GCB's New Regional Manager Europe - First Visit to London

Last week was an eventful one for our (new) Regional Manager Europe, Akram Ouzid. It was his first visit to the UK in his role at the GCB German Convention Bureau. Akram spent three days in the British capital, meeting with clients such as Informa and partners such as the German National Tourist Office in London, as well as attending a one-day workshop with German partners.

The initial reason for the visit was the GCB German Convention Bureau's participation with partners H World International & Messe Essen GmbH in the Live Destination Showcase, which took place at the Cumberland Hotel on Thursday 22 August. But after meeting Informa at IMEX Frankfurt 2024 and during our Post-IMEX Education Trip to Dresden, and receiving an invitation to visit the offices of Informa, the one-day workshop visit quickly turned into a three-day visit to the UK capital.

On Wednesday, Akram was invited to visit Informa's offices in Blackfriars and meet up with multiple representatives from the venue sourcing department of both Informa Tech & Informa Connect. After a brief introductory meeting and a quick chat at Informa's offices, the party went out for an early dinner/late lunch at the wonderful Brasserie at the OXO Tower to further discuss possible collaborations and the support we can offer in facilitating the organisation of future events in Germany.

On Friday, Akram met with the London office of our founding partner, the German National Tourism Board. The meeting was arranged with Harald Henning, Director UK & Ireland at the German National Tourist Office London. It was a great opportunity to meet the UK team of our founding partner and discuss various issues relating to the UK market. Immediately after the meeting with Harald, a lunch meeting was arranged with the Sport Marketing Group to discuss the possibility of hosting various indoor sporting events in German cities.

All in all, it's fair to say that Akram's first visit to the UK was a successful one, including a full day workshop attended by over 80 buyers alongside our two German partners, a fruitful meeting with our UK buyers and a valuable exchange with our founding partner representatives.