Here’s a run-through of BestCities initiatives, key business events, and exciting events in our partner cities this February and the coming months.
Welcome on board, Tia!
Let’s all welcome our new Director, Business Development & Community Engagement, Tia Daniels!
Based in Denmark, Tia has had an extensive background in the meeting and events industry as well as in hospitality and sales. We’re excited to welcome her to our team this February 1st.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tia to the BestCities team and eager to leverage her expertise to build trust with clients, grow our community, and deliver sustainable impact to our customers and partner destinations.”
- Lesley Williams, Managing Director, Best Cities.
IMEX Frankfurt
Originally slated to happen in April, the annual IMEX Frankfurt has been moved to a later date (May 31 to June 2) at Messe Frankfurt. The much-anticipated event has been cancelled twice due to Covid restrictions around the world, marking this year’s event as a milestone that over 14,000 members of the MICE industry are looking forward to participating in.
Our Alliance is among those who are getting ready to join IMEX this year, making it a great opportunity not just to reconnect with partners and friends in the industry, but also for Tia to meet them all as part of the team.
The Madrid Challenge
The Best Cities Global Forum held in Madrid last December was a huge success not only because of the turnout for that specific event but because of the commitment that all partner cities and participating associations pledged towards a sustainable future.
We’re talking about the Madrid Challenge, which aims to get more associations on board before this year’s Global Forum in Vancouver.
The commitments made as part of this challenge aim to benefit clients and destinations, partner cities, and the entire industry. Some of the commitments made include collaborations and partnerships to find areas where legacy actions can have a positive impact, as well as pinpointing specific recipients of these legacy actions.
Knowing how committed our partners are to this challenge, we’re looking forward to a brighter industry in the years to come.
If you have a few minutes, watch this video by The Iceberg as it covers our legacy mission perfectly:
WFTGA Convention
The 19th WFTGA Convention will be happening from February 7 to 10 and is set to be a hybrid event. Participants have the option to join the live event in Madrid or to join virtually no matter where they are around the globe.
Expected to speak at the event are David Noack, Director of the Madrid Convention Bureau and Lesley Williams, Managing Director of Best Cities Global Alliance. They will be talking about the Madrid Challenge as well as other initiatives that make a huge impact on the MICE industry.
What’s Happening in Our Partner Cities?
Our partner cities have quite an exciting lineup this coming month, setting quite the momentum for the rest of the year. Here’s a peek at what’s happening in our partner cities.
Tokyo
The Omicron variant has caused some concern as it triggered a resurgence in Covid-19 cases in the city. Because of this, Tokyo will be under a quasi-state of emergency from January 21 to February 13.
With this in place, restaurants and other dining establishments are requested to close at 9 PM and to limit the amount of alcohol they serve. This also means that an attendance cap of 20,000 people is to be observed during events. For venues that have an infection prevention plan in place, they are allowed to apply the venue’s full capacity.
With this, the Business Events Tokyo team continues to encourage planners and organisers to consider Tokyo for their next event with their new video called "5 Reasons to Hold Your Next Event in Tokyo".
Tokyo has also won the bid to host the International Congress of Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists (PRCP) in 2025, the third time for such a gathering to take place in the city. This event expects around 700 professionals representing 20 countries.
Here are other events happening all over Tokyo this February:
- February 1 to 4 - HVAC & R JAPAN 2022
- February 2 to 4 - N-PLUS New Values for New MOBILITIES & MONOZUKURI
- February 8 to 10 - Health & Wellness Japan 2022
- February 8 to 10 - Food Design Expo
- February 8 to 10 - 93rd Tokyo International Gift Show Spring 2022
- February 15 to 18 - HOTERES Japan 2022
- February 15 to 18 - Japan Packaging & Manufacturing Technology Show 2022
For other events happening in Tokyo, feel free to visit this link.
Melbourne
Melbourne has won the bid for the 2023 Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), making it the first time ever for the annual congress to be held in Australia. This gathering brings together entrepreneurs, investors, ecosystem builders and policymakers in rising entrepreneurial cities around the world.
