PRESIDENT’S FOREWORD

Welcome to European Marketing!

ECM is a network of people who are driven by a desire to improve the level of tourism to our cities and who are open to sharing those experiences. It is about the friends that we have made and those working in tourism that we have not met yet.

After focusing on keeping all existing projects on track in 2007, it was time in 2008 to chart a course for the future. It was necessary for us to look and determine who we are and what we do and develop strong communication tools.

I invite you to read the following report and discover in more detail the activities of European Cities Marketing.

An organisation like ours will only get stronger with the support of all our members! Your support is the motivating factor that gives European Cities Marketing a unique culture that has driven success.

Best regards,

Frank Magee, President European Cities Marketing

ECM MEMBERS IN 2008

Tourism and Conventions organisations from the cities and regions of: Aachen, Aarhus, Aberdeen, Aix en Provence, , Antwerp, , Avignon, , , , , Bergen, , , Biarritz, Bilbao, Bologna, Bolzano, , Bruges, , , Catalunya Tourism, , Cordoba, Coruna, Cracow, Cyprus, Dijon, , , Dubrovnik, , Espoo, Finland Convention Bureau, Florence, France Congrès, Friuli Venezia, , Genova, Ghent, Gijon, Girona, Gothenburg, , , Heidelberg, , , Istanbul, Jyvaskylä, de Gran Canaria, , Liege, , , , Luxembourg, , Lyon, Madeira, , Malmö, Malta, Manchester, Maribor, Metz, Montreux, , Namur, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Nottingham, , Nuremberg, Olomouc, Oostende, Opatija, , Oulu, , Pardubice, , Poznan, , Reims, Reykjavik, Rijeka, Rimini, Rotterdam, Saint Martin, , San Sebastian, , Sibenik, , , Split, , , Switzerland Tourism, , Tampere, Tarragona, Tenerife, The Hague, Thessaloniki, Torino, Toulouse, Trondheim, Turku, Uppsala, , Varna, Vicenza, , , , West Sweden, York, , , Zurich.

Affiliate members: Applied Card Technologies Ltd., The Leisure Pass Group, NetHotels, Visit Technology. Technical advisor: Modul University Partners: City Break Sponsors: IMEX, EIBTM

NEW ECM MEMBERS Among the 134 members, ECM has welcomed 8 new members: Friuli Venezia Giulia, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Promotion, NetHotels, Austria (affiliate member) Comune di Rimini, Italy Sibenik Tourist Board, Croatia Office de Tourisme de St Martin, French Carribean City of Skopje Tourist Information Centre, Macedonia Sofia Convention Bureau, Bulgaria

IN 2008, ECM COMPRISED OF: • 26 CONVENTIONS FORUM MEMBERS • 47 TOURISM FORUM MEMBERS • 57 MEMBERS OF BOTH FORUMS • 4 AFFILIATE MEMBERS TOTAL NUMBER OF MEMBERS = 134 BOARD ELECTED AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN BELGRADE

According to the statutes approved in Athens, one third of the Board is renewed every year. Elections took place during the General Assembly in Belgrade on June 13. Stefan Diender and Anne Wallin-Rodven were re-elected as Board members and the General Assembly voted for Olivier Lépine as Vice-President of the Conventions Forum.

The Board meets three times a year, at every European Cities Marketing meeting. In addition to Board meetings, the Executive Committee (consisting of the President, the two Vice-Presidents and the Treasurer) holds regular telephone conference meetings. The Board is at the service of the members and are happy to discuss members needs and views.

2008: A NEW STRATEGY FOR ECM

Since the association was created in 2007, the procedure of formulating a new strategy for ECM has begun. The Board started the process of reviewing ECM’s strategy in 2007. A draft version of the board’s outline was presented during the meeting in Ghent and all members present gave their opinions, those absent were given the chance to express their views in writing. This strategy was then presented to the General Assembly who adopted it on June 13, 2008.

HEAD OFFICE

• The ECM Service Centre has changed its title to ECM Head Office. • We welcomed new staff members:  Marie Kuklova - Communication & PR  Anna Dyubkina – maternity leave cover for Katy Schmitt  Karla Martinez – assistant Conventions Forum from January till March

From the left: Jean-Michel Lafond (CEO), Anna Dyubkina (Assistant Conventions Forum), Flavie Baudot (Office Manager), Katy Schmitt (Project Administrator), Grit Becker (Project Administrator), Marie Kuklova (Communication & PR) COMMUNICATION

ECM WEBSITE The new European Cities Marketing website was launched during the General Assembly in Belgrade in June. Its fresh and modern design together with its more structured content is appreciated by all members.

