The 2022 International Conference on Urban Health was hosted by the University of Valencia in Spain. Photo Courtesy of Gerard Lebeda

There is an increasing appetite among associations for going global. According to ASAE’s 2024 Association’s Guide to Going Global, 50.4% of U.S. associations that operate internationally currently deliver international meetings. The report notes that the number is expected to rise to more than 62%.

As associations ramp up efforts to plan international meetings, there are subtleties that play into making them a success. Challenges range from being sensitive to different cultures to working to have a positive impact in the local community. The planning for a global event requires a combination of meticulous organization, cultural sensitivity and strategic thinking.

Some keys to success mirror the planning stages for all events, such as defining clear objectives and understanding the primary goal of the event whether it be networking, education or another track. Measuring success can run the gamut from tracking attendee satisfaction to attendance rates.

Even more pronounced in planning a global event is knowing the audience. When it comes to the demographics, it’s important to consider cultural backgrounds, languages, and expectations of the global audience, as well as be considerate of time zones when it comes to scheduling.

“To plan a perfect global event, you need to know your audience; you need to communicate clearly, stay flexible, work with reliable partners and mostly, you need to learn from feedback from previous events,” says Anouk Bürgisser-Marti, senior event manager for the International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society (ICRS).

The ICRS organizes a variety of events tailored to specific needs, including the flagship World Congress, which draws from 800 to 1,000 participants from around the globe. “To make our events accessible to a global audience, we rotate the World Congress among key regions — Europe, North America and Asia — ensuring we cater to our diverse membership,” Bürgisser-Marti says. “We find that events in Europe and North America often draw more attendees, likely due to easier accessibility and higher familiarity among our participants. While destination appeal is a factor, we prioritize accessibility, logistical convenience and cultural relevance over tourism appeal.”

According to Loren Christie, managing director for BestCities Global Alliance, in the association world, the purpose of hosting a global event can vary depending on the objectives. He says, “It could be that they want to grow a membership in a certain area. It could be that to satisfy their current membership, they rotate globally around the world. It’s important to go to a place that aligns with the knowledge centers that you have. So, if you’re a big tech association, you want to go to a destination that can support that, because if they have a large tech sector, it means access to speakers, networks and sponsorships. That symbiotic relationship between the host and the association is important, and they help elevate each other.”

He adds that associations often rotate the regions where they host an event to cater to their global membership. Factors in catering to international members include taking into account dietary restrictions and being cognizant of aspects like religious or cultural holidays for attendees of different faiths, and making accommodation for those people if there is a conflict in the dates.

There are also cultural and language considerations, including understanding local cultural etiquette and business protocols, such as how meetings are conducted in different cultures or even how people greet each other. Language support for attendees, such as translation services or providing apps with translation features, can also help create a sense of inclusion and lead to a successful event.

Scheduling for attendees coming from different time zones can also be a challenge, with some associations factoring in a buffer day or light scheduling at the beginning for people to acclimate.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) organizes an annual global event, rotating regions and cities each year, including recent events in London, Paris, Singapore and Chicago. Attendance ranges from 1,300 to 1,500 with a global audience. The event focuses on content and networking opportunities.

Challenges include logistics, visas and language barriers according to Steve Henry, senior director of events & strategic initiatives for the CTBUH. The association considers feedback from attendees when selecting future locations and aims to highlight local architecture and sustainability at its events. Future events are planned two years in advance, with Toronto scheduled for next year.

Finding Local Partnerships

One key to a successful global event is forging local partnerships.  The ASAE report detailed some of the value points for local partnerships, such as fostering a deep understanding of local market needs and cultural nuances. Other benefits include understanding local regulations and business practices, being knowledgeable about financial risks and resources, and building relationships with local sponsors and vendors.

