What’s Behind a Rare Destination Alliance That Endured 

Destination marketing is expensive. Cities like Las Vegas or Orlando demonstrate that attracting meetings and conventions requires serious resources. Pooling those resources with competitors sounds sensible in theory, but in practice, partnerships between rival cities often get awkward fast.

There’s one corner of the meetings world where “co-opetition” makes sense: international associations. These groups plan years in advance and rotate their largest events across continents to grow membership. Many hard-code this rotation into their bylaws. For destination marketers, once an event leaves town, it’s not coming back for a long time. Sharing intelligence with rival cities isn’t betrayal, t’s a clever strategy, with the expectation of reciprocity.

That logic underpins ICCA’s model, in which members share data, introductions, and war stories about rotating associations. It also explains why destination alliances keep launching — even if most quietly fade away. The industry is littered with well-meaning but short-lived groupings: the Alliance of Brain Cities, Energy Cities Alliance, Global Association Hubs, Hybrid City Alliance, Three City Collective, and many others that never escaped the pilot phase.

Amid that backdrop, BestCities Global Alliance stands out, even if its name still makes editors wince.

Destinations That Are the Right Fit 

BestCities, founded in 2000, started with five members: Boston, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Melbourne, and Vancouver. It now has 13 destinations, including Guadalajara, Mexico, Houston, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C.

Several cities have come and gone. Boston dropped out early, and Edinburgh lasted until Covid. Bogotá, Colombia left after a political shift cut funding, and San Juan, Puerto Rico was also part of the group but is long gone.

BestCities says it receives constant requests to join but will accept only cities that are the right fit. According to chairperson Julia Swanson, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, the bureau is considering adding one in South America and one in Asia.

What Makes it Work

So why has BestCities lasted when many others have not?

The unsatisfying but accurate answer: it works. Member cities have relied on the alliance to win international association business for over two decades. The alliance operates like a formal association, with a board, bylaws, a P&L, and accountability for all members. Each destination has a vote — and pays €51,000 a year for the privilege of sitting at the table. For some, that is a significant portion of their marketing budget.

In return, the alliance collectively funds a professionally run operation managed by convention bureau consultancy GainingEdge, which has officially overseen the alliance since 2009 under a rolling three-year contract, last renewed in August 2023.

The organization’s roots help. BestCities was conceived by bureau veterans who valued collaboration and friendly competition: Gary Grimmer in Melbourne, Rick Antonson in Vancouver, and Jack Munro in Edinburgh. Grimmer has been key to the organization’s longevity. He founded GainingEdge in 2004 after leaving the Melbourne Convention Bureau. He no longer runs day-to-day operations at GainingEdge, but the newly appointed CEO Steen Jakobsen previously chaired BestCities while leading Dubai’s convention bureau.

Cooperation between the destinations is crucial and has tangible benefits. Recently, Melbourne hosted a gigantic Amway China incentive that was previously held in Singapore. An exchange between the two was worth its weight in gold. “We brought that knowledge back to Melbourne and the client had a better experience because they didn’t have to start all over again. Because we were upskilling with the help of Singapore to give a better customer experience,” said Swanson.

Truly the Best

BestCities set criteria for accepting new destinations, including adequate venues, hosting a set number of international associations annually, a long-term financial commitment, and a clear intention to share knowledge and best practices while investing in the meetings industry.

Even if the joining criteria are met, existing member cities can veto new members that aren’t a good fit or compete too closely with current members. The goal is a global spread of “best” city destination options, hence the tongue-in-cheek name.

BestCities manages several member activities, including research into international associations, online community-café events, and small in-person gatherings at industry events such as ICCA Congress, IMEX Frankfurt, and PCMA Convening EMEA, and it also manages sustainability, legacy, and social impact initiatives. Its Incredible Impacts program, in partnership with ICCA, funds association-led initiatives tied to meeting outcomes. In 2025, a $5,000 seed grant went to Autism-Europe to support inclusion efforts, while the main $20,000 grant recognized theWorld Rural Health Conference, whose 2022 meeting in Limerick, Ireland, was recognized for its lasting, tangible impact on rural healthcare.

Real ROI: Micro Event

Then there’s the flagship: the BestCities Global Forum — a micro event with a grandiose name. The 2026 edition just wrapped up in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Today, micro events are increasingly popular, but this one was formalized back in 2016 and held in Dubai for the first time. The forum is an intentionally small, invitation-only weekend event that balances education, destination showcasing, and relationship-building. About 20 to 25 international association planners attend, along with representatives from all member cities, the media, and staff. It rotates annually among BestCities destinations and is designed for meaningful engagement — not the usual badge-scan frenzy and quick conversations at larger industry events.

In 2025, the forum was in Dublin, and a planner representing Rotary International took part. Last week, Dublin was announced as the host city of the 2031 Rotary International Convention.

Swanson shared another success story from hosting a 2015 BestCities client workshop in Melbourne, where she met a dental association planner who wasn’t initially considering the city. After building that relationship and going through several bids, the event is scheduled to take place there later this year. “Had she not been at the forum in 2015, that wouldn’t have happened,” said Swanson.

The forum is of course, far from being the only factor in winning bids, but these examples illustrate the value of this type of focused gathering.

None of this guarantees the organization’s enduring. BestCities has lost members, will likely lose more, and remains a sizable expense. But as Jane Cunningham, former BestCities’ director of community engagement, put it: “It provides strong positioning for its members, there is history, and it maintains a clear business events focus that justifies the large membership fee. The knowledge exchange and friendships it fosters are invaluable.”

In a sector crowded with impressive-sounding alliances that deliver little, BestCities has done something rare in collaborative destination marketing: it has stuck around and delivered on what it set out to do — drive business for its members.