Business destinations

This month, Mulhouse is inaugurating a new conference centre in the prestigious Société Industrielle de Mulhouse (SIM) building. The city is aiming to become a more attractive venue for MICE activities, offering an alternative to better-known destinations in Alsace such as Strasbourg and Colmar. But also to its powerful neighbour Basel.

More than other cities in Europe or Switzerland, Basel is heavily dependent on business travel. In the post-Covid era, with new travel habits and greater sensitivity to the environment, the authorities believe that a recovery in business tourism will be more difficult to achieve, hence the change in positioning.

Australia is finally backtracking on its desire to remain isolated from the rest of the planet until 2022. The inflexible Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison finally seems to be relenting, while Qantas is working on the resumption of some international routes, including London to Europe.

After repeatedly announcing and then delaying the reopening of Bangkok and the rest of Thailand, it seems that the kingdom is finally ready to welcome foreign visitors once again. This time, the month of November should mark Bangkok's return to the international stage.

Stuttgart and Karlsruhe: two cities, two atmospheres... Hotels, air and rail links, museums, castles: a few keys for visiting business travellers.

A major conference city, Karlsruhe intends to further strengthen this position with the ongoing renovation of its conference centre. At the same time, a number of hotels are being planned.

Armin Dellnitz, Managing Director of Stuttgart Marketing GmbH, takes stock of the situation of the business travel industry in Stuttgart, and outlines the vast "Stuttgart 21" project.

Stuttgart is at the heart of the biggest infrastructure project of the century for the region: Stuttgart 21 involves moving the entire central station underground, building new railway lines, a new congress centre and an eco-neighbourhood in the city centre. It's a titanic project that has provoked a great deal of opposition, but one that will completely reshape the city for the next 100 years.

Baden-Württemberg is one of France's major economic partners. Land connections and university and high-tech cooperation with Alsace make the state a prime business destination. And the Stuttgart 21 project will reinforce the Land's status as an economic hub between East and West.

According to some African media, Air Côte d'Ivoire could soon be owned by Qatar Airways. Qatar in general is playing an increasing role in the tourism and transport sectors in this African country...

Sylvie Parcineau is Head of the Attractiveness Unit at the Var Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She looks back at the scope of the various projects that have been completed, are under way and are still to come.

The teleworking experience is particularly beneficial to a destination like Toulon, which can boast a waterfront office for employees working remotely.

Long a quiet place, Toulon's sleeping beauty is waking up to a head full of projects. New districts are springing up right in the very centre of Toulon, with the aim of repositioning the city and making it a leading centre of attraction in France and beyond.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, a Singapore government minister has announced that the city will open its doors to international travellers in September. This development is due to the fact that Singapore should have fully vaccinated 80% of its population...

On 1 July, Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung raised the possibility of reopening the destination to countries where vaccination is high and infection rates remain low. This decision could be taken before the end of the year, and would include Europe.

While New York's status as a global metropolis has always favoured it, its international exposure has slowed the city's economic recovery in the post-pandemic period. This is due to the absence of international tourists... and to teleworking. 

The impact of Covid, economic activity, the drop in crime and current projects: Christelle Adjagba, President of Nairobi Accueil, takes a look at the strengths of the Kenyan capital.

Visa application, recommended vaccination: all the formalities you need to prepare for a business trip to Kenya.

Business and boutique hotels, bars and restaurants frequented by locals and business travellers: the essentials for preparing a trip to Nairobi.