Congress: the new international dimension

Ranked fifth in the latest ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) rankings, behind the United States, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, France has more than 200 congress and exhibition centres and nearly 1,400 sites dedicated to hosting events. 2,800 conventions were held in France in 2012, attracting a total of 1.6 million participants.
" All these events generated economic spin-offs of €1.735 billion, excluding taxes, of which €1.2 billion went directly to the tourism industry. What's more, congresses provide 30,000 full-time jobs!" notes Thierry Hesse, President of the Union française des métiers de l'événement. The majority of events are organised by associations, while 56 % of spending, or €920 million, is accounted for by foreign delegates, who represent only 22 % of participants! They spend an average of €400 per day, including transport, compared with €200 for a French person. Their stay lasts four days - 2.5 days for a French delegate - and one in two participants extends their trip after the congress, compared with one in three French delegates.

International bonus

The impact of foreign delegates is particularly noticeable in the Paris Region. In fact, the region, which accounts for 35 % of the conventions organised in the area and hosts almost 50 % of the participants, estimates that, out of the billion euros in direct and indirect economic spin-offs, 68 % come from spending by foreign business tourists. Even if budget restrictions and restrictive French legislation - VAT, taxation of medical congresses, the Sunshine Act decree governing benefits paid to healthcare professionals by pharmaceutical and cosmetics laboratories - may discourage some organisers. However, according to Éloi Courcoux, " the international market represents real potential, particularly the American market. In fact, in the United States, the trend is towards organising a conference outside the country." .
The economic and financial impact of international trade makes it one of the key issues for the industry. Warfare is fierce between countries, and competition is said to border on disloyalty when some of them, like Spain, do not hesitate to subsidise events in order to win tenders. " To deal with this, France needs to take advantage of the political implications at municipal, regional and national level" says Thierry Hesse. Emmanuel Dupart, Deputy Director of France Congrès, agrees: " Attracting conference-goers is part of a global strategy involving all the local players. Having a beautiful, well-equipped convention centre is no longer enough: its surroundings must be attractive and the people involved must be truly professional.."
Some cities have made this observation. In 2011, Bordeaux reaped the rewards of a concerted effort by all regional players. That year, the Aquitaine metropolis appeared for the first time in the top 5 French cities in the ICCA rankings. In 2012, the city hosted 312 events, attracting 1.5 million people, and generating sales of €30 million. " Through our Ambassadors programme, we are leveraging our competitive clusters and local scientific research skills to win new markets." explains Hélène Fourquet, Director of the Bordeaux Convention Bureau.

Creating synergies

Founded in 2007, the "Ambassadors' Club" - all well-known regional figures in the academic, scientific, medical or economic fields - aims to create an environment and synergies conducive to increasing the number of national and, above all, international conferences held in Bordeaux. All the members, who are active in national and international associations, have the role of promoting the city to their colleagues from all over the world, so that they choose Bordeaux as the venue for their conferences. " We're also focusing on synergies between players in the industry, so that we can be more efficient when putting together applications." says Hélène Fourquet. The town council supports these initiatives, as confirmed by Stephan Delaux, deputy mayor with responsibility for tourism, heritage promotion and town events: " we are convinced that tourism, and in particular business tourism, is an essential dynamic for the economic development of Bordeaux. "
Over the last ten years, the city has undergone a complete facelift. In 2003, it acquired a new convention centre designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. The building is a match for the city's ambitions: 10,500 m², three amphitheatres, including one with 1,360 seats, several sub-committee rooms... More recently, the Palais de la Bourse gained four additional rooms in its 1855 space. At the same time, a great deal of promotional work is being carried out and structural projects are flourishing. For example, at the end of 2013, the tramway will link the city centre to the convention centre and exhibition centre in fifteen minutes. In the long term, the line will also link up with the airport. Two other major projects should also appeal to conference-goers: the creation of the Euratlantique district, around the extension of St Jean station, where the arrival of the high-speed line will put Paris just two hours from Bordeaux, and the opening in 2016 of the Cité des civilisations du vin, around which will revolve a reception centre with hotels, restaurants and shops.
As a regional rival to Bordeaux, Toulouse is also aiming to become a major destination for international conferences. To meet this challenge, in 2009 it created the local semi-public company So Toulouse, a structure entirely dedicated to the development of business tourism. Today, So Toulouse has 150 private and public shareholders from the tourism industry, and aims to integrate congresses into the city's economic development dynamic. " We see the conference as a medium for promoting Toulouse's economic growth and attractiveness." explains its director, Jean-François Renac.

