BestCities Global Alliance is thrilled to welcome Julia Swanson, CEO of Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB), as board chair.
Julia takes over from outgoing chair Dr. Edward Koh. In his time as BestCities Board Chair, Dr. Koh oversaw several key achievements, including onboarding Washington, DC as a new partner destination in 2024; launching the new Association Impact Masterclass in cooperation with ICCA; growing the Madrid Challenge community from 24 meeting planners to 59; and increasing the prominence of the BestCities Global Forum, which culminated in the 2025 event in Dublin, Ireland that welcomed a record 32 association clients, despite the challenges brought by Storm Éowyn.
With over 25 years of experience in tourism and business events, Julia is an industry veteran. During her 14-year tenure at MCB, she has led the organisation to prominence in the global business events sector. Through her role with the Visit Victoria leadership team, Julia has driven stronger strategic alignment with Melbourne’s tourism bureau, contributing to the city’s economic growth.
In 2023, Julia was appointed as director to the board of the Australian Business Events Association. She holds a Bachelor of Business (Catering and Hotel Management) and a Masters of Business (Hospitality and Tourism Marketing). She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has 13 years of experience in a number of international hotel chains.
As incoming board chair, Julia is committed to solidifying BestCities’ position as the world’s premier alliance of convention bureaux. Her focus will be to empower BestCities’ partner destinations to deliver positive, sustainable impacts within their communities and expand their collective knowledge, while minimizing the meetings industry’s global footprint.
“I am absolutely thrilled to take the reins as Chair of BestCities and I look forward to continuing the fantastic work of Edward in creating growth and lasting impacts for our industry,” said Julia. “I’d like to thank Edward for his leadership, and my fellow partner destination leaders for their work in creating this thriving international community. BestCities has been facilitating collaboration and community on a global scale for a quarter of a century, and I am truly privileged to be leading the Alliance into our next era of creating positive impacts through business events.”
“It has been an amazing journey as we grow BestCities Global Alliance from strength to strength, sharing best practices and knowledge among the closely-knitted BestCities community,” said Edward Koh. “This helped to ensure our clients and partners enjoy top-notch service delivery, especially the many who are rotating their events from one BestCities destination to another. I took over from Kit in 2023, who helped us navigate the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, and now hand the reins to Julia, who we are confident will lead the Alliance to a new level of excellence.”