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  • François Gaillard looking back at the ECM Annual conference in LYON

François Gaillard looking back at the ECM Annual conference in LYON

This year, ECM’s Annual Conference was held in Lyon from 8th – 10th June. Its theme was food as a tourist attraction and the extent to which it can act as a competitive advantage in the marketing of a city. The event brought together 160 participants. Today François Gaillard, CEO of Lyon Tourist Office and Convention Bureau and “the host” of ECM Annual Conference shares some of his impressions with us.

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What part of the seminar “To what extent can cuisine be a competitive advantage and successfully drive forward city’s marketing?” was the most interesting for you and why?

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In my opinion, what made this day so interesting was the diversity of the speakers. We realised when preparing the conference that this subject was even more complex than we thought. We really wanted to present as many aspects of it as possible. Thanks to the brilliant benchmark on our websites and the best practices, I think most of the guests realised the importance of this matter but also that we still have a lot to accomplish!

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In what way was it an enriching experience to host an ECM meeting?

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Having to prepare the conference on gastronomy was truly a great opportunity for us. We found it fascinating to dig into this subject, with the challenge of coming up with a programme interesting for people coming from so various cities with different cultures and experiences. And of course, having the pleasure of showing Lyon to professionals from around Europe is something we are very proud of.

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What was the biggest challenge?

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We really wanted to offer an interactive meeting. The strength of ECM conferences is the opportunities we have to exchange between us. Our challenge was to provide the best environment and organisation to allow these exchange moments. The main goal is to be able to bring some knowledge on a particular theme as well as some tools to come up with real actions. The motto of ECM is to come back home with at least one good idea for our city. Our challenge was to try to offer more than one good idea!   

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For you personally, what was the highlight of the meeting in Lyon and why?

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I would say that listening to the great presentation made by Peter Kreiner, Director of Noma restaurant was fascinating. I think he made the entire assembly want to go for a citybreak in Copenhagen and experience a meal at Noma!

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François Gaillard started his career directing winter sports resorts in the French Alps. Since 2004 he has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Lyon Tourist Office and Convention Bureau. François Gaillard has a master degree in Service Marketing (Université de Savoie) and graduated in Hautes Etudes de Gestion Hôtelière at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne. During the Annual Conference in Lyon in June 2011, the general Assembly also appointed François Gaillard as new member of the ECM Board.

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