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WHERE SHALL WE MEET? HOW COVID CHANGED THE CRITERIA A recent report by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) identified a ‘significant gap’ betweenwhat associations think destinationmarketing organisations should be focusing on andwhat the destinations think themselves. Holly Patrick talks to association experts to better understandwhat destinations need to do to catch their attention…
TANGIBLE LEGACY BUILDING Legacy building has been a buzz phrase in the meetings industry for some time, essentially, ‘what positive
and communicate to the public the value of early diagnosis and treatment. This legacy will last for as long as that new equipment does, 20 or 30 years.” (See p.19 case study).
impact is this association and its meeting going to leave?’ and if a destination, convention bureau or venue can’t help to answer that question, it’s going to lose business. That’s according to The Iceberg founder James Latham . “Take the 2021 ESTRO (European Society Radiation Oncology) Congress in Madrid for example,” he says. “The organisers radically changed the RFP (request for proposal) to reflect the mission and purpose of the event. Instead of going out to several cities inviting them to tender for the event, using the ‘functional element,’ they put a 60 per cent weighting of the RFP towards a legacy project.” And Madrid delivered. “Madrid won the congress through the Madrid Project, a legacy programme it has in place that is actively replacing all the radio-oncology kit in every hospital in Spain through a public-private investment of more than 700 million euros. Beyond equipment, the project works to turn research into practice, raises awareness of radiotherapy as a profession
SHARPEN THE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL NARRATIVE Legacy building will become clearer
through ‘strong destination narratives’, says Jane Cunningham , director of European engagement at Destinations International. “A destination needs to have a crystal-clear narrative of why that association should come to that destination,” she says. “Every destination is going to display their facilities, give you room figures and tell you why they’re excellent, but they should be focussing on why you should bring your congress there and why it would benefit every single delegate.” Maastricht’s ‘Where Heart Meets Matter’ campaign makes the point. The Netherlands city launched the campaign in late 2021 to attract large-scale medical conventions, deliberately foregrounding its knowledge institutions. Maastricht University’s Brightlands campuses, specialising in future health, materials, food,
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