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headquarters Published by Meeting Media Company (Europe) www.headquartersmagazine.com - press@headquartersmagazine.com

# Edition March 2013

53

Cape Town Meeting Media Company Meetings Industry Publishers HQ is published 5 times a year: March, May, June, September, November

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ESAE & UIA Finding the right venues

> Malaysia Contents

Finding the right venue: not an easy job

Colophon HQ or Headquarters is a niche publication for European and international associations headquartered in Brussels and all major European cities dealing with the organisation of worldwide congresses. Published 5 times a year. Circulation: 5,000 copies.

Subscriptions 65€ (all incl.) in Belgium, 75€ (all incl.) in the EU, 95€ (all incl.) in the rest of the world. One subscription entails 5 editions of Headquarters a year, including HQ Meeting Trends Special.

To subscribe: www.headquartersmagazine.com Editor in Chief Marcel A.M. Vissers T. +32 (0)3 226 88 81 marcel@headquartersmagazine.com Managing Director Cécile Caiati-Koch T. +32 (0)2 761 70 52 cecile@headquartersmagazine.com Account Manager – International Sales Kelvin Lu T. +32 (0)2 761 70 59 kelvin@headquartersmagazine.com Managing Editor Rémi Dévé T. +32 (0)2 761 70 58 remi@headquartersmagazine.com

Marcel A.M. VISSERS Editor in Chief

Finding a venue for an event is not an easy assignment. It’s a bit like a young couple looking for a place to hold their wedding. The rooms must be stylish and the food has to be special.

And we haven’t even mentioned prices and the dedication of the staff! It happened to me last year when I wanted to invite some guests in a special venue who were attending an international congress. It had to be a dinner with a story ... and it had to be an EXCEPTIONAL venue for my (small) SPECIAL event.

The initial question was: Where can I invite a selected group of about 20 people to dinner in Amsterdam? The city has many locations with a story. And that was part of the problem because I didn’t know where to begin. I started exploring all kinds of websites - the so-called fast search engines. A hell of a job! Hundreds of restaurants and hotels with special rooms appeared in front of my eyes. But none caught my attention, which I turned to professional magazines, only to find out most of them were too business coloured. Very few magazines in our sector are content driven, as you know. Then, I ended up on portal sites like Micefinder, TripAdvisor ... but couldn’t find anything suitable. What to do?

As a professional writer for the meetings industry, I have lots of contacts with city convention bureaus. I immediately thought of my good friend Marc Horsmans, manager of the Amsterdam Congress Bureau. He understood my request in a heartbeat and within a week I received an original proposal: Step into history, visit the Amsterdam canal-side museums at night! An awesome idea from a real connoisseur.

Design & Print Press Point Poelstraat 167 - 9820 Merelbeke T. +32 (0)9 362 52 50 - www.presspoint.be

I learned my lesson. When you’re in need of the perfect venue, you have to follow three steps:

Cover Queretaro Convention Center

2. Explore all kind of information providers but do not spend too much time on it (websites are good for general information but most of the time are PR mediums).

Supported by ESAE, the European Society of Association Executives, and UIA, the Union of International Associations Address 59 rue René Declercq 1150 Brussels (Belgium) T. +32 (0)2 761 70 50 F. +32 (0)2 761 70 51 www.headquartersmagazine.com press@headquartersmagazine.com

1. Put your detailed wishes on a piece of paper.

3. End up with some professional advice (convention bureau, DMC or PCO or an association executive who organised already a conference where you’re going yourself and talk to them personally).

And most important: go and visit the place yourself or send one of your staff members. Finding the right venue will always be a story, an event with a story! » More stories on www.headquartersmagazine.com

Contents GENERAL News 4 Viparis 5 Association portrait 6

Cécile Caiati-Koch

Rémi Dévé

Kelvin Lu

ESAE & UIA How to find the right venue(s) for your event(s)? 10 DESTINATION SPECIAL Mexico 38

DESTINATIONS Nantes 9 Malaysia 19 Indonesia 22 Hangzhou, China 24 Macao 26 Qatar 28 Berlin, Germany 31 Denmark 32 Basel, Switzerland 34 Montreux, Switzerland 37

DESTINATION SUPPLEMENT Finland 3

> News

Meetings with a licence to thrill at London’s St Ermin’s Hotel As the only publicly accessible building in central London closely associated with the history of espionage, the St Ermin’s Hotel, Westminster is an atmospheric choice of venue to build on 2012’s James Bond centenary… and bring a whiff of real life intrigue to your event…

BCEC on Grey Street

BCEC on Grey Street celebrates successful first year One year after opening, BCEC on Grey Street, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre’s, five level boutique expansion is celebrating a successful first year of operation. Specifically designed to meet increased market demand for smaller and medium sized meetings, conference organisers have praised the iconic design and boutique nature of the venue citing its unique flexibility and functionality. In its first 12 months, BCEC on Grey Street hosted 73,000 delegates at 470 events including 58 conventions. Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre increased its total number of business events in the calendar year in 2012 by 28% over the previous year. www.bcec.com.au

Gwangju will host the 2015 IDA Congress The International Design Alliance (IDA) announced the appointment of Gwangju (South Korea) as the next host city of the 2015 IDA Congress. The city was selected based on the strength of its bid, co-led

by Korea Craft & Design Foundation and Gwangju Metropolitan City during an international competitive bid process, which began in September 2011. The upcoming event in Gwangju will be the third iteration of the IDA Congress, which was established to engage a dialogue between designers and non-design stakeholders. www.idacongress.com 4

St Ermin’s Hotel

Congress Frankfurt in full swing in 2012 In 2012, conventions and congresses at the Messe Frankfurt exhibition grounds drew 112,000 participants, an increase of 13 percent over the previous year. Nearly half (41%) of the 76 events held in total were multi-day events, which is four percent more than in 2011. The total number of conventions and congresses held steady in comparison with the previous year (81 events in 2011). One of the highlights was the central customer conference for technology giant Hewlett Packard (HP) in December 2012.

HP utilised over 1,000 presentations, workshops and individual seminars to inform the more than 9,000 participants from 100 countries of the company’s latest developments and products. www.congressfrankfurt.de

2013 Meetings Industry Fairs GIBTM // 25-27 March 2013, Abu Dhabi // www.gibtm.com IMEX // 21-23 May 2013, Frankfurt // www.imex-frankfurt.com AIBTM // 11-13 June 2013, Chicago // www.aibtm.com CIBTM // 2-4 September 2013, Beijing // www.cibtm.com IMEX America // 15-17October 2013, Las Vegas // www.imexamerica.com EIBTM // 19-21 November 2013, Barcelona // www.eibtm.com

Re-opened following a splendid redesign, the historic, four star deluxe venue is certainly plush enough to accommodate would-be Bonds with dramatic public spaces and opulent Crystal Ballroom and Cloisters suites.