“Local partners are crucial for navigating local regulations and cultural protocols,” Henry says. He notes that a big challenge for CTBUH is that they basically start over every year since they do not return to the same city for at least 10 years. “Even if we go back to the same region, it’s a different country, it’s a different city, it’s a different market, and everyone has different ways of operating,” he says. “The standard procedures in different countries are different, so we have to learn and adapt every year what we’re doing.” CTBUH relies on local partners to help navigate local tax systems and other factors that affect budgets and planning logistics.

Bürgisser-Marti says, “While we rely on convention bureaus and online resources for basic insights, partnering with local organizations can be invaluable in navigating unique cultural practices, legal requirements and regulatory hurdles. This ensures smoother planning and fosters a respectful approach to each destination.”

To make the process smoother, she says they prioritize locations that provide visa-free entry or simplified visa processes for most of their delegates. “In cases where visas are required, we assist by offering invitation letters and liaising with embassies when necessary. However, some countries remain challenging due to stringent entry requirements, which can affect attendance.”

Local partners can also help with some of the basic decisions, such as choosing a location that has good international connectivity for flights and public transportation, making it easy to reach for most attendees. Other factors include considering the visa requirements and policies of a destination and how that affects the international attendees.

Working with local influencers or brand ambassadors can also help drive excitement for the upcoming meeting or event. Local contacts can help tailor marketing campaigns to different regions, using localized messaging that resonates with different cultures.  Leveraging international social media platforms, such as WeChat for China, to promote the event can help reach a global audience.

Some other considerations include ensuring data privacy and compliance with international regulations, complying with local health and safety protocols, and securing detailed contracts with vendors, venues and third-party providers, keeping in mind different legal frameworks across countries.

Gerard Lebeda, secretary/treasurer, board of directors for The International Society for Urban Health, oversees cultivating relationships with destinations, CVBs, venues and other vendors in each of the locations. The organization has produced an annual conference for 20 years.

Lebeda also focuses on finding a local host to help build momentum for the event. “It’s finding somebody who’s very enthusiastic about having the meeting in their location and is really going to work hard on it. In Coimbra, Portugal, we had a very enthusiastic host. They were very involved. They worked tirelessly to promote the event and made sure it was well attended. That’s a key component – finding that local host that is really going to also engage the local government so that they’re supportive.”

Next year’s event will be in Wellington, New Zealand, which may pose some challenges. “We know that’s not an easy location to get to, and we’ll probably see higher transportation costs to get there, but the location is a very good example of work and urban health, and they are very enthusiastic hosts,” Lebeda says. “We’re relying on the fact that that’s going to be the draw.”

The Society’s meeting in Valencia, Spain, in 2022 also incurred extra costs for translation. Lebeda recalls that the University of Valencia was adamant about hosting one track of the conference in the Valencian language, which required translation via headsets and interpreters. “That added a little cost, but they were very adamant about it, so we made sure that we got that in the budget to cover that.”

Meet Like A Local

Associations can also boost attendance by selecting destinations that offer cultural experiences but are also appropriate for the event’s purpose, and ensuring the location aligns with the brand or theme of the event. Taking advantage of the appeal of the destination, whether highlighting local cuisine or planning offsite events and local attractions, is important to making the event a success.

When planning meetings, Henry focuses on serving local cuisine at the CTBUH global events and making that part of the attendee experience. At its event in Singapore for example, one of the ways the event showcased the destination was through its food, as well as organizing events at places that highlight the architecture and the greenery that is distinct to Singapore.

“That’s always something that we’re looking to do when we go to a city since our association is about cities and buildings. When we go to London, we want to highlight the latest and greatest buildings that are going up and make that a reason for someone to go to London instead of staying home or doing something virtually. Attendees need to get out there and experience the city and what makes it great. That’s always something that we’re trying to integrate into our offsite programming.”

For its Toronto meeting, plans are to explore the city’s PATH, or underground pedestrian walkway network. CTBUH also promotes use of the local public transit systems. “We don’t organize coaches to take people everywhere. We give them instructions. In some cases, we give them transit tickets to encourage that as a more sustainable way of travel and to show how these cities work,” Henry says.

