BestCities Global Alliance

What BestCities Global Alliance does

BestCities Global Alliance is a Singapore-headquartered private alliance founded in 2000 that acts as a destination marketing consortium for 13 premier meeting cities: Berlin, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Guadalajara, Houston, Madrid, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo, Vancouver, and Washington DC. The alliance sells membership-based access to this curated network to international associations, Association Management Companies (AMCs), and Professional Congress Organisers (PCOs) seeking rotating global congress destinations with verified quality and impact frameworks. Its product surface includes the annual Global Forum for client engagement and peer learning, the Incredible Impacts Programme co-sponsored with the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) — which awards a $20,000 USD annual grant to associations demonstrating measurable legacy outcomes — the BestCities Madrid Challenge sustainability pledge, virtual Community Cafe educational sessions, and a published library of case studies on legacy and impact delivery.

The alliance is built on a thin technology stack rather than a software platform: customer relationship management runs on SimpleView, email distribution on MailChimp, and event registration on Gevme. Its technology positioning in 2026 centres on three co-developed AI offerings surfaced through the Community Cafe — Spark (an event planning assistant built with PCMA), Snapsight (a content intelligence platform), and ImpactAIQ (an impact-measurement tool built with Meet4Impact) — none of which are proprietary to BestCities. Day-to-day operations are run by a small headquarters team of 1–10 employees under Managing Director Loren Christie, while strategic governance is held by the Strategic Board of Directors (9 of 13 members are women), with representation from each member city convention bureau including Board Chair Julia Swanson (Melbourne Convention Bureau), In-Coming Chair Sam Johnston (Dublin Convention Bureau), and Treasurer Michael Drake (Tourism Vancouver).

Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed. The model is built on recurring membership/subscription contributions from the 13 partner destination convention bureaus, supplemented by Global Forum sponsorship and the ICCA co-funded Incredible Impacts grant. Go-to-market is event-driven: presence at IMEX, ICCA Congress, ibtm world, ASAE Annual Meeting, and PCMA Convening EMEA, plus the annual Global Forum and ongoing Community Cafe virtual sessions, with direct destination sales also executed locally by each member convention bureau.

Name

BestCities Global Alliance

Legal name

BestCities Global Alliance

Website

https://bestcities.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BestCities Global Alliance is a Singapore-headquartered private alliance of 13 premier meeting destinations that helps international associations, AMCs, and PCOs select high-quality global venues via membership, the annual Global Forum, and the ICCA-co-sponsored Incredible Impacts Programme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing & Convention Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Business Associations (813910), Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Partner, Channel & Alliance Summits (THAHAMAC)

Keywords

• Destination marketing network
• Convention bureau alliance
• Business events services
• International association meetings
• MICE industry services

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Destination Partner Membership: The alliance generates revenue through membership fees from its 13 partner destination cities (Berlin, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Guadalajara, Houston, Madrid, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo, Vancouver, Washington DC). Each city contributes to the shared marketing and business development activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

BestCities Global Alliance is a private membership alliance of 13 premier convention and visitor bureaus that collectively market and deliver world-class business event destinations to international associations, association management companies, and professional congress organisers. It operates shared programs including the annual Global Forum, the ICCA-co-sponsored Incredible Impacts Programme (with a $20,000 USD grant), the Madrid Challenge sustainability pledge, and Community Cafe educational webinars. Revenue is generated through recurring membership subscriptions paid by the 13 partner destination cities, which in turn receive access to a global marketing platform, hosted buyer programs, knowledge exchange, and lead generation.

Product overview

BestCities Global Alliance is a network of 13 premier meeting destinations offering a unified platform for business events. The core offering consists of the Alliance Network itself, connecting meeting planners with world-class convention bureaus in Berlin, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Guadalajara, Houston, Madrid, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo, Vancouver, and Washington DC. Supporting products include the annual Global Forum for peer learning and networking, the Incredible Impacts Programme (joint with ICCA) that awards $20,000 grants to associations demonstrating measurable legacy outcomes, the Madrid Challenge sustainability pledge, Community Cafe virtual events featuring educational sessions like AI workshops, and a library of Case Studies documenting successful event outcomes. The alliance positions itself as a knowledge-exchange platform that helps clients develop sustainable experiences leaving lasting positive impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BestCities Madrid Challenge: A pledge from destinations and associations to integrate impact and sustainability into daily conference planning, introduced at the 2021 Global Forum in Madrid
• Incredible Impacts Programme
• BestCities Global Forum
• Community Cafe