The St Ermin’s Hotel is about five minutes on foot to Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the river, with the London Eye and ferries down to the Tower of London, Canary Wharf and Greenwich. Stroll the other way from the hotel and you are in St James’s Park, checking out Buckingham Palace and the stores of Piccadilly and close to the fascinating Cabinet War Rooms. The St Ermin’s team can easily help with tailored themed packages involving 007- style fast Rib rides on the Thames and in-depth spy trails of the neighbourhood with the Intelligence Trail.

Whilst delivering memorable glamour for event guests, the hotel also provides the latest technologies. As well as multi-national plug sockets as standard in all guest rooms and complimentary wi-fi throughout the hotel, this Summer sees the addition of full media walls in two of their fifteen major meeting rooms and the installation of a full lighting rig within the Crystal Ballroom. www.sterminshotel.co.uk + 44 (0) 207 222 7888.

>> Malaysia Viparis

The largest international conference for photovoltaic research chooses Paris Nord Villepinte

Viparis key figures • 1,000 events hosted every year • 13 auditoria seating from 168 to 3,723 participants • 239 meeting rooms • 28 multipurpose spaces • 34 exhibition halls from 1,000 to 72,000 m2

Paris Nord Villepinte, a venue of the Viparis group, has been chosen by the organisers of the EU PVSEC to host their congress and exhibition this year from September 30th to October 4th 2013.

Over 4,000 delegates will attend the conferences and over 31,000 visitors are expected to the exhibition.

Paris Nord Villepinte, the largest exhibition centre in France and 6th largest in Europe, offers all the advantages needed for an international conference and exhibition of this dimension: modern, daylight exhibition halls interconnected via a large glass gallery including many services for delegates.

Located within 2 metro stops from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, and 25 minutes from the centre of Paris, the venue has its own dedicated metro station.

Paris Nord Villepinte is well known for hosting many annual international exhibitions in fashion and home decorations, and is becoming a sought-after venue for international congresses as well. The venue hosted over 32,000 delegates of the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology in 2011. In 2013, in addition to the EU PVSEC conference, the venue will also host the Critical Communications World Congress & Exhibition, from 21 to 24 May.

Paris Nord Villepinte

© ACS

The European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) is the largest international conference for photovoltaic research, technologies and applications, and at the same time one of the top international photovoltaic industry exhibitions. It gathers the global PV community to conduct business, to network and to present and discuss the latest developments and innovations in photovoltaics.

It is the world renowned science-to-science, business-to-business and science-to-industry platform with a full and only focus on the global PV solar sector.

Viparis is continuing a large programme of investment to improve the venue: after major renovations of the restaurants, esplanade and gardens, this year the entrance gallery which allows a glass-covered entrance to halls 1 to 5, will be extended to include halls 6 and 7. These works will enhance the interconnectivity between halls and will create a strong visual identity for all of the space as seen from the esplanade.

Contact Viparis 2, place de la Porte Maillot 75017 Paris T+33 (0)1 40 68 22 22 sarah.dupons@viparis.com www.venuesinparis.com

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> Association portrait

The World LP Gas Association A profile Esther Assous, Events Director of the WORLD LP GAS ASSOCIATION (WLPGA), writes about how the organization operates and what challenges it has overcome in the past years.

Esther Assous

The World LP Gas Association (WLPGA) is the authoritative voice of the global LP Gas industry and represents the full LP Gas value chain. The primary goal of the Association is to add value to the LP Gas sector by driving premium demand for LP Gas, and also promoting compliance to good business and safety practices.

The WLPGA brings together private and public companies involved in one, several or all activities of the industry; develops long-term partnerships with international organisations; and implements projects on 6

local and global scales. The Association was established in 1987 and granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1989.

The most recent regional summit was organised in New Delhi in February 2012 and the 2013 the regional summit schedule is in its early planning stages.

WLPGA’s powerful industry membership structure provides unique opportunities for members in both mature and developing LP Gas markets to communicate and create credible partnerships for business development. The WLPGA provides a platform for information exchange, regularly organising interactive meetings and in-country workshops between technical experts, senior members and key stakeholders. These events are designed to highlight the benefits of LP Gas, discuss best practices, and promote the safe and sustainable use of LP Gas around the world.

The World LP Gas Forum is THE premier annual global event for the LP Gas industry and the WLPGA’s flagship event. This unique event travels the globe annually attracting key international agencies, policy makers, media and the highest level of industry leaders to explore the LP Gas business, discuss its growth potential and to forge new business relationships. The Forum regularly attracts over 2,000 attendees and hundreds of external visitors from more than 50 countries.

Key events Two key events organized by the World LP Gas Association are the regional summits and the annual World LP Gas Forum.

The regional summits are organised once or twice a year. These events are strongly supported by the local industry and if possible a third party development agency and take place in different regions of the world addressing regional and thematic issues.

Alongside the conference, the exhibition provides all delegates and visitors with the opportunity to see all the latest products and services available in the LP Gas world.

The exhibition hall provides a central point for all Forum participants to network, learn and develop exciting new business opportunities. In 2012, the 25th anniversary of the Forum took place in Bali and this year, the 26th World LP Gas Forum, will take place in London, October 1-3rd.

> Association portrait

Logistics: a challenge Organising such a major event is without doubt a significant project. Up until 2001 the organisation of the Forum was carried out by an in-house events manager. However, in order for this rapidly expanding event to develop successfully, the WLPGA realised that it would be necessary to outsource certain elements of the event management.

Today the Forum organisation is led by the Events Director based at the WLPGA head office in Paris who oversees the entire project, supported by a Core PCO also based in Paris. The Core PCO also works with a local PCO who manage and advise on much of the in-country logistics. Part in-sourcing and part out-sourcing seems to be the most effective model with the Association benefiting from the strengths of a Core PCO. The WLPGA expects the PCO to find suitably talented staff. Success depends on the talent of the appointed staff, their abilities and skills.

Where to go?

The Forum is a roaming event which travels the world. The destination depends on where the industry is well represented at a given time, and where the Forum will be supported by the local industry. The greatest challenge is that as each Forum takes place in a different city there are often very specific cultural and organisational challenges. In the last few years we have travelled to Indonesia, Qatar, Spain, Brazil and this year to the UK, this gives the organising team not only certain challenges but also adds an exciting international aspect to working on this major event.

WLPGA’s last five Forums 2012: Bali, Indonesia, 11-13 September 2011: Doha, Qatar, 26-29 September 2010: Madrid, Spain, 28 September 1 October 2009: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 7-9 October 2008: Seoul, Korea, 24-26 September

The world Forum is the largest revenue source for WLPGA and is in competition with other LP Gas events organised around the world. The major advantage of this Forum is that the WLPGA is the industry’s representative body but nevertheless, the WLPGA appreciates the need to keep the Forum innovative.

