The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) has expanded its global presence with the addition of two new chapters: SITE Midwest USA and SITE Poland. The organization now has 29 chapters and more than 2,200 members worldwide.
Although SITE is based in Chicago, which has a SITE chapter all its own, the rest of the Midwest heretofore has lacked local representation in the organization, despite being home to the national headquarters of thousands of companies that use incentive rewards, including 22 Fortune 500 companies; well known global brands such as Anheuser-Busch, Energizer, and Monsanto; and some of the country's top incentive planning companies.
"We found that many people in the Midwest were not participating in SITE because there was no local chapter in their region," SITE President Rhonda Brewer said in a statement. "SITE Midwest USA allows us to expand our presence and grow our membership by reaching a group of industry professionals that aren't geographically aligned with existing chapters in Chicago, Texas, or Minnesota."
In Europe, the addition of SITE Poland will help the growing nation expand its incentive market by facilitating education and networking that's focused on Poland's specific needs.
"I am very happy that SITE Poland has finally been established. It is the result of the effort of many professionals from the Polish MICE industry. Being affiliated with the global organization, we hope to gain the knowledge that will help us to function better in the Polish market," said SITE Poland board member Krzysztof Michniewicz, CEO and president of ICP Group S.A. "Our membership in SITE will enable us to use the experience of our colleagues from other, more mature markets, as well as promote Poland not only as a destination for the incentive industry but also as an important source of incentive clients for the Western markets."
SITE also has renamed two other chapters to better reflect the geographic scope of their membership: SITE UAE is now SITE Arabia while SITE South Africa is now SITE Southern Africa.
"It has been very encouraging to see MICE development in various African countries during the past few years. New convention centers opened in Nigeria and Rwanda and a few leading South African incentive houses even opened offices in these regions. Zambia has done really well in recent times, and Zimbabwe has been making a marked effort in encouraging MICE business by creating hosted buyer programs around relevant expos," said Tes Proos, president of SITE Southern Africa and owner of Crystal Events & Incentives in Cape Town, South Africa. "The region has a vast amount to offer and we believe that the only way to develop these opportunities into real business is to work together, train together and thereby encourage faith and investment. We trust this will grow incentive and conference business into Southern Africa, which will create much-needed jobs and business opportunities across the sub-continent."
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