MICE

MICE activity, new organisation and, of course, CSR, lifestyle and bleisure: the tenth edition of the Global Meeting Exchange (GME) gave Accor management the opportunity to take stock of the major current trends. The French group's key meeting with buyers and event organisers took place from 19 to 21 September...

IFEMA Madrid is back on the international MICE scene. This was the message sent out on 13 July by the Madrid Convention Centre, which reported a busy, and therefore successful, first half-year. IFEMA Madrid's management noted that it had "spearheaded the revival of the trade fair sector...

It's late afternoon and Istanbul's trendy young people are frequenting the old warehouses in the Tersane district, which is hosting a contemporary art exhibition. While the DJs jam to their consoles, visitors admire and buy the works of art. Unless, of course, they are simply watching the sun set over the Golden Horn...

Almost every week brings a new batch of sustainable certifications for MICE destinations. Following on from Lille Grand Palais and the Zénith de Lille in mid-June, and Biarritz Tourisme and its convention centres more recently, it is now the turn of Congrès et Expositions de Bordeaux to receive its ISO 20121 certification, the...

The eco-responsible orientation of the corporate events sector continues. Following on from Lille Grand Palais and Zénith de Lille in mid-June, Biarritz Tourisme and its convention centres - Espace Bellevue, Casino Municipal, Théâtre de la Gare du Midi and Halle d'Iraty - have also just received ISO 20121 certification. Committed for several years to...

If there is one area of travel that has regained strength and vigour recently, it is undoubtedly meetings and events. The professionals are unanimous on this point, with volumes well above those of 2019, and some at historic levels. Among them, Bird Office noted that, in the month of...

Organised last year in a hybrid format, UNIMEV's annual See You There (SYT) conference was held from 29 June to 1 July at the Jean Prouvé Convention Centre in Nancy, bringing together 300 players from the French events industry. It was an opportunity for them to draw a number of conclusions about their business...

"Meet-Work-Stay": the Postillion Hotels concept perfectly sums up the ultra-business positioning of the Dutch hotelier. A group that stands out for its truly integrated MICE destinations combining accommodation and vast conference centres, as demonstrated by the recent opening of the Postillion Hotel & Convention Centre in The Hague. This new venue for business meetings, almost...

After two disrupted years, is the number of visitors to your establishments now living up to your expectations? Benjamin Abittan - Business has really picked up after the Omicron period. Lately, we've even had weeks like we've never had before, sometimes with up to 7,000 participants a day!...

What better way to showcase your ambitions for business tourism than by setting up a Convention Bureau? While most major French destinations have a department dedicated to business tourism professionals and the marketing of their MICE offer, this is less common in medium-sized cities. With the exception of Cannes...

To become nothing less than one of the most sought-after conference hotels in Germany, if not Europe. Expected to open at the end of the year, the Munich Marriott Hotel City West is clearly setting out its ambitions. These ambitions are based on concrete elements, with a plethora of facilities to host professional meetings. Newly built in the up-and-coming...

Situated between 2 and 3 hours from Paris, London and Brussels, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage occupies a privileged position when it comes to business tourism in the Haut-de-France region. However, recent investments have strengthened its position in the wake of the health crisis, at a time when companies are looking for quality locations, if possible in the heart of the...

New York is maintaining its appeal as a destination for the European public. And after two years with a low profile in its European outbound markets, the American metropolis is back with a marketing and communications campaign. A comeback that is all the more necessary given that New York - like other destinations in Europe - will have to make do without...

Switzerland is easily accessible from anywhere in France, whether by air, rail or road. The country's dense rail and motorway networks make it easy to get around. For MICE organisers, cities and cantons generally offer a dedicated team to answer all logistical and organisational questions....

With long-haul travel still at half-mast and business travel at a moderato tempo, the Pullman Paris Montparnasse would no doubt have been satisfied with a more favourable context for its return to business. However, the management of this 900-room hotel, which caters for international customers and corporate events, doesn't seem to be...

To a foreign traveller, Solothurn might seem like any other small Swiss town. The city of 18,000 inhabitants has a medieval old town with windows decorated with geraniums and countless fountains also adorned with flowerbeds. A town that exudes opulence and tranquillity, with its banks, tower and...

A 45-minute train journey takes you from Lausanne to Fribourg, capital of the canton of the same name. Fribourg is the equivalent of Berne in French-speaking Switzerland. Behind the creation of these two cities in the twelfth century was a great dynasty of German origin, the Zähringers. But the...

So why was Bern chosen as Switzerland's federal capital rather than Geneva or Zurich? This choice was justified by the need to avoid a concentration of power in a single metropolis. Some will say that the city of 140,000 inhabitants is a little provincial for a capital city. But no matter. Berne is a true reflection of...

Lausanne is an ideal base from which to begin a trip to Switzerland, especially for French travellers. Firstly, because the capital of the canton of Vaud is just under four hours from Paris by TGV Lyria. What's more, unlike Geneva, which is geographically on the fringes of the Swiss Confederation, Lausanne is within easy reach of...

For business travellers, Switzerland generally revolves around a few emblematic destinations: Geneva, Basel, Lausanne and Zurich. And yet, in the shadow of these four metropolises, lives another, more discreet, prosperous Switzerland. A Switzerland that is nonetheless an alternative for a conference, an incentive trip or simply...