AACVB at 'crossroads' warns new president - Oct 00

By Mark Armsden SHANGHAI Former secretary general of the Asian Association of Convention Visitor Bureaus (AACVB) Ms Rosvi Gaetos has been appointed as president. However, Ms Gaetos said she was disappointed delegates from other member countries did not nominate candidates for the position. Speaking at AACVB's annual general meeting in Shanghai, Ms Gaetos said the association was at a "crossroads" and its future at stake. "How can we reach (our goals) when…I am at a loss to know which way to go with an association that has become lost and looks as though it is about to be abandoned by our members," she said. "Where have the leaders in this industry (in Asia) gone?" Delegates also agreed to open AACVB membership to other Asian destinations, outside of the current ten, to promote the association and increase its membership. Member countries also agreed to undertake only those projects that could be realistically accomplished with AACVB's limited resources. Ms Gaetos added she felt someone had to step forward to save AACVB from becoming defunct, as no other members stepped forward for the association's leadership. "'Happy' may not be the term to describe how I feel (about the presidency). The leadership crisis in the AACVB forced me to come out of my 'semi-retirement', since there was nobody else who wanted to lead the association," she said. "My predecessors and I built up the AACVB to what it has become over the years and it was such a waste just to let it go. "I had the choice of not making any move and just leaving it to the other members to decide what to do. I decided I had to do something." Opinion, page 21