Germany-based exhibition and conference industry consultancy, jwc has introduced a new Destination Development Model (DDM), which it claims shows how business events support public-policy goals.
The DDM, jwc says, is a response to growing demand from governments for clearer evidence of the sector’s long-term contribution beyond exhibitor and visitor spend, room nights and (in)direct economic impact.
The completion of a phase one pilot with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) marks the first major validation step for the DDM. The pilot tested the model’s core architecture in a mature, policy-driven destination environment.
“Destinations are not funded based on activity. They are funded based on outcomes,” said Kai Hattendorf, Partner at jwc. “For decades, the business events industry has been good at measuring outputs: visitors, spend, square metres, room nights. But governments think in terms of outcomes: talent, innovation, resilience, sustainability, economic positioning and community value. The DDM helps destinations connect business events to that policy conversation.”
The DDM assesses business events across 15 dimensions grouped into four strategic impact clusters: People & Community, Skills & Knowledge, Economic Impact, and Reputation & Legacy. Together, these clusters provide a structured view of how events can support destination development.
“The DDM is a policy alignment and decision tool,” Hattendorf (pictured at IMEX) added. “It shows where a destination’s event portfolio already creates strategic value, where gaps remain, and where future policy, investment or portfolio choices can deliver stronger outcomes.”
The model connects three core elements: policy ambition, event contribution and measurable outcomes. It starts with a destination’s own strategic priorities, then assesses how business events contribute across the DDM’s 15 dimensions. By combining destination-specific data, industry indicators and structured modelling, the DDM aims to show where events already support public goals, where gaps remain and where future bidding, funding or investment choices could strengthen outcomes.
The Singapore pilot also included an academic research component with the Singapore Institute of Technology, where students explored potential data points and sources that could be connected to the model. A selected group of students have attended IMEX in Frankfurt for the DDM launch.
Ong Huey Hong, assistant chief executive, Industry Development Group, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “As the World’s Best MICE City, Singapore’s ambition goes beyond tripling our MICE tourism receipts by 2040. We want to ensure that growth is underpinned by lasting value for our destination, industries and communities, and the DDM gives us an evidence-based framework to demonstrate that.”
Following the completion of phase one, jwc will now work with additional destinations, convention bureaus and public-sector partners interested in applying the framework to their own event portfolios and policy priorities.
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Comments are closed.