European cities are strategizing the DMO of the future

European cities are strategizing the DMO of the future

At the European Cities Marketing Meeting in Gdansk, February 22-25, 2017, European cities will debate the future role of the City Marketing and Tourism organisation. Industry thought leaders will challenge the attendees. Ideas and insights will be shared on how to create best value for the city, industry partners and the visitors. These experienced city marketing experts will share their most precious insights and learning for a full conference on the future of DMOs.

Speaking about the next ECM Meeting, Ignasi de Delàs, ECM President, said: “Here is the thing: just over the last 10 years, digitalisation and globalisation of travel have forever altered the patterns and the practice of urban tourism. New technology has radically changed the behaviour of consumers and empowered them with a world of insights, resources, tools and experiences that outmatches any old classic tourist information centre. Together we will search for new models and modes of tomorrow. We might not find the silver bullet or a model that will fit all. But we are confident that Strategizing the DMO of the Future is the meeting that will give attendees lots of inspiration and empower them and their team to start their own transformative journey.”

Among key speakers, Frank Cuypers, Senior Strategist at DestinationThink.com and Dr. Roger Carter, CEO of TEAM Tourism Consulting will provide opening keynotes about the future of the DMO. DMOs have to redefine their role and the meaning of marketing in order to stay relevant. But how do DMOs should reengineer themselves in a disruptive marketplace, where the only constant is change?

The next day Chris Fair, President of Resonance Consultancy will explain in his keynote what he believes in: DMOs need to morph to DMMOs – Destination Marketing and Management Organisations in order to align with the trends that will shape travel and tourism tomorrow.

See how Tel Aviv decided to put technological innovation at the heart of the city’s destination strategy. How Copenhagen rebooted its DMO. The Polish strategy for CVBs that consists in Creating Value & Business! Or Germany‘s example of collaboration with neighbour cities and their joint benchmark initiative and market approach to international markets.

Also, participants will get the latest from Aalborg, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, Ghent and Dublin in our series of City Showcases where ECM colleagues share their answers and offer all the inspiration needed.

The conference will be moderated by Philippe Vignon, CEO of Geneva Tourism & Conventions.

More information and programme can be found on: http://www.europeancitiesmarketing.com/

Brand new edition of travel trade guide for European City cards puts the spotlight on 40 destinations !

Brand new edition of travel trade guide for European City cards puts the spotlight on 40 destinations!

Targeting travel operators and intermediaries, this new edition of the digital brochure presents you with all you need to know about 40 city cards from 23 countries!

The guide has been put together by a collaboration of 40 city tourist offices working under the auspices of the European City Cards Knowledge Group. As well as offering a succinct overview of how the cards can work for you, the e-brochure provides much practical information, including details of commissions and contact details for each and every city. With the help of the brochure, the travel trade is able to make optimum use of city cards so as to create new business and at the same time enhance the customer experience.

Olivier Occelli, chairperson of the European City Cards Group says: “this e – brochure is trendy, cost effective, practical for the readers, and most important, easy to forward. You just scroll on the document and follow the links you are interested in.”

City Cards are a great way to see the sights and save money!

The cards offer free and/or discounted admission to leading visitor attractions, combined in many cases with public transport options, as well as discounts at shops, bars and restaurants. It is a truly perfect way to discover a city.

40 cities in one!
The cities and City Cards you can find out in the e-brochure are: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Bratislava, Brugge, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dijon, Dublin, Geneva, Ghent, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Innsbruck, Krakow, Lisbon, Ljubljana, London, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Nürnberg, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Reykjavik, Split, St Petersburg, Stockholm, Tallinn, Turku, Valencia, Vienna, Vilnius, Zagreb, Zaragoza and Zürich.

The e-brochure is available for free and on http://www.europeancitiesmarketing.com or by directly contacting individual cities.

City Cards are also available on http://www.europeancitycards.com, and their mobile phone applications are downloadable for free at the Appstore and at the Android Market.

EUROPEAN EXHIBITOR PRESENCE QUADRUPLES FOR GIBTM 2013

EUROPEAN EXHIBITOR PRESENCE QUADRUPLES FOR GIBTM 2013
GIBTM 2013 (www.gibtm.com), the leading event for the meetings, incentives and business travel industry in the GCC Region, has witnessed a substantial increase in European exhibitors signed up to take part in the show.

The increased presence in suppliers attending from Europe has been supported by the introduction of a specialist European exhibitor pavilion and ‘Market Focus Spotlight’ networking sessions, which will take place on 26th March at 8:30am.

New European exhibitors already confirmed to attend GIBTM include Serbia Convention Bureau, Circuito Ascari, The Marmara Collection, Adile Sultan Sarayi Palace, Athens Convention Bureau, Georgian National Tourism Agency, Madrid Convention Bureau, and Cnidus.

