MECC Maastricht bv
Launch international campaign congress city Maastricht
MECC Maastricht bv|
October 25, 2021

With the completion of the new conference center, Maastricht Convention Bureau and MECC Maastricht are launching an international campaign to attract large-scale conferences. With the campaign called 'Maastricht: where heart meets matter', which starts today, Maastricht is positioning itself as the ideal conference city where science, history and innovation come together. Research has shown that multi-day international conferences have an impactful, long-term spin-off and strengthen the economic and social position of a city. Partly for this reason, we have not only invested in a completely renovated conference center, but now also in a large-scale campaign that puts Maastricht and the region on the international map as a conference destination with allure.


The unique combination of scientific top institutes such as Brightlands, MUMC+ and Maastricht University, the compact and historic city center and the state-of-the-art congress center of MECC Maastricht make Maastricht the perfect destination for organizing multi-day international conferences. This message is presented on the basis of the 'Maastricht: where heart meets matter' campaign, a joint initiative of Maastricht Convention Bureau and MECC Maastricht, in collaboration with Maastricht Marketing. In a fully digitized bid book and on the basis of five videos starring Dutch comedian, singer and actress Yvonne van den Eerenbeemt, the international business market is introduced to Maastricht: a historic city with international allure, in the middle of Europe, where innovation and science flourish.


'Empowering the region'

We often look at what a conference yields in terms of overnight stays and expenditure. This economic contribution is still of great importance, but there are also other reasons that make conferences valuable from a social perspective. This concludes the research commissioned by NBTC, which examined the impact of a number of large conferences. This long-term impact is also referred to as 'legacy'. By thinking about the legacy in advance, a conference not only creates added value for the organizer, but also for entrepreneurs and residents of a city.


Jurgen Moors, managing director of the Maastricht Convention Bureau: “Maastricht is a unique destination in the heart of Europe, the city of 'the good life'. The place where a rich international culture and history merge with an innovative knowledge ecosystem. The synergy between science, entrepreneurship and successful conferences in the brand new conference center MECC Maastricht is what makes Maastricht unique. The 'legacy' of large international conferences in turn contributes to the business climate for companies. With this campaign – aimed at convincing organizers to hold conferences in our region – we are focusing on both the short and long-term development of the region.”


dr. Bas Bekkers (VP of the Cardiology department of the MUMC+): “The fantastic thing about Maastricht as a conference destination is that it is a very compact and well-organized city with a particularly pleasant atmosphere. From the congress center you can easily walk along the Maas to the city center. In addition, Maastricht is a piece of foreign land in its own country with good restaurants, bars and there is also a lot to experience in the area. I will never become a real Maastricht resident, but I feel more at home here than anywhere else. The new videos make you immediately understand why.”

show original

Like Comment