Why and how to bid for the ICCA Congress bid for... · 2013-07-11 · Hosting the ICCA Congress is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, not only for the destination but also for the

Why and how to bid for the ICCA Congress

International Congress and Convention Association

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The ICCA Congress is one of the most challenging but also one of the most prestigious international congresses that a destination can bid for. It’s challenging because the delegates are senior level, demanding meetings industry experts who will be aware of the tiniest mistakes; and they have “seen everything” so are incredibly difficult to impress. It’s prestigious because it enables a destination to showcase its best facilities, its business and cultural appeal, and most importantly the skills of its professional team to the most influential worldwide audience. Get it right, and delegates will talk about your destination with their colleagues and clients for the next decade. Get it wrong, and the delegates will talk about you just as loudly with the same audience!

Hosting the ICCA Congress is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, not only for the destination but also for the professionals involved. If you’re going to bid, make sure that you’re fully prepared, and that you’ve carefully thought through the reasons for bidding and your strategic objectives. It typically doesn’t make sense in cost-benefit terms to bid for the ICCA Congress simply in order to capture the expenditure from the delegates and organisers, or for short-term PR profiling, and bids with such narrow rationales invariably fail.

ICCA aims to make the process as valuable as possible for all ICCA destinations which bid for the Congress, and especially those which make it through to the shortlist each year. We recognise that bidding requires time, money, and commitment, and we therefore aim to provide as much valuable feedback and advice as possible, so that the bidding team learns valuable lessons that can be applied to any future bidding project.

Examples of strategic objectives

• Repositioning, rebranding, or relaunching a destination, perhaps alongside a major investment such as a new convention centre opening (Example – Cape Town, which had just opened CTICC; Leipzig, which wanted to reposition itself within the German market as well as internationally).

• Strengthening, motivating, or creating a national team to win more business for the country, or to draw political attention and obtain strategic support from government towards a meetings strategy (Example – Florence, which brought Team Italia into existence to market the country more effectively).

• Use the ICCA Congress as one of a series of events marking an important anniversary for the city or country (Example – Pattaya, where ICCA Congress became part of Thai King’s 80th Birthday celebrations).

• Use the Congress to reinforce a long-term strategy to increase the importance of international meetings to a country’s economy (Example – numerous bids included this).

• Announce to the world that this destination is now taking international meetings seriously, with increased commitment and investment (Example – Hyderabad, announcing the arrival of India as a serious competitor for world class events).

• Use to cement stronger relationships with neighbouring destinations, who can become supporting partners (Example – Montevideo, where Argentinian and Brazilian members joined the host committee)

Why bid?

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• Talk to other ICCA members who have hosted the Congress to hear about their experiences and what they gained from playing host, and find out how they won their bid. ICCA Head Office can introduce you to the right individuals.

• Obtain the latest Congress Bid Manual from ICCA Head Office, and after studying in detail, ask Head Office for clarification on any points.

• Build a strong, small, central bidding team, and a wider support network involving as many ICCA members in the country as possible.

• Ensure that your strategic objectives have been clearly set out and are understood and supported by your team, including why the target year has been selected.

• Make sure the financial support is in place to be able to present a financially attractive proposal, from both the ICCA members and city and/or national government authorities.

• Schedule the bid preparation plan to meet submission deadline.

• Inform ICCA Head Office that you intend to bid.

• Submit bid document and supporting papers following the precise instructions in the Bid Manual, paying particular attention to the key decision-making criteria.

Getting ready to bid

More information

For more information, please contact Mieke van Loenen, Director Events:

Phone: +31 20 398 1902Email: [email protected]

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ICCA Head Office

Toren A, De Entree 57 1101 BH AmsterdamThe Netherlands

Phone+31 20 398 1919 Fax +31 20 699 0781 Email [email protected] Website www.iccaworld.com

Direct phone numbers: Events +31 20 398 1910 Marketing +31 20 398 1963 Membership +31 20 398 1904

ICCA Asia Pacific Regional OfficeGlobal Research Centre

Suite 12.05, Amcorp TowerAmcorp Trade Centre18 Persiaran Barat, 46050 Petaling Jaya, SelangorMalaysia

Phone +60 3 7955 3343 Fax +60 3 7955 3348 Email [email protected]

ICCA Latin America Regional Office

Plaza Independencia 759 Oficina 763UY 11100 MontevideoUruguay

Phone +598 2 901 1807 Fax +598 2 901 1807 Email [email protected]

ICCA North America Regional Office

Box 6833Freehold, New Jersey 07728-6833U.S.A.

Phone +1 732 851 6603 Fax +1 732 851 6584 Email [email protected]

ICCA Africa Regional Office

54 Wielewale StreetAtlasvilleBoksburg 1459South Africa

Phone +27 (11) 928 1315 Fax +27 86 504 6277 Email [email protected]

ICCA Middle East Regional Office

P.O. Box 73477Office 1005Al Warsan Bldg.Tecom, Hessa St.Al BarshaDubaiUnited Arab Emirates

Phone + 971 4 446 7509 Fax + 971 4 427 9731Email [email protected]

www.iccaworld.com