COLOGNE, June 14, 2018
Sound Diplomacy, the organiser behind Music Tourism Convention, has now published the provisional schedule for the Cologne event to be held at Hotel Pullman Cologne on 29 August of this year. At the interface between tourism and music, the international convention will feature over 20 speakers from four different continents in a range of presentations and sessions, at which they will discuss the latest trends in the two sectors with the delegates.
“We’re really excited about the first Music Tourism Convention to be held here in Germany. And Cologne will provide the ideal setting for this pioneering event, bringing together the music and tourism sectors in an exhilarating city that offers a perfect blend of tourist attractions, professional conference facilities and a vibrant music culture,” says Stephanie Kleine Klausing, Director Conventions & Marketing at Cologne Tourist Board.
Sound Diplomacy describes Music Tourism Convention (MTC) as “The world’s most extensive conference bringing together the music and tourism sectors to explore how music impacts, benefits and improves tourism offers” with content ranging “from festivals to heritage, music trails to food and music partnerships.” The last two editions of MTC were held in Liverpool (UK) and Franklin, Tennessee.
One of the reasons Cologne was picked to host the event was its impressive music history, from being the home of the Neue Musik scene, featuring composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen in the 60s, to the band Can – a big part of the Krautrock movement in the 70s – and one of the most important electronic record labels, Kompakt, who have been operating out of Cologne since the 90s. With this rich music heritage, Cologne was the perfect choice for a forum to discuss topics such as how important musical genres are for a city’s identity as a tourist destination.
#urbanana project partners Cologne Tourist Board and the Tourismus NRW e.V. will be teaming up for a presentation at Music Tourism Convention. “Together with Visit Düsseldorf, Cologne Tourist Board and Ruhr Tourism, we look forward to welcoming Music Tourism Convention to North Rhine-Westphalia – and in this particular case – to ‘#urbanana’. Fresh from winning the European Cultural Tourism Region of the Year Award, the project will be showcasing the ‘Sound of #urbanana’ web app, which takes the user on a journey through North Rhine-Westphalia’s impressive pop history”, explains Dr Heike Döll-König, Managing Director of the Tourismus NRW e.V.
A second day has been added to the schedule, offering delegates guided tours in Düsseldorf to find out more about the music heritage of Cologne’s neighbouring city.
A conscious decision was made to stage the convention at the same time as the c/o pop festival, which will be celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. In addition, cologne on pop GmbH is handling communication with Sound Diplomacy and serving as the event’s local organiser.
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