Convention centres - A diversified and structured offer

France experienced a slight downturn in the international congress market in 2014. With 533 events organised last year, France is now in fifth place in the latest ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) rankings, leaving the United Kingdom in fourth place (543 events). Despite these runners-up spots, the two countries are still some way off the leading trio of the United States, Germany and Spain, with 831, 659 and 578 congresses respectively. However, when it comes to the rankings by city, Paris once again stands out as the world's convention capital for the second year running, according to the ICCA. With 214 international events - ten more than in 2013, for a total of 130,516 participants - it is ahead of Vienna (202 events) and Madrid (200 meetings).

A study by the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau (OTCP) confirms these results. Taking all criteria into account, it lists 978 conventions hosted in 2014, representing growth of 1.2 %. At the same time, the number of participants rose by 3.4 % to 688,690. While more than a third of international congresses are related to the medical sector, the proportion of foreign delegates rose by two points. With all the direct and, above all, indirect spending - accommodation, catering, leisure activities, shopping, etc. - generated by these visitors, this increase in attendance explains the +2.6 % growth in economic spin-offs from the congress business, estimated last year at 1.1 billion euros.

In terms of hosting, scientific venues such as universities accounted for 35 % of events, followed by convention centres (23 %), meeting rooms (17 %) and hotels (14 %). Among the main players in the sector, Viparis, which manages the ten main convention, event and entertainment venues in the Paris region, hosted 123 conventions last year, with an average of 2,000 participants.

Every year, the Viparis sites welcome more than 250,000 conference delegates. But this figure is likely to be much higher in the near future with the modernisation of the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre. Expected to open in 2018, the future convention centre will be able to accommodate 25,000 people - compared with 10,000 previously - and will boast Europe's largest plenary hall with 5,200 seats! For its opening, the venue has already been booked to host the five-day international congress of the EASL (European Association for the Study of the Liver), one of the world leaders in its sector. This event, which will bring together 11,000 hepatologists and medical professionals, has not been held in Paris for 13 years.

But the transformation of the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre does not stop there. France's leading architects have been called in to look at its future. Jean Nouvel, Dominique Perrault, Christan de Portzamparc, Denis Valode and Jean Pistre: all these big names have been tasked with giving new impetus to the various pavilions on the site. The crowning achievement of this work will be the completion in 2019 of the Triangle Tower, a project entrusted to the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron and whose construction, after much debate, was definitively approved by the Paris City Council at the beginning of the summer.

At the same time, other Viparis sites will be renovated: the Espace Grande Arche by the end of 2015, then the Carrousel du Louvre in 2016-2017. To attract conference organisers, Viparis has not only undertaken the metamorphosis of its sites - now all Iso 20121 (CSR) certified - but the group has also introduced a range of communication and promotional tools. For example, Viparis has signed an agreement with Aéroports de Paris to strengthen the Exhibition and Convention Welcome Pack launched six years ago in partnership with the Paris Ile-de-France Regional Tourism Committee. A complete package now awaits delegates on arrival: free shuttle transfers, VIP welcome at Paris stations and airports, personalised signage, special flags, exclusive bellhop and concierge services, and a "Like a Parisian" guide. In addition, since September, all the sites have been equipped with an indoor geolocation system. Thanks to the Smart Mobility application, when visitors are connected to WiFi at one of the Viparis centres, the main information they need is automatically available on the home page of their browser, without having to download the application. In just a few seconds, they can access a range of services including a concierge service, site maps, a geolocated chat system interacting with social and professional networks, and the programme for the current event.

For its part, the GL Events group, which manages 16 convention centres around the world, including 10 in France, all of which are ISO 14 001 certified, has also set up a network of all its sites and employees to provide organisers with a relevant global solution. A special software package for sales teams gives them unrivalled responsiveness. Using nine questions put to the customer, it enables a complete commercial offer to be drawn up in record time: no more than two hours after the call for tenders, the company receives a personalised quotation. "At the same time, the creation of the Espace Affaires for Meeting People enables us to offer large companies a range of packaged products including reception, services and catering at set prices for their meetings of up to 200 people.We're delighted to be able to offer such a wide range of events," says Jean-Eudes Rabut, Managing Director of Venue Management at GL Events and Chairman of the Management Board of Strasbourg Événements.