Climbing the rankings

So Toulouse offers package deals, calculated by its members, with guaranteed attractive rates. This reassures organisers. " We go abroad one week a month to sell the destination and we have a representative in the United States." says Jean-François Renac. This aggressive policy has enabled Toulouse to enter the big league, particularly when it comes to scientific and medical conferences. In the latest ICCA rankings, Toulouse moved up from 92nd place in Europe in 2009 to 42nd place, and is now France's 3rd most popular destination, tied with Nice! To support this development, a tramway line will link the city centre to the airport in 2014, and in 2017 Toulouse will open a new exhibition centre with a capacity of up to 4,500 people.
In the south-east of the city, Marseille was quick to recognise the importance of associative congresses, which are estimated to generate over €200 million in economic spin-offs! To capture this financial windfall, the city created Marseille Congrès in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Safim, the company that manages the convention and exhibition centre. The association brings together all the regional professionals in the sector. The team has been strengthened by three members of staff, including a convention sales representative. A representative in Paris, a second in London and a third in the United States complete the staff. " Our objective is clear: to attract congresses linked to our competitive clusters, in particular the medical and scientific sectors, which are very active in Marseille, in order to consolidate these sectors in terms of companies and jobs... Our ambition is to become one of the Top 50 destinations for congresses..." explains Maxime Tissot, General Manager of the Tourist and Convention Bureau.
To achieve these objectives, the city is sparing no expense: €12 million has been invested in the Palais du Pharo and €50 million in the Chanot Convention and Exhibition Centre, including the opening of a 3,500-seat plenary hall. In 2013, Marseille will be taking advantage of its status as European Capital of Culture to expand its hotel facilities and renovate its events offering. The new facilities include the Silo, a multi-purpose concert hall, and the opening of the new Stade Vélodrome in 2014. The latter will have a capacity of 67,000 and will feature not only state-of-the-art technical equipment, but also 8,500 sq. m. of private lounges, including an 800 sq. m. reception area and 2,000 sq. m. of modular stages!

Paris, again and again

Despite its international leadership, Paris and the surrounding region are having to contend with the crisis and stiff competition from other European cities. The number of participants is down (625,770 in 2012 compared with 792,000 in 2011, a drop of 21 %) and the increase in international events (+ 27 % in 2012, or 232 events compared with 183 in 2011) has not been enough to offset the decline in economic spin-offs, which fell from €1,100m in 2011 to €1,032m in 2012.
But Paris is still Paris! When it comes to congresses that rotate between major cities, the French capital always attracts more delegates than any other city. Viparis, which brings together ten of the main Parisian venues, hosted 30 international congresses in 2012, including five with more than 5,000 participants. " We're selling Paris as a destination, not as a conference venue" says Laurent Chiron, Sales Director. To remain competitive, venues are expanding their offerings. This is the case at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre, which has opened the Hémisphère on the top level of its Pavilion 7, a multi-purpose space with an uninterrupted view of the capital. In 2017, the whole park is due to be completely modernised, with the creation of the Triangle Tower, which will be 42 storeys high, 180 m high, 35 m wide at the base and 16 m wide at the top! The building will house a panoramic restaurant, 88,000 m² of high-tech offices and 1,500 m² of shops and services. In addition, Viparis is working hard to make the stay of conference delegates easier by providing them with welcome packages including free shuttles providing links between the airports and the city centre, specific event signage and a concierge service.

