Project managers from the Roscongress Foundation took
part in the conference ‘How to Attract Business Events to the City: Synergy of
Market Participants, New Tools, and Conditions for Collaboration’ and shared
their experiences in event marketing as representatives of the non-financial
development institution. The main purpose of the event, which was held in St.
Petersburg on 22 November, was to discuss the development of the event market
and come up with standard ways to prepare for and hold business and
socioeconomic events that are strategically important for a city and would
promote St. Petersburg
in the global meeting and hospitality industry.
«St. Petersburg is not only a cultural capital, but is
widely known as an international business centre. Key events for our country
are held here. The city annually hosts the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. This year,
more than 19,000 people from 145 countries took part in the SPIEF, with CEOs
accounting for 1,300 of the guests. The forum is a serious test for the city’s
infrastructure, as all services are working at their maximum capacity. We find vulnerabilities
in the ecosystem [for events] and work with the city to eliminate these
shortcomings by the next year. Based on a combination of factors, St.
Petersburg is a leader today in terms of the level of its ecosystem, but given
the high level of competition, it is essential that we continue to develop and
take an integrated and systemic approach to this issue», St.
Petersburg International
Economic Forum Director Alexey Valkov said.
The event participants discussed ways to create,
develop, and promote new regional business projects, promote the image of St.
Petersburg as a destination for international level business tourism as well as
to develop expertise among representatives of the professional community that
could help enhance the number and quality of congress and exhibition events
held in St. Petersburg.
«The availability of infrastructure is a basic and
essential condition for attracting events to a city. Today, other factors loom
large, such as the existence of expertise in the scientific focuses and other
types of activities to which the events are devoted as well as the ability of
the destination to provide participants with an unforgettable cultural and
leisure experience. In this regard, St. Petersburg has well-developed
infrastructure, strong scientific expertise as well as unique cultural and
historical features. The Convention Bureau, whose activities directly help to
attract and host events of various magnitude in the city, plays a key role in
shaping the image of St. Petersburg as an international business centre», Roscongress
Foundation Deputy CEO and Head of the International Projects Directorate Dmitry
Mikhaylov said.
The event was organized by the Saint
Petersburg Convention Bureau.