Among its recent developments, GL Events welcomed Strasbourg's Palais de la Musique et des Congrès into its fold in September 2014. Grouped together with the Alsatian city's exhibition centre, the entity, now called Strasbourg Convention + Exhibition Centre, hosts nearly 350 professional and general public events every year, representing more than 80,000 visitors a year. Work started in 2013 will eventually create a single 90,000 m2 multifunctional, modular and hyperconnected events complex.

As convention centres are real economic assets, many cities are improving them to keep pace with the market. "Public authorities are investing heavily, either in renovating their facilities or building new ones, notes Jean-Eudes Rabut. This is the case in cities such as Strasbourg, Metz, Poitiers, Valenciennes and Nancy."

General mobilisation

Open for almost a year now, the Prouvé Convention Centre in Nancy hosted 75 events in the period from September to December 2014 alone. And for 2015, 145 events are expected, including 25 national and international congresses. To support the project, the urban community created Grand Nancy Congrès & Évènements, a local public company 82 % owned by Grand Nancy and 18 % by the city. The aim of this entity is to place the Centre Prouvé among the top 10 convention centres in France, while building on the reputation of the Exhibition Centre. Thanks to the opening of the new structure, the image of the destination has changed. The Grand Est can now accommodate more than 2,000 people seated in the same space. By leveraging the complementary nature of the various regional players, the Nancy centre has been able to refer 67 customers it could not accommodate to Nancy Tourisme & Évènements.

On the banks of the Gironde, the CEB (Congrès & Expositions de Bordeaux) has even higher ambitions: firstly, to make the city of Bordeaux one of the top 3 conference and event organisers in France, up from fifth place at present; and secondly, to reach the milestone of 450 events a year and sales of €30 million by 2020. The CEB, which manages four venues - the Bordeaux 2 exhibition centre, the Palais des Congrès, Hangar 14 and the Cité Mondiale convention centre - counted 369 events in 2014, with an estimated turnover of €27.3 million, an increase of +5 % on 2013.

To achieve its goals and support its growth, the CEB has invested 74 million euros in two projects: the opening, in 2017, of a new hall with a capacity of 3,500 participants, equipped with 10 to 12 sub-commission rooms and an exhibition area, and the renovation of Hall 1. These projects are backed up by a more aggressive commercial policy designed not only to consolidate existing events, but also to accommodate new events such as those recently created, namely ExpoHotel and the Bordeaux Geek Festival, pending a digital event in partnership with Digital Aquitaine. A number of factors should boost this development, including the arrival of the tramway at the gates of the exhibition centre and convention centre, the creation of the new Bordeaux stadium, the opening of the Cité des civilisations du vin in 2016, and the arrival of the Paris-Bordeaux high-speed rail link in 2017.

In Marseille, one of the halls of the Marseille Chanot convention centre has been demolished and transformed into 5,000 m2 of exhibition space. The Palais now also boasts a plenary hall with seating for 1,600 to 3,200 people. This year, the Marseille Provence World Trade Center also upgraded to fibre optics and is planning an extension for 2016. Ranked as France's second-largest convention city by the ICCA, Marseilles is also playing the card of complementarity and synergy with its neighbour Aix-en-Provence. According to the ICCA, the Marseille-Aix entity is now ranked 60th in the world, 14 places higher than in 2013! The fact that Marseille was European Capital of Culture in 2013 has raised its profile, boosting the sector as a whole. New event and meeting venues have opened up, while the hotel offer has expanded.

The success of a destination can also be measured by the number of bids it wins. In 2014, Lyon's Convention and Exhibition Bureau attracted 63 bids, including 50 %s with an international reach. More recently, the capital of the Gauls has won three major congresses against renowned cities such as Berlin, Athens, Hanover and Ljubljana. In April 2018, the World Wide Web Conference will be held, bringing together nearly 3,000 people, followed in August of the same year by the European Academy of Forensic Science Conference, with 1,000 participants expected. In May 2019, the European Congress of Endocrinology will also be held in Lyon, with 5,000 delegates expected.