Trends in the meetings industry The WLPGA has been following trends in the meetings industry and the Forum has evolved over the years. The meetings industry is affected by changes in the economy and needs to adapt to strategic economic priorities like, for example, cost reduction.

The budget is tighter and the event has to provide a return on investment. There is greater use of technology with hybrid and virtual formats. A shortened planning and execution cycle to keep the events relevant and a better understanding of delegate needs and intentions beforehand have become key factors.

The trend is that some meetings move to cyberspace, although face-to-face meetings remain far better equipped to forming

lasting relationships and business partnerships. Use of technology such as live broadcasts and video streaming allows attendees to participate in meetings from remote locations. Cost savings is a major factor in this trend, along with the importance of a meeting’s environmental responsibility.

Taking these considerations into account, the duration of the Forum has been shortened and brought back to two full days of sessions and exhibition. Events with industry partners to share venue costs, the set of registration fees for bulk registrations is also something that has been adapted, and last but not least the demand of financial support from host cities has become more important.

The challenge the WLPGA faces as an association is managing revenue streams.

Unlike traditional business, the WLPGA is reliant principally on membership fees and proceeds from the annual Forum to generate revenue and keep the organisation funded and functioning. This means that association members must understand why they are members and what benefits they are getting for their annual fees. Therefore, creating services and products that benefit members and communicating these benefits clearly and in a timely fashion is of utmost importance. Secondly, the annual Forum must remain fresh, relevant and modern, and balance the need for serious, substantial industry discussions and themes with attractive and dynamic venues. www.worldlpgas.com

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> Malaysia

> Research Malaysia

How to work with Asian groups The tide is turning. Instead of Westerners flocking to Asia for meetings and conferences, it’s now the other way around; Asia has become the driving force in global outbound travel. For the westerners who seem not yet prepared in hosting Asian groups, it’s about time that they step up and learn how to do it properly.

Text Katie Lau According to ITB World Travel Trends Report, during the first six months of 2012, the number of outbound trips from China grew by 20%. Japan also reported strong growth during the first half of last year. Asian outbound travel is expected to grow by 6% in 2013. The report also predicted that Indonesia and the Philippines were likely to enjoy a double-digit growth in 2013. What’s more, Europe is set to become a promising MICE destination for Asians, according to the 2011 China and Asia meetings industry research report from CIBTM.

of Geneva Convention Bureau, visited India a few months ago to attend a workshop where she promoted Geneva to big Indian companies. ‘We talked about their needs in the MICE industry, then we know what we can and cannot do. It’s important to understand each other’ she said.

hope to end up with when offering or setting a price. ‘Don’t reveal your hand too early in the negotiation process’ he said. Asians take their time at reaching consensus and making decisions so don’t push for a decision or deadline.

Relationships drive business in Asia, especially the Chinese and Japanese usually don’t like to do business with strangers.

Build your trust with your business partner with respect and favors. The process could happen as soon as you introduce yourself.

What should be known Asians are known for being hard working with excellent business acumen. To engage them, you should do your homework and understand what makes them tick.

According to Kripen Dhrona, marketing and events manager of London’s Enterprise Hotel with 15 years’ experience in crosscultural meetings and events, organizers should familiarize themselves with cultural and religious differences across Asia, where Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism have their own different festivals and celebrations.

Gather your insights ‘by simply investing in an international calendar and obtaining localized information’ Dhrona said. You might not want to plan events that clash with the national holidays and festivals.

But of course, there are always exceptions when clients are willing to work on vacation. Always ask for your clients’ specifications beforehand. Remember that many Asian holidays (like the Chinese New Year) move dates each year, similar to Easter in the UK. If you’d like to target a particular area, a personal visit is an excellent way to gain first-hand knowledge and foster networking opportunities. Anja Loetscher, director

The lack of consideration and cultural sensitivity could lead to disaster. According to Dhrona, all Asian cultures have subtle hierarchies and rankings prevail in business culture. It is important to show respect to senior or older delegates. For example, it’s always good to greet Japanese with a bow and Indians with a short nod of the head as a mark of respect. Traditional Asian businessmen will be better received with a delegation that contains some older members.

Understand the Asian business culture With the Asians, expect to bargain or negotiate a lot. ‘They are always looking for the best deal’ said Mrs Loetscher, who lived in the Asia Pacific region for 17 years. Dhrona suggested starting out at double what you

‘The Asian culture also honors last names and professional titles. Don’t be afraid to highlight these when introducing yourself or others’ Dhrona said.

As most Asians have a ‘last-minute’ lifestyle, Mrs Loetscher said planning events with them can be challenging for Europeans: ‘They change their mind every two minutes.

We’re not used to this. You have to expect to make a lot of changes with them.’ However, it’s a mixed call when it comes to following the schedule. ‘Chinese, Japanese, Hong Kong and South Korea and Thai delegates tend to stick to the times fairly rigidly, while those from Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines are unlikely to start punctually’ Dhrona said.

Indians feel offended when punctuality is not observed.

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A farewell from Luc Maene…

Where did the past thirty years go ? It feels like yesterday that I started organizing conferences and was involved in finding suitable venues. During this period I learned the difference between intergovernmental meetings, scientific conferences and industry events. It has been a fascinating experience, dealing with so many conference centres and hotels in a variety of cities all over the world.

A sound knowledge of the nature of the event you are responsible for is indispensable to successfully select a venue. As organizer, you need a clear and detailed scenario to find the correct venue.

Obviously, there have been tremendous changes since I started being involved. The communication explosion has changed the character of the meetings industry. Participants have developed different travel patterns, accessibility has become a very important factor and events in general are concluded in shorter time frames than before.

Over the years, the conference department in the association I was responsible for has become extremely experienced and skillfull in identifying the most appropriate venues for its events. In many cases but certainly not all, convention bureaus have assisted in a very professional way. It makes it so much easier for the organiser to have a well-functioning convention bureau in place but the diversity among convention bureaus still amazes me.

Now that I have passed on the responsibility of managing the trade association to my successor, I would like to stress my belief in the need for people to meet and I see a great future for the meetings industry, no doubt challenging, no doubt different in nature than before but nevertheless successful.

The time for me has also come to pass on the presidency of ESAE. I have enjoyed being involved in the association movement in Europe and with its headquarters newly established in Brussels, I wish ESAE great success in the future. In this connection, I am sharing this column with the Vice President of ESAE, Alessandro Cortese from ESTRO whose views now follow.

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…and a hello from Alessandro Cortese ESAE played over the years an important role in promoting the professional aspects of Association Management and in providing educational opportunities for association executives.

With a challenging social and economical environment, associations are called to more diversified roles, often increasing the scope of their mission and adopting ambitious strategies to remain relevant to their respective communities. In this context, the role of the ‘modern’ association executive is also evolving with speed, with the need of developing a complex mix of business competencies and communication and representation skills.