ECM NEWSLETTER The first ECM electronic Newsletter was issued in July, to members, potential members and partners informing them of all the latest developments in ECM, such as new ECM members, past/future events, portrait of a city, people/interviews, Working Group news. This newsletter is issued on a quarterly basis.

ECM UPDATE

In w November w 2008, w ECM w Head w Office w began w sending w out w regular updates on what is going on in the ECM Network.

This w brief w internal w document w allows w ECM members to

w follow w the w current w projects w and w activities, upcoming events and important deadlines.

ECM BROCHURE Since the Strategy was adopted in Belgrade, the Head Office has been working on a new promotional brochure to present to potential members and partners. The brochure contains general information, all the latest ECM events and the brochure can be adapted to suit all needs.

PRESS RELATIONS • Press conference (IMEX). Objective: To present the positive evolution of ECM since 1st January 2007 (merge between ECT and EFCT). ECM has not only continued working on the established activities but, at the same time, has been developing new projects focusing on Meet Europe, Summer School, Destination finder and the CEO Dinner that has contributed remarkably to the success of the Politicians Forum.

• Press lunch (EIBTM): ECM invited ten journalists to join some of the ECM members for lunch. The aim was simple: maintain relationships with the press and discuss ECM current activities and future projects.

Press Lunch at EIBTM, Barcelona 2008 SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE

INTRANET Members can always find up to date information on the Intranet: www.europeancitiesmarketing.com The Intranet gives members the opportunity to share ideas and to have online discussions with up to 130 destination managers in Europe. Members can also find advice from the experts list, consult the library or simply check ECM news.

EUROPEAN CITIES MARKETING MEETINGS Regular meetings are the corner stones of European Cities Marketing. Annual Conference & General Assembly once a year Board meetings three times a year at every European Cities Marketing meeting Executive Committee monthly telephone meetings Working Groups meetings three times a year at every European Cities Marketing meeting GHENT, MARCH 2008: “MARKETING IN A FLAT WORLD” BELGRADE, JUNE 2008: “KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND TOURISM” NOTTINGHAM, NOVEMBER 2008: “THE VISITOR JOURNEY IN EUROPEAN CITIES - STRIKING A BALANCE BETWEEN BRAND PROMISE AND THE REALITY OF THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE”

REPORT FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEES

CONVENTIONS FORUM BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Meet Europe In 2008, Meet Europe took place in Brussels on February 26. 23 member cities participated in the event. Feedback from our members, who had the chance to meet with mainly association leaders, was very positive.

Trade shows European Cities Marketing was represented at 3 different trade fairs in 2008: EMIF, IMEX, and EIBTM. The main focus was on the Destination Finder and the Summer School. Trade shows are another opportunity to keep in touch with the members and update them on all activities. Contacts have also been made with potential members.

Lead exchange The Lead exchange truly is a business to business session for the Conventions members which was held twice last year, in Ghent and Belgrade. Participants are asked to fill in forms with information about clients or events they have been involved in: - Clients Details: are they looking for something specific when searching for a destination or when is the first open year to bid, etc. - Events details: history of the event, next venue, meeting room requirements, PCO service needed or not, etc.

Destination Finder Launched during IMEX 2008. This application has been designed to allow PCOs to choose a destination for their meeting or event by allowing easy access key information about the facilities available in European Cities Marketing member cities. EDUCATION Summer School Another key asset of ECM to the Meetings Industry is the Summer School, held this year in Opatija, August 30 – September 3 for its 22nd edition. The Summer School was expertly run by Elisabeth Hansa. Main sessions tackled the respective roles of Convention Bureaus, Tourist Offices, Congress Centres, Airlines, Hotels, DMCs, PCOs and other industry specialists. Practical and imaginative educational sessions were complemented by hands-on demonstrations and site inspections. The programme also allowed time for the 70 students to do some networking with colleagues from vastly varied cultures, careers and backgrounds.

