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BRANDING LOGOS WEB DESIGN SOCIAL MEDIA E-LEARNING INFOGRAPHICS BROCHURES POWERPOINT PHILLIP WENTWORTH +27 082 503 6227 INFO@GAMUTPLANET.COM

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BRANDING CONCEPT ANIMATED LOGO SOCIAL MEDIA DIGI ADVERTS E-SIGNATURES STATIONERY STICKER/STAMP T-SHIRTS

PORTUGAL RUA PEREIRA HENRIQUES 3 - 1950 - 242 - LISBOA - PORTUGAL TEL +351 932 275 091

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2

PORTUGAL

PRINZ PRODUCTIONS

SOUTH AFRICA

INDESIGN ILLUSTRATOR PHOTOSHOP

2 STILLS & FILM PRODUCTION

SOUTH AFRICA 79 ROODEBLOEM RD - WOODSTOCK - CAPE TOWN - 7925 TEL +27 21 447 7437 - FAX +27 86 559 6916

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ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

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PRINZ PRODUCTIONS

STILLS & FILM STILLS PRODUCTION & FILM PRODUCTION SOUTH AFRICA • PORTUGAL SOUTH AFRICA • PORTUGAL

STILLS & FILM PRODUCTION

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SOUTH AFRICA PORTUGAL

INFOGRAPHICS

INF0 GRAPHICS CONCEPT DESIGN INDESIGN ILLUSTRATOR

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POWER POINT

CONCEPT, DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY POWERPOINT INDESIGN NIKON PHOTOSHOP

media perception

so What do the joUrnalists say? a short-dipstick survey of key journalists says that aG is communication well on its performance as a development finance institution and the social-economic impact it is having. so what are the areas of improvements.

perception stUdy may 2015

perception 1. tone in media coverage 2. tone and issue 3. Geographic reach

the media Understands aG

they believe aG is performing well at their job. they also believe that their readers understand economic development and realise its importance. hence, aG stories are good for the media house and important to readers

journalists are happy with their current relationship with aG. however, they want more communication and more stories.

the steady stream of stories.

What’s WorkinG?

they have an appetite for stories about projects, where funding is being invested & how aG is making a difference. these are the stories that communities are interested in and serve as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs. journalists also want to talk directly with beneficiaries as well as aG unit heads & project managers.

inspire me, talk to me

the steady stream of stories. everyone agrees the information received from aG is good. access to the stories through smG and aG is working. journalists know they can quick and easy access “aG is very approachable and available to the media”. journalists have good working knowledge of whom to contact for what. the feedback process is also appreciated

auditing to build public confidence

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everyone agrees the information received from aG is good. access to the stories through smG and aG is working. journalists know they can quick and easy access “aG is very approachable and available to the media”. journalists have good working knowledge of whom to contact for what. the feedback process is also appreciated

so What can be improved?

auditing to build public confidence

INSTAGRAM CAMPAIGN DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY NIKON NDESIGN PHOTOSHOP

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DIGITAL BANNERS

CONCEPT AND DESIGN INDESIGN ILLUSTRATOR PHOTOSHOP

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DIGITAL LEARNING

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mike harvey gardens award winning garden design & planting

WEB DESIGN

warwick gardens warwick

INTERFACE DESIGN

Mike Harvey Gardens has consulted on, and developed a has been involved in a numner of projects with the process of organic process of gardening, has a love of the organic process of gardening, blah blah blah blah blah has a love of the organic process of gardening of organic process of gardening.

