Athens Convention Bureau is official sponsor of international study "Convention 2020"

As part of City of Athens Mayor Nikita Kaklamanis' strategy to establish Athens as one of the major conference destinations in the world and the dynamic presence of the city at international proceedings, the Athens Convention Bureau-ACB has signed a strategic agreement of cooperation and support for the pioneering study "Convention 2020."

The "Convention 2020- The Future of Meetings, Venues and Meeting Destinations" programme is the initiative of leading organisations in the conference and meetings market, such as the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) and IMEX (the largest international trade show in the conference market), and is being coordinated by the Fast Future Research company. Rohit Talwar, considered an authority in the field of scientific prognostic models, particularly in economic and entrepreneurial activity sectors, is heading the programme.

The "Convention 2020" programme has already been received with great interest by the world conference community and by important organisations, such as Visit London, the BestCities Global Alliance network (which includes Copenhagen, Cape Town, Dubai, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Singapore, Vancouver and others), the Seoul Tourism Organisation and the Qatar National Convention Centre.

The Athens Convention Bureau, as one of the main supporters of the initiative, will actively participate in all phases of the study, and will contribute to the enrichment and analysis of the findings and the formulation of conclusions.

In addition, the ACB will gain particularly specialised expertise from which its members will benefit first and foremost, as part of its support calls for staging a workshop in Athens with Talwar, as well as the participation of ACB staff in similar events abroad.

The goals of the programme, which will be conducted in two research phases, each one lasting several months, include:

• The documentation and analysis of the main trends emerging in the world conference and meeting market.

• The monitoring of the main changes and their reduction into prognostic and forecast models so as to highlight the main characteristics and the general direction of the market over the next decade.

• The examination and development of possible scenarios for the progress of the conference market and the identification of possible impacts with regard to the activities and operation of destinations and conference infrastructure (for example, the Conference Centre) and the activities of related sectors and businesses (such as technology and equipment, conference organisers, suppliers, support services etc.), as well as the "participation experience," in other words, the conference participants themselves.

• The formulation of options, suggestions and ideas for adapting to new conditions and predictions, as well as the collection of detailed conclusions regarding the course and potential of the market.

The first phase of the study is expected to be completed in May and will be presented as part of IMEX 2010 in Frankfurt.