eurocongres

PROFESSIONAL CONGRESS ORGANISER (PCO)

Due to the increased communication and exchange of ideas and projects between professionals of a single sector, there is a need to organise meetings so that experts in different subjects can debate, come to an agreement, and plan future projects.

Conferences, fairs, conventions, exhibitions, and seminars now play a significant role when it comes to communicating and training worldwide.

These such meetings are becoming more and more common. They have also made the creation of Professional Congress Organiser (PCO) essential. This, along with the advancement of technical resources in the areas of sound and image, more effective means of communication, and the fact that personnel are now more qualified than ever before, has made it so that, within the sector of tourism, meetings and conferences are some of the most important sources of revenue for a city.

The companies which organise these conferences play a large number of roles and provide a wide range of products, which makes them an incredibly dynamic sector – one which has become a source of great economic development and has also generated jobs.

The fundamental characteristic of a PCO is the ability to develop the logistics necessary to perform the various tasks which are essential when it comes to the organisation of meetings. It is this which makes the PCO an indispensable element.

It is important to outline the fact that the PCO is fundamental in giving counsel and creativity to each stage of an event – not only for the clients but for the entire workforce.

It is with these ideas in mind that EUROCONGRES S.A. was created on 9 July 1985, due to the emerging demand for meetings, fairs, expositions, and conventions in Granada.

PRINCIPLES OF THE COMPANY

From the very moment in which it was created, EUROCONGRES has put into place certain rules and regulations which must be followed. These rules and regulations are to act as the guide and foundation for the company: “All that we do, we do with care and with dedication, with enthusiasm and with quality.”

These basic principles have, since their creation, served as the pillars which have supported our company over the years. And it is because of these basic principles that EUROCONGRES has achieved its strength, status, and prestige.

Upon close study, it’s clear that the organisation of conventions and meetings is not an easy job. Long-term-planning is an essential component of this type of work, and all factors (both external and internal) must be considered.

The incorporation of this type of company into the market has made clients increasingly more demanding, requiring the PCO to become familiar with the latest news in fields related to event organising, advertising campaigns, digital design, the press, audiovisual media, leisure programs, etc. and consequently to be more capable of offering more specialised services with better technology and of better quality.

Months and sometimes years of work are completed in three days. There is no dress rehearsal, and that is why a good PCO must have sufficient resources at its disposal to provide the correct solution and to resolve any problems that may arise.

A good PCO must also have an awareness of time, given that each of these events has a deadline to be met. Without this, the service loses its effectiveness.

EUROCONGRES has the necessary means to put its promoters’ ideas and suggestions into effect. It is our responsibility to give the proper structure to these ideas in order to bring them to completion.

OBJECTIVES AND SERVICES OF THE COMPANY

In this enterprise, regardless of size, the operation is established based on a set of objectives. These objectives are based on “fundamentals” (ways to successfully organise a conference) which cover the interests of the whole organisation and are later specified as “specific sub-objectives” at the level of each service (a good image campaign, a good hosting service, etc.).

The main objective explains the rationale for the company; the sub-objectives are just as important as the main objectives and give satisfaction while generating business for the people who work with and for the company.

The emergence of the figure of the PCO has had a hierarchical affect on the organisation of the company, giving it professionalism, logistical support, and a solid structure. This has allowed it to give support to the promoter of the meeting, and at times has allowed the PCO to act beyond its organisational purpose.

Since the beginning, EUROCONGRES has been mindful of the importance of coordination, as it is responsible for the organisation of an event, along with all the companies involved in the development of a meeting.

We do not have formulas. We are honestly, coherently, and competitively placing ourselves permanently in the market. This, along with our good image and our desire to acquire more market space, is what makes it possible for the percentage of events organised by the PCO to continue to increase.


EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMPANY

A brief summary of the company’s history can give an overall perspective of the guidelines held by EUROCONGRES and can demonstrate how, slowly but surely, we have continued to strengthen in the business world at both a national and an international level.

It was in our first five years, from 1985 to 1990, that we began to familiarise ourselves with the preferences and trends of the PCO market, meticulously studying our competition (generally companies with no specialisation in the organisation of conferences) to draw conclusions about the small conferences we were carrying out.

We create our own image. It is based principally on the quality of the services we offer, along with those which those the suppliers we hire supply. These services complement one another and possess the same guarantee of quality.

