Take the World Petroleum Council (WPC), an oil and gas industry forum and international organization representing the petroleum sector worldwide, which meets once every three years. The decision on where to hold its 2020 congress was by member vote, and when presented with the options, Houston got the nod.
“It’s going to be our home for that week,” said Ulrike von Lonski, chief operating officer for the London-based WPC. “When we looked at everything—the convention center, the hotels, the campus they have here—it was clear that Houston could support us in every way. It was an easy decision.”
Von Lonski’s confidence in the decision was reaffirmed this week as she was in Houston for another international event, the 58th International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) 2019 event, which ended Wednesday and brought nearly 1,000 meeting industry professionals from 75 countries for what was the largest ICCA conference held in the North American region.
Houston hosting international events is becoming a more frequent occurrence and is the result of a strategic plan on the part of Visit Houston, a brand of Houston First Corp.
“We’ve got some really good components that set us up for success with international programs,” said John Solis, senior vice president of sales and services for Visit Houston. “We took more of a rifle versus a shotgun approach a couple years ago in going after international meetings. What I mean by that is the world is a big place and to try to go after anything and everything is a challenge so what we did was we aligned ourselves with those industries that match up with our core industries such as logistics, healthcare, energy and aerospace.
“Going after groups that are in those sectors really set us up better and not only do we have the intelligence, but we have experts in the community, we’ve got the support and it’s a better process for us. We’ve made great strides.”
The WCP is an example of tapping into Houston’s strengths. With the nearby Port of Houston and a strong infrastructure in the oil and gas sector, it was an ideal match.
Houston has much to offer. It’s one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. with more than 150 languages spoken, two international airports, a slew of international company headquarters and a relationship with the Best Cities Alliance that all create a synergy for international programs.
“We’ve had success as we’ve gone after these programs that tie into the core industries,” Solis said.
Another facet, he added, is the allure of international meeting participants to U.S. programs.
“Let’s say the Texas Medical Center is bringing in the America Dental Convention, we’re able to have an international component to it,” he said.
Since 2017, Houston has hosted more than 30 international meetings from sports to energy, medical, finance, science and even religion. The Aga Kahn Council brought 10,000 participants in 2018. The Copa Rayados International 2018 soccer event also brought 10,000 attendees to Houston.
The WPC will bring 10,000 attendees in 2020, and another future show, the International Gastric Cancer Association, is slated to bring 2,000 people in 2021.
The ability to attract the large shows is directly tied to the city’s decision to reinvest and build a downtown campus. The centerpiece is the 1.8 million-square-foot George R. Brown Convention Center and two anchor hotels, the Hilton Americas-Houston, with more than 1,200 guest rooms and 91,500 square feet of meeting space, and the Marriott Marquis, which opened in 2016 with 1,000 rooms and more than 153,000 square feet of meeting space. Each hotel has skybridges to the convention center, all centered around the Avenida Houston entertainment district that includes restaurants and greenspace plus an impressive space for outdoor events.
“The convention campus has changed drastically for the better,” Solis said. “Since hosting the Super Bowl in 2017, we turned the corner. We’ve got two first-class hotel properties. Our convention facility has gone through a huge renovation. We have 20 restaurants just in the campus.
“You know a lot of the comments we’re hearing this week during ICCA is that ‘once we got to downtown, we never ever had to get in another shuttle, or into any other transport. Everything is easily located, it’s walkable, it fits well.’
“A lot of people, when they come for the first time, they go, ‘It looks like you guys just dropped it right in,’ because 10 years ago it was a parking lot. It was really well planned out and we got the right partners involved and everybody has a commitment to make ensure that this is a long-term investment.”
Solis said international programs tend to be more flexible with dates, which helps the city balance the hotel nights.
“WPC is a great example,” he said “They usually meet in June, but when they come here, they’ll meet in December. These world congresses have so much flexibility. They’re not set in stone with their dates, like date patterns with the U.S. associations and corporate meetings.”
Houston also benefits by having little regional competition. They compete with Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Chicago, but for groups seeking a more southern environment, Houston ranks as a major selling point.
“Houston is very much on the top of the destinations in the United States,” Solis said. “I mean, we’re getting ready to host the World Cup. We do a lot of international programs down here because of the diversity, so we definitely have the community base down here to support the international programs.
“We can build for success knowing that we have all these components. There’s big opportunity and there’s so much room for growth in the international market for us.”
