Ottawa Tourism and The Hague & Partners Convention have renewed their ground-breaking Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The accord, signed in London, 23 April, was originally initialled five years ago in The Hague and designed to identify and win business events that are strategically aligned to both destinations. The goal is pursued through:
- Joint sales activity through a variety of channels, including live industry events.
- Creation of joint research and intelligence focused on mutually relevant sectors.
- Identification of new clients where both cities would be of interest.
- Identification and introduction to historic clients of either city that would interest the other.
The renewal was held during a visit from Ottawa’s Mayor, Mark Sutcliffe to London.
Michael Crockatt, president & CEO, Ottawa Tourism, said at the signing: “This renewed agreement marks not just a continuation, but a strengthening of our fruitful partnership with The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau. Over the past five years, we have seen remarkable mutual benefits, new business wins and commercial growth as part of the partnership. This was particularly true during the challenging times of the Covid-19 crisis, during which we were able to share best practice and knowledge to support each other.”
Bas Schot, head of The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau, echoed the sentiments: “Our collaboration with Ottawa Tourism is a testament to international co-operation and innovation. A particular example is the creation of the Hybrid City Alliance, which was born out of the Ottawa/Hague collaboration but went on to include more than 25 cities around the world, leading to the winning of an ICCA Best Marketing Award.”
The Mayor of Ottawa concluded: “Ottawa and The Hague were brought together by history more than 75 years ago. We have built an incredible relationship that has led to some terrific results. This agreement will ensure our successful collaboration continues and that we will work effectively together to attract events and visitors to both cities. I’m excited to see the results for both Ottawa and The Hague.”
On the eve of the signing of the MOU, Ottawa hosted 150 UK-based event professionals and travel trade experts in London for an evening at Sea Containers’ 12th Knot venue, highlighting everything Ottawa has to offer.
Photo: (L-R): Michael Crockatt, Mark Sutcliffe and Bas Schot
