Sweden. Uppsala was host to European Cities Marketing’s Autumn meeting. Eighty representatives of Europe’s leading city tourist offices and convention bureaux attended the three day event which addressed the hot topic of city marketing. This included a one day seminar entitled “City Marketing – refreshing the parts that City Tourist Offices & Convention Bureaux cannot reach”. The seminar – chaired by the former City Marketing Director of Brussels International, André Vrydagh – tapped a variety of expert perspectives – that of the academic and consultant, that of the city marketing agencies themselves, and last but not least that of ECM members as important end-users and beneficiaries of city marketing campaigns and brands.
Elsewhere at the meeting, potentially ground breaking best practice was also evident in an open forum for ECM members which highlighted how in Dublin tourists were able to use their smart phones as guides – a state of the art application utilising GPS and compass functionality. According to ECM delegates left the meeting buzzing with ideas and takeaways to help them perfect their city marketing
activities.
The next ECM Meeting will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 16th to 18th March 2011. The one-day seminar will focus on financial strategies and funding.
