The theme of ECM Spring meeting in St Petersburg (28th - 31st March 2012) is the future of Europe’s city tourist offices and convention bureaux. A substantial element of the seminar content relates specifically to business tourism and the meetings industry. In addition, on Wednesday afternoon a “Best practice session” has been arranged for ECM convention members to exchange their experience and ‘know-how’. Heike Mahmoud, ECM Vice-President for Conventions, has been the driving force behind these developments and spells out her thinking below.