By Toni Sando, Executive President of São Paulo Convention & Visitors Bureau, President of the *National Union of CVBs and Destination Entities and member of the Brazilian Academy of Events and Tourism.
A visitor’s experience should not be limited to airport-hotel-convention center transportation. There is a whole universe to explore during your visit and the attractive and attractions inherent to the destinations may be the most striking. And this experience even reverberates in the event success, positive evaluations and strengthening the meeting for the next editions.
An event in São Paulo, for example, integrated with its vocations, such as gastronomy and shopping; its attractions, such as the calendar of shows and nightlife; and its attractive, such as MASP, Pinacoteca, shopping centers, Av. Paulista, etc; make it unique.
Just as the reciprocal is true. An event that jointly promotes itself with the possibilities within a destination, enriches the experience and raises public expectations to the sky.
Two recent examples of event-destination integration are the long-awaited The Town, the “Rock In Rio” family festival which, due to all its language and personality, could not be held anywhere else but in São Paulo; and Formula 1, which changed its name from “Grande Prêmio Brasil” to Grande Prêmio São Paulo.
The same goes for technical-scientific meetings, business fairs and corporate meetings. The destination adds to the event. And vice versa.
Short of the success of the event, the positive experience can also generate future trips, in non-professional situations, on vacation, with family or friends, being a cycle that brings results in short, medium, and long term, moving an entire production chain of more than 50 segments.
*Foundation 25 de Janeiro, with the brands São Paulo Convention & Visitors Bureau (SPCVB) and Visit São Paulo (VSP) is an entity that has been in existence for 39 years with a focus on what is known as the “3 C’s”. The first is CAPTURING national and international events for the state. The next one, CAPACITING professionals in hospitality; and, finally, COMMUNICATION, with actions to promote to São Paulo destinations. That is, with the “3 C’s” in tune, with integrated hospitality actions, one of the crucial factors for an event success, be it a congress, fair, symposium, convention, show, festival, etc., is in how integrated it is with the destination that receives it.
The opinions expressed in this text are the author’s opinion and do not necessarily reflect the position of WTM Latin America.