A “City of Kings” Reigning in South America

Lima's presence in the MICE global market is an increasingly palpable fact that has been creating traction since 2019. The 2022 target leaves no room for doubt: to get back to face-to-face events as quickly as possible with the precious help of virtual tools.

The capital city of Peru is one of the most important hubs in the Pacific region of Latin America, which benefited from a large investment in hotels, infrastructure and incentive travel due to the economic stability that the country has experienced in recent years. On June 22nd, Lima Convention and Visitors Bureau (LCVB) set up a hybrid event - “Peru Events are back” - with 9 hotel members, highlighting the security protocols for the development of corporate events and outlining the city’s strategy for the comeback of in-person events. “As a large part of the events scheduled for 2021 were postponed, we took the opportunity to start planning the “new normal”, maintaining permanent contact with all our clients”, says the LCVB’s executive director, Denisse Mac Cubbin (pictured right). With vaccination in full swing, the Peruvian government authorized business events in Lima, applying all safety protocols without disengaging from the technological resources. For Lima, it is appropriate to include virtual innovation as a new growth opportunity since it anchored operations during the lockdown.

In 2019, Lima reached US$400 million with the increment of its MICE segment, placing it second among the most visited cities by business travellers in South America. Participation in international fairs has been a must to leverage turnover, with IBTM Americas 2021 sitting at the top of the list. “In both days of the event, the Peruvian delegation made more than 360 appointments with international hosted buyers and generate an expected $31 million in future business opportunities”, adds Mac Cubbin. Since approving the reactivation plan, Lima has worked together to make the public and potential clients aware that events are safe, moving forward with its hybrid and in-person events agenda. All of this with the support of its associates and carrying out a promotional work with the public sector − Promperú, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Municipality of Lima. “Today more than ever, public-private partnerships are essential to move forward with the destination.”

Lima is part of the Global Destination Sustainability Movement and the local bureau hopes that this will transform the capital into a sustainable tourist destination and regional benchmark within the sector. As part of this initiative, key actors in the conference and event field will meet to draw up a promotion strategy for the reactivation of the tourism and economic sectors in the long term. “Our members are already into the industry’s path hand in hand with sustainability. Some of them have recently registered in the Peru Carbon Footprint platform, which reflects their responsible attitude in caring for the environment and reducing their carbon emissions in their daily activities,” says Mac Cubbin. “Finally, special mention for the South American MICE Alliance that was born during the pandemic and of which Lima was one of the founding members.” An initiative that enabled a lively exchange of experiences at the continental level, encouraging all professionals and also governments to define safe events and common goals. “We have carried out joint actions such as the survey that gave us an actual event roadmap, and we’re currently making ourselves known as a MICE region with some business opportunities lurking around the corner,” concludes Mac Cubbin.