Colombia prepares to receive new international events

The Meetings and Incentives sector in Colombia is starting to show progress as part of the strategy to reactivate the sector. The country continues to work for the meetings tourism industry by keeping events confirmed, but also through the implementation of biosecurity protocols and communication campaigns.

“We took advantage of this situation to prepare and to be ready to host world travelers and world-class events. Hosting the 2021 World Congress of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) means that we are on the right track within the framework of strict biosecurity parameters. We take a firm step forward in reactivating the meetings tourism segment, which has a positive impact on our economy “, said Flavia Santoro, President of ProColombia.

The announcement was made at the 59th edition of the ICCA 2020 summit, which was held from November 1-3 in a semi-face-to-face manner, where ProColombia made a presentation of the country with a focus on Cartagena de Indias.

During this meeting that the President of Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez opened, ProColombia presented the tourist potential of the city, the prospects of the country for the tourism industry and in particular meetings for the segment of conventions to more 1,300 participants from five continents.

Meetings tourism revitalization’s strategy

Among the actions that ProColombia has carried out is the launch of the “Change the date, not the destination” campaign, a joint initiative with the national network of promotion offices.

This strategy aims to stay in touch with the organizers of major world events and to ensure that Colombia remains a meeting place, especially for the World Congress of Neurosurgery, DevCon, FIEXPO, as well as the ICCA World Congress.

On the other hand, in mid-September, the Ministry of Health issued a biosecurity protocol for trade show activities, which applies to events of up to 50 people. This, added to the facilities offered by the use of technological tools, has ratified the tendency to organize events in a semi-face-to-face manner.

This is the case of the organization of the recent Investment Summit in Colombia, the most important summit on foreign direct investment in the country, which was held in this sector and which brought together 50 participants in person and 3 000 people virtually.

Several sites have obtained the “Certificate of registration, COVID-19 biosecurity” seal from the national government, including Agora – voted Best Meeting and Conference Center in South America at the World Travel Awards 2020 -, Corferias, Puerta de Oro, the Santa Marta Convention Center, the Las Americas Convention Center in Cartagena and the Cartagena de Indias Convention Center, among others.

In turn, ProColombia has developed the Incentives Empowerment program, the objective of which is to train and adapt companies focused on this segment in order to offer them experiences that allow them to promote incentive travel in the country.

ProColombia carries out this promotional work by giving priority to the concepts of sustainability and trust

“Trust has become the most relevant currency and we, the organizers and promoters of the destination, must be an effective vehicle to transmit it. In the stages of ‘falling in love’ with a decision-maker to choose my place, my hotel or my destination, tools such as testimonials, success stories and the ability to teach participants how their experience will be through (…) digital inspection visits, with an emphasis on biosecurity protocols , will be fundamental elements ”, explained Eduardo Chaillo, expert in meeting tourism.

Source : ProColombia