In its strategic approach, ESAE recognizes the need to support AM professionals in their ability to gather knowledge about diversifying funding sources in the given economic context, learn practices from the corporate sectors and develop methodologies applicable to the association sector, engage volunteers and members more effectively, measure value and performance in a non-profit context.

While this cannot be considered as an exhaustive list, it illustrates a vision of the association executive as an aware professional, always looking at importing best practices in his or her organization and striving to professionalize it, in order to maximize the generation of resources to be reinvested in the mission of the association.

To reply to this need, a series of meetings and educational opportunities will be soon announced by ESAE, animating the new office of the association in Brussels. I invite you to meet ESAE in its new location and follow the different initiatives that the Society will propose in the coming months.

New ESAE Secretariat Contact Christoph Raudonat VALO Business Consulting SPRL Av. Paul Hymans 55 1200 Brussels T. +32 498 598 578 christoph.raudonat@valobusinessconsulting.com www.esae.org

Venue Finding Not Just About Logistics Back home from your 2013 Symposium… boxes unpacked… Madrid confirmed for 2015… before you know it, you are at your desk Googling ‘4 star hotels Madrid’ and receive 1,310,000,000 results in .37 seconds. Sound familiar? Where do you actually start and how do you avoid reinventing the wheel?

Text Line Jubert and Pam Rubin, Events and Meetings Consultants, HelmsBriscoe

First things first - think strategy, not logistics Venue sourcing is notoriously time-consuming and you may be tempted to attack the details before your ultimate goals have been clearly articulated. Before jumping the gun, visualize the finish line in terms of attendee demographics, expectation fulfillment and revenue generation. What exactly is the desired outcome and how is it going to influence the search?

of repetition, innovation for its own sake, and planning logistics at too early a stage.

At this point, location, format, and capacity related information should all reflect an event’s unique goals. Only when the correct guiding principles are in place can intelligent venue research really start - the work

that should eventually lead to comparisons among properties with the use of spreadsheets, budget analysis, and links to visuals and maps. And when the time comes to select your venue, good use of these tools will help you move forward without retracing your steps.

Be as concrete as possible. If your congress is multidisciplinary, does the number of breakouts you are planning reflect the evolution in your membership structure or does it just mirror the number of workshops you planned last year? If your goal is to get buyers and sellers together, have you planned sufficient networking and working space beyond the coffee break areas? Does the space provide enough intimacy for discussions and real work?

In case of doubts, reviewing your association’s mission statement can be useful. While it is considered a guideline, it is rarely used as a planning tool, when in fact it helps you to reconnect with the organization’s core values and goals. Using the mission statement as a guiding light can transform a standard networking and educational event into a compelling membership loyalty programme.

Meeting your association’s objectives requires a conscious effort throughout the planning process to avoid the pitfalls

Line Jubert 11

Annual events challenging assumptions

Online booking tools for meetings are inadequate as a single solution, considering the complexity of the entire process. This is as true for the procurement process on the association side as it is for sales on the venue side.

The beauty of annual events is in the expertise you build as an organiser and the delegate loyalty fostered. The dangers fall squarely in the risk of staying in ‘event comfort zone’. Keeping your events fresh year after year requires challenging a few assumptions on your part.

Location, location, location: city centre hotels, while typically the most sought after, may not be in line with your overall event strategy if you organise a yearly event that relies heavily on sponsorship revenue. In this case, the appeal of a more isolated countryside resort can ensure your delegates do not leave before the event concludes and your sponsors are inspired to return year after year.

Let’s be clear: relationships are key to the venue procurement process and always will be.

Does working with a third party make more sense? Before deciding to do everything in-house or to delegate the job, costing your time and answering the following questions may be useful: What is the potential third party’s core business and what jobs do they subcontract? Do they charge separate management fees and/or commissions on external suppliers? Are mark-ups clearly spelled out in the proposal, contract and on invoices, and will you receive copies of supplier invoices if you request them?

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Pam Rubin

While this information is crucial for event planners who recover VAT, it is sometimes requested by associations only at the time of billing, but rarely initially, at RFP level as it should be. Most people will agree that pricing structures and billing practices vary across the industry and across countries, but transparency should be part of the equation regardless.

Consider alternative dates - If your event occurs annually, the dates may be your only margin of flexibility once the budget and a city are set. Rates in late January are typically considerably lower than rates in November and worth considering; fixed dates may translate into a huge strain on your budget. Extending the search to include alternate dates can pay off, and receiving insider information from third parties such as venue finders, hotels, and convention bureaus can really help.

It takes a village There is a reason why we don’t book venues the way we book plane tickets.

• The job is too complex to be handled entirely by software.

• We require the interpersonal relationships between client and supplier to fill in all the gaps that the admittedly good tools and resources miss.

With the increasing importance of yield management in the hotel industry and ever-expanding tools and sources of information, the value of relationships with hoteliers is sometimes in question. Let’s be clear: relationships are still key to the venue procurement process and always will be.

Yield management, while important, is only one part of the equation.

The hospitality business is a people business, and while tools available to meeting planners have diversified tremendously in the past few years and facilitate some of the work, they can also add an extra layer of complexity to the process - and will never be as interactive as a live human being.

Technology will not negotiate the fine lines of a contract, nor will it give you a headsup on last-minute group cancellations that need to be filled. Whatever their goals are, successful events are made by people, for people. Their purpose is as unique as the organisers. And this is probably for the best.

A global leader in meetings procurement, HelmsBriscoe offers an easy alternative to the complexity and expense of planning your next event. In 2012 alone HelmsBriscoe booked close to 600 million Euros in room revenue representing 4.5 million room nights for 35,000 different programmes. www.helmsbriscoe.com

So what is the right venue for your event?

I once remember suggesting to a university professor that the right venue for his conference would probably be on his university campus. How wrong one can be! He said that it was the last place he wanted to host his conference because it was his workplace and what he wanted was to meet in a well-appointed hotel that did not break his budget but provided an enjoyable experience for his colleagues from around the world. In his case it was the attractiveness of the meeting venue that was overriding any other consideration including economic.

Text Roslyn McLeod The first question is what are the objectives of the meeting? What have the precedents been? Is there a venue tradition? Does size of the meeting, its number of participants, how many concurrent sessions and which sessions are more popular demanding what larger capacities, is there an exhibition, is lunch included and is it sit down or a part of the

exhibition, what social functions are included?

Does the venue have electronic capability?

A few tips These questions and many more provide the background information that enables you to construct a brief to send to venues.

So TIP 1 is to do up a briefing document

that summarises all the relevant information for the hotel or congress centre to assess if the business is a match for their venue and to provide a costing to match your needs. It is good practice to outline your requirements and will be useful in putting together the budget and the project plan.

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TIP 4 is to make sure your briefing covers all your needs to ensure the quotation you receive is comprehensive. Ask the venue to inform you of costs that may occur that you have overlooked or they suspect you may require. Put the onus on the venue to make you aware of any possible charges to minimise surprises.

