The IMEX Place Leaders Forum, which took place at the Marriott Frankfurt Hotel ahead of the official opening of IMEX on May 19, called on convention bureaus, city leaders and venues to reposition business events as a strategic tool for placemaking and economic growth—not just tourism.
The Forum, formerly known as the Policy Forum and redeveloped for this year, drew its strongest attendance to date—a sign of growing understanding and fresh momentum behind the destination economy agenda.
More than 130 participants gathered from across the global meetings industry representing over 60 destinations and venues alongside policymakers from Angola, São Paulo, Reykjavik, Israel, Mexico and Mozambique.
Jane Cunningham, Director of European Engagement at Destinations International, moderated the Forum alongside facilitator Professor Greg Clark. Greg set out a stark message, arguing that: “business events are a catalytic tool—as conveners, catalysts and embedders of value—and there’s a window of opportunity open right now.” He added that if destinations fail to act, “you don’t just stand still—you go backwards.”
Greg urged a move away from siloed thinking, explaining that “the old silos between tourism, investment and education are blurring. We need a whole-of-place strategy, not separate sector strategies.
“Place leadership means giving up siloed thinking and adopting a second job description as “leaders of place”. The cost of failing to achieve integration is huge.”
Delegates were invited to contribute to a new white paper on place leadership and the destination economy, due for publication this summer.
