11 October 2023
This is the first time that the event has been hosted in Spain, after visiting countries such as Canada, the United States, Australia and Turkey with great success.
The congress, which featured numerous presentations and workshops by more than 50 speakers to generate deeper conversation about trends in the leisure and recreation industry, create synergies among attendees, and share knowledge about the different ways of organising activities, brought together nearly 400 professionals from more than 120 countries. English Summer Tarragona, dedicated to running summer camps for over 40 years and managed by the ICF ambassador for Spain, helped to organise and also host the gathering.
Malin Nilsson, Director of PortAventura Business & Events, emphasised that “it has been a real pleasure for us to hold such an important international event, which has been attended by professionals from 120 countries and highlights the value of educational leisure and recreation as a tool to support children and young adults, something that is also a priority here at PortAventura World. The congress has allowed us to offer ICF our unique infrastructure, both for the gathering and for accommodations, and the cultural and recreational value of the area has perfectly complemented the meeting. It is undoubtedly a privilege to have been chosen as the venue for the first gathering in Spain”.
Carolina Fleix, Spanish ambassador for the International Camping Fellowship and manager at English Summer S.A. comments “this is the first time in Spain that we have had the opportunity to bring together summer camp professionals from all over the world to analyse and reflect on the present and future of this activity that is so deeply ingrained in our country. It was a great challenge and even so, the expectations we had before starting have been far exceeded. The International Camping Congress has been an enriching event that has reaffirmed the importance of camps as places for learning, growth and fun. We would like to thank all participants, speakers, sponsors and partners for making this congress possible and look forward to continuing to work together to promote enriching camp experiences around the world.
The Alexandria and Barcino Rooms were the PortAventura Convention Centre venues chosen to hold conferences and workshops for the congress. They are open-plan, versatile halls with natural light that offer a multitude of technical possibilities for holding events. In this case, for example, the portable retractable grandstand available in the Alexandria Room was used.
Founded in 1987, the ICF is a worldwide association of camp professionals who create collaborative spaces to share their knowledge and commitment to recreational experiences. This year, the organisation chose PortAventura Business & Events/its Convention Centre to hold its most important congress, which takes place every three years, because of its privileged location on the shores of the Mediterranean, its excellence in running corporate events, and its connection to PortAventura World, one of the main family leisure and recreation destinations in Europe, which also offers accommodation, which was perfect for hosting the many attendees.