Products and services

• BestCities Global Alliance Network
• Global Forum
• Incredible Impacts Programme
• BestCities Madrid Challenge
• Community Cafe
• Case Studies

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20,000 attendees attracted annually through ERS Congress partnerships
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• SimpleViewcoreTechnology or IntegrationCRM provider for BestCities Global Alliance to manage destination partner data, contacts, and relationship information. SimpleView privacy policy governs data handling.
• MailChimpcoreTechnology or IntegrationNewsletter distribution platform used by BestCities for email marketing communications to subscribers. MailChimp privacy policy governs email data.
• International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint Incredible Impacts Programme celebrating association impact. ICCA hosts the annual competition at their Congress where finalists present and winner is selected. BestCities co-sponsors the $20,000 USD grant.
• PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed Spark AI tool for the events industry - deployed across teams to help with briefs, agendas, proposals and plans. Featured in Community Cafe sessions.
• Meet4ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed ImpactAIQ - gives associations a defensible way to measure and communicate economic, social, and business impact of their events. Featured in Community Cafe AI sessions.
• IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organisers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLoren Christie served as IAPCO faculty providing education and training.
• Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLoren Christie serves on Technical Advisory Committee and teaches their masterclass on Legacy and Impact. GDS focuses on sustainable event practices.
• Clean Air FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with ERS and ELF to amplify advocacy efforts for clean air legislation through their events.
• C40 CitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with ERS and ELF expanding influence in urban policy initiatives worldwide.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA): ICCA is the global trade association for the international meetings industry and BestCities' flagship strategic partner. Both organizations serve the same international association buyers, share data on global meetings (ICCA Rankings), and co-produce the Incredible Impacts Programme, making ICCA the closest comparable peer.
• PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association): PCMA is a leading global association for the events and meetings industry and a co-development partner with BestCities on the Spark AI tool. PCMA Convening EMEA is one of BestCities' key trade show channels, and both organizations compete for influence over association meeting planners.
• AC Forum (Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus / Destinations International AC Forum): AC Forum is an alliance of convention and visitors bureaus that, like BestCities, aggregates destination marketing organizations to serve association meetings. It is a direct structural peer as a multi-DMO alliance targeting international associations.
• SITE (Society of Incentive & Travel Executives): SITE is a global association serving the incentive travel and meetings industry. It targets a closely overlapping buyer base (corporate and association planners) and competes for sponsorship, education, and event partnerships with BestCities' 13 partner destinations.
• IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organisers): IAPCO is the global association for professional congress organizers, a core customer segment for BestCities' 13 destinations. BestCities' Managing Director has served as IAPCO faculty, and the two organizations share the international association meetings buyer base.

Broad incumbents

• MPI (Meeting Professionals International): MPI is one of the largest global associations for meeting and event professionals, with a broader membership base (corporate, association, and independent planners) than BestCities. It serves an overlapping customer segment and competes for educational content, certification, and event mindshare.
• UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry): UFI is the leading global association of the world's tradeshow organizers and exhibition venues. It overlaps with BestCities in serving the international business events ecosystem and competes for association partnerships and standards leadership.
• IMEX Group: IMEX operates the IMEX America and IMEX Frankfurt trade shows, which are BestCities' most important GTM channels. As the dominant industry exhibition organizer, IMEX is a structural peer in the meetings-industry value chain and a key pipeline for both BestCities and partner cities.

Emerging players

• GainingEdge: GainingEdge is a consulting firm that works with destinations, convention bureaus, and associations on bidding, strategy, and client development. It is an emerging peer in the destination-marketing-and-association-meetings space, with relationships overlapping several BestCities member cities (its Asian office works with BestCities' alliance operations).
• HelmsBriscoe: HelmsBriscoe is a global meetings-sourcing and site-selection firm with a large network of associates helping association and corporate clients select destinations. It competes for association planner relationships and overlaps with BestCities' destination-discovery value proposition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEKzJDc-Lsypg4E6FaQW_Jw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bestcities
• Xx.com/BestCitiesGA

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BestCities Global Alliance