Following 28 years of European Cities Marketing (ECM) summer school, the company is exporting the concept to emerging destinations in non-European regions such as Asia, Africa, South America and the Gulf. The ECM Academy launch was announced during the IMEX exhibition in Frankfurt May 22.
“European Cities Marketing offers a know-how transfer operation for the education of meetings industry professionals in destinations looking toward a global positioning,” said Ignasi de Delàs, president of ECM.
Convention bureaus, hotels, PCOs, DMCs, airlines, conference venues, congress, convention and exhibition centers and governmental bodies will be offered the ECM academy, a tailor-made course for partner organizations outside Europe that are looking toward a global promotion.
Modeled after the ECM summer school, the program aims to lead students toward practical and hands-on education with relevant real cases studies and practical situations. Young people can get acquainted with the fundamentals of the industry with a practical training approach developing concentration, team building and interaction in a full-immersion course.
“To provide a full picture, the last day of the course will consist of one open workshop to draw guidelines for growth of the meetings industry in the destination, open to all local politicians, professionals and meeting suppliers,” said Pier Paolo Mariotti, course leader of the ECM summer school and initiator of the academy project. “The ECM Academy will truly boost the destination as well as developing future leaders in emerging destinations.”
The major asset of the school is the faculty, which instead of academics is made up of seasoned practitioners with an angle based on many years of hands-on experience that give added value to the course.
