On March 4–6, the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre and Gothenburg welcomed industry colleagues to the ICCA Scandinavian Chapter Meeting, at which Gothenburg had the opportunity to share its experiences as a meeting destination.

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) is a global organisation made up of meeting industry members from a hundred countries. ICCA’s Scandinavian Chapter is represented by 70 member organisations from Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The chairmanship of the Scandinavian organisation rotates between the member nations annually, and the chapter meeting is held in the chair country and city. 2020 is Sweden’s turn, and Malin Erlandsson from the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre is Chair, meaning that this year’s ICCA Scandinavian Chapter Meeting was held in Gothenburg in early March.

Sustainability was a key theme for the meeting, which attracted more than 80 participants. The first day of the meeting included a city tour, giving attendees the opportunity to visit locations including Lindholmen Science Park. The City of Gothenburg also arranged a welcome reception at the newly opened Börsen, where the city’s Mayor Anneli Rhedin and CEO of Göteborg & Co Peter Grönberg welcomed the participants.

Discussions included topical issues such as the effects of changed travel habits on our industry, finding a common way to measure the legacy and beyond-tourism effects of international congresses, and how Scandinavia can position itself as a region at international fairs. Gothenburg Convention Bureau also held a session on best practice, at which four destinations described initiatives that they were particularly proud of. Gothenburg shared its experiences of gathering forces on a broad front in connection with its strategic plan for meetings, and explained that the city is this year’s Capital of Smart Tourism and what this means. Göteborg & Co’s Sustainability Strategist Katarina Thorstensson spoke about her experiences of how Gothenburg came top in the Global Destination Sustainability Index.

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) is a global association with 1,100 member organisations from hundreds of countries within the meeting industry: convention bureaus, convention organisers, hotels, conference facilities, travel providers and meeting organisations. The organisation aims to develop the meeting industry and create the right conditions for sustainable growth, knowledge dissemination, talent attraction and skills enhancement.
For more information visit: https://www.iccaworld.org/abouticca/