"^ Indeed. ... Lots of words and not much content."
Gee, I wonder what their presentations will be about.
But more than the content, the numbers get my attention.
The only items of expense covered by the attendee entry fee that I can see are (1) rooms, (2) hotel conference rooms and tour guides, and (3) food.
Let's say nearly everyone is coupled or bunks with a perfect stranger for a week so the average entry fee is $3,000 per person.
$1,000 - room for the week (they don't cost that much, but we'll play along)
$200 - conference rooms and tour guides (they don't cost that much, but we'll play along)
$300 - food (it doesn't cost that much to feed one person for a week, but we'll play along)
That leaves $1,500 per person x 29 people = $43,500 x 2 weeks = $87,000, at least, to the organizers/speakers. It's likely closer to $100,000 at least. That ought to cover their extended stay in Mediterranean luxury and a whole lot more.
It appears Mr. Collins learned some things from his time in the publishing business: (1) How to organize a highly lucrative conference, and (2) how to market it to the right group of suckers.