TOURISM FORUM BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES City Break Exhibition

After the success of the City Break Exhibition 2006 in Helsinki, and 2007 in Athens, City Break 2008 took place in Belgrade on 9-10 June 2008. 106 main stand holders were present, giving a total of 200 exhibiting delegates. 65 European destinations were represented there. Representatives from major city break operators including Gullivers, Miki Travel, Expedia, attended City Break on a fully hosted basis for the first time. According to the participants’ feedbacks, the quality of buyers was particularly high this year. The panel discussion on the aviation sector has undoubtedly contributed to the success of the City Break Exhibition 2008.

City Cards Nearly half of our member cities have a city card and promote it at European level. In 2008, the promotion of European City Cards was done via website and with the production and distribution of a promotional leaflet, which have been completely redesigned by Bigtop Multimedia with the view of strengthening these promotional activities. To promote the network of European City Cards and to increase the awareness of the product, leaflets were distributed to press & tour operators and to all 34 participating cities. In 2008 we had the pleasure of welcoming Aarhus, Bratislava and Brussels as new participants. www.europeancitycards.com

EDUCATION - SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE

Working Group City Cards, chaired by Ciara Sugrue (Dublin) / Wendy Sieger (Amsterdam) This group supervised the running of and improvement of the new city cards project (www.europeancitycards.com), discussing the different aspects of selling and developing City Cards.

Working Group Online Marketing & Sales, Interim chaired by Ossian Stiernstrand (Gothenburg) The new Working Group Online Marketing & Sales formed in 2008 will focus on communicating, informing and promoting via electronic channels like the web, e-mailings, newsletters etc. that are now essential to Tourist Boards and Convention Bureaus.

Working Group Communication & PR, chaired by Wolfgang J. Kraus (Vienna) This group focused on communication tools such as the website, newsletter and other ECM promotional tools.

Working Group Research & Statistics, chaired by Hans Dominicus (Amsterdam) In 2008, the group coordinated research activities within the network and in collaboration with our partners, such as ETC. Members worked on developing the ECM shopping index, a price barometer for various tourist products (e.g. a hotel room, a theatre ticket, coffee) in European cities. The Working Group also worked on the Tourism Research newsletter, a new publication totally dedicated to research, statistics and benchmark information on European cities.

Working Group TIC chaired by Eva Kristiansson (Stockholm) The group met three times a year to discuss how to improve the role of TIC in destinations, focusing on specific topics : financial output, services delivered to the visitor… Between the meetings, the group also organised monthly chat sessions on TIC Opening Hours, or information centres in airports. At every meeting, a visit to the local TIC was included and a presentation by the local TIC Management was given to outline the operations of the TIC.

Working Group EC in EC chaired by Annick Muyldermans (Brussels) In 2008, for its first year of existence, the group discussed new and alternative ways of sharing and discovering the culture (heritage, events, food, shops...) of a city. A special session was also dedicated to organizing and financing big events.

PRESENCE AT WTM ECM undertook the promotion of City Breaks and the Annual Conference 2009, Goteborg at WTM.

The European Cities’ Visitors Report The fifth edition of The European Cities’ Visitors Report is essential for all ECM members as it provides you with all important trends and recent developments in the Tourism business. The European Cities’ Visitors Report is produced by the “Partnership Group”- 9 ECM member cities: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Lisbon, Munich, Paris and Zurich. Without the support of all these partners, this study would not be possible.

Tour MIS is the source of where data is retrieved , analysed and then redesigned by the “Partnership Group”.

As in previous years, The European Cities’ Visitors Report 2008/2009 contains more than 200 easy to read graphical charts together with an extended commentary part. The report additionally includes a CD-Rom containing all its charts in Power-Point slides, for your convenience.

The report is sold on a non-profit base, and costs €590 for ECM members. Non-members can purchase the report for €990.

MEETING OF CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF EUROPEAN CAPITAL CITIES

nd ECM w organised w the w 2 w CEO w Dinner w in w Paris w on w December w 15, which was w preceeded w by w an w afternoon workshop and discussion. Two major topics were discussed during this meeting; the economic situation

and w the w Chinese w market w in w Europe. w Jean-Claude w Baumgarten, w President w of w the w World w Travel w and Tourism Council, imparted information concerning the impact of the economic environment on travel and tourism. In his presentation, he outlined several forecasts of future economic development and also pointed out that, despite some expectations, the market is still growing - within its niches. Mr. Mang Chen, Managing Director of CAISSA Touristic Group AG, explained the Chinese market in Europe by illustrating the political and historical background of China and Europe. He offered an insider’s view of the Chinese incoming market by depicting difficulties when organising touristic circuits and stays for

Chinese tourists in Europe.

