The new value of events: when a destination offers more than good logistics

For a long time, the competitiveness of a meetings destination was measured through a familiar checklist: connectivity, hotel capacity, venues, logistics, and services. All of those factors still matter. But on their own, they are no longer enough.

The global meetings industry is changing. A concept that once felt secondary has now moved to the center: the most valuable events are the ones that leave a legacy. They create value for the host territory. They connect more meaningfully with the community. They deliver a richer experience for attendees and a clearer impact for the destination itself. ICCA’s current agenda reflects this shift, and its Incredible Impacts initiative continues to highlight how international meetings can generate long-term benefits that go beyond tourism and short-term economic results.

This change matters because it is redefining how destinations need to position themselves. It is no longer enough to say that a place has a convention center, good hotels, or a functional city. What matters now is being able to show why hosting an event in a specific place can create a more meaningful, useful, and memorable experience.

In that context, Pereira and Risaralda have a very interesting opportunity.

The territory already has a strong functional base to compete in MICE. It offers air connectivity, short transfer times, hotel capacity, venues, and an urban scale that makes operations easier. Matecaña International Airport moves 80% of the passengers of the Coffee Cultural Landscape and is located just 15 minutes from downtown Pereira.

The destination also reports more than 150 accommodations and 3,646 hotel rooms, with an important share aimed at the MICE segment. It also has infrastructure such as Expofuturo, with 36,000 square meters of area and 15 halls for different event formats.

These strengths are backed by real results. Pereira and Risaralda report more than 150 events captured and/or supported, more than 200,000 attendees, and around USD 400 million in economic spillover, in addition to ICCA congresses, incentives, conventions, and destination weddings.

But the true differentiator of the territory may lie beyond logistics.

It may lie in its ability to turn an event into an experience connected to the place.

That is exactly where the most relevant industry trends are moving. The meetings with the highest value are not simply the ones that run efficiently. They are the ones that integrate the destination into the attendee experience. They allow visitors not only to follow an agenda, but also to understand something about the territory, connect with its identity, and take away an experience they could not have had somewhere else.

ICCA and BestCities continue to promote this vision through Incredible Impacts, which highlights the “beyond tourism” role of global meetings and the lasting legacies they can create for host communities and sectors.

For Pereira and Risaralda, this opens a clear competitive advantage.

Few destinations can combine, within short distances, an operable city, a diverse region, recognized landscapes, coffee culture, nature, gastronomy, and a network of municipalities that expands the visitor experience. That possibility of connecting meeting and territory is especially valuable in an industry where the overall experience increasingly matters.

An event in Pereira can be complemented by journeys through the Coffee Cultural Landscape, coffee-related experiences, local gastronomy, wellness activities, biodiversity encounters, and visits to municipalities that add cultural and territorial depth. Risaralda has 2 National Natural Parks, 26 protected areas, and 4 regional natural parks, and it is home to 44% of Colombia’s bird species.

At the same time, the department projects itself through a diverse offer that combines nature, romance, wellness, culture, and community.

This means that the value of the destination does not lie only in hosting an event. It lies in enriching it.

There is another important shift in how MICE success is understood today: the relationship with the community. Destinations International has increasingly emphasized that destinations should align tourism with community vitality, local trust, and measurable positive impact. Its recent community engagement guide explicitly focuses on building trust, aligning tourism with local priorities, and strengthening community impact.

This approach is also highly relevant for Pereira and Risaralda.

Because the territory does not offer only infrastructure. It also offers a narrative that fits naturally into this conversation: a close and approachable city, a region with identity, hospitality, local culture, and a strong relationship between territory and experience. When a destination shows that an event can create value for the community, highlight local providers, strengthen service chains, and generate a more authentic experience, its proposition becomes much stronger.

That is where Pereira and Risaralda can continue strengthening their position.

Not only as an efficient and competitive destination. Also as a destination capable of leaving a lasting impression.

That may be the new value of events in the territory: combining operations and experience, logistics and storytelling, infrastructure and place. Because in a market where many cities can offer halls, hotel rooms, and transfers, the destinations that grow the most are the ones that offer something more.

And that “something more” is often what people remember most.