Pittsburgh is on short list for international convention

International Congress and Convention Association Executive Director Martin Sirk was in Pittsburgh for two days this week to finish his assessment of the city and its bid to host the 2011 ICCA convention. Pittsburgh is in the running against Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Leipzig, Germany. Sirk says he has been impressed by the city and what it has to offer. He says the convention center and hotels are very nice but every city has those types of amenities. He says to succeed in the convention business today cities have to offer more. He says the organizations wooing conventions have to be top notch and have the ability work closely with clients. He says those groups also need to work closely with amenities and attractions in the region. Sirk says if a city is going to truly thrive in the convention game it needs to think globally and that is what Pittsburgh is doing. He says just by being one of three finalists the city has won. He says he and his staff work closely with the finalists to help them improve their bids and presentations and in doing that it helps the applicants fine-tune their presentations to other organizations.