ITU Telecom World goes to Geneva

International Telecommunication Union (ITU’s) flagship industry expo, ‘ITU Telecom World’ is heading to Geneva come 2009.

ITU Secretary-General, Mr. Yoshio Utsumi announced this said that the decision was subsequent to an evaluation of all bids received based on a recommendation of the ITU Telecom Board made mid last month.

The event renowned as major meeting place for the global information and communication technology (ICT) community brings considerable economic benefits to host cities.

As a result, competition among the four finalists was reportedly fierce, with all submitting very competitive bids.

ITU informed that six countries had originally applied to host the world event but two withdrew their offer during the process.

The four finalists were Birmingham (National Exhibition Centre), Dubai (Jebel Ali Exhibition City), Geneva (Palexpo), and Paris Nord (le Parc des Expositions).

Mr. Utsumi said his office was very impressed with the calibre of bids received.

“The Geneva authorities have made rigorous efforts to underline their support for the event, and have provided the most cost-effective package for the exhibitors, participants and organizer alike. We are pleased to award World 2009 to Geneva in recognition and acknowledgement of the positive commitments made in their offer” he said.

Geneva’s bid, according to him, includes the implementation of a mechanism to control the management and price of hotel rooms through cost control measures and the removal of any minimum-stay requirements.

The decision to award the 2009 event to Geneva was made on the basis of over 20 criteria including a financial offer covering both the overall costs to exhibitors such as hotel accommodation, rental rates and sub-contractor rates and the fulfillment of a series of technical requirements consisting of the quality of the infrastructure, the suitability of the venue, as well as the overall attractiveness of the location assessed through an independently conducted survey of telecom stakeholders.

Also the decision was influenced by taking into account the need to respond to the ICT industry to see the event move to another major ICT market after Hong Kong, the international character of Geneva as a hub for international organizations and businesses and its central geographic location, at the heart of Europe and equidistant from the markets of Asia and the Americas.

Executive Manager, ITU Telecom, Mr Fernando Lagraña said that all four candidates offered very attractive destinations for those attending the event.

“While only one can win, I am confident that the high-quality of their offers and the tight race to select the host of World 2009 will encourage the other candidates to bid for future ITU TELECOM events”, Lagraña said.