GainingEdge and Arena Destination Marketing have inked a partnership to offer destination representation services in North America.
The aim of this partnership is to assist international destinations in securing conventions, incentive programmes and meetings originating from the US and Canada.
Arena Destination Marketing, based out of New York, has worked with GainingEdge for several years in North America representing the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, Meetings Africa and the Guadalajara Convention & Visitors Bureau. They have established strong client relationships throughout America and provide in-market services to leading international MICE destinations.
Meanwhile, GainingEdge provides in-market services in Europe, Asia and Australia to clients from various parts of the world.
Jon Sivertson, GainingEdge’s CEO, said that the company now offers a “seamless” solution that can both source business from North America, while connecting to people based in other parts of the world that are decision-makers for meetings coming out of the US.
Another advantage is that destinations wanting support in other regions of the world, as well as in the US, can have a single solution rather than having to manage relationships with multiple representation companies.
Alessandra Delmonte, vice president and Arena Destination Marketing partner, pointed out that securing conventions requires effective coordination at both the place of origin and the proposed destination.
“The most successful destinations have representation where the decisions are being made. But, they also have to work locally to develop relationships with local hosts and to put together bids that are more strategic and have a higher chance of success. This partnership means that we can offer destinations strong support at both ends of that value chain,” she said.