TIP 2 is to research the available venues to approach. Convention bureaus are a good source for the list but be aware that some only recommend their members (it depends how those bureaus are funded).

When it comes to larger meetings the appropriate venues will be on the list but if you are looking for interesting venues for smaller meetings or the social events then a search engine may yield a wider range of information because specialist/ social venues do not always see themselves as a part of the meetings industry.

TIP 3 is to establish what kind of support the venue will extend to help you manage your event? Establishing the capabilities of the operations staff prior to working with them is a challenge but the level of talent/ systems/commitment etc of the venue team will make a big difference to your doing your job effectively.

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Is rental free at the venue with conditions attached or is it charged by time slots? Hotels often charge per delegate packages inclusive of a range of basic inclusions. Is this good value for your needs or costly and is it based on achieving an accommodation minimum room block? TIP 5 is to be very careful not to tie into an expensive arrangement if you do not achieve minimum conditions.

TIP 6 is to be conservative but allow for contingency, just do not commit to pay for it up front which will enable you flexibility as your registrations become apparent.

Seven to twelve TIP 7 is to write your wish list at the outset.

For example services such as internet could be an item negotiated for no charge. These requests must be negotiated prior to contracting the venue or you will miss out on valuable complimentary extras. TIP 8 is to understand that the deal must be fair for both parties so be polite and reasonable and if the venue is keen to win your business you may be successful in getting a better deal.

TIP 9 is to understand the flexibility within the venue. Which services are mandatory and when can you bring in your own provider? What will the AV cost in the venue?

TIP 10 is to ask the venue who else will be on site at the same time? Is there any

conflict with the co-tenants or will they be noisy and interrupt your meeting? Will the venue be making your space available to other parties when you are not using it? Will this present a security problem or require you to pack down and reassemble the next day?

TIP 11 is to make sure the venue has the right insurance and OH&S policies and practices in place and your event has its own too. Do you have the expertise to sign the contract and not commit to payments that you will not be able to make?

Negotiate up front to give the venue an understanding of what lies ahead in regard to your payment ability.

How do you find out what you do not know? TIP 12 is to recommend a PCO who is an expert. This article touches on a few questions that need to be asked but there are probably 150-500 questions depending on the size and complexity of the event so there is good reason to consult with an expert. Venues all have different systems and policies and approach the way they make their pricings and offerings not to mention their cancellation fees.

Venue selection is more than personal preference for ambience and functionality, it requires an expertise to be able to maximise the value for money in each case.

This article was provided by the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers, author Roslyn McLeod, OAM, Managing Director of arinex pty limited.

IAPCO represents today more than 118 professional organisers, meeting planners and managers of international and national congresses, conventions and special events from 41 countries. info@iacpo.org / www.iapco.org

The essentialness of finding the right venue Bringing people together always has a purpose. Whether it is about distributing important information, enhancing team spirit or simply to celebrate success, it is never for no reason. To make sure you reach the objectives of your gathering, the choice of venues is essential!

Text Marc Slenema, MCI Amsterdam The venue is the first thing people see when arriving at your event, so without mentioning the cliché of the ‘one chance for a good first impression’ I think everybody agrees that this should be taken care of.

So many to choose from So how do you move forward, with so many venues to choose from? There are some ‘hard’ and some ‘soft’ key factors; reachability (hard), delivery of basic needs (hard), size / suitability (hard) look and feel (soft), corporation of the staff of the venue (soft). The hard key factors are not to be denied, imagine throwing the best party of the year, but nobody showing up because people simply can’t reach you… Or communicating your strategy to a crowd that is cold and hungry, will your message get across? Probably not, because your attendees will be too busy complaining to each other.

However the soft factors are also very important! Imagine working with a venue that so inflexible that it makes you cancel the whole event; or dealing with a contact person that has ‘no’ as an answer to every question you ask? It is true, we are highly demanding in the events industry, and working with people who are not used to this can make you life really hard!

So how do you find the right venue? And where do you start? There are always several options, but one thing that is important, is your own knowledge of the geographical area you are looking into.

Will the event be taking place in your own ‘backyard’ (in which case you will probably

manage to source directly) or are you looking abroad (in which case you better ask the local specialists to help)?

Perfect event I know some of my colleagues start by creating the perfect event (on paper), and after that translate this into the search requirement for their venues. By doing this, you will get the closest to your own initial ideas for your event, that is for sure, but do you get the result you want?

Personally I work slightly different; I prefer to keep the ideas ‘open for negotiation’ before I start doing my venue search (of course I will not be including venues too small or way too big). By doing this, and not ruling out many venues because they do not offer certain details, the choice is much bigger. Once I have an overview of the venues that would be suitable on this basis, I start short-listing based on the criteria that are most important for the specific event.

It might turn out that a venue may be so exceptionally that you would be ready to change the initial concept of your event a bit and making the venue suit like a glove this certainly happened to me on numerous occasions!

Once the shortlist is made, even more factors arise to be taken into account, like budgetary restraints, CSR Policy, contract terms & conditions etc. etc.

So, how do you know if in the end you succeeded in finding the right venue for your event? Simple: Did you achieve the goals you outlined when starting the project?

Marc Slenema

Marc Slenema works as project director for MCI Amsterdam, helping clients build community. MCI is a globally integrated Association, Communication and Event Management Company. With offices currently in 47 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, North and South America, MCI is a thought leader in building community around brands, products and services for companies and institutions. www.mci-group.com 15

UIA > Malaysia

Finding the right venues

What city will I next select? The minute you ask yourself this question, you are already thinking of why you will have to eliminate the other many suitable venues and you know you’d better make the right choice and be ready to defend it!

Text Danièle Vranken, Secretary General of FAIB

What to expect from a destination?

Because it features the ‘catching’ aspect of the programme, it should attract or intrigue, but at least interest a large majority of delegates. Indeed, the location of an event is generally one of the first questions one is asked. By definition, participants travel a lot, have little to no time to spare but still expect the trip to be worth the while.

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This starts making the life of a congress organiser already less easy, and gets the elimination process into motion. The selection procedure should include, as a basic principle, a site inspection of the venue(s) prior to making the final decision and avoid disappointing experiences...

The major criteria for choosing a destination are:

Accessibility: delegates must be able to travel from their home country without wasting precious time in airports/train stations waiting for connections or struggling through a harassing journey where all that can will go wrong, and will definitely put them off from attending any of your future events as negative experiences are often assimilated to the organisers in their minds…

The interesting aspect of the location is key in attracting delegates and their partners to stay or join the social programme which is often a unique opportunity to meet with peers in an informal yet fruitful way.

UIA|Union of International Associations

It is up to the conference organiser to create such a subtle atmosphere by selecting places for the social events which will facilitate contacts, whilst giving a general overview of the places visited. Here again, it is a matter of striking the right balance and my personal recipe would be: not too many museums or exhibitions, comfortable transportation means, pleasant / unusual sites and, above all, good food in a nice place…

Generally speaking, conference delegates do not wish to be considered as ‘tourists’ yet like to experience original discoveries.

