Buenos Aires – The Perfect Gateway to Latin America

The capital city of Argentina is a one of the largest cities in Latin America, rich in European DNA, and known for its vibrant arts and cultural scene. Gonzalo Robredo, President of Buenos Aires CVB shares more.

Buenos Aires did really well placing 11th in this year’s ICCA ranking, are you aiming for top ten next year?

This achievement shows that Buenos Aires is proactive in international events, and we’ve worked hard with the private sector to achieve this. As our MICE industry grows, the ICCA ranking is an important marketing tool for the MICE sector internationally. It is a special year for international events in Buenos Aires, and the ranking is a perfect timing to maximise the awareness and visibility of the city.

This year Buenos Aires will host several G20 meetings including the Leaders’ Summit. Our President Mauricio Macri is also the president of the first-ever G20 summit to be hosted in South America. The 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games will also be held here.

We just opened the Buenos Aires Convention Center (known in Spanish as CEC) in the most beautiful area in town. The iconic building design consumes less energy with green rooftop and it provides 5,700-delegates capacity. We’ve already received more bookings than expected!

What are some of Buenos Aires selling points?

The human and social capital in Buenos Aires is different with a wide range of cultural expressions.

We also have a strong scientific community. Buenos Aires received the first two scientific Nobel Prize in Latin America. We have three today, and it is a legacy that has continued from 70 years ago. Many scientific associations of Latin America are based in Buenos Aires. We prepare and educate the scientific community in order to capture international events and it has been very successful.

What is your top priority for the convention bureau?

We still have a lot to do when it comes to marketing Buenos Aires, like generating content for digital promotions on social networks, and also through media channels and influencers. The LGBT community is key and their opinions are followed by the other media streams. We were one of the first destination to analyse big data in order to target market segments better with specific proposals and style of communication.

Latest developments in connectivity?

Domestic connectivity was very poor but it has gotten 50% better from two years ago. America Airlines just announced direct flights between Los Angeles to Buenos Aires. For international, connectivity to Asia will only get better, we already have a couple of long-haul options with only a stop-over in Beijing or Shanghai.

www.buenosairesbureau.com