Lyon's appetite

In terms of hospitality, Lyon is doing the same with the Welcome Attitude, launched in partnership with a dozen institutional members and business tourism professionals. The services on offer include reception desks with hostesses at the airport or station, signage in the show colours and audio announcements. Participants will also find an information kiosk at the event venue, and will be entitled to discounts at various establishments in the city... But Lyon, ranked second city in France by the ICCA, intends to pull out all the stops to attract more events. Firstly, by tackling one of its weak points - accommodation. 31 projects have been committed to over the period 2011-2015, representing 907 additional flats and 2,343 hotel rooms in the conurbation! Work in progress includes the conversion of the Hôtel Dieu into a luxurious 147-room hotel, complete with a convention centre with meeting rooms and an auditorium. Also in 2017, a 'cluster' will be created opposite Lyon Part-Dieu station, offering 455 four-star rooms and 55,000 m² of office space.
Disneyland Resort Paris is ignoring the accommodation problem! With 8,200 rooms in 14 hotels, the theme park has enough to satisfy many requests. " We have no problem accommodating groups of up to 1,000 people: we have two convention centres and 23,500 m² of professional space." says Éloi Courcoux, Director of Business Solutions, the Disneyland Resort's business department. Between 20 and 30 international events are held there every year, representing sales of between €40m and €60m. Éloi Courcoux notes that, " Over the last three years, there have been very few major conferences. We are compensating for this by increasing the number of small and medium-sized events.".

Lasting effect

Organisers are increasingly appreciative of this green edge. In fact, according to the 2013 UDA-Harris Interactive barometer, " 80 % of the companies surveyed are committed to a sustainable development approach and for 88 % of them, corporate communications include a responsible communications approach.. "
La Cité, Nantes' convention centre, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, is part of this sustainable spirit. The city was named European Union Green Capital 2013, and its convention centre has been awarded ISO 9001 certification. The Cité has also been awarded gold status by the AIPC Quality Standards, meeting the quality standards set by the International Association of Convention Centres. Nantes thus joins a closed circle of some twenty world-class cities such as Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, San Diego and Vancouver, all of which can boast an eco-friendly meeting venue.
In Montpellier, the development of an ultra-modern venue adjacent to the exhibition centre took this issue into account from the outset. The Park & Suites Arena is France's second-largest multi-purpose venue, combining a convention centre with an exhibition capacity of 12,500 m2 with a concert hall and sports hall with a capacity of 14,000. Opened in 2010, it is above all resolutely sustainable, with its roof equipped with a photovoltaic energy production system. In addition, the materials used in its construction are HQE-certified, electricity consumption is controlled and waste is sorted. The Park & Suites Arena has been added to the international appeal of the dynamic city of Languedoc, alongside the Corum convention centre in the centre of the city.
In 2010, in response to the growing demand for responsible events, France Congrès created the Quality and Sustainable Development Charter. Some fifteen convention centres are currently certified, including the Centre international de Deauville (C.I.D). " Since 2007, we have been committed to an active approach to sustainable development." says Paul Sechaud, Sales Director. For each event, an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions is drawn up using ADEME's "carbon footprint" method, with estimates incorporated into the quotes given to customers.

The ambition of secondary towns

With 80 % of its business customers in France, C.I.D is setting out to conquer the foreign market. The success of the tender to organise the 2014 World Perfumery Congress, bringing together 900 perfumery specialists from all over the world, has given it the determination to position itself in the organisation of private international events. At the same time, C.I.D is keen to develop its trade shows for the general public. For Paul Sechaud, " This approach helps to fill gaps in the corporate events calendar. "The Digital Tourism Forum, co-organised by the CID and local players, is another example of the value of a conference centre to the local economy.
This synergy of resources is necessary to boost a destination's competitiveness. Especially as competition is fierce, both internationally and within France. The potential economic spin-offs are sparking new ambitions. For example, a medium-sized town like Troyes has just acquired a state-of-the-art convention centre, with an auditorium that can seat between 400 and 800 people and boasts excellent acoustics and scenography. This eco-responsible building, which is brand new but blends in with the medieval architecture of the city of Champagne, is considered to be "the best in the world". a driving force for development in both the city and the département "by the local authorities. Its avowed aim is to raise the profile of Troyes while giving tourism in the Aube region a more "business" flavour.

To attract visitors, cities are not hesitating to showcase their rich heritage. In Pau, for example, the winter palace and casino that attracted British aristocracy in the Belle Époque was transformed in 2000 into a functional conference centre that retains the charm of the Roaring Twenties. The Palais Beaumont, France's only member of the Historic Conference Centres of Europe, has continued to modernise, integrating a WiFi system and playing the sustainable development card with its 14001 certification. The establishment of a convention bureau should boost the commercial impact of the Pyrenean city in the face of competition from its larger neighbours Bordeaux and Toulouse.