Rotterdam to receive specialist event advice from IAB

The Dutch city of Rotterdam is seeking specialist advice from the event industry, in a virtual meeting of the International Advisory Board (IAB) Rotterdam. The IAB is a group which advises on economic issues for Rotterdam, and is put together by Rotterdam Partners. The virtual meet-up will take place in mid-April 2021. Those attending will be “a team of international experts from various sectors responsible for advising the city on the future of the MICE industry”, according to the IAB. Among the topics they will discuss is the shift to online events, and the impact this has had on the global MICE ecosystem. The chairman of the IAB is entrepreneur and investor Lars Crama. The advice will be presented on the last day of the conference by the IAB members to the Municipal Executive Committee of Rotterdam and the local MICE sector. Wilbert Lek, director of Rotterdam Partners, commented: ‘Attracting conferences, trade fairs, meetings and business events is of great value to the Rotterdam economy. The industry promotes employment, provides considerable support for the tourism sector and profiles Rotterdam as a high-quality knowledge city. “It is, therefore, extremely important to investigate what the long-term transformation of this industry means for Rotterdam and how the city can capitalise on opportunities. Given the importance of the sector and the severe effects of the corona crisis, we need to focus on the long-term perspective.”