Taipei, Sept. 27 (CNA) Taipei City is eager to brand itself as a global city but has much to learn from others, which was why Deputy Mayor Lin Chung-yih was in the audience of a panel discussion Thursday on "destination marketing."
Lin, a civil engineer who spent half of his career in public and private construction projects before becoming a Deputy Mayor in February this year, carefully listened to the experiences of cities in Germany, Malaysia and Singapore -- which branded themselves as attractions to foreign businessmen and tourists -- during one of the panel discussions in the 2007 Asian MICE Leaders Forum (AMLF).
"For an engineer, doing your job is enough. That's not enough for a deputy mayor because you also have to sell your product, which is your city, " said Lin.
Hosting trade fairs and major sports events is important for any city, discussants said. For Germany, trade fairs have long been important because "they bring people to you who can do something for local governments, " said UFI President Jochen Witt. UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry) is the world's leading exhibition industry association, representing 442 member organizations.
Seoul was able to stand out after hosting the 1988 Summer Olympics and co-hosting the 2002 World Cup soccer with Japan, said Seoul Convention and Visitors Bureau President Chung Chai-kwan, who added that Seoul combined sports, cultural and convention marketing to develop its reputation.
Singapore, which does not enjoy the rich traditions and histories of Germany and South Korea, had to take a different approach, said Aloysius Alando, Assistant Chief Executive of Business Travel and MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) of Singapore Tourism Board.
Singapore basically had to start from zero and create man-made attractions, which required a lot of experimentation, Alando said.
"Destination marketing touches on different sectors and needs to connect with the state of the city, which is always changing, " he added.