The International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) has confirmed its 5th ISPIM Asia-Pacific Innovation Forum 2018 in Fukuoka, Japan, after being impressed by the city CVB’s clear understanding of the needs of the association and its ability to round up support from the local innovation community.
Iain Bitran, executive director of ISPIM, told TTGmice that his first contact with Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau representatives at IT&CM Asia-Pacific in 2015 had left a deep and positive impression on him.
“They came to our meeting with all the information that I’ve always wanted – a report on business innovation in Fukuoka, a list of industries in the city, names of all the universities in the city, etc,” said Bitran.
While Bitran had in mind to consider Fukuoka for an event in 2019 or 2020, his decision was “accelerated” when he had an earlier chance to visit the city for the ICCA Associations Meetings Programme held from June 29 to July 1, 2017.
“(Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau) arranged eight meetings for me while I was in Fukuoka and I was convinced after the meetings that there was sufficient local interest for us to be able to put together a really good programme,” Bitran explained. He added that the bureau also made an effort to meet with ISPIM members in Japan to understand the style, needs and objectives of the summit.
Bitran underlined the importance of a well-prepared CVB that is committed to helping the association achieve its goals and leave behind a legacy of knowledge.
He remarked: “Some CVBs will give you only maps, while others will give you money. At ISPIM, we see the CVB as the first port of call whenever we consider taking an event to a city. The CVB has to become our partner.
“We know that every city has hotels, venues and attractions. What we lack is the connection to the local innovation community and relevant government agencies, and knowledge about innovation incubators in the city, and the state of the local start-up scene. If the CVB cannot make these connections for us… we’d just be tourists in a destination and nothing more will happen after the meeting ends.”
The 2018 ISPIM Asia-Pacific Innovation Forum will be held at Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk. Some 200 attendees from 30 countries are expected, but Bitran hopes to grow the number closer to date with more delegates from Japan and Asia-Pacific.