The dynamism of France's conference cities can also be felt in Toulouse, with its Cité de l'Espace hosting an average of 205 daytime seminars a year. The majority of these are in the scientific, aerospace and medical sectors. Last year, of the 812 events handled by the Convention Bureau, 248 were major conventions, representing a total attendance of over 400,000. This figure is set to rise as the Toulouse-based business continues to expand its client base. For its part, thanks to its convention bureau, which enjoys the support of the urban area and brings together local players, Montpellier intends to develop its major events. In November, the Corum-Palais des Congrès will host the EnerGaïa Forum, bringing together over 3,000 professionals from some twenty countries to discuss the energy transition in the Mediterranean.

Ambitious regions

But hosting these events is not the monopoly of major cities. Medium-sized towns and cities are also keen to attract delegates. Many of them have renovated their infrastructures, forged partnerships with local players or opened a brand new centre. This is the case of Troyes, in Aube, with a new site located in the city centre. An extension of the Hôtel du département, the new building is made entirely of wood, glass and aluminium. It has an 800-seat auditorium and serves as a driving force for the Aube department. Supporting business tourism, it hosted 42 events in 2014, the year it opened, representing some 10,000 participants, mainly from the region. To attract conference-goers, Denis Schwok, chairman of Tours Evènements, is banking on high-performance facilities, but also on the launch of new events such as Drimac, an online video games trade fair. "At our two flagship venues, the Tours Exhibition Centre and the Vinci International Convention Centre, we host more than 300 events, including 160 conferences a year, 24 of which we create ourselves."says Denis Schwok.

Not far from there, in Nantes, a world of glass, wood and steel designed by Yves Lion, La Cité, supports the city's economic and cultural dynamism. As well as hosting La Folle Journée, a popular festival of classical music, this convention centre, bathed in natural daylight, cultivates a very 'green' positioning to attract events such as the États Généraux de la chaleur solaire and the Trans Atlantic Fisheries Technology (TAFT) conference on aquatic resources. In 2014, La Cité was recognised by its peers with the special "Sustainable Development" trophy awarded by France Congrès and the UNIMEV prize for creativity in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility, awarded by the Union française des métiers de l'événement. La Rochelle is also playing the 'green' card, and last year was awarded the 'Congress and City of the Year' prize for the third year running, an international category awarded by France Congrès. Every year, La Rochelle hosts around 300 events and some forty congresses, most of them scientific and technical, such as the International Green Chemistry Symposium in 2014, which attracted more than 500 participants of 37 different nationalities.

The future and history

The natural setting is also one of the arguments put forward by the Auvergne, as confirmed by Arnaud Combes, Sales Director of Auvergne Events. "We are the only venue in Europe located in the heart of a park with 90 volcanoes that could become a Unesco World Heritage Site. Organising a conference in Clermont-Ferrand means not only benefiting from state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure, but also meeting in an exceptional setting!"In 2014, Auvergne Events hosted 98 events at the three sites it manages - the Polydôme, the Grande Halle d'Auvergne and the Zénith - including 18 trade fairs. Last April, Rendez-vous en France, the major tourism event, was also held here, bringing together more than 1,000 exhibitors and 488,000 visitors.

Futuroscope is another park, albeit a less natural one, since it is entirely man-made, and it takes advantage of its innovative and fun aura on the leisure market to attract organisers. Last June, for example, the 43rd CFE-CGC Métallurgie congress was held at the Futuroscope convention centre, bringing together 600 executives from the sector. The venue is equipped to host events, with three amphitheatres, including one with 1,150 modular seats, a 1,600 m2 exhibition hall and a panoramic catering area for up to 1,150 guests.

It is by invoking history, the great history, that some towns build their reputation for events. Pau, for example, plays on the Belle Époque side of its Palais Beaumont. Blois, for its part, plays on a royal triptych. A listed 19th-century building, the Halle aux grains houses a 630-seat hemicycle, while the Maison de la magie celebrates the memory of one of the town's sons, the illusionist Houdin, with over 2,000 m2 of exhibition space. Above all, the city's sublime Renaissance château can host gala dinners and cocktails in several vaulted rooms in the Gaston d'Orléans wing.

As we can see, convention centres play a key role in boosting regional economies; they are essential vectors of innovation, both in terms of technology and architectural creativity. Probably not enough yet.