The BestCities Global Alliance has recently announced Jerad Bachar, the Director of the Dubai Convention Bureau as the new board chair for 2012.
The Dubai Convention Bureau is a division of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, a non-profit government funded organization, whose aim is to further develop and increase Dubai’s share of the international MICE and special events markets, whilst maximizing the economic prospects of Dubai. The DCB is dedicated to pursue and win events through national and international promotions to advance the position of the Emirate as a leading business tourism destination.
As part of the BestCities Global Alliance, Dubai is one of the eight convention bureaus that deliver the world’s best service experience for international meeting planners. These world premier meeting destinations include Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Melbourne, San Juan, Singapore and Vancouver. Berlin and Houston joined the Alliance in October 2011 as Preliminary Members and will be Full Members by June 2012.
Selecting one of the alliance members guarantees services of the highest possible standards in: destination expertise, bid assistance, conference planning, building attendance and onsite event servicing. Whatever the size of meetings or business events that occurs, BestCities Global Alliance will save time in the meeting and event planning process.
Joining Mr Bachar on the 2012 Board are: Lars Bernhard Jørgensen, Managing Director of
Copenhagen, Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, Sue Stuart, marketing Edinburgh Convention Bureau, Melissa Ow, Assistant CEO Singapore Tourism Board and Rick Antonson, President and CEO of Tourism Vancouver. Lisa Altieri is the current Board representative of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau.
One of Mr Bachar’s first roles as Board Chair was to officially welcome new preliminary partners, Berlin and Houston, to the Alliance.
“The inclusion of not one, but two new cities to the BestCities network illustrate the strong, international standing that BestCities has amongst the world’s top convention destinations. Berlin and Houston not only bring further caché to the Alliance but opens up even more diverse and exciting options within Europe and North America,” said Bachar. He also added that “As a leading alliance among destination marketing organisations, BestCities has a level of dedication and involvement among the member destinations that is truly remarkable. As the Alliance continues to grow with new cities and stronger ROI from Business Development it will continue to build momentum to be the strongest alliance anywhere.”