Cannes trip an invest in Welland’s future
City officials meet with numerous international parties while on mission in France
A trip to Cannes during the March break was no vacation for Mayor Frank Campion and two of the city’s top officials, rather it was investment in Welland’s future.
An investment that has already seen a participant in the four-day Marché International des Professionnels d’Immobilier (MIPIM) reach out to set up a meeting in the Rose City.
“Myself, our economic director Dan Degazio and our chief financial officer Steve Zorbas attended MIPM. It’s the largest gathering of people in the real estate industry, architects, investors, anyone in that field,” said Campion, adding there were 26,000 people from across the globe in attendance.
Campion said the three went to France to essentially sell Welland. They travelled there as part of the Toronto and Ontario Investment Alliance, representing Toronto, Hamilton, Welland, Simcoe County, Thunder Bay, Chatham-Kent, Niagara Region, Ontario Investment Office, Southwestern Ontario Marketing Alliance and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports.
“It’s part of our marketing concept here … to reach out. It was a very
good opportunity for all of the partners in the alliance to reach a very specific target market, a target market all in one place.”
Campion said 20 meetings were set up over the four days specifically for Welland, with 11 of those pre-selected and of high interest to the city.
“These are people looking to invest in Ontario. Before we went, we had prepared background on who we were meeting with, what they had to invest and what they were looking for. A lot of work went into this before we went there.”
A number of participants visited Welland’s officials on their own, expressing a high interest in the city, the mayor said.
He spoke of companies looking to be close to the U.S. border without being in the U.S., a position which Welland fulfils. While he couldn’t reveal exactly who the Welland group spoke to while in Cannes, the mayor said there was interest expressed by at least one South Korean company.
“We had the opportunity to speak to some industrialists looking for expansion into North America, particularly the Niagara area. We had a great response when we talked to people about our incentive programs. They were interested to see what we could do.”
Campion came back from the event with a stack of business cards, prioritized into contacts the city needs to follow up with.
“We expect we’ll have some site visits and some said when they come to Canada they’d like to talk to us.”
Travelling with the alliance and upper levels of the provincial government made it very cost- effective to visit France, the mayor said.
“A booth there costs $250,000, that’s how big the event is. The entry fee for each person is
$2,500. Welland invested just $5,500 for the booth and marketing materials.”
Degazio’s and Zorbas’ flights were paid by city’s economic development office, while Campion’s flight was paid from the mayor’s office budget.
As a mayor and being part of a municipality recognized as being very proactive, Campion said he was invited as a VIP to the event and had his hotel room, and breakfast and snacks, in Cannes paid for by MIPIM.
“Steve and Dan stayed in Nice and took public transit into Cannes.”
While he didn’t have final figures, Campion estimated the four-day trip cost taxpayers under $10,000.
“The trip was well worth it. There were 30 people there that showed extreme interest in us,” he said, adding the city now has to convert that interest into investment.
Campion said the thought of not going to MIPIM did run through his mind, especially with 2018 being an election year and people looking at expenses and costs.
“From a political perspective I thought maybe I shouldn’t … but this was so important, I had to go. Would I go again? We’ll have to see what happens from all this.”
Campion said the trip gave him, Degazio and Zorbas insight into the global market, and with Welland a global player, it’s important to know what’s going on and participate in the market.