Skift Take
Destinations are determining the need to focus more on the impact and value of meetings on their cities over the long term.
The Future of Meetings & Events
The theme of the inaugural BestCities Global Forum in Dubai this month was: “From Success to Significance for Events and Destinations.”
The event focused on shifting how the value of meetings is measured, going beyond the success of a single convention to emphasizing the long-term business development opportunities, or "legacy impact," for both the organization and host destination.
Steen Jakobsen, director of Dubai Business Events, told me the strategy is an important evolution for convention bureaus in terms of how they engage conference organizers. It’s a shift from promoting the destination to attract meetings to support the local visitor economy, to instead, collaborating with associations to strengthen the local knowledge economy.
He said, “Dubai is now at the stage where it wants to transition into a full knowledge economy," illustrated by the theme of Expo Dubai 2020: “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.” In effect, one event is informing the devel
