Intellectual Capital Is the New Draw for Smart Meetings Destinations
Photo Credit: Stuttgart Convention Bureau is leveraging its World of Energy Solutions Conference to attract meeting planners interested in engaging with leaders in electric mobility. World of Energy Solutions
Skift Take
This survey is the first real evidence that North America is catching up with the trend in Europe to align destination marketing with knowledge leaders in the destination.
Advanced destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are positioning themselves in the meetings market as gateways to their intellectual capital, versus just another city with a collection of convention centers, convention hotels and "unique local experiences."
As we covered earlier this year following the IMEX Frankfurt meetings industry conference, DMOs are facing greater competition to attract conventions due to the rising number of emerging cities building convention centers and improved meetings infrastructure overall.
To differentiate themselves, cities are formalizing networks of local intellectual and business influencers to attract convention organizers operating in those influencers' industry sectors. Basically, that base of knowledge expertise is now part of the meeting and convention product lineup
