Feb 21-23, 2011

Chairman Joe  Wroblewski of International Convention Committee and Ms. Renee Aubin, the manager of Convention Division visited Fukuoka for site inspection as a candidate city for Lions Clubs International 2016 Convention.

On the first day of the stay, Chairman Wroblewski and Manager Aubin paid a visit to Fukuoka City Mayor Soichiro Takashima and had a pleasant conversation.　Mayor Takashima introduced Fukuoka as the 2^nd most popular destination for conventions for its well-balanced urban function and relaxing natural environment. Chairman Wroblewski commended Mayor Takashima on being one of the young leaders of Japan, in relation to how Lions Clubs International is working to foster leadership worldwide.

In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Wroblewski and Ms. Aubin visited proposed facilities for the 2016 convention, such as Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome, Hilton Fukuoka SeaHawk and Convention Zone, all of which gave impression of being sufficient and efficiently located for the requirements of LCI convention.

On the second day, Mr. Wroblewski and Ms. Aubin took a survey tour of 5 star hotels in the city, which are suggested to be District Governors Elect seminar hotels. They were satisfied to find that all the hotels were adjacently located to the convention zone and Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome, as well as that the city’s traffic was not problematic even during the commuting hours.

On the third day of the visit, the inspectors visited Meiji Dori, the proposed route for International Parade, being given an explanation how the City was experienced in handling shuttles and parade groups through annual events and festivals.

All in all, Fukuoka seems to have given an impression to be a satisfactory candidate as the Lions Club’s International Convention site, and both honorable guests from LCI headquarters left Fukuoka with encouraging comments that they wish to come back to Fukuoka in the near future. 

Fukuoka City and its Convention Bureau will continue all-possible effort to succeed in becoming the site for LCI’s 2016 Convention.