What Apecate does

APECATE (Apecate) — formally Associação Portuguesa de Empresas de Congressos, Animação Turística e Eventos — is a Portuguese non-profit professional trade association founded in 2006 and headquartered in Lisbon at Palácio Baldaya. It is the only national association specifically representing the congress, tourist animation, and events sectors in Portugal, serving companies that organize congresses, conferences, symposiums, corporate and cultural events, team-building activities, incentives, nature tourism, and maritime-touristic operations. APECATE positions itself as the national forum for these operators and the vehicle through which the sector engages with central, regional, and local administrations.

The association's core "product" is not a technology platform but a bundle of member services: representation and advocacy before public administrations and associative organisms, legal advisory, sector information dissemination, training, partnership facilitation, website promotion, and event programming. APECATE does not develop proprietary software; its technology footprint is limited to a WordPress website and a separate Congress subdomain (congresso.apecate.pt). Revenue is generated entirely through recurring annual membership quotas across three tiers — Congressos e Eventos (€400/year), Animação Turística (€300/year), and Colaboradores (€300/year) — billed semi-annually in January and July. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and member-driven: candidate companies submit applications, commercial registration, and proposing-member references for Board approval and General Assembly ratification.

APECATE distributes its value proposition primarily through its annual Congress (13th edition held on Terceira Island, Azores, in April 2025), ApecateDays specialized events, debate dinners (Jantares-Debate), and news publications. The association is a founding member of the European Confederation of Outdoor Employers (EC-OE) and a member of LiveComAlliance, giving Portuguese operators representation at European level. It was awarded the Silver Medal of Tourist Merit by the Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism and Turismo de Portugal in 2010, and operates as a member-driven body governed by an elected board under President António Marques Vidal.

Name

Apecate

Legal name

APECATE - Associação Portuguesa de Empresas de Congressos, Animação Turística e Eventos

Website

https://apecate.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

APECATE is the Portuguese non-profit trade association representing congress, tourist animation, and events companies, providing advocacy, legal advisory, training, and networking through membership quotas and its annual Congress.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Trade Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer & Public Shows (B2C) Organizers (THAHABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

Keywords

• Trade association services
• Congress event representation
• Tourist animation industry
• MICE sector advocacy
• Industry networking forums

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Quotas: Apecate generates revenue through annual membership fees from three categories: Congressos e Eventos companies pay €400/year, Animação Turística companies pay €300/year, and Colaboradores (collaborator members) pay €300/year. Quotas are collected semi-annually in January and July.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Apecate is a non-profit professional association that represents Portuguese congress, tourist animation, and events companies before national and European institutions. It offers tiered annual memberships (Congressos e Eventos, Animação Turística, and Colaboradores), organizes an annual Congress along with ApecateDays and Jantares-Debate networking events, and delivers sector advocacy, legal advisory, training, and member promotion services.

Product overview

Apecate (APECATE - Associação Portuguesa de Empresas de Congressos, Animação Turística e Eventos) is a professional industry association representing congress, tourist animation, and events companies in Portugal. It is not a technology product company but rather a trade association that provides representation, advocacy, networking events (including its annual Congress), and member services for businesses in the meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) sector and tourist animation sector. The organization's primary offerings are association membership, annual congresses (such as the 13th Congress APECATE), and representation services rather than commercial products or technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Congressos e Eventos Membership
• Animação Turística Membership
• Colaboradores (Collaborator) Membership
• APECATE Annual Congress

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• EC-OE (European Confederation of Outdoor Employers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerApecate is a founding member of EC-OE, the European Confederation of Outdoor Employers. This partnership provides representation at European level and influences regulatory discussions affecting the outdoor and events sectors.
• LiveComAlliance (European Institute for Live Communication)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerApecate is a member of LiveComAlliance, participating in European industry surveys and research initiatives. The association collaborated on the LiveCom Alliance European Industry Survey to assess pandemic impact and future expectations.
• Governo dos Açores (Azores Government)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of the 13th APECATE Congress alongside Azores Trails Fest 2025, promoting nature tourism and sustainability in the Azores archipelago.
• Turismo de PortugalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-financing partner for the 13th APECATE Congress, providing support for national tourism and events industry initiatives.
• VisitPortugalmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-financing partner for the 13th APECATE Congress, promoting Portugal as a destination for events and tourism.
• CTP (Confederação do Turismo de Portugal)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerApecate works closely with CTP within its organizational framework, serving as an essential communication channel with the government on tourism sector matters.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association): International association representing suppliers and organizers of international association meetings. Highly comparable to APECATE's congress-organization focus, but globally scoped and established decades earlier.
• AIPC (International Association of Convention Centres): International association of venue and convention-centre operators. Comparable to APECATE in being an industry association serving the meetings ecosystem, though focused on venue operators rather than event organizers.
• MPI (Meeting Professionals International): Global association for the meeting and event industry with chapters and education programs. Comparable to APECATE as a peer industry association serving meeting professionals, but operating globally and at far greater scale.
• PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association): North-America-anchored association for convention and event professionals with strong education and certification programs. Comparable to APECATE as a peer trade body in the MICE sector, though much larger and broader in scope.

Others

• LiveComAlliance (European Institute for Live Communication): European institute for live communication in which APECATE already participates. Thematically adjacent as a peer association in the live-events/MICE space, functioning as an enabling network rather than a direct competitor.
• Confederação do Turismo de Portugal (CTP): Portuguese tourism confederation that acts as APECATE's umbrella organization for government liaison. Comparable as a Portuguese tourism-sector industry body, but broader in scope than APECATE's events and tourist-animation focus.

Direct peers

• SITE (Society of Incentive & Travel Executives): Global association focused on the incentive travel and motivational events industry. Comparable to APECATE because both serve a specific MICE sub-segment with member services, advocacy, and an annual congress format.
• UNIMEV (Union Française des Métiers de l'Événement): French national trade body representing event industry professionals and companies. Directly comparable to APECATE as a country-level MICE/events industry association organizing congresses and representing members with authorities.

Regional players

• OPCE España (Organizadores de Congresos y Eventos): Spanish association of congress and event organizers. Comparable to APECATE in mission and structure (country-level trade body for congress organizers), but serving the adjacent Iberian market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apecate---associa-o-portuguesa-de-empresas-de-congressos-anima-o-tur-stica-e-eventos

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Apecate