Los Angeles will have a much stronger presence in the international meetings market now that LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, has joined the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA). ICCA is one of the world's leading meetings industry trade associations, with over 900 member companies and organizations in 86 countries worldwide.
Chinese doctors, Indian engineers, German scientists and business delegates from every corner of the world can expect to be treated like top celebrities now that LA Inc has set out its strategic vision to become a major player in the international association meetings market. As proof of this new commitment, Los Angeles' destination marketing organisation has just joined ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, acknowledged as the global leader in this specialised sector.
"Los Angeles is already one of the elite performers in the U.S. domestic meetings market for both associations and corporate meetings," said Michael K. Krouse, senior vice president of sales and client services for LA INC. "Now we have an opportunity to target international association congresses through our membership with ICCA. We will learn new marketing skills from the top international cities such as Vienna, Barcelona and Singapore, which will help make us more informed and competitive when bidding for large international events."
ICCA CEO Martin Sirk said: "We're delighted to welcome LA Inc into ICCA. 2011 is going to be a year when more and more US cities begin to recognize the importance of international markets, thanks to the launch of the two key international trade shows, AIBTM and IMEX America, which will not only bring in international hosted buyers but will also attract the top international destinations as exhibitors. Bidding for international association meetings is a dramatically different process from selling to the domestic US association market, and it's our intention to give our US members the skills and data to become genuinely competitive in this complex market segment."