Hungarian National Tourist Office who will also be attending, returning to the show for their third year commented, “We have exhibited at GIBTM since 2011 and it has given us the perfect introduction to key stakeholders from both the Gulf region and from Asia. Through GIBTM we have been able to arrange quality meetings, which have resulted in us introducing Hungary as a new destination to MICE industry professionals in the Middle East. We are very much looking forward to attending GIBTM 2013,” concluded Aniko Ferenczy, Director, Hungarian Tourism PLC.

Recent research conducted by Reed Travel Exhibitions confirmed an increase in the number of Middle Eastern buyers, who specified a direct interest in placing outbound business into Europe. In addition to this 65% of MENA buyers surveyed also reported an increase in events placed over the next 12 months, and 54% reported an increase in budget.

Lois Hall, GIBTM Exhibition Manager, Reed Travel Exhibitions commented, “We are delighted with the level of interest from European buyers this year. Exhibiting at GIBTM provides the perfect platform for European exhibitors to build profitable relationships with MENA buyers and showcase themselves in this sector of the industry. We already have a significant number of European exhibitors singed up for GIBTM 2013, most of which are attending the show for the first time.”

“Air links between the Middle East and Europe are also improving, making Europe a much more feasible destination for Middle Eastern meeting planners. Direct flights are available from Abu Dhabi to several European airports including; London Heathrow, Paris, Dublin, Frankfurt, Berlin, Amsterdam and Geneva,” Hall concluded.

GIBTM 2013 takes place on the 25th – 27th March, 2013. More information on the event, exhibitors, hosted buyers’ required qualifications, partners, networking and educational opportunities is available at http://www.gibtm.com

Join GIBTM on Linked in, Twitter and Facebook.

European hospitality results 2011

European hospitality results 2011: betwixt satisfaction and a question mark

The year 2011 closes with positive indicators for hotel business throughout the European Union, with an average of 5.6% growth in the RevPAR as a result of increased occupancy combined with growth in average daily rates. And yet, the dynamic that was seen until Spring 2011 slowed in the last quarter.

It is important to observe that for the 27 countries in the European Union plus Switzerland, the results of the hotel business for 2011 are positive. No country closed the year with a downturn for its reference indicator –the RevPAR1– even if there is a broad range between stagnation in Switzerland (+0.4%) and strong improvement in Poland (+9.4%). While on the one hand Switzerland is already positioned among the highest levels of performance, on the other Poland occasionally benefited from its six‐month presidency of the European Union. The European countries with the strongest hotel activity –United Kingdom, France, Germany or the Benelux– are positioned within a tighter range: between 4% and 6% growth, which better reflects the state of Europe’s marketplace.

With an average European occupancy rate higher than 66%, hotel occupancy gained 2 points over 2010, which was already in a strong recovery over the crisis of 2009. The prize goes to the international gateways, capitals and business cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Ghent, Hamburg, London, Munich, Paris and Zürich, which flirt with or surpass an OR2 of 75% across the year. With an OR close to 85% London beats all records, and is close to saturation. At the bottom of the table, Spanish cities (Saragossa, Seville) and Italian ones (Bologna) reflect the difficulty of the national markets. Even cities with highly seasonal business that depends on exhibitions and fairs (Cannes and Hanover) progressed in 2011. The rare drops in occupancy with respect to 2010 are minimal, largely less than 1 point.

This strong demand justified a significant improvement in the average daily rate (for many cities around 4% and more), an indicator of the shift of the vast majority of European cities into the upper part of the hotel cycle. Only a few German cities (Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg), Italian cities (Florence, Turin) and Spanish ones (Bilbao, Madrid, Saragossa) activated the rate dynamic to boost or relaunch demand.

The question mark bears on the prolongation of the slump observed in year‐end business. The degradation of national economies, the concern about the impact of debt, and austerity measures have an evident effect on the average slump observed in Europe where the OR and ADR3 fell into the red last December. Past experience taught that the midscale and upscale segments reacted more visibly to the change in economic climate. In cities where the weight of these categories is preponderant (Central Europe, Scandinavian countries, Spain and Italy…), the stabilizing effect of the economy hotel segment was impotent.

1 RevPAR: Occupancy rate x average price or room revenue divided by available rooms
2 OR: Occupancy Rate – number of sold rooms divided by number of available rooms
3 ADR: Average Daily Rate – room revenue divided by number of sold rooms

ECM (European Cities Marketing) is the leading European association of city tourism offices and convention bureaux, representing 125 members across 100 major cities in 32 countries. Its aim is to improve the performance and maintain the competitiveness of its members through the exchange of best practice and information.      
For more information and pictures, please contact:
Marie Kuklova, press@europeancitiesmarketing.com, +33 380 56 59 51
Established over 25 years ago, MKG Group® has built a solid reputation for business expertise and substantial European-based know-how in the tourism, hotel and hospitality sector. MKG provides a unique savoir-faire in market research, consulting, financial feasibility studies, individual property and portfolio asset valuations, as well as quality control campaigns. The foundation of knowledge and resource is HotelCompSet, the largest industry database in Europe, representing all hotel segments.