Quito was declared First World Heritage Site by the UNESCO 32 years ago. Moreover, last September, Quito was declared American Capital of Culture 2011 by the International Bureau of Cultural Cap itals (IBOCC). This nomination places Quito as a worldwide cultural referent, motivating locals and foreigners to learn about the treasures that the city holds and understand why Quito will be the American Capital of Culture. One of these treasures is the Historic Centre, artistic jewel located in an area of 320 hectares. It holds monumental buildings and 5.000 properties that are registered as heritage sites. Quito´s Historic Centre is considered the largest, least altered, and best preserved of America. Quito was the cradle of a millenary mixture of people and cultures that made of this city a unique place, and today it hoards four centuries of memories, creation, faith, art, ancestral knowledge, conscience and rebelliousness, life, determination and hope. +++++ www.quitoconventions.gov.ec +++++

The Future Convention Cities Initiative (FCCI) has announced that its first chairperson will be Lyn Lewis-Smith - Chief Operating Officer of Business Events Sydney. Lewis-Smith was the unanimous choice of the seven member cities - Abu Dhabi Travel Authority, Business Events Sydney, Durban KwaZulu Natal Convention Bureau, London and Partners (formerly Visit London), San Francisco Travel Association, Seoul Tourism Organization and Toronto Convention Bureau. The founding goal of FCCI is to bring together leading future focused cities that want to secure or establish their positioning as leading destinations for key knowledge economy meetings and events. The members should be committed to developing and delivering on strategies to help grow the local knowledge economy and to maximising the long term benefits of business tourism through:

London & Partners is the official promotional agency for London attracting and delivering value to businesses, students and visitors. As part of this remit, London & Partners has assumed responsibility from Visit London for providing official tourism services for London and, as a result, is a new Data Controller of your personal information. The purpose for which the information was held by Visit London, for you to receive information from the official provider of tourism information for London, has not changed. London & Partners will continue to process this data in line with this purpose. London & Partners is the official promotional agency for London attracting and delivering value to businesses, students and visitors. Contact Address: London & Partners, 2 More London Riverside, London SE1 2RR. +++++ http://www.visitlondon.com +++++

While Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city and the country’s financial capital, is no longer number one, three Swiss cities make it into the top 10 of best cities in the world. According to new research, Vienna, Austria’s capital, is now the city most people would like to call their home. Geneva retains its position in third place, while Vancouver and Auckland are now joint fourth in the rankings of best cities in the world, a survey prepared by Mercer Consulting. Overall, European cities continue to dominate the top locations in this year’s survey, with German cities particularly well represented among the top 50. Duesseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt are all among the top 10 best cities. +++++ more info ?? +++ www.citymayors.com +++++

World Mayor, a project organised by the urban affairs think tank City Mayors, aims to raise the profile of mayors worldwide as well as to honour those who have made long-lasting contributions to their communities and are committed to the well-being of cities nationally and internationally. According to city residents from all continents, a great mayor must possess these qualities: leadership and vision, good management abilities, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment as well as having the skill to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds. The World Mayor Project was first carried out in 2004.

Details of Sydney’s most exciting waterfront developments for conferences, conventions and incentive travel worth more than $7 billion - Barangaroo, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and Star City Casino – were revealed at the last Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) in Melbourne. Barangaroo is a rare opportunity to transform 22 hectares of former industrial space on Sydney Harbour into a $6 billion public, residential and commercial CBD precinct with a waterfront promenade running the length of the site. The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre will be expanded to create more space for major international events, while Star City is undergoing a major renovation. The $550 million proposed redevelopment of the entertainment centre at Darling Harbour includes the new Sydney Multifunctional Convention and Entertainment Centre (SMCEC) on the site of the existing carpark at Haymarket. The existing Sydney Entertainment Centre (SEC) will be demolished, opening up new development and public space in south Darling Harbour. The new facility will feature more than 20,000 square metres of new floor space increasing capacity to a total of over 40,000 square metres, with a conference auditorium for 12,000 people. The project is expected to be completed by 2015. The $860 million Star City redevelopment will transform the casino into a world-class venue, adding a 3,000 seated capacity multi–purpose Events Centre, a further 172 room hotel to complement the existing 350 hotel and 130 apartments, plus several new highly acclaimed restaurants.

Actual situation in Europe according to ICCA: Vienna is the number one (181 conferences per year) followed by Paris (174 conferences per year) Barcelona (150 conferences per year) Berlin (147 conferences per year) and Singapore (142 conferences per year). Runners up Madrid (130 conferences per year) London (115 conferences per year) Amsterdam (114 conferences per year) Istanbul (113 conferences per year) and Beijing (111 conferences per year)

At a recent press conference, the Government of Catalonia announced Barcelona World, an ambitious project to consolidate Barcelona as a great global tourism capital, with the best leisure project in southern Europe, according to the Catalan government. The area where Barcelona World will be located measures approximately 826 hectares, 200 of which are already home to the Port Aventura theme park. An estimated 4,700 million euros is expected to be invested in this project that will include 6 hotels with some 12,000 rooms and six themed tourist complexes, which aim to recreate six areas of the world: Europe, the USA, Russia, China, Brazil and India. ++++++ barcelonacatalonia.cat