Kobe Convention Bureau is focusing on its strengths in the medical and scientific sectors, while deploying attractive financial incentives to further grow its share of the international conference market.
“Our bread and butter is medical or scientific conferences, because the convention centre is surrounded by the Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster, one of the largest clusters in Asia with 350 organisations – ranging from universities to pharmaceuticals – located inside. Access to this gives conferences a pretty big pool of delegates and potential sponsorships,” Lance Ferguson, assistant manager meetings & events, Kobe Convention Bureau, told TTGmice.
He added that although Kobe is open to any type of international association wanting to hold their event in the city, “finding space for international groups” among all the domestic conferences in the packed calendar is challenging, as Japan “has a big domestic association market”.
To compete, the city offers association groups two subventions for international association groups. One subsidy is directly funded by Kobe City, while the second comes from an independent foundation established locally for the purpose of boosting the city’s convention sector. Organisers have the flexibility to apply for support from both sources, with the maximum combined grant typically reaching 10 million yen (US$66.5 million), and occasionally up to 15 million yen, per event.
While the final amount varies based on the total conference expenditure, most recipient groups can expect to have approximately eight to 10 per cent of their overall costs covered by these targeted subsidies, he stated.
“We do a lot of targeted research using the ICCA database, and we’d pursue any kind of association groups that are rotating throughout Asia in the next few years and reach out to them directly. In fact, we have a dedicated researcher – on our small team – who constantly pulls up potential leads,” added Ferguson.
In alignment with city government priorities, the Kobe Convention Bureau is targeting new association conferences in tech startups and med-tech.
Ferguson is also optimistic that the launch of international services at Kobe Airport in April 2025 makes the city a much more accessible conference destination, particularly for delegates that can benefit from direct flight routes.
