SEOUL Several of the world’s leading business events cities have joined together under the banner of the Future Convention Cities Initiative (FCCI).
The founding goal of FCCI is to bring together leading future-focused cities that want to secure their position as leading destinations for knowledge-economy meetings and events. The FCCI group is made up of Sydney, Seoul, London, Durban, Toronto, San Francisco and Abu Dhabi, whose representatives met in Seoul from March 20 to 22.
Samuel Koo, president and CEO of Seoul Tourism Organization, said: “We made progress in sharing practical insights, and initiating a research agenda for studies that will provide a genuine competitive advantage for FCCI members.
“There is plenty of competition in the global marketplace right now [for business events]. The FCCI will help us all gain an edge in the market by learning from each other while maintaining an atmosphere of trust.”
Rohit Talwar, executive director of FCCI and CEO of Fast Future, said: “There are a number of important questions that many cities can’t answer. We will develop some special research that will help FCCI members – and the industry in general.
“While we can’t be specific on what the research will be about, it will help the FCCI destinations better understand what an organisation needs and what their delegates need. It will also help them so they know how to get the best out of their city and deliver personalised experiences for business events groups.”
Gillian Taylor, business events manager at Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, said: “Being aligned to other global cities under the FCCI banner is a show of quality and in future will tell potential event planners that they know what they’re getting from an FCCI member.”
See the May issue of CEI Asia for news on the appointment of Business Events Sydney COO Lyn Lewis-Smith as the first FCCI chairperson.