In addition to offering cash rebates to attract companies and associations looking for meeting and event host cities, many if not most tourism boards and convention and visitors bureaus offer a variety of non-cash or cash-equivalent services, ranging from marketing support and delegate boosting services to public relations help with local media outlets. And more than a few have begun providing materials for or even creating event-specific websites and apps in the last few years
"We've seen a lot more digital offerings, like launching a micro-site or running a Twitter campaign," says Karyl Leigh Barnes, executive vice president and partner at New York-based Development Counsellors International. "There is a human resources cost but not a 'real' cost because it is done in-house."
Other offers include offer free public transportation passes for delegates, reduced rates on convention center fees, and subsidies to help offset A/V costs, says Martin Sirk, CEO of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). That said, subvention doesn't really begin with this type of indirect aid or even with direct cash subsidies, he notes. "The starting point to think about subventions is to realize that the vast majority of congress and convention centers around the world have been built with the assistance of national, regional or city government assistance. As a result, there is no genuinely free market between the prices charged by the centers."
The Glasgow City Marketing Bureau does offer direct financial support, as well as indirect support like a free reception at civic venues like the Glasgow Science Center - which has great views of the illuminated Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre (SECC) - with guests welcomed by a bagpiper and the city's Lord Provost, says Campbell Arnott, the bureau's international sales manager. That reception is available to any group with at least 50 delegates and two days in the city, as are other services like customizing the color of the SECC or connecting them with local experts and potential speakers.
Related: In our companion feature "Tourism Boards and CVBs Offer Incentives to Attract Groups," read about cash offers which CVBs and tourism boards offer meeting and event groups.
It also goes after business from the other direction with the Glasgow Conference Ambassador Programme, which provides substantial support to influential professionals from local businesses, associations, and universities who can help attract conventions and congresses to the city.
In Palm Beach County, FL, the tourism marketing corporation, Discover the Palm Beaches, doesn't just offer free marketing collateral, it will provide financial support to meeting, convention, and incentive planners who take it, says Douglas McLain, the senior vice president of global sales. "In exchange for promotional opportunities at these events such as providing welcome bags, luggage tags, and Insider's Guides to the attendees to promote area attractions, museums, and cultural venues, [planners] get budgeted offsets of as much as $5 per room night towards the cost of a main function during their event," he says. "The destination gets promoted to their audience, something most planners ask for anyway, so it's a real win-win."
Another common form of assistance is bringing planners to a destination. "A rebate to the master bill is the best value," says Julie Benson, director of procurement and planning for Minneapolis-based loyalty and engagement firm Aimia. "But we always find that covering site inspection costs is a great benefit."
That is something Terry Sloan, director of business development for CWT Meetings & Events, agrees with. In a recent proposal for a group considering Ireland, the Belfast CVB told him, "If you can get the planners to Belfast, we'll pay for everything - site inspections, dinners, we'll come along with you," Sloan notes. "That's great, it's really helpful."
That's also a lot more common than cash, Sloan says. "From my many years of experience I've yet to see cash handed out to bring [a meeting group] to a city."