Meet in Reykjavík PR

Overview, Articles in English 2012-2016

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ICELAND REVIEW 81 80 ICELAND REVIEW CONVENTIONS CONVENTIONS Meeting in the Middle With its convenient location, excellent facilities and unspoiled nature within reach, Reykjavík is your ideal conference destination. R eykjavík has all it takes to be among the top ten European des- tinations for conventions, meetings, events and incentive trips. We have good infrastructure, professional services, security, short and frequent access by air and a favorable currency exchange rate. On top of that we are strategically located midway between Eu- rope and America, we enable people from the world over to meet in the middle," says Thorsteinn Örn Gudmundsson, Managing Di- rector of Meet in Reykjavík, the official convention bureau in Reyk- javík Iceland. "What gives us the competitive edge beyond good facilities and infrastructure in general is that we have Iceland's spectacular nature within reach, as well as our vibrant cultural life. Therefore, when it comes to offering interesting programs, we are second to none." Meet in Reykjavík began operation in early 2012 and since then, interest in Iceland as a conference destination has continued to in- crease and becoming an important element of the city's economic growth. Offering service that is free of charge, it connects clients to relevant service providers such as venues, hotels, destination management and transportation companies. "In addition to that, our principal task is really to change the world's perception of us as an exotic and raw adventure destination when we are in fact a modern metropolis with solid infrastructure." Before leading the Meet in Reykjavík team, Thorsteinn, who holds a M.Sc. degree in Civil Engineering, worked as senior man- ager within the tourism and airline industry. He also has extensive experience in management consulting. "To promote Reykjavík, we apply a variety of marketing tools; we for example attend conventions and hold presentations at embassies. And we rec- ognize that the internet is our most important well of information and therefore make sure that our website is state-of-the-art. This is a long term project but already we are getting great results. People are generally very happy when they leave; the success stories are endless. I used to say that only the sky was the limit but have changed that into, don't tell me that when there are footsteps on the moon." Meet in Reykjavik is a joint effort of the private and the public sector with partners including Municipal of Reykjavík, Icelandair Group, Harpa and many others. "Our success is a great testi- mony to the way in which these two sectors can work together in everyone's best interest. Competition can get you ahead but co- operation can get you exponentially further," explains Thorste- inn. "The MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events) market in Europe is the most developed one by far, with annual a turnover of around 30,000 billion Icelandic króna. Only a fraction of that would fortify the economy," he continues, "And when exploring the country, they do so in supervised tours. Simply put, every day we are strengthening the economy and creating value, but in harmony with our resource, nature." THORSTEINN ÖRN GUÐMUNDSSON, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF MEET IN REYKJAVÍK BY ÁSTA ANDRÉSDÓTTIR PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEET IN REYKJAVIK

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