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The future of Congresses

The Future of Congresses

Photo: Dansk Design Center

Copenhagen CVB and BestCities have conducted an in-depth piece of future research in a unique collaboration with future scientists and designers. Explore four immersive scenarios for 2040 that spell out potential futures for our industry.

Business Travel of the Future

Four scenarios and a new way forward

We have updated the four scenario study! The new pandemic scenarios were able to build on the work laid out in our 2019 study, even as their shorter-term focus and the unusual situation have led to an entirely new set of scenarios. After two years of work and of experience with a historic pandemic, a new direction - a new way forward - actually does present itself, and this report describes it.

Explore the four scenarios

Associations, destinations - the global meeting industry as a whole - face new challenges. Future megatrends leave us with a lot of questions and a dire need to direct ourselves to become futureready, starting today. We are proud to present four future scenarios to all of you in the form of a future magazine, audio narratives, and online tools.

Download the magazine

Dansk Design Center

Photo:Dansk Design Center

Listen to the future
These audio narratives are short stories that will make each of the four scenarios become real and relatable. You can listen to the stories whenever you like – in a learning context, at conferences, in strategy meetings or as inspiration in your own efforts to develop future solutions.

Dansk Design Center
Dansk Design Center
Dansk Design Center
Dansk Design Center

Shape the future
We invite everyone to explore the future. We have designed three future tools that will guide you in a reflection session, an explorative exercise and a final evaluation of the four scenarios.

Dansk Design Center

Reflection card

Ask yourself, your colleagues or your business partner about their immediate reflections on each of the four scenarios. What opportunities do you discover? And what are the challenges you will be facing?

Download instructions
Download reflection cards

Dansk Design Center

Explorative exercise

Explore the impact that each of the four scenarios will have on associations, destinations, and the meeting concept. Feel free to design your own questions for investigating other future aspects that you find relevant to explore.

Download instructions
Download explorative exercise

Dansk Design Center

Voting matrix

The four scenarios are all highly probable. However, you might have your own preconceptions or expectations about the future, and you might find one of them more interesting when it comes to business opportunities.

Download instructions
Download voting matrix

The Copenhagen Scenario Model, Recap and Testimonials
Catch a glance of how the Copenhagen Scenario Model was facilitated at the annual BestCities Global Alliance Forum in Copenhagen in 2019.

A recap of the the annual BestCities Global Alliance Forum in Copenhagen in 2019 and how The Future of Congresses - The Copenhagen Scenario model was introduced.

Testimonials of some of those who attended and worked with the Copenhagen Scenario Model at the annual BestCities Global Alliance Forum in Copenhagen in 2019.

Cathrine Seidel Tvede

Senior Bid Manager – Congress

cas@woco.dk