INDESIGN ILLUSTRATOR PHOTOSHOP

mulholland chapel eastbourne

contact contact white cliff farm / dover

warwick gardens warwick

mulholland chapel eastbourne

white cliff farm / dover

mike harvey gardens award winning garden design & planting

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MICE

21

report

the

MEEtIngs and busInEss travEl

MEEtIngs and busInEss travEl

In assoCIatIon wIth

16

PARIS Je t’aime

INDESIGN ILLUSTRATOR PHOTOSHOP

Editor Charles Vandeleur editor@raellen.com

Qatar

luxuriance of arabia

10

MasterCard

>> ceo interview 12 Cracking the WIHP Vincent Ramelli, CEO of WIHP, talks about a commission-free future for hoteliers

MaxiMize your Meetings budget

56

Singapore Rocks

38

HigH-iMpact events in tHe east

>> world perspectives 16 Paris The city of light

>> features 10

MasterCard Corporate Solutions Intergrated tools for efficient event management

34

Michelin Guides Travel your own way with the new Michelin Green Guides

60 Serviced Apartments Home-from-home for the business traveller

£3.45 / €4.50

S

Editorial Team Cliff James Ed Carpenter Peter Morrin

50 IMEX The premier exhibition for MICE planners

Design & Print Production Phillip Wentworth Advertising Sales James Stone Colin Gilmore-Smith Peter Ritter Lucy Goldsmith Publishing Director Julian Bonny Finance Director Andrew Lidstone Subscriptions Manager Liam Bonny Published by Raellen Communications Ltd 145-157 St John Street, London EC1V 4PY United Kingdom Tel: +44 208 777 8355 Web: www.themicereport.com

ometimes it’s not easy to be ingenious when it comes to coordinating incentives that are more outstanding than before, or delivering the most imaginative events in impressive locations. According to received wisdom, the highest expression of genius is originality – an ever-rising benchmark for event organisers – which is why, inside this edition of The MICE Report, innovation is the watchword.

Fresh perspectives on familiar locations can provide some bold results, and we take a revolutionary look at that all-time avant-garde favourite: Paris. With a summer programme teeming with cultural events, we reveal the highlights and top business hotels in the ‘City of Lights’. Rediscovering Europe, we report on the environmental and financial advantages of European conferencing, and explore the stately capitals of Stockholm and Bratislava.

Pioneering eastward, we travel to the Arabian Peninsula and encounter the rich heritage and luxurious hospitality of Qatar as a modern business destination. Our global journey to new MICE frontiers takes in Ghana, Montenegro, and the cosmic conference facilities in Houston, headquarters of NASA. For the most recent innovations in event administration, we review MasterCard’s ground-breaking partnership solutions and online tools for the effective management of meetings expenditure, and reveal the latest sure-fire strategies for delivering a perfect meeting every time. Although international travel can take its toll on the health of business travellers, we uncover the hottest nutritional tips for keeping fit, focussed and stress-free while on the move. And, as medical tourism becomes a worldwide phenomenon, we take a detailed look at the incentives of combining medical or cosmetic treatment abroad with a well-deserved vacation. If originality is the highest mark of genius, then this edition of The MICE Report is a valuable master class in the art of inventive event management.

MICE the

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Newsagents please contact W.E. Saarbach GmbH Tel +49 2233 79963

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Budget Airlines The hidden fees of no-frills travel

vol 2 / no 1

Charles Vandeleur

MICE

PARIS Je t’aime

report

CONCEPT & DESIGN ONLINE & PRINT

editor’s letter

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report

MAGAZINE

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report

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All rights reserved. All material in The Mice Report is wholly copyrighted and reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is strictly forbidden. The views expressed in this publication are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Raellen Communications Ltd. The information in this publication is carefully researched and produced in good faith. However, neither the publisher nor the editors accept responsibility for any errors.

08 | themicereport

themicereport | 3

Stockholm Ghana monteneGro houSton BudGet airlineS medical touriSm travel freSh

paris

paris

REVOLUTIONARY

PARIS

As one of the world’s most recognisable cities, Paris continues to seduce the international traveller with its innate originality and indomitable sense of style. Cliff James investigates the charms of the city that sets the standard for MICE hospitality.

E

veryone thinks they know Paris. From the gothic austerity of Notre Dame and the iconic Eiffel Tower to the pompous grandeur of the Louvre, the very mention of Paris conjures up a panoramic cliché of classic architecture, romantic boulevards and avant-garde artists drinking carafes of wine in the louche cafés of Montmartre.

