Parking Goes to Work, Around the World

May, 2009

Wondering what to plan for vacation this year? Why not combine business with pleasure and attend one of the 10 major parking events being held in some of the world’s most exotic and romantic locations.
Want to stay close to home? How about Quebec City, Washington, DC, or Denver. Prefer Europe? There are Breda in the Netherlands and Vienna in the fall. Have a taste for the more exotic? Set your sights on Istanbul, Sao Paulo or Abu Dhabi. The parking industry is out there, inviting you to visit.
The International Parking Institute begins the tour this year with its annual convention and expo in May in Denver. The largest event of its type in North America, the granddaddy of all parking shows promises to have 200 exhibitors and more than 80 informational and training events.
May also is the month for Intertraffic Istanbul. The Amsterdam-based RAI organization is one of the oldest companies holding such traffic and parking events. Istanbul is one of their newest, but it’s being held in the 17th largest economy in the world promises surprises that only the exotic Middle East can provide.
The Canadians travel to the Netherlands in June to hold their biennial World Parking Symposium at Breda University. Scholars and consultants from around the globe make presentations, hold seminars, and discuss parking past, present and future. This is for people for whom theory is extremely important. Parking issues for the next decade will be discussed here.
The European Parking Association Congress in Vienna in September brings together organizations from across the continent to broach common problems and issues. The 22 countries that make up the EPA have mature parking issues (UK, France, Germany) and emerging ones (Slovenia, Cyprus, Croatia). This is a wonderful mix of parking cultures, and well worth the visit to one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
Want a bit of European culture but don’t want to travel across the pond? How about a piece of France in Canada. Attend the Canadian Parking Association Conference in Quebec City in October. Dust off your French dictionary and join one of the most active parking associations anywhere for a four-day learning and sharing event. Golf, food, great receptions, a world-class exhibit hall, and good training – what more can a parking traveler want.
Going overseas too rich for your blood? Celebrate parking the American way with the National Parking Association (NPA) in October in the nation’s capital. The NPA bills this event as the place to do business. These are people in the business who know how to network, buy, sell and talk parking. Plus, see a museum, get some history. Join the NPA in Washington, DC.
October ends with a business-vacation trip to Pasay City, just up the road from Manila in the Philippines. The exhibition company Ex-Link is bringing speakers from around the world to this first-of-its kind event. Doing business in the Pacific Rim? The Philippine International Parking Expo and Conference is the place to meet customers. Want to see what is happening in the emerging Third World? Go to the Philippines, where parking is hopping.
The second edition of the Middle East Parking Symposium is being held in November in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This small but important venue is where the Middle East meets West. Sheiks in flowing robes sit on sofas and hear Brits and Americans tell about parking issues. And they have them. The fast-growing countries such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others neglected their parking planning when building their huge buildings. Now it’s catch-up time. Plus, you can visit the most expensive hotel on earth in Dubai (an hour up the road) or the famous gold and spice markets.
The parking year ends in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This huge city in the heart of the most vibrant economy in the western hemisphere is host of TranspoQuip Latin America 2009 a parking and transportation trade event. But this year it will be different. Another event is being held at the same time and the same place – Expo Estadio. Brazil is hosting the World Cup in 2014 and bidding strongly for the Olympics. It needs infrastructure and stadiums and practice fields, with each, in turn, needing parking. If you build it, run it or design it, Sao Paulo is your destination in mid-November.
­To see dates and hot links to all these parking industry events, log on to www.parkingtoday.com. Then click on “Find It” and “Calendar.”