Incentives and meetings

On 13 May, the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau published its 9^th The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau published a report on convention activity in Paris and the surrounding region, highlighting a record 1,055 conventions and 752,300 participants.

After a two-year hiatus, business tourism groups are returning to Greece. And while they generally favour bustling Athens and are increasingly interested in the contemporary version of the city as well as the ancient monuments, they are also looking to the Peloponnese as a brand new destination.

In conjunction with the GIBTM (Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition) summit held in Abu Dhabi on 25 March, the ICCA has published a focus on the region, showing that the number of international events in the Middle East has tripled over the last ten years.

Google is extending its range of solutions by entering the world of virtual meetings. The web giant has just launched its Chromebox for Meetings, a new videoconferencing service available since February in the United States and expected in a few months' time in France.

Regus is expanding its network in the Paris region with the arrival of four new sites, including two in the capital and a business centre in the heart of the Stade de France.

Regus is strengthening its offering for the many business travellers using Frankfurt airport by opening a new business centre, the 19th for the German business destination.

Iceland, a "land of ice" and a small island of great deserts where fire smoulders beneath the snow and hot springs warm the harsh winters. A rock on the edge of your skin, in perpetual motion, punctuated by plate tectonics, where nature, but above all the people, give a sincere welcome to lovers of the great white elsewhere.

Marriott Hotels is launching Meetings Imagined, a new concept dedicated to the world of MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Convention, Events), based on new technologies and experience sharing, focusing on the objective of each meeting. This new approach is being tested in four hotels in Europe, including the Marriott Rive Gauche in Paris.

Attached to its heritage, but ready to dare anything, London vibrates with unparalleled energy and openness. Times are changingAs ever, the sparkling British capital continues to set international trends by unleashing its creative energies. A unique cultural melting pot.

Cambodia is just an hour's flight from Bangkok, so it's very easy to get to. So, off to Angkor, the wonder of wonders, then Phnom Penh, set on the banks of the Mekong, to finish with the fireworks that can be the Thai capital.

Identity card Formalities Cambodia: a visa valid for one month, costing $20, is issued on arrival. Thailand: passport valid for six months from...

After two years of renovation work, the Maison de la Mutualité reopened its doors in March 2012, decked out in new finery to attract large MICE events and smaller meetings. The development of the Espaces Affaires - coordinated with the meeting resources of the Palais Brongniart and Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild sites - combines a prestigious heritage with the present, and reaffirms the Mutu's position at the forefront of the corporate scene.

Immersion, a French specialist in cutting-edge technologies for professionals, has been marketing its latest high-tech project since mid-November: Meetiiim, an ultra-connected interactive table that provides a collaborative working tool for professional meetings. Its stated aims are to speed up development, reduce errors and improve strategic decision-making.

The Kerzner International group has announced the opening of a new Atlantis resort in southern China: Atlantis Sanya Hainan is due to open in 2016.

A new tool has appeared on the Meetings market: Translate Your World now offers instant translations via a simple piece of software.

On 14 November, Pullman revealed its new concept for meetings in London: the Pullman St Pancras hotel is the first to be equipped with the "business playground" room, dedicated to boards of directors, before it is rolled out across the network in 2014.

According to American Express Business Travel's Meetings & Events department, 2014 will see a stagnation in the MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Convention, Events) segment.

A workshop to promote Tenerife as a MICE destination will be held on 3 December in Paris. The event, organised by the Tenerife Convention Bureau, will bring together hoteliers and incoming agencies at the Spanish Embassy.