Drupalcons - Big cities, Small cities, who cares

This question was brought up on the DrupalEasy Podcast and it was also a concern/concept I heard multiple people raise as they discussed Barcelona vs. Szeged and, more recently, Paris vs. Maastricht.

• Is there any consistent preference?
• Should we even consider this issue?
• Big cities will likely draw more people because the transportation options, inherent draw of the location, and tourism options are stronger - should we choose big cities to get more attendees?
• Destination resort towns are small enough to have a "Drupaltown" feeling but still have many benefits of a big city - is that the best of both worlds??

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I think that towns on the outskirts of larger Metro areas can be as easy to get to as crossing big cities like Barcelona. After an International flight 30, 60, 90 minutes is all too long to get to your destination.

What I do think that matters is access to both tourism destinations and central business hubs. Many people will extend their trip for a few days if there's a lot of tourism to be done and that combination of work play means more people will come along. Lots of people stuck around in Barcelona for days after. In Szeged, people seemed to move along pretty quickly. Both were great destinations.

A lot people will have business opportunities one hop from a major international airport. I think we will see a lot of pre or post Drupalcon Paris trips to London for example. Being able to have the maximum flexibility will increase attendance and tighten the bonds and collaboration among members in the Drupal community.

Large cities also tend to make it easier for many people to have a variety of accomodations. Some will stay with friends, others will get vacation rental properties, and others will get hotels. These options seem more likely in larger cities.

Cheers,
Kieran

I´ve voted big cities are better.
But I also think that there are other details that are more important or equally important :)

For people that lives far away from the drupalcon, a big city where you can do drupal stuff AND make a small nice holiday, and be a happy tourist, could be more attractive than a small non-interesting city.
That way, users can have 2 reasons to go! :)

I also think that the size doesn´t matter, it´s the "touristic advantages" that matters.
For example: People in South America could consider far more interesting to invest time and money in a trip to Paris, to assist to the next DrupalCon, than to Washington.
Both are big cities, but Paris has many more non-drupal advantages.
At least in my opinion.

Rosamunda

Personnaly, when I decide on something I try to weigh the whole.

But luckily I feel human. I have preconceptions. I contributed to the Maastricht proposal. I find Maastricht having a lot of advantages on Paris. And also I am sure Paris will be a great place to have a DrupalCon. Just because I will find what I am looking for: I like to meet people who have a drive to improve. The fanatic pioneers who spent much energy and time into what they believe. I have been meeting them in Bruxelles, Barcelona, Szeged. The bigger this good content management system of "us" gets, the more "other" people will be in among users of this "better" software. More follower-types will join. Those who go more easy. Downloaders of open source software, but bring back less than pioneer-types.

It might not even occur their minds. May be you can delight them with your fair business offer? I think they will weigh your total offer, the whole shebang. And I like to see that next DrupalCon will attract a lot of Francophone people. It might attract more people from latin countries. Which I think is a positive element for growth of the good software we support. So an Asian DrupalCon would be great too!

I find the total offer important. Therefore I voted "other details are more important"

We could have the entire con at the Munich airport. Great hotel and event center, plenty of restaurants, and as one of the big three hubs in continental Europe, plenty of opportunities for low-cost airfare.

Hotel price might be a little problematic.

Small/big doesn't matter, what matters is how navigable a place is. Szeged worked great because it was small enough to really randomly meet people. DC worked because we mostly used a very small part of the city (China town, U Street and Adams Morgan) and we had Twitter.

Coordination, meeting space and transportation are key.

http://www.twitter.com/lx_barth

Easy transportation access to the city is important. Most People should be able to get there in one or two flights, or my an easy train trip or drive. Both DC and Boston offered that.

I know that one reason i did not go to szeged was the number of flights plus the train all would have added up to nearly a full day of travel in each direction for me (from the us west coast).

Once in the host city, if there is a 30 minute subway ride, that is less important that if the only option is a $50 cab ride, IMO.

So city size matters not, each of transportation to and from and within the city is at the top of my list, plus the amenities one in the city. i am not so concerned about tourism as restaurants, hotels and nightlife.

I also think that not everyone needs to attend every drupalcon, and we should think not about one big audience for each drupalcon but more regional audiences, at least continental audiences. Maybe a western European event would attract europe and eastern US and Eastern Canadians, while a western US event would attract americans (us and canada) and a Asian/Pacific Audience as well as central and western south american audience. an eastern european even might attract europe, asia and the indian subcontinent.

http://www.CivicActions.com
http://www.GregoryHeller.com

The important thing is agenda of the event and not the venue.
Other things can be managed. What it takes more is efforts and manpower to organize the event successfully.

Regards.

:)
Beautifulmind