BESTCITIES UNVEIL AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR 2017 TOKYO GLOBAL FORUM

BESTCITIES UNVEIL AMBITIOUS PLANS FOR 2017 TOKYO GLOBAL FORUM

BestCities Global Alliance is set to champion inclusivity and multi-culturalism within the business tourism industry in 2017 and beyond, following the announcement Building Global Connections Across Cultures will be the core theme underlying this year’s BestCities Global Forum, taking place in Tokyo 4-7 December 2017.

Building on the 100% delegate success ratings in Dubai 2016, the second BestCities Global Forum will be hosted in partnership with the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (TCVB). The impressive programme of education, insight and networking, is already shaping up to be this year’s must-attend event for senior international association meeting planners, looking to increase the positive impact of their meetings.

The Global Forum offers an intimate, yet stimulating learning environment for international association event organisers, to gain a deeper understanding, not only of ways to collaborate more effectively, but how to build professional relationships across cultures and develop effective leadership skills in a global context.

With over 25 years of experience, Sean Blair, owner of ProMeet will facilitate the diverse Forum programme, which includes thought-provoking education sessions, engaging practical workshops, relevant case studies and interactive breakouts challenges, designed to unlock the collective knowledge within the room. Influential speakers will include “accidental executive” and former CEO of Tourism Vancouver Rick Antonson and global leadership and cultural intelligence expert, Miriam van der Horst, owner of Learning 360.

While the majority of the sessions take place in the luxurious Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, nestled within a vast 19th Century Japanese Garden, host TCVB is also planning a rich and diverse programme to immerse participants in Japan’s heritage and culture, while revealing powerful insights into the city and its institutions. With preparations quickly progressing towards 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Prof. Hiroo Ichikawa Executive Director of The Mori Memorial Foundation, will also be discussing the strengths and opportunities of Tokyo in the next decade.

Delegates will also have the opportunity to establish relationships with peers and grow global networks, with events such as the Ambassador Dinner, bringing delegates together with influential local ambassadors and key contacts.

A perfect example of collaboration across cultures, the Global Forum also allows delegates to gain an in-depth knowledge of 12 top class meeting destinations under one roof, with City Café meetings and social networking with all 12 of BestCities’ partners: Berlin, Bogotá, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Houston, Madrid, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo and Vancouver.

BestCities Board Chair, Jonas Wilstrup from Wonderful Copenhagen said:
“Building global connections across cultures is at the very heart of BestCities ethos and long-term success. We are 12 partners that recognise the collective strength of working together, adding value not only for our individual cities, but our clients too. This year’s Global Forum will be addressing both the challenges and opportunities when dealing with international stakeholders, providing informed practical advice and peer-to-peer learning in a way, that will genuinely help and support senior association executives to take their future meetings to the next level.”

Kazuko Toda, Director from Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau said:
“Tokyo is delighted to host the BestCities Global Forum in Tokyo this December. Through hosting the Forum, we would like our clients to find out what Tokyo has to offer as a meetings destination, and not only a tourism destination. Also, through the learnings of the Forum, we hope to motivate and give confidence to clients who have not had the opportunity to hold their event in Tokyo or any of the new BestCities destinations to consider us for their next meeting. “

The inaugural BestCities Global Forum in Dubai, December 2016, was celebrated as an overwhelming success, with 100% of delegates surveyed reporting the Forum fulfilled their main objectives for attending and would recommend it to their international association meeting planners.

Speaking about the outcomes of the 2016 Global Forum in Dubai, Andry Vleeming, Chairman of World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Girdle Pain said:

“I came with an open mind and was rewarded with four days of networking with talented colleagues sharing interests and expertise.  It has helped change the way I think about our future conferences – the need to move into the future more quickly, which is more critical today than it was in the past.”

Registration for the BestCities Global Forum Tokyo is now open. Free to attend, with round-trip flights, accommodation and meals for all attending qualified international association executives covered by BestCities.

For more information on BestCities and its upcoming events including the BestCities Global Forum in Tokyo (4-7 December 2017) visit http://www.bestcities.net  @BestCitiesGA

 

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#BestCities #Tokyo #MICEnews #MICEIndustry #BestCitiesGlobalForum

Tokyo – a great place to have an international conference!

Tokyo – a great place to have an international conference!
Around 700 professionals from all over the world recently gathered in Tokyo for American Bar Association Section of International Law (ABA-SIL) 2016 Fall Meeting.

With high evaluation about the support of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (TCVB), Ms. Sara P. Sandford, the Chair, commented on the significance and merit to hold the Associations meeting in Tokyo as follows; “It was our first meeting of that size held in Asia, which could be a very exciting event. Since the Section decided to have an event in Asia, we looked at different options and obviously Tokyo was among the top from the initial stage because of its scale and global recognition. In addition to that, we have the largest membership in Tokyo and from that point of view Tokyo was the right choice. Incidentally, I have lived and worked in Japan in the past and I knew that the logistics in Japan would be very smooth and easy in comparing to other destinations.”

Sara continued, “Furthermore, Tokyo was one of the best places to organize the event because we could really count on local staff. They are good at communicating, acting promptly and very helpful, which makes the organizing the event particular easy with great comfort. Especially, TCVB was a wonderful addition to our conference. They were very professional in sharing the information about venues, which helped us to identify the possible details quickly and their assistance in welcoming the participants at the airport was hugely appreciated. I have heard very favorable comments from the participants about the wonderful cultural programs as well as complimentary city tours sponsored by the TMG. Moreover, Tokyo Information Desk prepared as one of their supports for the conference, allowed the participants to arrange things right onsite in terms of visiting somewhere in Tokyo. I totally appreciate their whole support, which convinced me Tokyo is a great place to have an international conference!”

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#TMG #TCVB #Tokyo