Business destinations

No less dynamic than the bustling megacities, a number of smaller metropolises are stepping up their efforts to innovate and are planning today for the economy of tomorrow.

Architect Dominique Perrault presents his project for a transport hub in Seoul, and looks back at the ongoing transformation of major metropolises.

Sylvie Matelly, Deputy Director of IRIS (Institut des Relations Internationales et Stratégiques), discusses the issues that will affect the future of business megacities.

Hotels, lifestyle, coworking, start-ups: Franck Boucher, Director of Attractiveness at Paris La Défense, presents the future of the Paris business district.

A major business district in search of a new soul... These centres of attraction for investors and major companies from all over the world are driven by the same desire: to bring life to the skyscrapers.

The rebellion of the people of Hong Kong against the central government in Beijing is favouring Macao. The former Portuguese territory, which has just celebrated 20 years of reunification with China, will benefit from all the government's largesse to become a new international financial centre. Has the marginalisation of Hong Kong begun?

The former French colony in the Horn of Africa is equipping itself with new infrastructure and becoming an increasingly popular destination, despite a business environment that is still difficult to access.

Djibouti's nonchalant sub-prefecture look is fast fading, giving way to the trappings of East Africa's new economic metropolis.

Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, outlines the country's development strategy.

Formalities, air services, business services: all the practical information you need for a business trip to Djibouti.

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

Instead of coming to Jakarta to meet members of the government and official institutions, future businessmen travelling to Indonesia will in a few years' time be landing in Balikpapan on their way to the country's new capital on the island of Borneo.

Benefiting from a growing economy and relative political stability, Abidjan is giving itself a new lease of life. The promise of a new "Ivorian miracle", embodied in a series of large-scale projects, is set to revitalise the Plateau business district. Against a backdrop of sustainable development.

An ecologist, eco-reporter, ecoentrepreneur, ambassador for cycling in Africa and head of the MyDream For Africa foundation, Andy Costa sees Abidjan as the new African capital of ecology.

Alexis John Ahyee is Director of HEC Paris for West and Central Africa. He talks to Voyages d'Affaires about the reasons behind the opening of a centre in Abidjan, on the Plateau, and gives his analysis of the destination's dynamism.

Whether it's a craft market or a more upmarket art gallery, a modernist cathedral or colonial relics, a seaside resort or an eco-friendly artificial island, Abidjan and its surroundings are well worth extending your business trip for a bleisure interlude.

For some months now, Abidjan and its Plateau have been working hard to keep business travellers coming back outside office hours: time to savour aloko and attiéké at a table in a maquis or a trendy address, and to extend the evening and then the night in a large business hotel or a more intimate address. An overview of Abidjan's restaurants and hotels.

Business or boutique hotels, trendy addresses and gourmet restaurants, rail links: the essentials for preparing a business trip to Brussels.

Over the last ten years or so, more and more French people have been looking to Brussels as an alternative to Paris. Quality of life, jobs, property prices... There are many factors influencing their choice.

In Brussels, openings are taking place at a leisurely pace, but some very fine establishments and unusual venues are ensuring the city's prestige and originality.