ICCA Ranking
Antalya begins to bloom
A
ntalya, the Turkish resort that hosted
the 2014 ICCA Congress, has
moved up to No.81 in the ICCA
rankings with 30 qualifying meetings.
A great leisure tourism infrastructure is
a good base also for providing all that is
needed to support successful meetings and
congresses.
The ICCA Congress was, indeed, a great
opportunity and showcase.
Antalya Convention Bureau has upped
its presence at important trade shows and
workshops and hosted fam trips. It has also
sharpened up its act in terms of bidding for
the main events.
Antalya Convention Bureau says it is happy
with the increase in national and international
conferences over the last five years, but
notes that ICCA’s ranking criteria means
it is difficult to keep the same tempo of
movement up the tables.
Although the ACB was established in
1996, the bureau had no professional staff
until 2010 and a very limited budget. But
with the support of the Antalya Chamber
of Commerce & Industry, the staffing and
financing improved and Antalya was able
to join ICCA and MPI and begin to make an
impact on the destination market.
The bureau has only been able to collect
data for ICCA for the past four years.
“We believe that every year we are doing
much better than year before, and our
partners are becoming more helpful every
year. However, we need more ambassadors
for Antalya to attract more associations to
the city,” says Ali Sinan Inan, director of the
Antalya Convention Bureau.
Nice questions
T
he Nice bureau is not optimistic
despite a rise in the rankings. “It will not
help us market our destination better
as we're still down in 83d position,” says
Sabrina Volle business events development
manager at the Nice Convention Bureau.
“The ICCA rankings are too restricted
to today's business, whereby many
associations will tend to stick to one good
destination instead of rotating, and the fact
that the national conferences cannot be
taken into account,” Volle adds.
Volle picks out three things that have
helped Nice improve its position: better
data collection, a year with more oneyear-only events and a stronger relationship
with the city’s hospitals and universities. Volle
is hoping a new Ambassadorsprogramme
and closer links with the city's healthcare
departments, will help win more business.
Nice is striving towards three main areas
of development: healthcare and the
silver economy; sustainable development
through green projects such as the new ark
that runs through the city or the eco-valley
project with a future 75,000sqm exhibition
centre and, last but not least, the smart city
project (Nice is currently ranked fourth in the
world for connected cities).
The challenge, Volle says, is data
collection, international competition and
some meetings being off Nice's radar
because they’re held in venues which
don't provide information for the bureau.
CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
15