Noteworthy in the first five years of conferences were: XXVIII Congress of the Spanish Endocrinological Society, XXXIII Meeting of the Spanish Orthodontic Society, and VII National Conference of Pharmaceutical Analysts - all national and international conferences and meetings which were organised by the School of Public Health. All had a history and an important backstory, and are still an important object of reference today.

Between the years of 1990 and 1995 we organised conferences with very diverse characteristics - complex meetings that were carried out only for a small number of participants and also meetings which presented a challenge both for us and for the city because of the number of participants.

In May of 1992 we had the privilege of inaugurating the Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions of Granada with the Forum of Total Quality. This has since then been followed by all types of conferences and meetings both big and small. We have had the pleasure of hosting conferences of one to six days at the national, international, local, and regional levels.

We have learnt from all of these experiences, and are able to offer a range of possibilities to each committee. They can then choose and design their own meetings. Our obligation is to advise our clients and ensure that objectives are met. We want to use every possible means to make their idea a reality, giving each conference a very unique and personalised nature.

Over the years, we have carried out conferences which have undoubtedly marked a before and an after in our development as a company. We’ve overcome significant challenges, such as the organisation of the V Notarial Spanish Congress - a conference which was organised alongside an exposition of eighteenth century paintings from Granada. This exposition consisted of paintings from private collections, and was open to the public.

The XXXVi Meeting of the Spanish Association of Hematology and Hemotherapy was one which was comprised of more than 1,000 scientific specialists and utilised nine conference halls simultaneously. The meeting brought together roughly 1,800 participants and was declared a giant success.

In April of 1996, when we were entrusted with the task of organising an incentive group from Texas for one week in Andalusia, we did something we’d not yet done before. It was such an experience, and we were given the challenge of “organising a program that they would be unable to carry out, had they come on their own or individually.” .

From renting the Al Andalus train to organising a small pilgrimage to Ronda, and organising events with private helicopters, fireworks, and countless other activities, we were able to create a line of services specific to that company, dedicated to incentive travel.

Since 1996, conferences have been happening, and more and more customers have been trusting us. We’ve had the opportunity to work in almost all of the professional sectors. This has taught us to be selective when it comes time to define our programs and make estimations of needs, sometimes known by our clients and sometimes guided by our own experiences.

It would be very extensive and perhaps not very interesting to speak about each conference we have held. It is because of this that we have enclosed a full account of our work over these past 30 years, with a small data sheet attached to each.

All this time has served so that with each conference or meeting, we have been able to overcome so much in terms of resources and organisation, always seeking to achieve new goals which could benefit the congress. Alongside other companies in this sector, we have created associations which help us to recognise our work.

In 1999 we created our own travel agency, EURCONGRES VIAJES, S.A. with the aim to present our customers with an immense number of deals that we could offer from the point of view of the world of congress. From that moment, we carried out everything related to travel and accommodation reservation and conference registration from the same point of sale for our congressmen and congresswomen, with the following advantages.

EUROCONGRES VIAJES has had the same fundamental objectives as EUROCONGRES: dedication, quality, enthusiasm, and care. We are fortunate to have had an extraordinary response, thanks to our customers and partners.

EUROCONGRES VIAJES has opened us to new projects, one of which is the organisation of incentive trips that we are now selling to everyone, with excellent results. We are uniting the raw, top-notch material we have access to, Andalusia, with EUROCONGRES, to create a custom profile which every customer requires and demands.

For more than 30 years we have demonstrated our excellent work in hundreds of events at the national and international level, presenting Granada to the world in an even more positive light, as a paragon reference for well-organised events.

We would overcome any comparative study of national and international companies in our sector when it comes to the degree of satisfaction in our customers, the quality of the services requested, and the personalised attention we give to congressmen and congresswomen.

A permanent objective in our work is the importance of quality. When it comes to maintaining this objective, we will spare no personal effort and demand the same from all companies working in collaboration with us.

We have placed Granada at the top when it comes to destinations for conferences and meetings, and this has been achieved through the efforts and perseverance of many local companies that have believed in EUROCONGRES. Local companies in Granada, along with our own, is what has put the city in this position.




Nuestro logo

In 1985, when we created the company, we thought first of our name and what our image could be. We had to make a summary of the ideas we wanted to represent: our city, the objective of the company, its international scope, and the colours we wanted to define us. We were at a loss and went in search of the person who, at this time, represented the cutting-edge in Granada: Julio Juste. He succeeded in capturing our enthusiasm in a painting and thus granted our company a bright and promising future.

It is from this painting which our logo was born: a conference centre complete with Mulhacen and the Sierra Nevada in the background.