The venue: Depending on the number of delegates, associations often opt for a suitable hotel, preferably typical of its region, that participants will remember. However, hotels also have to meet strict quality criteria for meeting facilities (e.g. size, comfort and equipment, general amenities) and be fully equipped to cope with all aspects of the conference, in particular audiovisual requirements (now taken for granted) but as importantly ensure top quality of service.

Once your basic needs (location, capacity, number of rooms, meeting/catering facilities) are secured, your checklist for hotel/ venue site inspection should include: • General condition of the venue; access, parking, gardens, lobby, interior decoration, furniture, toilets, etc.; • Flexibility to adjust layout/capacity… of all conference space to last minute changes; • Good visibility within meeting spaces (no pillars), control natural /artificial (dimmer) light if applicable; • Check possible nuisance sources (noise, kitchen smell, smoke from dedicated areas…) and ensure that no refurbishing work is planned during your stay; • A/V equipment (whether outsourced or in-house): wi-fi in meeting rooms; adequate microphones and public address; appropriate screen visible from whole room.

• Put yourself in your delegates’ shoes when checking guest rooms, free wi-fi facilities (or clarify details about costs), wi-fi areas free of charge, opening hours of public areas (restaurants, bars, business centres…)

To avoid loopholes, it is essential that all partners (be it hotel(s), PCOs/DMCs, conference centres, restaurants, sites visited, etc.) receive clear instructions from one central interlocutor on the organiser’s side that make their work easier and measurable.

What is also key is that the selected hotel/

> Malaysia

• Also check with your insurance broker if it is worth considering an event cancellation insurance.

Key role of convention bureaux Consulting the local convention bureau should be one of the first moves when selecting a destination. Their neutrality makes them a valuable interlocutor in recommending a venue, social event activities, involving local dignitaries, extending various kinds of supports, including the indispensable site inspections.

In a nutshell, the key words in event organising are ‘partnership’ and ‘professionalism’ which are essential in making your event successful! venue - and in general all parties involved in the organisation - cooperate in close partnership to make the event a success.

There is nothing more frustrating for a meeting organiser than having to constantly be in conflict with hotel management or staff to get the right level of service instead of being able to fully concentrate on delegates and on the smooth running of the event itself.

A few tips of items to include/not underestimate when preparing your event: • Read the proposed contracts very carefully, particularly concerning the penalties foreseen for rooms/space blocked for you but not, finally, taken up or used for your event (consider including in the initial contract a clause whereby the supplier agrees to provide you with a booking list clearly showing that any space not used by your people and about to be charged to you has not been sold to another party).

• Remember to subscribe an organiser’s liability insurance as most venues will turn back to the organiser in case of incident (even by one of your delegates).

Budget Nowadays, the budgetary constraints have of course an important impact on selecting a destination / venue. However, what really matters is the value for money criteria that can justify a somewhat higher fee for better quality. When preparing their proposal, suppliers, PCOs and/or DMCs should closely liaise with their prospective customer to assess the adequacy of the offer and prices.

In a nutshell, the key words in event organising are ‘partnership’ and ‘professionalism’ which are essential in making your event successful! Anticipation and consideration of a Plan B to ‘worse case scenarios’ goes without saying …

The FAIB is the Federation of European & international associations operating in Belgium; its 275 members organise many events of varying size, audience and budget. For further details: Danièle Vranken, Secretary General FAIB, t. +32 2 641 11 95 http://faib.org

For information about UIA, please visit www.uia.org

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> Malaysia

> Malaysia

World Gas Conference in 2012 attracted 5,299 delegates from 90 countries and 13,803 exhibition visitors, including exhibitors from 43 countries

Competitive Malaysia A hub for association events A magnet for adventurers and commerce for centuries, Malaysia is at the crossroads of Asia. This strategic location between the booming economies of India, China and the Middle East, its multi-racial and multi-ethnic identity, rich natural resources and boasting upscale world-class modern infrastructures next to inner-city heritage communities make it a unique business events destination.

As catalyst in championing the business tourism industry of the country, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has been putting in a lot of effort in positioning Malaysia as one of Asia Pacific’s top five meetings destination by year 2020.

MyCEB’s business event’s tagline, ‘Malaysia - Asia’s Business Events Hub’ is meant to represent Malaysia as a gateway to Asia for meetings. Owing to its stature as an Asian microcosm, Malaysia is increasingly becoming a first port of call for international meetings and associations wanting to engage with Asia.

Kesatria in Malaysia Especially catering to associations, the MyCEB Association Programme has been developed with a number of clear objectives. The ultimate goal being to support the growth and development of Malaysia’s national associations (especially

associations representing Malaysia’s core economic growth sectors), MyCEB engages Malaysia’s national associations with their international counterparts, encourages and supports them to bid for and host international conventions, and provides them with educational seminars on how to manage successful events.

MyCEB’s Kesatria Malaysia Programme has also been set up, where champions from various industries are appointed by the Bureau to identify and support potential local hosts for international conventions.

The name itself says it all: Kesatrias are warriors that are not afraid to get out there, and get things done! Providing leads and getting Malaysia on the map, the Kesatrias have assisted in successfully securing conferences such as the Human Genome Meeting (HGM) 2015 and IEEE International Conference on Communications 2016 (ICC).

Kuala Lumpur International Music and Light Festival 2012

Les Clefs d’Or in Malaysia The 61st Les Clefs d’Or UICH International Congress will take place in Kuala Lumpur in January 2014 with over 800 of the world’s best concierge. Malaysia was chosen as the preferred destination by the International Board of Directors of the Union Internationale Des Concierges D’Hotels ‘Les Clefs d’Or’, headquartered in Paris, following a competitive bid presentation by the Malaysian team in Toronto, Canada.

Other conferences secured include: • Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2014 (6,600 delegates) • 16th Asian Congress of Architects 2014 (3,000 delegates in Kuala Lumpur) • the 127th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session 2015 (3,000 delegates in Kuala Lumpur) • Asia Pacific Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons 2015 (1,500 delegates in Kuala Lumpur) … for a total of more than 35,000 delegates in Malaysia!

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> Malaysia

World events in Malaysia One of the world events held in Malaysia last year was the prestigious 43rd Union World Conference on Lung Health (the Conference) organised by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (the Union) and supported by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and MyCEB. Held at the world renowned Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, it was the largest global annual meeting focusing on the issue of lung health. More than 2,600 delegates from over 122 countries attended the Conference in its mission to bring innovation, expertise, solutions and support to address health challenges in lowand middle-income populations.

