Meet the faces behind ICCA's famous First Time Attendee programme! ICCA places huge importance on giving First Time Attendees (FTAs) at the ICCA Congress a very warm welcome. Each year, just before the ICCA Congress begins, new attendees are invited to join a specialised session that aims to prepare them for success. Jam-packed full of helpful advice that is delivered from member to member, the programme has been delivered to over 3,000 delegates since it initially began and is designed with care to help them network, do business, learn, and maximise the benefits of attending their first ICCA Congress.
At the centre of the entire programme are the people we couldn’t do it without: our mentors, an amazing group of ICCA members and #ICCAFriends who are Congress veterans and want to help support and steer our newbies as they join the ICCA Family.
Meet Mònica Garcia
"I started at Turisme de Barcelona in 1996 with the opening of the Central Tourist Office in the centre of the city, at the Hotels counter. There we helped to find accommodation for the tourists who arrived without a previous reservation. Nowadays with the new technologies this has changed a lot!
In 2001 I had the opportunity to change departments and start working for the Barcelona Convention Bureau in the Association Meetings Department. I accepted, despite not knowing anything about this type of tourism, but after 18 years I can say that it was a right decision. A sector in continuous evolution, learning and improvement.
For me, it is a privilege to work for a city like Barcelona with the best colleagues that one can have.
My first ICCA congress was the one in Copenhagen in 2002, from which I am keeping very good memories."
Thank you to Mònica , for being an FTA mentor! Are you interested in helping our First Time Attendees to settle in? Please email Ksenija.p@iccaworld.org to find out how you can become a mentor.
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