Sendai back with new energy and participating at IMEX 2012
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- Created on Tuesday, 15 May 2012 10:57
Sendai back with new energy and participating at IMEX 2012
After the East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, Sendai has a new determination – to be the role model city in terms of disaster preparedness, innovation and strength of community.And to welcome back international conventions and events to the “City of Trees.’
Participating at IMEX for the first time under the Wild Card Pavilion, Ms Yumiko Nakao of the Sendai Tourism & Convention Bureau (STCB) thanked IMEX for the opportunity to use the show as an international platform to share a message from the city’s Mayor Ms Emiko Okuyama – “Sendai is ready and we welcome all visitors to Sendai and the Tohuku Region.”
Congress Corporation, one of Japan’s well established professional congress organisers (PCO), recently set up its Sendai office, a sure sign that conventions will be part of the area’s recovery. The Global Travel and Tourism Summit (WTTC) was the first major international meeting held in Sendai this year and its success demonstrated Japan’s recovery and ongoing commitment to tourism and international events.
This will be followed by various other association meetings in Sendai, including the 14th International Association of Colloid and Interface Scientists Conference (May), the 6th International Congress of Asian Society of Toxicology (July) which will incorporate the 39th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Toxicology (39JSOT), the 13th Asian Conference on Solid State Ionics (July); the International Workshop on Solar Chemical Energy Storage (July) and the 3rd International Symposium for Cardiac Anesthesia (Sept). Sendai’s list of future booked meetings includes the International Conference on Coordination Chemistry which will take place in August 2018.
In the last decade, Sendai has played host to an impressive list of international congresses in the medical and science technology fields, often with its academia at Tohoku University as the local organizing committee.
Locally, Sendai continues to host national meetings and events including the 11th annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Medical Oncology (Aug 2013).
In January this year, International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) CEO Martin Sirk who visited Sendai, said: "The message for any association thinking about meeting in Japan is simple: don’t hesitate, visit the country and see for yourself. I can tell you from first-hand experience that you won’t be disappointed."
Gary Grimmer, CEO of GainingEdge, was part of the visiting group from ICCA which included Board member Eduardo Chaillo (Mexico Tourism Board) and Asia Pacific Regional Director Noor Ahmad Hamid. Grimmer agreed: “When you visit Sendai today you remember the news coverage, and the tragedy is a large part of the narrative. The story is willingly told out of respect for those who suffered. Were it not for that, you would be excused if you didn’t realize anything tragic had happened there. Sendai is a normally functioning, colorful, energetic, well-organized community.”
Through its international meetings clientele, Sendai has communicated the message that it is business as usual. At IMEX 2012, Yumiko Nakao will meet business events planners and the media to reaffirm this message. Sendai Convention & Tourism Bureau’s booth will be at the Wild Card Pavilion.
