Neil Mulligan PEOPLE
PEOPLE Three questions for...
... Neil Mulligan, senior future host manager at Routes
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What are your immediate priorities?
My main priority is always to make sure we select the best hosts so that we can deliver the highest quality events to our delegates. Right now, I’m assessing the options for World Routes 2019, Routes Europe 2019, Routes Asia 2019, Routes Americas 2018, Routes Africa 2017 and Routes Silk Road 2017.
As you can imagine, this certainly
keeps us busy but it is very satisfying when we finally announce the chosen host and see the successful event come alive. Ultimately, our aim is
to continue to select destinations around the world which improve and grow our events and are in interesting and attractive locations. Our events move around every year so that the industry can shine a light on the different parts of each region and meet worldwide demand for hosting Routes forums. I’m also trying to raise awareness within the industry that hosting a Routes event is one of the best ways to showcase what your airport and destination has to offer the world’s airlines. Most event hosts pick up new air services as a result of hosting, and an independent consultancy calculated that the host of a World Routes event could expect an ROI of £167 million over three years. If more people knew, I’m sure they would consider hosting.
What do you look for in a good host? There are several factors that come into play when we
make the decision and each one is as important as the others. While we know hosting the event will give destinations a boost to their air access, they must have a good route network in the first place. Many of our delegates are flying in from across the globe and they don’t want to take several different flights to get to the destination. Logistics are also a key part of any selection. Venue quality and capacity, coupled with a ready supply of quality hotels nearby is the ideal situation. The less time our delegates spend on buses the better.
We also look for hosts who are ambitious, innovative and share our aspirations of improving the event year-on-year. It is important to consider the
desirability of the destination itself. Ideally it is somewhere delegates actually want to go as we know they will take the opportunity to get out and enjoy the local delights. We’re also keen to explore new
markets. It is important for the World event in particular to move around the globe serving all markets. There is scope to do more in South America, for example.
“A World Routes event could expect an ROI of £167m over three years for a host destination”
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Best and worst part of the job?
I’m lucky in that I can genuinely say that this is
a job that I enjoy. However, if pushed, I would without doubt say that the worst part of the job is informing unsuccessful cities that they have not been selected as the host. Even though they know it is a competitive process, a lot of hard work and effort goes into each bid, so making the call to give bad news is by far the worst part of the job. One of the best parts of the job is getting to travel around the world visiting the destinations that are bidding to host our events. This allows me to meet some amazing people and make many new friends along the
Puerto Rico hosted Routes Americas 2016
way, as well as have some fantastic experiences. Making the phone call to the winning bidder is a very satisfying part of the job, and letting them know that all of their hard work has paid off is a fantastic feeling. Finally, there is nothing better than being at the closing ceremony of a successful event to which thousands of delegates have travelled, carried out tens of thousands of meetings, made new friends and met new clients, agreed many new air services, and knowing that I played a small part in it
happening in that city. Routes hosts: Neil Mulligan
See the full list of 2016 Routes hosts and venues online at
routesonline.com/events routesonline.com ROUTES NEWS 2016 ISSUE 3 69
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