The International Association of Event Hosts (IAEH) took part in an online working meeting hosted by the OECD this month as part of the OECD’s 2025-26 programme on global events and local development.

The programme is undertaking a case study review of Barranquilla’s capacity to host and leverage major events for local development, examining the strengths and weaknesses of the city’s tourism and events ecosystem, its policy and strategy framework, and its governance model, with a view to practical recommendations for improving the city’s approach. At the working meeting, the OECD presented its preliminary findings for comment and discussion with Barranquilla stakeholders.

Among the issues identified was the need for Barranquilla to move from a broad, catch-all approach to events attraction towards a clearer events strategy, grounded in the city’s comparative advantages, its unique value proposition and its long-term destination positioning. Discussion also centred on the importance of stronger governance arrangements, so that the events agenda remains a priority across political and policy cycles, through closer cooperation between the public sector, destination management bodies, event stakeholders and the private sector.

IAEH member Mark Teeple, of Discover Halifax, contributed a practitioner perspective, drawing on Halifax’s own experience of building a regional event strategy. He observed that momentum had come from the process of developing the strategy rather than from the finished document itself, and that ongoing stakeholder engagement, rather than a fixed endpoint, had proved essential to its success; the strategy has continued to function as a framework for continual improvement rather than as a destination in itself.

The collaboration reflects the IAEH’s commitment to ensuring that the experience of event hosts informs international policy and best practice.