Check the distances on a globe -- "between the USA, Europe and Asia" is actually the Middle East. If we need to account for additional attendance from North America, then somewhere in Europe is better -- and the south or east cheaper than the north or west.
You sure about that? Let's take Denver, Frankfurt, and Hong Kong as representatives of USA, Europe, and Asia, since they're somewhat central to the regions and have major airports.
DEN-YEG: 1019 miles
FRA-YEG: 4559 miles
HKG-YEG: 6504 miles
Total distances to Edmonton: 12531 miles
DEN-DXB: 7771 miles
FRA-DXB: 3012 miles
HKG-DXB: 3684 miles
Total distances to Dubai: 14467 miles
The most "central" point between the USA, Europe, and Asia is actually pretty close to the North Pole: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=FRA-DEN-HKG-FRA&MS=wls&MP=p&DU=...A big chunk of Edmonton internatonal connections route through the US airports -- SEA, MSP, DEN, ORD, SFO, etc. Unless Edmonton airport becomes a major global air hub like Dubai, this is just plain laughable. The actual distance in miles is not the primary concern by far. Not to mention the sheer uncompetitiveness of Canadian airline industry and airports in general. Canada is the most expensive air destination in the world.
http://globalnews.ca/news/2931748/international-flights-from...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commen...
(As for the cost, when I said "cheaper" I meant in terms of the cost of conference facilities, food, and hotels. Obviously the cost of travel will depend on where someone is starting their trip.)