ISPIM will hold it's first event in Japan in Fukuoka this year and executive director Iain Bitran has been named as a Fukuoka MICE Ambassador. Mr. Bitran credits the Fukuoka Convention & Visitor Bureau for providing the services his conference needed. Instead of just offering brochures on venues, Fukuoka was not only able, but enthusiastic, about connecting him with local innovators and business leaders. See here for more details.
Fukuoka has made a name for itself as the start-up hub in Japan. It is the country’s only special economic zone, allowing Fukuoka to provide entrepreneurial visas for international innovators, attracting young business people to the region. The city has also been designated as a global convention city (known as a Global MICE City in Japan) by the Japan Tourism Agency, which means that the city receives strategic support from the national government to continually improve convention infrastructure and services.
The results of Fukuoka's strategy are clear. In addition to hosting key events such as the ICCA AMP 2017 and the ISPIM Asia-Pacific Innovation Forum 2018, Fukuoka was ranked as Japan's #2 city for international conventions for the 8th year in a row by The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) annual survey.
According to the results, Fukuoka hosted 383 of the total 3,121 international conventions held in Japan. The city also ranks 111th globally in the 2016 ICCA statistics.
For more information about Fukuoka for incentives or association conferences: https://www.welcome-fukuoka.or.jp/english/genre/26/1.html
