“European Cities Marketing” association meeting for the first time in the state capital / Focus on “Youth Travel”
The “European Cities Marketing” association (ECM) will be meeting June 4-7 in Dresden, marking the first return of this event to Germany in eleven years and the first time ever in Dresden. In addition to promoting the sharing of professional expertise and conducting research and training activities, ECM is responsible for politically advocating on behalf of its more than 100 member cities.
“The ECM Annual Conference addresses one of the most pressing issues impacting the tourism sector and the city destinations. Being located right at the heart of Europe, and allowing history and innovation to be experienced in such outstanding equal measure, Dresden is the perfect place in which to address these topics,” says Ignasi de Delás, ECM President and Deputy General Manager of the tourism marketing association in Barcelona.
“The success of European city tourism is increasingly being sustained by localities other than the capitals and main metropolitan areas. This makes Dresden all that much more the logical venue for an ECM conference. Europe is very curious about how Dresden has become so successful as a tourism and conference city and what the ‘Dresden product’ really feels like. And of course to feel that, you have to be there,” says Dieter Hardt-Stremayr, ECM Vice President and Managing Director of Graz Tourismus und Stadtmarketing GmbH.
Dresden Marketing GmbH (DMG) is an event partner for the ECM conference, handling the on-site organization. “We are very excited to welcome executive directors and managerial staff of city marketing and tourism organizations as well as convention bureaus from all across Europe to this key information-sharing event – to be held for the very first time here in Dresden. We want to be excellent hosts and at the same time convey what a young and dynamic developing city Dresden is. Our youth demographic is very high and we’re seeing continually more young people from other states discovering Dresden as an exciting tourism destination, promising academic location and a great place to live,” notes Dr. Bettina Bunge, Managing Director DMG. And thus the social programme lined up for the evenings and on Saturday will introduce participants to many diverse attractions in and around Dresden such as the Frauenkirche, the Old Town and the trendy Neustadt and Schloss Wackerbarth.
The conference, to be held at the International Congress Center Dresden, on the key topic of “Young travellers, young delegates, young cities – What do we know, what should we do” will focus on three main questions: What do we know about young travellers and conference delegates? What tools are needed to reach this target group? And what is our role as the Destination Management Organisation in this market?
A total of 120 participants have been accredited – executive directors and managerial staff in city, tourism and conference marketing organizations from more than 60 cities all across Europe, including representatives from Dresden’s sister cities of Hamburg and St. Petersburg. “The conference is not only an honour; it’s also an ideal reflection of our marketing strategy. Dresden has a lot to offer – it’s young and it keeps one young. Accordingly, our motto for this year’s tourism campaign is ‘Dresden. Passionately Romantic‘ and next year, our marketing offensive will be pushing the young, creative Dresden theme even more aggressively with the slogan ‘Dresden – Cosmopolitan City of Creatives,” reveals Bunge in conclusion.
More information on the ECM available at www.europeancitiesmarketing.com.
