EU CVB Network: “We are About Connections, Benchmarks and Exchanges!”

Among so many destination alliances and think tanks that bring together DMOs from all around the world, the EU CVB Network has stood the test of time by building trusting relationships with European associations. It all started in 2020 when a group of city convention bureaux decided to join forces to share knowledge, experiences and jointly promote their cities. All of these second-tier European cities, with the exception of the Slovenian capital, Florence, Gothenburg, Ljubljana, Lyon, Porto, Rotterdam, Salzburg and Valencia measure up in terms of size, capacity and knowledge centres. Last but not least, realising that they often competed for the same events, they asked themselves why not use these features to generate a positive impact on the eight cities and value for members and clients alike.

On the following pages, you will find our conversation with Elisabeth Kassanits- Pfoess, Senior Marketing Manager at Salzburg Convention Bureau, and Manuel Ferrís, Head of the Valencia Convention Bureau about, among other things, where competition ends and collaboration begins in this network.

How do you think this cooperation network can play in favour of a medium-sized European city in such a competitive international market?

Manuel Ferrís: In my opinion, it is not just a question of size. When you think about the whole idea of the network and its international position, it makes sense because we were spending a lot of money doing isolated activities at the same time. Most of our cities have limited budgets compared to other big players in the market, so we have to use it wisely. Instead of organising seven or eight different marketing campaigns, we start with just one and focus on its value and exposure. In terms of costs, we can even improve our own planning by investing that budget in association round tables for all of us, rather than spending the same amount on a single visit to Brussels for B2B meetings. Within this collaborative mindset, Porto will give us a platform to present ourselves as a destinations and network during the ICCA 2025 Congress. It could be interesting for associations to discover a different city in countries represented in their membership, and to rotate their conferences among us.
 

How has your destination capitalised on the business partnerships and different knowledge ecosystems of the EU CVB Network?

Elisabeth Kassanits-Pfoess: In Salzburg, our viewpoint goes in two directions. In the external view of the network, we try not only to link it to conferences, but also to offer a platform for central figures in our industry. For example, bridging the gap between a professor in Gothenburg and another in Salzburg to strengthen our knowledge transfer and generate new opportunities. During the pandemic, we held many online sessions and seminars with PCOs and European associations, which allowed us to benchmark safety and health protocols between us. On the internal side, I am increasingly convinced that our partners and venues are much more aware of the benefits of the network and the marketing campaigns and actions we have been running in their favour. Bringing in knowledge hubs and universities, as well as the main industrial players, makes it easier to support conferences in our cities.Thus, the value within the destination also grows.

"This one-stop-shop element is really interesting as a negotiating factor, as well as the crucial step in agreeing the best destination for an association."

How deep is this cooperation between you all? Have you ever recommended or even deferred embracing a conference in favour of another partner city?

MF: Imagine that your city, for some fortuitous reason, cannot host a conference, but it can be transferred to another city in the network. Why not share it? Within the network, you can facilitate the search for local agents with the manager of the association you are collaborating with and, at the same time, return business to your members. At some point, this would also be rewarded between the cities involved. For example, when we were working on the 2024 European Poultry Conference in Valencia, some other cities were considering bidding to host this conference in the future. So, Carlos Garcés Narro, President of the organising association, who is also an ambassador for Valencia, started acting as a representative for the other cities in the network too and introducing professionals from the cities to the right people, knowing how to draw up the bid proposal, etc.

Can you give me an example within your network of a joint application that has had a major impact on your destinations? What have been the main success stories so far?

EKP: We have not done any joint applications yet, but some associations have already approached us with their thre-eyear RFP, sharing it among the eight destinations. Many of us have already included that in the bidding information, promoting the rest of the partners and linking them to local associations or city DMCs. What we witnessed, is that some cities bidding for the same event ended up winning it in different years. In this way, Valencia would have a specific congress in 2025, while Salzburg would host it in 2027. This is a great advantage for the association because it already has to explain all the details or prerogatives to each of us during the call for applications. That is also why we only accept one city per country and prefer to spread it across different regions of Europe. This is to encourage and facilitate this rotation between us.
 

How have issues such as sustainability linked the network’s management in a joint awareness of projects for the future?

MF: Sustainability is on top of the agenda for all of our destinations. Amongst our cities, we have top positions in the Global Destination Sustainability Index, European Green Capitals, Capitals of Smart Tourism, and ISO 20121-certified DMOs and venues, for example. Some also have strong impact and legacy frameworks in place. We all have a commitment to supporting conference organisers in developing more sustainable practices, and we inspire each other to improve. On the other hand, if we want to put this circular economy into practice, we have to incentivise investment. After all, if we want to invest in net-zero emission flights, we still have to get into aeroplanes, otherwise the airlines will go bankrupt. In Europe, sustainability is still a key factor and event planners remain very sensitive to these issues.

"The good thing about this network is that when a destination has a good player in a specific topic, say sustainability, this has a positive impact on the whole network."

How do you see the role of business events and association conferences within your destination’s visitation goals?

EKP: Salzburg was already well known as a tourist city. However, we see an increasing annual percentage of events, especially scientific conferences. In that sense, I do not think we will return to online events. We are currently working on a major national project to score the financial value and the non-tangible impact of business events that have bypassed our industry. So, I am pleased to see the appetite for this segment, even assuming that it will never be bigger than our leisure tourism segment. Knowing that our local sector resonates abroad also helps us to sustain our added tourism value. We are known in the city for Mozart, for the film Sound of Music, for Red Bull, and all these brands and imageries also support us in creating a MICE storytelling.

MF: For us in Valencia, it is quite the opposite. Valencia was known from the start as a business city and only later developed its tourist profile. Now, this ratio is more balanced due to the impact of leisure tourism. In Spain, it is very difficult to know precisely what the impact of the MICE industry is on our city. We have to make a more accurate assessment of the data we collect, cross-reference different sources, and this usually leads to a leap of faith. For example, within the total number of meetings and events, you have a percentage of regional and national events that have moved outside the city area. We are currently working with an external company to check these reports and benchmark indicators. When we asked for rounded figures, they estimated an annual impact of 500 million euros for the city of Valencia and more than 600,000 delegates a year, well above our initial projection. The economic impact – number of overnight stays, cost of the venue, delegate expenses – is easier to measure. What is more complicated, especially in cities that suffer from a certain phobia of tourism, is proving the positive social impact with tangible figures and data. We cannot ignore the fact that if politicians are responsible for these decisions, it is the citizens who elect them.
 

In the next four issues of HQ this year, we will profile these eight destinations by taking a close look at their events ecosystem. Don’t miss out!