Industry Person of the Year, in the Asia Pacific region went to Anthony Wong, a leading multi-event manager and inbound operator. As a board member of PATA and 3rd Vice President of ICCA, Anthony is a pioneer of the meetings industry in Asia, and is a passionate supporter of eco tourism as well as running an Executive Master Class to train young people in the meetings and events industry.

On receiving the award, Mr Wong said he was very surprised and ecstatic to receive this recognition, “I’ve been coming to AIME since 1998 and I love to be able to share my knowledge with the industry and it’s nice to be appreciated for all my many years work.”

“Over the past 25 years I have done a lot of work in the Asia Pacific region and I’m pleased to see so much happening in the industry at the moment. There are a number of governments putting money into convention and event centres, particularly in Asia, however the human resource element needs to catch up. In Australia, industry training is quite well developed, but in Asia, education in the meetings, incentive and events industry is still more leisure based” he said.

“To ensure the integrity of the awards process we selected a panel of independent industry experts to judge the stand awards this year,” said AIME Event Director Rosemarie Sama.

Bryan Humphris, life member of Exhibition and Event Association of Australia (EEAA), Kevin Doherty, General Manager of EEAA, Linda Gaunt, CEO of Meeting and Events Australia (MEA) and Martin Sirk, CEO of International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) were all part of the panel for 2007.

All four judges have a wealth of exhibition experience and know exactly what it takes to design a stand that complements and promotes a company’s brand, effectively communicates a message and attracts visitors to stop and buy.

There are four categories of stand awards and the winners are:

- With a blaze of vibrant blue, the winner of the Best Single Exhibitor Stand was hard to miss, not that anyone wanted to. As one of Australia’s leading hiring and themeing companies, Harry the Hirer always make a statement at AIME and this year was no different. Lively and entertaining, the “Harry’s Stand” was a popular and entertaining place to visit.

- Reminiscent of a Maharaja’s palace, Incredible India was a worthy winner of the Best Multi-Exhibitor Stand hosting their largest contingent ever of co-exhibitors. Ornately designed, the stand invoked images of the sub-continent with rich spicy colours and even an elephant or two.

- A visit to the Staging Connections stand was a true theatrical experience with mirrored walls and dramatic lighting a stunning fixture of their award winning Creative Stand Design.

- It may have been their first time at AIME, but winner of the Best New Exhibitor Stand Award Decorative Events’ artistic flair and creativity was reflected in the design of their stand which was luxurious enough to almost live in.

When judging the Best Single, Multi and New Stands, judges looked at the general presentation of the stand, clear presentation of the product being sold, accessibility, originality, staff attitude and dress, use of light and colour and creative input. For the Most Creative Stand Award, judges took into account creativity, imaginative use of materials, ability to attract attention and clever incorporation of stand number and identity.

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