We consider it perfect timing for the GEC to be held in Melbourne, knowing that Melbourne has been hailed as Australia’s Most Innovative City and with 30% of Australia’s Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs also hailing from Melbourne. This gives Melbourne the opportunity to share best practices on a global stage.
Set to happen from March 20 to 23, 2023 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), the event will be organised by MCI Australia. The event is expected to attract over 2500 delegates from over 170 countries as it seeks to empower entrepreneurs everywhere to be part of the solution as they address global challenges.
Houston
Houston’s Hobby Airport is now the first airport in North America to earn a 5-star international rating under the Skytrax World Airport Star Rating for 2022. This rating system is considered the benchmark in terms of quality evaluation within the aviation industry.
The George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), another international airport in Houston, has also maintained its 4-star rating and has consistently been improving in all categories in the past few years.
The amazing performance of Houston’s airports is indeed timely knowing that the city has been listed as the 2nd best convention destination in the US in the 2021 Convention Cities Index (CCi) Report from the Northstar Meeting Group. The index rates convention cities in terms of indoor exhibit space, the proximity of hotels to convention centres, air connectivity and travel time to the nearest international airport, average hotel rates, and safety levels around the city.
With Houston’s convention industry on the rise, it has become a great location for the hospitality industry as well. Some of the new hotels around Houston include The Laura Hotel, Blossom Hotel Houston, Hilton Garden Inn, Home2 Suites, Hyatt House, Hyatt Place Houston, Hilton Garden Inn Houston Downtown, and Thompson Hotel Houston.
Dublin
Lonely Planet has ranked Dublin in 7th place on their list of Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2022. The list, which includes the likes of Auckland, Lagos, Nicosia and Atlanta, highlighted the way the traditional and the new complement each other in the Irish capital.
Meanwhile, SITE Global Conference 2022 is officially slated to happen on April 20 to 23 at The Convention Centre Dublin. This event promises to give travel professionals the opportunity to contribute to different ideation and co-creation sessions planned and learn from some of the greatest minds in the industry.
Dubai
The Dubai Association Conference (DAC) is set to happen on February 21 right at the site of the Dubai Expo 2022. It promises to be an empowering event for associations and professionals in the industry, with limitless networking opportunities and powerful keynotes that will inspire further growth.
Dubai has also enjoyed a string of successful bids in 2021, promising a successful future for the city in terms of events. Some of these successes include the BIR World Recycling Convention & Exhibition this year, the Asian Congress in Paediatric Nephrology in 2023, the Congress of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis in 2024, and the 27th International Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference in 2025, among others.
“Our partners across hotels, venues, service providers and others within the business events ecosystem have always embraced the city’s culture of collaboration, and in 2022 this will be more important than ever, as we look to leverage our world-leading tourism and events recovery and provide planners and associations with compelling reasons to bring their conferences, meetings and incentive travel programmes to Dubai. We are encouraging stakeholders to join and support DBE in our year-round calendar of activities both in Dubai and in source markets around the world, as well as of course in bidding for and hosting events.”
- Steen Jakobsen, Assistant Vice President, Dubai Business Events
Read the full press release by clicking this link.
Copenhagen
Things are almost back to normal in Copenhagen as cultural institutions, museums, theatres, and cinemas are once again open to the public.
It promises to be a wonderful winter this February as the Copenhagen Light Festival once again illuminates the city. Also happening is the Winter Jazz festival, which features a month-long celebration of music all over the city.
Check out this list of other winter events coming this February.
In addition, as of February 1st, Denmark has removed all COVID-19 restrictions. Consequently, there are no longer restrictions on e.g., the number of people that can gather for a meeting or conference, no mandatory masks, and no COVID-19 passport requirements. People are still encouraged to remember good habits, though.
COVID-19 has been declared a non-critical disease in Denmark. This is based on a combination of low hospitalisation numbers and high vaccination numbers.
With the easing of restrictions, the rules for entry into Denmark also change. If you are not fully vaccinated or immune e.g., you must still present a recent negative test result.
Stay updated on the entry rules at https://en.coronasmitte.dk/