Incentives and meetings

Stable budgets, equivalent lengths of stay, and overall continued appeal, albeit in the face of competition: the study published by the Comité de pilotage des salons et congrès en Ile-de-France (COPIL) is reassuring overall for the French MICE sector.

As Austria's second-largest city with a population of almost 300,000 and the capital of the province of Styria, Graz has a lot to offer the MICE market.

The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes has just been awarded the "Innovative Sustainable Destination" label at the General Meeting of France Congrès et Evénements.

Etienne Giros, Chairman of the French Council of Investors in Africa (CIAN), takes stock of economic relations with Niger and its growing importance.

Airport, conference centre, hotels: Niamey is equipping itself with new facilities to welcome international conferences and business travellers.

Mohamed Saidil Moctar is Managing Director of the Agence Nationale de l'Economie des Conférences (ANEC), and Special Adviser to the President of the Republic of Niger, Mohammed Bazoum. He reports on Niamey's rise to prominence on the international MICE scene.

Villages Clubs has just inaugurated new facilities at its Marseille site, strengthening its position in the MICE segment.

Canua Island, the events barge that was due to set up 600 m off the coast of Mandelieu, has not obtained the necessary documents to launch operations, mainly due to opposition from the President of the PACA region.

Wellington celebrated the inauguration of a brand new convention centre this week. Named Tākina, it boasts 18,000 m² of meetings & events facilities.

Prague has been ranked in the top 5 of the world's leading MICE destinations according to the latest ICCA rankings. Business remains below 2019 levels, but the Convention Bureau is preparing for the future.

The most popular meeting destinations and the most popular hotels: Cvent, which specialises in meeting reservation technologies, has analysed MICE activity around the world in 2022.

Homanie and The Oasis House use the same idea - houses with around fifteen rooms that can be fully privatised - to create a range of seminars in the great outdoors, combining luxury and lifestyle.

Long outstripped by Paris as the world's leading convention city, Vienna is back in first place in the ICCA rankings for 2022. Lisbon and Paris round out the top three.

In Spain, Catalonia has regained its attractiveness and its leading position in the MICE market thanks to its 9 cities equipped with convention centres, with Barcelona at the top of the list. The Catalan capital is one of the most sought-after European cities for operations combining business activities with breaks to discover the destination. Here's a quick look at what's new and what's not.

The Cairns Convention Centre will reopen next month following a major renovation and expansion plan, which also includes a hybrid component.

Here, a ballroom where the Oscars were born, there an intimate room frequented by Winston Churchill, memories of Scarface or Lost in Translation: a list of hotels linking famous films and prestigious events.

The Meeting & Event 2022/2023 barometer published by the German Convention Bureau confirms the return of MICE activity in Germany, which claims to be the leading business travel destination in Europe.

The renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Centre got under way on 9 May. The aim is to consolidate the destination's role as a hub for the MICE segment.

In 2023, the German tourist board will be putting UNESCO sites at the heart of its marketing promotion. An initiative that should prove popular with MICE organisers. And it should go some way to offsetting the decline in business travel to the destination.

The Heavent Meetings trade fair held recently in Cannes provided an opportunity to take stock of the events business in France and abroad. The year 2022, which only got underway in March after the impact of the Omicron variant, was clearly one of recovery, driven firstly by the postponement of operations that could not be held in 2020 or 2021, and then by the need to reconnect with employees. And 2023 confirms the trend, with a surge in demand.