Speaking at this year’s Place Leaders Forum at IMEX Frankfurt, future of cities expert Prof. Greg Clark articulates the potential for business events to fulfil a pivotal role within destinations’ strategic thinking, thanks to the emergence of new competitive realities as we enter an era where the Innovation Economy interacts with the Experience Economy. Our sector’s “convening power” can be harnessed to drive economic impact and development, talent acquisition and skills transfers, local regeneration and sustainability, as well as to strongly shape a destination’s international profiling and influence.
Clark argues that whilst “the places that get everything right are few and far between”, there is no single model for success; instead, every destination should work to reduce waste, duplication, fragmentation, and siloed working. Destinations should aim to optimise their resources, assets, and decision-making capabilities, whatever their current structure and institutional constraints.
Prof. Clark and his associate at The Business of Cities, Borane Gille, have produced a White Paper on Place Leadership and the Business Events Sector that draws extensively from case studies and insights from IMEX Place Leaders Forum participants. The White Paper combines unique intellectual perspectives from both outside and within the business events “bubble”, in-depth case studies that illustrate a wide range of models and practices for our sector to successfully influence place leadership, and concrete short-term and long-term action plans for any destination to maximise the impact of business events within place leadership and their local economy.
Read The Iceberg’s review of the White Paper here and download the full report below:
Further Learning:
View The Iceberg’s previous interviews with Prof. Greg Clark:
Business Events Shouldn’t Be Kept in a Silo
“Fractured Globalisation” Changes the Rules of the Game
Greg Clark: Five Reasons Why Business Events…
The JMIC Global Manifesto: Speaking with One Voice
Business Events and the Future of the City
IMEX 2017: A View of the City
About The Business of Cities:
The Business of Cities is an urban intelligence firm headquartered in London. Their mission is to help organisations to make the most of the changing 21st-century relationships between businesses and cities, working internationally with public and private sector leadership in more than 100 global cities, and advising top global firms and intergovernmental organisations about how to optimise their engagement with cities.
About IMEX Events:
The IMEX Group organises two global trade shows in the meetings and events sector – IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America. Both trade shows offer unprecedented business opportunities combined with a great industry gathering. Exhibitors include national and regional tourist offices, convention and visitor bureaux, hotels, conference and exhibition centres, cruise lines, airlines, spa resorts, event management specialists, and more.
By attending an IMEX trade show, it is possible to achieve a year’s worth of business and networking in just three days, be inspired by outstanding free educational programmes, develop your career, and learn about the latest innovations and ideas in the industry.
