Smaller Cities Win Bigger Events by Trying Harder
Photo Credit: A dinner event in Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide Convention Bureau
Skift Take
A combination of small-city hospitality, modern facilities, a collaborative approach, and an effort to show off individuality is winning over event organizers who tend to select big cities for their conferences.
Smaller cities are aggressively chasing major events to capitalize on rising costs and availability constraints in the traditional convention capitals.
Cities like Manchester in the UK, Gothenburg in Sweden, and Adelaide in Australia are harnessing all their resources in both private and public sectors and academia to attract major events and to ensure good outcomes for event organizers and delegates alike.
These cities are notching up successes at a time when the meetings sector is more receptive to change, and organizers are willing to look beyond the established host cities like Las Vegas, London, Berlin, and Singapore, which are still struggling to meet demand.
The British Small Animal Veterinary Association, organizer of the largest and longest-running small animal congress in Europe, announced it will move to Manchester in the UK from Birmingham in 2021 as part of a three-year deal.
The bid, which was secured through a partnership approach between convention bureau Ma