Lebeda also strives to incorporate entertainment from the region, working with the local host for ideas. “In New Zealand, they’re already working on something that’s with the indigenous people for the welcome, and there is going to be entertainment from them as well. That is the fun part and that’s become really big at meetings, with regard to involving indigenous people from the region.”

Budgeting and Financial Planning

Understanding the local financial regulations, taxes and event-related legalities that could impact the event’s budget are also key factors. Currency exchange rates can fluctuate, which can also infringe on the overall budget.  Collaborating with global or local sponsors to share costs and increase the reach of the event can help with financial planning.

Additionally, to help make the event affordable for attendees, partnering with airlines and hotels to offer package deals or group rates can help for those traveling from various locations. Even notifying attendees and exhibitors to plan ahead for shipping materials internationally and understanding the local customs regulations and import fees can help produce a smooth event.

There are some destinations that provide financial assistance, or subvent, global events to help incentivize bringing an event to that country. Singapore, for example, offers its MICE Advantage Programme (SMAP).

“What we’ve done is we’ve rallied all our local industry players, and these range from airlines to our ride sharing app equivalents, our airport, our public transportation companies as well, to offer kind of facilitation support, even discounts for large city-wide events that happen,” says Gregory Yap, vice president, Singapore exhibition and Convention Bureau, a Group of the Singapore Tourism Board. “For example, Singapore Airlines is one of our main partners, and they are able to offer potential discounts on extra baggage for the organizer and delegates when they come into Singapore.”

The Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau also offers its Business Events in Singapore (BEiS) scheme, providing customized support such as help in securing venues, introductions with leading government agencies and business partners, marketing and publicity support, as well as assistance in hosting sustainable events. Associations can receive funding support based on the scope and merits of the event.

“That subvention scheme helps to defray some of the costs of hosting an event in Singapore,” Yap says, adding they will take into consideration several factors in order to decide which events to help financially. “We look at the number of delegates that are coming for the event, the content that’s being presented, as well as the alignment with Singapore’s key industries. We feel that for an association event to be successful, there has to be some resonance with the destination that they’re in, and we want the local industry to also participate.”

Networking with the local industry members is a draw for attendees according to Henry.  “Our attendees are coming for two reasons,” he says. “One is, we deliver quality content. They’re there for the knowledge sharing and learning aspect. And then two, we are made up of all the key players in the industry, and so they’re coming for the networking opportunities, knowing if they want to bring their company into a different market and our event is going to be there, that’s a huge opportunity for them to have kind of that access point.”

Be Prepared For Challenges

Even with the best planning, issues can arise. Henry says the organization has to carefully look at who its global audience is and where they are bringing them to make sure that that’s compatible. “We have a surprisingly large Israeli delegation that comes to our events. For the Singapore event, Singapore was no problem, but we did a carry-on program in Kuala Lumpur the day after the main conference. We didn’t evaluate that from a visa standpoint, so we were caught off guard when our Israeli delegation was saying, ‘well, we can’t go to this because they don’t recognize our country.’”  He adds, “It’s a big group that’s important to us, and that wasn’t a good feeling to tell them, ‘We didn’t pick this location realizing that that would be a limitation for you.’”

Another factor in deciding where to meet is the country itself. Henry has hosted events in China, which poses issues with getting money in and out of the country, as well as using its usual registration system for making payments. “We had to establish a China-based entity, an office there, that has its own bank accounts and uses internal processing systems to collect local revenue. I don’t think we could operate there without that.”

Sustainability practices in the host country can also be a factor for organizations that are focused on eco-friendly practices. Sustainability can be environmental as well as social and economic. Associations can work with local groups to understand how to best support the local community and ensure advancement along social and economic pillars. Associations may consider adding sustainability elements into their RFPs to ensure they are comparing respondents’ sustainability efforts as part of their venue selection. Different countries and regional blocs may have requirements that should be explored to ensure compliance.

There are some extra steps, but by combining strategic planning with cultural and logistical awareness, global event planners can create impactful experiences for a diverse international audience. | AC&F |