Site Executive Summit, Bariloche Argentina - Successful and Unforgettable

I am very proud of the teamwork that was achieved among all those who participated in making this project a success. Many Argentinean Site members worked together towards realizing this event, demonstrating what a committed community the Site South America Chapter has become.

I remember my first trip to Bariloche which was organized by Marcelo Marpegan and Diego Cannestraci in 2009. Those first steps planted the seeds for this successful Site event. My second trip was in 2010, and after spending a night at the Hotel Llao Llao, it was clear that this was the place where I should hold my first meeting as Site’s president because I could bring to the forefront the fact that Bariloche is a wonderful destination for world class Incentives. Only then I did not know that in June of 2011 the nearby Chilean volcano Puyehue would erupt and dramatically affect tourism in the destination and that the Executive Summit would serve as a celebration for the local community to be fully recovered and ready to receive incentive and meeting groups.

When we started talking about the Summit in Bariloche, in early 2011, I was confident that the logistics, organization and creativity would meet the expectations my colleagues and myself had before the event. However, it turned out that I was wrong... the reality definitively exceeded our expectations!

It was an absolutely wonderful event, which will stay in our memory as one of the best Executive Summits we have had to date – think about it 200 people from fourteen countries is remarkable for what has been historically a regional event. It showed that event destinations in Argentina have no reason to hide behind other major international events around the world. It is fair to say that this Executive Summit had more peak points and highlights than many other international events I have participated in the past.

A recap on the education will be published shortly, but for me I believe the overall Summit experience of people connecting, having the event begin with a co-location of “Cumbre LatinoAmericana de Turismo de Reuniones” and all the information on the business of incentive programs from the diverse perspectives of incentive organizers, DMC’s, hoteliers, and others.

During the closing dinner, which took place at the Hotel Llao Llao, the Summit organizers announced that they will plant 200 trees to compensate the carbon footprint. The trees will be planted in May, at the place where Cerro Catedral once stood, long before it burned down many years ago. There will be more than two hundred cypresses with the names of all participants of this summit. For this we thank Adrian Dannemann, a member of the Bariloche Bureau and others.

Additionally, there were lucky draws and live auctions of several international packages and two paintings by the artists of the Cre-Arte Association. All earnings were donated to the Cre-Arte educational and cultural center of Bariloche for people with disabilities. Mariana Battaglini, representing the organization, received a symbolic check for thirty-one thousand four hundred eighty-seven pesos which will be enough to fund two workshops for the entire year.

To all those who participated in this event or contributed to the success of it, I would like to send a big hug, I have no doubt that our paths will cross again. And thank you so much for contributing to Argentina in that way. As the president of the world's largest society of specialist for motivational events and incentive travel, I would like to say: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Specifically events were organized by the Bariloche Bureau, with support of INPROTUR, the Ministry of Tourism of Argentina, the Ministry of Tourism of Rio Negro, EMPROTUR and Site South America but we would also like to thank: Guillermo Estevez, president of Bariloche Bureau; Mariana Siri, manager of the Bariloche Bureau; Carina Fernandez Grenno, Bariloche Bureau in Buenos Aires; Pablo Sismanian, manager of the Inprotur; Horacio Caamaño, ATP DMC; Marc Glatigny, Argentina en Colores DMC; Gabriel Perez, Alvear Palace; Veronica Pontoriero, Faena Hotel; Maria del Mar, MundoMBA; and all our partners who supported our team building events and especially those who inspired our haka contest at Arelauquen.