Between 31st Sept. and 1st of October Gdańsk Convention Bureau took part in prestigious ECM Summer School in Tampere, Finland. School is being organized for more than 20 years now. The ECM is one of the most highly appreciated courses for young professionals in the meetings industry. European Cities Marketing is the leading network of City Tourist Offices and Convention Bureaus, Congress Centers and Hotels, Meeting Organizers  for sharing expertise, working together on an operational level, and having business opportunities. It is promoting and linking the interests of more than 134 major cities from 32 countries. This year’s major subjects were: what is the meetings industry; green meetings/sustainability as USP for a city; how do you find clients; how the exhibition can help you make destination known; everything you ever wanted to ask about associations and corporate clients and many others.
The speakers  were: Andrea Bauer, Executive Director of The European Association of Nuclear Medicine; Luca Favetta, Senior Director Global Events SAP SA, Airy Garrigosa, Director of Barcelona Convention Bureau; Christian Mutschlechner, Director of Vienna Convention Bureau who are the world known experts in their fields. The School was not only the opportunity to get the knowledge but also great chance for networking, exchanging information and ideas.
After completing the ECM Summer School, Anna Górska and Adriana Kluczyńska from GCB joined the Destination Pro graduates. The Destination Pro programme, sponsored by IMEX, is a joint initiative between Destination Marketing Association Intrernational (DMAI) and European Cities Marketing (ECM). To receive the Destination Pro certificate, individuals must be employed by an official DMO and successfully complete ECM Summer School and DMAI’s Destination Sales Training I & II courses within a two year time frame.
The next year ECM Summer School will take place in Poland in Krakow. We highly recommend it.