The BestCities Alliance of conference bureaus, which includes Edinburgh in the UK, says conferences held in its destinations are attracting more delegates according to data collected by the 10 Alliance partners.
BestCities says all of its bureaus have noted significant increases in delegate attendance across the international conference market, with some recording numbers exceeding expectations by more than 30 per cent.
The 9th World Congress on Brain Injury held in Edinburgh exceeded expectations with over 1,300 delegates attending the meeting for the first time.
“All BestCities partners understand that a conference’s success depends on turnout, so we advise and help meeting planners recruit delegates and build attendance through a range of marketing activities; often providing access to promotional material such as brochures and videos at no charge,” says BestCities Board Chair, Jerad Bachar.
BestCities says the World Diabetes Congress held in Alliance destination member Dubai last year was the most successful ever, attracting 15,100 delegates, 3,500 more than any previous World Diabetes Congress and almost 30 per cent higher than what was forecast by the International Diabetes Federation.
The Emergency Medicine in the Developing World Conference held last year in Cape Town and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemicals in San Juan achieved attendance increases of 33 per cent and 25 per cent for the respective Alliance destinations.
“Although ICCA’s research shows that the average number of participants in 2011 was the lowest in 10 years, we have found that meetings held in a BestCities destination often perm better and achieve higher results. Our independent research also reinforced these findings, with results from the 2011 BestCities Client Survey showing that respondents rated BestCities Bureaus 8 out of 10 for delegate boosting,” adds Bachar.
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