POLITICIANS FORUM

ECM co-organised the Politicians Forum, an IMEX New Vision project, held under the auspices of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC). The objective of the Forum was to explain to representatives from national, regional and local governments, the value of the meetings industry to their local community, and to convince them of the importance of supporting their local industry.

The forum was attended by 25 politicians from across the world, who genuinely wished to learn more about the meetings industry, and the significant benefits that can be gained from a better understanding between the politician and the local meetings community. MEMBERSHIP TO OTHER ASSOCIATIONS: MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIPS ECM has been actively involved through out the year in several organisations:

UNWTO Our affiliate membership with UNWTO continues and enables our organisation to gain strength at International level, and to stress the importance of cities for tourism in Europe. Hans Dominicus, ECM spokesman for the UNWTO, informed the UNWTO of any development within city tourism in European Cities Marketing, new projects in city research (culture/visitor satisfaction/new markets), and the expert support that ECM offers.

ETC With the aim of working on and strengthening our relations with other partners in Europe, ECM and the European Travel Commission (ETC) have had a joint cooperation agreement since March 2003. ETC's Research Working Group, i.e. the Market Intelligence Committee (MIC) is composed of volunteers from the research departments of 15 of the 34 member NTOs. This Group meets 7-8 times throughout the year. ECM, as partner, has a seat in this meeting and is financially contributing to the research.

JMIC European Cities Marketing is also a member of JMIC - the Joint Meetings Industry Council. JMIC was established in 1978 as a vehicle for creating a forum for the exchange of information and perspectives amongst international associations, engaged in various aspects of the Meetings Industry. Olivier Lépine, Chairperson of the Conventions Forum attended the meetings during IMEX and EIBTM trade shows. Those meetings enable JMIC members to have an overview of all that is happening in other European Associations, and attributing the JMIC Unity Award for industry leadership and the Meetings Mean Progress Award for achievements in industry relations. During the last JMIC meeting on December 1, 2008, strategic issues were raised on how JMIC can face the major challenges of present day economic situations and articulate a common position within the meetings industry.

UIA The Union of International Associations (UIA), provides information on over 40,000 international organisations and constituencies, and has been a pioneer in the provision of information on international organisations and their global challenges, since its foundation in 1910. These are valuable tools for a wide variety of users and tasks, whether focused on action, research or decision-making.

ETAG ETAG was established on the initiative of the European Travel Commission following a representative industry conference in 1981. The principal objectives are: • to encourage effective technical liaison and co-operation between governments, national tourism agencies and the tourism operating interests in the public and private sectors. • to promote the development of Europe's Tourism. • to help remove constraints on the growth of travel. Meetings Committee This group analyzed the current market, listened to ECM members and then accordingly chose topics for seminars and conferences. There is a greater need to set up and harmonize the meetings, so that the themes are suitable to both the Conventions and the Tourism Forum and to decipher how members can benefit as much as possible from ECM meetings.

Our mission is that members return home after a meeting with at least one idea of how to improve tourism business in their own city.

The content of the meetings, as well as the choice of cities where the meetings will take place, should be well thought-out. Therefore the Meetings Committee proposed the content or themes as well as destinations where the meetings shall take place. For each meeting, a conference chairperson from each forum has been appointed to make sure that all seminar topics are relevant for every member. The Board then made the formal decision on the location.

Friendship Group The Friendship Group provides former ECM members with a place to stay in touch with European friends after retirement or change of activity. They met during our Annual Conference and General Assembly.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2008

“Meet Europe” – February 26, Brussels

Spring meeting, February 27-29, Ghent “Marketing in a flat world” Working Group meetings, Knowledge Groups

Politicians Forum, IMEX, April 22, Frankfurt

City Break Exhibition, June 9-10, Belgrade

Annual Conference and General Assembly, June 11-14, Belgrade “Key Performance Indicators and Tourism” General Assembly meeting Working Groups meetings, Knowledge Groups

Summer School, August 30 – September 3, Opatija

TourMIS Workshop, September 11-12, Vienna

Autumn meeting, November 5-8, Nottingham “The visitor journey in European cities - striking a balance between brand promise and the reality of the visitor experience” Working Group meetings, Knowledge Groups

Participation and promotion at trade fairs EMIF, March 19-20 IMEX, April 22-24 EIBTM, December 2-4