Dr Nils E Billo, Executive Director of the Union said: ‘Malaysia provides a compelling setting for the Conference that brings together views from around the world to call for action against lung disease. We truly consider the number of delegates as an excellent turnout since these are difficult times economically for many public health organizations. We would love to come back here and to continue working together with our partners to sustain the progress and reach international targets for lung health.’

Attracting more international businesses In 2012, MyCEB has successfully secured 26 association meetings, to be held in the country over the next five years. Among MyCEB’s significant wins for 2012 are the 16th Asian Congress of Architects 2014 and the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2014. Another win is the 127th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in 2015.

This prestigious event is expected to receive the arrival of approximately 1,500 international delegates to Kuala Lumpur.

MyCEB also won the prestigious Toastmasters International World Convention 2014 which makes the first time that such event will be held outside North America.

MyCEB is constantly empowering its industry partners which include the local associations with constructive knowledge to stay competitively ahead not only regionally but internationally. It is also consistently

Dr Nils E Billo

reviewing and developing its product offering for the international business events market. In this ever-competitive industry, it is pertinent for MyCEB to stay proactive to meet the demands of association planners.

Contact Ho Yoke Ping General Manager - Sales & Marketing Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) T. +603 2034 2090 pingho@myceb.com.my www.myceb.com.my

He added: ‘We are indeed very pleased with all the collaborations and support which we have gained from local sponsors and partners especially MyCEB, who offered not only financial support, but also excellent advice on a variety of local matters.’

Upcoming events in Malaysia in 2013 EVENT

DATE

VENUE

LOCATION

16 - 18

Concorde Hotel

Kuala Lumpur

UFTAA Congress Kuala Lumpur 2013

17 - 21

Hotel Istana

Kuala Lumpur

World Organisation of the Ovulation Method Billings (WOOMB) International Conference 2013

26 - 28

Kuching Park Hotel

Kuching

28 - 30

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

Kuala Lumpur

March 2013 International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery (ISPN) Course April 2013

May 2013 The 3rd Global Conference, Women Deliver 2013 June 2013 12th Asian & Oceanic Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine (AOSRA) Congress 7th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013)

19 - 22

Borneo Convention Centre Kuching

Sarawak

30 - 3 Jul

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

Kuala Lumpur

29 - 3 Oct

Borneo Convention Centre Kuching

Sarawak

1-4

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

Kuala Lumpur

September 2013 4th World Conference in Science and Technology Education 2013 December 2013 24th Regional Congress of the International Society of Blood Transfusion 20

> Malaysia

21

© Photography: Deniek G. Sukarya - DKI Jakarta 2010

>Indonesia

Indonesia

Evening rush hour at Thamrin Avenue

A new I in the BRICS? …BRIICS! Over the last few years, the BRICS countries have shown that the meetings industry is rapidly developing in their fertile bedding: new associations are formed here and there, new companies are set up, targeting higher and higher goals and using incentives as a way to achieve them.

Report Cécile Caiaiti-Koch Indonesia might join them soon. With 250 million inhabitants and an economy that is booming, the country is growing so rapidly that it is almost tangible in the air! It seems as if the middle class population is doubling everyday and the business air is vibrant.

During a press trip to Jakarta in December last year, I for instance noticed no less than 70 brand-new shopping malls! Doesn’t this say it all already?

Jakarta, the ‘Big Durian’ will blow your mind Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is nicknamed the Big Durian, which is the Indonesian equivalent of the Big Apple. In 2011, Jakarta ranked 17th among the world’s 200 largest cities, a jump from its 171 ranking in 2007. Jakarta has grown more rapidly than Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Bangkok.

It is a vibrant city of entrepreneurs and opportunities, and echoes of its trading 22

ancestry thrive in the lively street economy bustling between the soaring skyscrapers: the gem and fabric markets, traditional furniture workshops, aromatic roadside dining, and pushcart peddlers selling everything from goldfish to bamboo chairs.

It’s almost a euphemism to say Jakarta blows your mind constantly. There is a bustling activity that never stops and the mixture of old and new is enthralling. Cosmopolitan character next to cultural heritage, modern skyscrapers next to old houses, shining new cars amid the thousands of bajajs (the small but famous three-wheel cars!), luxurious shopping malls next to small markets, ancient traditions next to hot city lifestyles….it just never stops!

Meetings in Jakarta The Jakarta Convention & Exhibition Bureau is putting in a lot of effort to maximize MICErelated business in the capital. Demand is increasing, and the goal is to make Jakarta

one of the strong destinations for medium to large international conferences.

The existing five convention centres easily cater to the needs of the domestic market which is growing rapidly. The Balai Sidang Jakarta Center is the most known. The stylish venue is strategically situated in the heart of the city and has large conventions rooms, exhibition space and delivers catering and audiovisual in house. The agenda for 2013 is promising: more than 170 events have already been confirmed. According to Mr Satyawan, deputy general manager, the usp of the centre is the location combined with an excellent level of services.

In order for Jakarta to be a big player on the international scene, the city has decided to build a brand-new convention centre.

Opening in 2015, it will be located on the outskirts of the city (not far from the international airport). Designed by famous British Larry Oltmanns, who has already achieved international acclaim for a few congress centres he built, it will definitely add up to the attractivity of the destination, as Mrs Indra Sukirno, CEO of the Jakarta Convention & Exhibition Bureau, insists.

>Indonesia

Cendrawasih Room, Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center

Hotels… also an option It seems as if every area of the town is developing its own ‘meeting cluster’ with hotels, shopping malls and residences. All new projects are made in this way – would that be to avoid commuting and lighten up the traffic?

Several hotels (more than 40!) offer facilities in their ballrooms and meeting rooms. All of them are technically well equipped, not to mention intensively service-oriented. Below is a sample of the hotels I have visited and whose warm hospitality I enjoyed: Borobudur Jakarta, a 5-star deluxe hotel, can accommodate more than 1,500 people for events of all kinds. It is situated in central Jakarta with 23 acres of tropical gardens, close to the city’s business and government centres. 695 rooms, international cuisine (try the sop buntut, or oxtail soup, it’s famous!), tennis courts, a swimming pool, a jogging track… it is an oasis of tranquillity in the city.

The Ritz Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan is another fine hotel which boasts huge meeting facilities and won this year a national award as ‘Best MICE Hotel’.

I personally liked the combination of the state-of-the-art meeting facilities with the traditional Indonesian flavour of the decoration. It is situated in the Mega Kuningan commercial district and offers 333 luxurious guest rooms.

A warm tranquillity All people that I met have confirmed it: it’s reallly true that Indonesians are one of the friendliest peoples on earth. They treat you with respect, humour and welcome you with open arms.

Because their lives are so vibrant, it seems that the people of Jakarta enjoy twice as much the tranquillity and luxurious

surroundings of hidden places such as spas. And on this matter, the one in the Dharmawangsa hotel, in the city centre, is just exceptional. Serenity, beautiful music played by two men sitting on a bench, warm people, quietness and a good massage… needless to say after such a treat it takes a bit of time to adjust back to life!

