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The Future Convention Cities Initiative (FCCI) has confirmed it will work with the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) to take a global perspective on Business Events Sydney’s leading research into the benefits of business events – beyond the tourism receipts generated.
The FCCI is an alliance of seven member cities that cooperates to shape and accelerate the strategic development of their respective business events industries. All members could be described as the ‘new generation’ of convention leaders: they aim to use the latest technology, innovation and research to increase the economic benefits of business events for their cities, and the industry as a whole.
Maureen O’Crowley, Vice-President of the Seoul Convention Bureau says, “Seoul, a founding member of the FCCI along with Sydney and London, is excited about this opportunity to participate on this level with our partners. This is a major step for FCCI. We firmly believe that the results from this global study will unveil significant findings for both Seoul’s meetings industry and the international industry at large.”
The original study, “Beyond Tourism Benefits: Measuring the social legacy of business events”, was commissioned by Sydney this year. In 2012, it is expected that all six remaining member cities – London, Toronto, Seoul, Abu Dhabi, San Francisco and Durban – will roll out similar studies in their destinations.
Lyn Lewis-Smith, the FCCI Chair and Acting Chief Executive Officer for BESydney, says, “The Sydney study demonstrated how business events fuel innovation and productivity and drive knowledge economies. Cooperating with our FCCI partner cities will provide a valuable international perspective to these initial results.”
The research fits firmly within the FCCI research agenda, which centers on enhancing the value of the business events sector through knowledge sharing. May 2012 has been set as a tentative deadline for the completion and launch of the global research.
“Cultural and contextual differences can lead to varied experiences and outcomes for congresses. Ultimately this could mean that the social and economic benefits of business events differ between countries. We’re going to find out! Looking at this research with a global perspective will extend our understanding of the role business events play, beyond the valuable results Sydney’s research presented,” comments Deborah Edwards, the Senior Research Fellow at the UTS Business School
“Think of it as ‘coopetition’: this is a great example of an innovative activity, resulting from competing businesses pooling their resources and collaborating to address sector challenges. Internationalizing the study will increase the quality and impact of the research findings.”
Just prior to the research commencing, O’Crowley will join FCCI partners in Durban for the final meeting of 2011. The FCCI Market, a platform for FCCI cities to showcase their green business tourism opportunities which will run in December 5-10 in conjunction with the COP17 Forum. The forum is hosted by Durban, and is an annual conference that brings together the parties involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
