Ajụjụ ọnụ pụrụiche ya na Onye isi oche Rome na Lazio Convention Bureau

The ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) ranking of the top conference destinations in the world sees Europe and Italy in a good position. In the ICCA Top 20 Destination Performance Index, 70% of the countries and 80% of the cities are European destinations, followed by Asian countries and North American countries.

This is what was communicated by the President of the Ụlọ ọrụ Mgbakọ Rome na Lazio, Onorio Rebecchini, during his press conference at TTG in Rimini 2023.

These are excellent results for Italy, which went from 6th place obtained in 2018 to 3rd place in 2022, ahead of Germany, France, and the UK, with 522 events organized – only 6 less than second-placed Spain.

OICE (Italian Congress/Event Observatory) Data

Regarding the national macro-scenario of the world of conferences, in 2022, over 303,000 conferences and business events were held in Italy, recording an increase of +252% compared to 2021. There were over 21 million participants (+362% compared to 2021) and attendance of 31 million (+366% compared to 2021). Compared to bodies and institutions, businesses were the main promoters of the events.

The congress industry is progressively returning to pre-pandemic levels and already this year has recovered over 70% of the events held in 2019, the last reference year before the pandemic. According to analysts, the gap will have been fully recovered by the end of 2023 compared to 2019 or may even exceed the level of events recorded before the pandemic. Additionally, if last year’s many events – 63.2% – had a local dimension, with just 8% of an international character, in 2024 there will be a strong recovery of international events.

Events and Conferences: Where They Take Place

Many conferences and events – 59.0% – took place in North Italy, the Central Italy hosted 24.4% of the events, the South 10.4%, and the Islands 6.2%. Precisely regarding Rome, there was a nice rise in the 2022 destinations ranking.

Of great importance are the performances of all the large Italian cities, which have invariably risen in position since 2019.

In fourteenth place is Rome (18th in 2019), with around 80 international conferences organized, ahead of Milan in 18th place (32nd in 2019), with 66 conference events, followed by Bologna in 35th place and Florence in 60th place, when it was instead 88th in 2019.

ETN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

An interview was given by President Rebecchini to the eTN-USA correspondent in Italy on nature-activity of the Rome and Lazio Convention Bureau (CBReL).

eTN: What role does the Rome & Lazio Convention Bureau play?

Rebecchini: The CBReL is the official body for promoting the tourist offer of Rome and Lazio and the services of Rome and Lazio on the national and international markets of the meeting industry in terms of organization, reception, transport and services.

It is a relatively young structure, born in 2017 from the foresight of the main trade associations in the tourism sector together with the representative institutions of the territory, Roma Capitale and the Lazio Region.

We take on a central role in the regional tourism ecosystem, as meeting organizers and international corporate companies have found in CBReL an interlocutor that did not exist until a few years ago: today, those who want to launch a competition between European cities for large-scale events international finally has an organization to officially turn to for further information on the tourist offer of Rome and Lazio in terms of organization, reception, transport and services.

eTN: What services does CBReL offer to its members?

Rebecchini: At the same time, CBReL offers support to event and conference organizers by providing them with detailed information on the area, on the availability of venues and facilities, on accommodation options and logistical services, significantly simplifying the decision-making processes for choosing a destination.

The scouting activity for opportunities to strengthen tourism linked to the meeting industry also includes the direct promotion of the destination through communication and marketing activities and the carrying out of research and analysis of the sector to monitor market trends and improve the quality of offered services.

Hand in hand with more institutional work, in addition to facilitating the meeting between supply and demand and encouraging dialogue between public and private sector actors, we develop family trips and highly personalized tourist experiences with the aim of improving the travel experience of the participants, encouraging them to extend their stay to discover the excellence of the area at 360°.

eTN: How many members does CBReL have?

Rebecchini: The CBReL network has over 150 regional tourism players, including private companies, trade associations, and tourism players who represent, in a transversal way, almost the entire supply chain of the meeting industry in the area.

We are supported, in fact, by the most important operators in the sector, conference centers of international prestige, such as the Rome Convention Center “La Nuvola” and the Auditorium Parco della Musica, trade fair centers of the caliber of the Fiera di Roma, gesture destination management companies of important infrastructures such as Rome Airports, large sports and culture operators such as Sport e Salute and Zetéma, business and luxury oriented hotels, PCO (Professional Congress Organizers), and DMC (Destination Management Company) agencies.

eTN: Can you tell us about CBReL’s future and core business objectives?

Rebecchini: Since its foundation, the CBReL has started an important strategic process alongside companies and institutions, creating meeting opportunities, projects, and technical tables, in order to seize the enormous opportunities coming from the meeting industry, starting from around 30 members in the 2017 to over 150 in 2023.

Our very specific core business is to promote the conference offer of Rome and Lazio, thus increasing the number of events and conferences of national and international importance in the area and consequently starting a virtuous loop with positive effects on the tourism sector in general and related industries – an ambitious task that we can pursue with more capacity and room for maneuvering only with the attention of the institutions.

For this reason, we hope that dialogue and discussion will be increasingly be constructive and synergistic, in order to define and implement best practices and long-term initiatives such as to attract investments and events in our region and not among our competitors.

eTN: In addition to what is specified above, does CBReL have a “vision” for its future?

Rebecchini: Precisely for this reason, speaking to the more recent past and with a view to diversifying the tourist offer linked to the industry meeting, we highlight the “intuition” of the Lazio region to invest in the automotive sector, a rapidly expanding segment in Europe and in America.

With the “Lazio on the Road” project, we promoted the Vallelunga Auto Drome and the wonderful consular roads that radiate throughout Lazio to foreign automotive companies and operators, who will be able to use our excellent venues to present new models to customers, media, professionals, and top management.

eTN: Have you planned CBReL’s presence at specialized tourism fairs in Europe and overseas?

Rebecchini: Among the various international events scheduled aimed at promoting the regional tourist offer linked to the meeting industry, we are present in these days – together with the Lazio region and Roma Capitale – at trade fairs in the tourism sector: IMEX America in Las Vegas and IGTM of Lisbon. In the coming months, we will not fail to preside over the ILTM in Cannes (France) aimed at promoting the luxury tourist offer, and IMEX in Frankfurt, always in the presence of the institutions.

eTN: Provided that Italy will win over Saudi Arabia and Korea for Expo 2030, what are the Convention Bureau’s plans?

Rebecchini: Although the numbers in our possession are very encouraging, we have a future ahead of us full of challenges and ambitious objectives, including the religious appointment of “Jubilee 2025” and the next “Jubilee 2033,” hoping to be able to host the event par excellence, “Expo 2030,” a space capable of attracting not only tourists from every continent but also generating related activities and jobs as well as obtaining investments to create new public works, and last but not least, boost transport.