BestCities Global Alliance – the international network of global convention destinations – has welcomed Julia Swanson (pictured), CEO of Melbourne Convention Bureau(MCB), as its new Board chair. Swanson takes over from outgoing chair Dr Edward Koh who oversaw several key achievements, including onboarding Washington, DC as a new partner destination in 2024; launching the new Association Impact Masterclass in co-operation with ICCA; growing the Madrid Challenge community from 24 meeting planners to 59; and increasing the prominence of the BestCities Global Forum, which culminated in the 2025 event in Dublin, Ireland that welcomed a record 32 association clients.
With over 25 years of experience in tourism and business events, Swanson is an industry veteran. Her 14-year tenure at MCB and her role with the Visit Victoria leadership team has contributed greatly to driving the city’s economic growth. In 2023, Swanson was appointed as director to the Board of the Australian Business Events Association.
Her focus as incoming chair at BestCities will be to empower its partner destinations to deliver positive, sustainable impacts within their communities and expand their collective knowledge, while minimising the meetings industry’s global footprint. “I am absolutely thrilled to take the reins as chair of BestCities and I look forward to continuing the fantastic work of Edward in creating growth and lasting impacts for our industry,” she said. “I’d like to thank Edward for his leadership, and my fellow partner destination leaders for their work in creating this thriving international community.”
“It has been an amazing journey as we grow BestCities Global Alliance from strength to strength, sharing best practices and knowledge among the closely-knitted BestCities community,” said Koh. “This helped to ensure our clients and partners enjoy top-notch service delivery, especially the many who are rotating their events from one BestCities destination to another. I took over from Kit in 2023, who helped us navigate the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, and now hand the reins to Julia, who we are confident will lead the Alliance to a new level of excellence.”
