congress

It is far from being Austria's best-known city. And that's a mistake. Graz, the country's second largest urban centre with a population of just under 300,000, has nothing to envy its more internationally renowned counterparts such as Innsbruck and Salzburg. The capital of the Land of Styria, in south-east Austria,...

It's the next logical step for a destination that wants to demonstrate its commitment to eco-responsibility. Already ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 18788 (Safety and Security) certified from 2019, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes was awarded the ISO 20121 (Responsible Events) label last year. These prerequisites now enable it to achieve the...

In the shadow of Vienna's coronation in the ICCA rankings, and while everyone was on the lookout for this post-Covid MICE atlas, the news passed relatively unnoticed. Yet it is indicative of the rise of an ambitious destination, a newcomer intent on carving out a place for itself in the sun of major international events. For the...

"The most important building to open in Wellington since the Sky Stadium was built twenty years ago": that's how the new Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre is presented. And when you know the importance attached to the local rugby stadium, you can appreciate the significance of the event. The opening of the new...

Following in the footsteps of Vienna, crowned by the new ICCA rankings as the world's leading congress destination, Prague has also been able to capitalise on the return of international events. With 616,000 participants expected to attend nearly 4,000 events in 2022, the Czech capital is playing a leading role. Admittedly, this means that business is only...

Updated on 24 May at 2pm Back to the old days. Although the ICCA presented a list of the major convention cities last year, it was heavily skewed by the large number of events that had to switch to virtual or hybrid formats as a result of the pandemic. With the gradual resumption of 'in person' events throughout...

It cost almost 110 million euros to give the Cairns Convention Centre a major makeover. And to take on a new dimension as a venue for international events. The full reopening of the site is expected in June, as its managers officially announced on Tuesday at the IMEX, the international...

Put on hold for the past four years, the Coach Omnium study of the French MICE market is back in action, as is the activity itself. A "resurrection", as Marc Watkins, the firm's founder, describes it, made possible by a new partnership with the 1001 Salles Group. As industry experts have discovered...

Access: advantage Antwerp and Ghent are both easy to reach by car from France, with each linked by motorway. When it comes to rail, however, Antwerp has the edge. The Flemish metropolis is on the route of the Thalys trains linking Paris and Amsterdam. It takes an average of 2 hours 15 minutes to get there by train from Paris....

Business travel, and to a lesser extent MICE, is making a comeback in Germany. This is borne out by the report recently published by the German authorities, who teamed up with the EVVC (European Association of Event Centres) for this 2022-2023 barometer. Admittedly, business travel is still below pre-Covid levels, but the number of business trips...

No less than 600 million dollars (550 million euros): that's the amount invested in the renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center, which officially got under way on Tuesday. Among the highlights of the project is the extension of the West Hall, which will now cover more than 130,000 m²....

Having emerged from the pandemic a year ago, events professionals have returned to near-normal activity as 2022 progresses, close to that recorded in 2019. The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes, host of this year's Heavent Meetings show, is expecting to host 140 events this year for a total of...

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) will soon be celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, in 2025. Will Scotland's leading conference venue have returned to its pre-pandemic levels by then? It certainly seems to be on the right track, according to the results published by its management on Monday. "Our figures for 2022...

After two years of pandemic, including eleven months of total inactivity, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes has finally returned to normal activity since its reopening in March 2022. "We're back to pre-Covid levels, with 63 deals signed by the end of March and a profitable business once again. 2023 will be...

The record performance of the 2019 financial year (26.2 million visitors) has yet to be matched, but it's not far off: the authorities in charge of tourism in San Francisco have even already revealed their forecasts. "San Francisco Travel does not anticipate a return to pre-pandemic levels before 2024 in terms of...

What weight does a convention centre have in the eyes of the electorate when compared with promises to extend the Promenade du Paillon, the green corridor that runs through Nice? At least, that's the choice made by Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of the Metropolitan Council, who has launched work to demolish the Palais des Congrès...

A showcase for eco-responsible business meetings. This is what Luxembourg has been offering event organisers since 1 February. Congresses and conferences, trade fairs and exhibitions, conventions or incentives: all types of events can display the "Green Business Events" logo in their communications, a symbol of their commitment to sustainability and inclusiveness. A...

Has Ireland regained its attractiveness in terms of business tourism? Niall Gibbons - We were very worried a year ago, but today we're very confident about the future, because this segment is the one that has recovered most quickly after the pandemic (editor's note: with 463 events organised last year, business...

After Bordeaux Tourisme & Congrès, which will receive ISO 20121 certification in 2021, have other event venues in the destination followed your example? Amélie Déchénais - Indeed. All our conference venues are either already certified or have been awarded the label, or are committed to doing so. In 2022, Beam (editor's note: Bordeaux Events & More, formerly...

The major companies based in the La Défense district have only a few months to wait before they find a convention and exhibition centre as close as possible to their offices, at the Cnit. This is where they used to hold their annual conventions and New Year's presentations. Closed since June 2015, the...