The cliché may be successful, as Paris attracts more than 45 million business visitors and tourists each year, with the Eiffel Tower being the single most visited monument in the world. But it is also a city of unparalleled originality and, time and again, the creative culture of the city triumphs over its own stereotype. The sheer scale of ground-breaking exhibitions, festivals and events ensures that the City of Light is constantly reinventing itself – and

paris

explains why the city remains a leading destination for MICE customers.

Business travellers to the French capital this summer will have access to an immense range of cultural activities as the city bursts into artistic and creative bloom as never before. The high-tech Pompidou Centre, always at the forefront of pioneering art, has recently extended one of its most unmissable exhibitions until next year due to its remarkable success. The Elles@centrepompidou exhibition is one of the biggest collections by female modern artists ever compiled, showcasing more than 500 objects by award-winning artists such as Annette Messager, abstract sculptor Louise Bourgois and the renowned painter Frida Kahlo. This worldclass display runs at the Pompidou Centre until February 2011.

© Dan Breckwoldt

| © Monkey Business

Images | Nessguid

e | Dreamstime.com

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© Dan Breckwoldt | Dreamstime.com

Maddox. With perform ances at the Parc de la Villette and Cabaret Sauvag e, the Jazz à la Villette runs until 12th September.

On a scorching summe r day, history-lovers with a taste for the macabr e can descend into the chilly depths and explore a sinister side of Paris on a tour of the awe-inspiring Catacombes de Paris.

Built in the 18th century on the Avenue du Colonel Henri RolTanguy, the bones of more than six million Parisians from the city’s overpop ulated cemeteries are laid out in a labyrinth of obscure galleries. Lecture s and story-telling tours are available to groups throughout the year.

Previous page: A gargoyle of Notre Dame Cathedra keeps watch over l the city of Paris; the iconic Eiffel Tower on the Champ de Mars; the ultra modern business centre of La Défense ; french cafe society is never complete without the baguette.

26 | themicereport

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For the MICE client seeking light relief from their own gruesome schedu les, Paris chills through out August with the Pianissi mo Jazz Festival at the Sunset/Sunrise music club, 60 Rue des Lombar d.

This annual jazz festival showcases the cream of international bands on stylishly intimate stages within the legendary jazz club. The Jazz à la Villette festival picks up where the Pianissimo leaves off, with a celebration of experimental jazz from the likes of Jimi Tenor, Gil Scott-Heron and Napoleon

Cole Porter famousl y said that he loved Paris in the summer, “when it sizzles”, and the sensatio nal al fresco culture really heats up from July right through to the autumn with an array of outdoor events. A Mediterranean beach – Paris Plage – appears on the banks of the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette until 20th August, complete with sand dunes, boating, outdoor bars and cafes. In the balmy evenings, the ultramo dern Parc de la Villette turns into an open-air Cinema Festival, where visitors can spread out picnics and enjoy their favourite films until 22nd August.

Le Festival d’Autom ne à Paris (the Paris Autumn Festival) transforms countless public spaces and venues of the city into a sweltering celebra tion of contemporary theatre, music, dance and visual arts from 1st Septem ber to 31st December.

The open-air lifestyle is cultivated in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris’s western park, which is more than twice the size of New York’s Central Park.

From May to October , the gardens are an exquisite backdrop to a festival of Renaissance theatre, where plays by Shakesp eare are performed in both English and French – a dream of a mid-sum mer night’s entertainment.

The City of Light – so called because of the abundance of night-tim e illuminations – also received its nicknam e because of its fame as a centre of scientific ideas during the Age of Enlighte nment.

It is fitting that one of the world’s most ambitious exhibitions on the origin of the universe is displaye d in Paris’s Cité des Sciences – Europe’ s largest science museum. The ongoing two-level expositi on