Hotel Borobudur Jakarta

Traffic is indeed an issue you have to deal with. Fortunately there are plans for an MRT, a kind of fast track monorail. A police escort (which is very affordable) may be a solution at the moment.

Jakarta is a vibrant city of entrepreneurs and opportunities, and echoes of its trading ancestry thrive in the lively street economy bustling between the soaring skyscrapers

Club Lounge, The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan

Culinary art All kind of international food is offered in Jakarta. Whether you decide to eat on the side or at exquisite restaurants, you will find it. But the Indonesian food is famous and is definitely worth a try.

You can go for: the Dapur Babah Elite, where you will find the art and the soul of Java. It claims to be Jakarta’s hippest dining scene, but you think you are back in time to the 1600 and 1900s! Restaurant Bunga Rampai has a refined colonial setting and serves more than just fine food. The service was excellent. Restaurant Negev is the real hip modern restaurant with modern art hanging on top of you - quite impressive!

More info www.jcneb.com

Lobby, The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan

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Meet us at

IMEX

in Frankfurt 21-23 May 2013

www.micehangzhou.com/en

Hangzhou

a fresh new alternative for your MICE in the heart of Asia and China

>>Hangzhou Malaysia

Hangzhou The rising star of the MICE market If, a few years ago, Hangzhou, was more known as a popular tourist destination, it is now changing. The Chinese destination has entered a new era by taking over the MICE market. With natural beauty, loads of culture and a vibrant economy, the city seeks to build a strong MICE reputation. Its strength? Its ability to provide leisure opportunities for conference delegates - so for a brand-new pre- or post-tour friendly destination, seek no more!

Prosperous for MICE

Economic growth

Hangzhou, formerly known as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. It has been one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years, due in part to its beautiful natural scenery. The city’s West Lake is its bestknown attraction.

At the southern tip of the Yangtze River Delta, Hangzhou also stands proud on the frontline of China’s economic growth. As the capital of Zhejiang Province, which is famous for its dynamic private sector, the city’s key industries include pharmaceuticals, outsourcing and leisure - they have plenty of potential and, for delegates looking for links between them and China, this could certainly seal the deal.

To become a major player on the meetings industry map, Hangzhou’s authorities have set up a MICE Tourism Association, bidding to provide a one-stop service for such groups. Members of the organization include luxury hotels, exhibition halls, convention centres, travel agencies, airlines and tourist attractions - everybody now works hand-in-hand to promote the destination as a whole and to make sure any event held in Hangzhou is a success.

Often referred to as the ‘back garden’ by Chinese travelers who want a peaceful holiday away from their daily hubbub, Hangzhou is becoming an ideal destination for MICE tourism precisely for this reason.

You can have a meeting in Hangzhou and then relax and unwind after a hard day’s work. Blessed with the breathtaking grandeur of Qiantang River, West Lake and Xixi Wetland, Hangzhou is a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life.

With a fast expanding economy, the exhibition industry is also developing quite quickly. In 2000, the city government decided to relaunchWest Lake Expo, an event which was originally held in 1929.

Since then the city has welcomed numerous conventions and exhibitions and won coveted awards in this area. Among others, let’s name ‘Top 10 Cities for Conventions and Exhibitions in China’ and ‘Top 10 Cities as a Convention Tourism Destination in China’.

Last but not least a few words on Hangzhou’s convenient domestic and international transportation network. With direct flights to the Netherlands, Ethiopia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and more, a new bullet train connecting Shanghai and Hangzhou in only 40 minutes, it really is no wonder that Hangzhou is becoming a popular MICE destination.

Dragon Boat Race in Xixi Wetland National Park

Contact Roger Shu Hangzhou Tourism Commission Hangzhou MICE Association T. +86 571 8720 4909 roger@hz.cn www.micehanzgzhou.com/en

Hangzhou will be attending IMEX 2013 – feel free to get in touch with them!

25

OTNM©Jean-Dom

©La Cité-Nantes (V Garnier)

> Nantes

La Cité Nantes Events Center

Nantes,

European Green Capital 2013 Sustainability as a way of life In the competitive meetings industry, standing out as a destination is almost a survival necessity. Nantes, in the north west of France, surely has a few tricks up its sleeves to do so. Surfing on the green wave like no other, it has been branded Europe’s greenest capital. And La Cité Nantes Events Center plays a big part in this campaign.

After Stockholm, Hamburg and VitoriaGasteiz, the capital of Spanish Basque country, and just before Copenhagen in 2014, Nantes is the European Green Capital 2013.

This distinction recognises and rewards the work achieved for over 20 years in favour of the environment and the reasoned development of the city. Nantes has been very successful in the areas of nature and bio­

ideal location in the city centre, its teams’ eco-friendly behaviour and the optimized management of its facilities, La Cité is committed to offering environmentally responsible services at each stage of an event. This is made possible with the assistance of an eco-consultant, specialized in corporate sustainability and footprint audit (ADEME certified).

La Cité Nantes Event Center stands at the forefront of sustainable practices diversity, air quality, noise pollution and the reduction and management of waste, and is constantly making efforts to fight climate change at local level. It is now time to take things a little further.

La Cité Nantes Event Center itself stands at the forefront of sustainable practices.

As an influential player in the development of the territory, it has committed to ambitious goals in terms of CSR. Besides its

Thanks to its flexible, high capacities, La Cité has become one of the leading convention centres in France for its carbon footprint practices towards event organisers.

But it’s not all. The congress centre now follows AIPC’s strictest Quality Standards, supports the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the area of human rights, and has just been certified ISO26000 for its sustainable management at every level.

No wonder, then, that this year, institutional players, researchers, businesses, citizens, young people and many more, from every continent, will come together in 2013 in Nantes to share experiences and exchange ideas on sustainability. A lot of events will be held at La Cité: among many others, let’s name the UITP conference on sustainable mobility (250 participants - March), the 5th World Forum on Human Rights (1,000 participants - May), the World Green Infrastructure Congress (600 participants - September) and last but not least, the 10th Ecocity conference organised for the first time within the European Union (2,000 parti­cipants - September).

Contact Elodie Coudre Manager - Development and Marketing Department La Cité Nantes Events Center – France Mobile + 33 (0)6 16 34 88 44 elodie.coudre@lacite-nantes.fr www.lacite-nantes.com www.nantesgreencapital.fr

27

> Malaysia

House of World Cultures

© visitBerlin Scholvien

© visitBerlin Koschel

> Malaysia > Berlin

Arena, Berlin-Kreuzberg

Meeting Place Berlin Fall in love with a city!

Berlin is a truly unique city. People from all over the world converge year-round on a once-divided city for conferences and conventions.

Delegates coming to Berlin usually stay in one of the approximately 600 modern hotels and attend events in the ICC Berlin, the Orangerie, the jewel of baroque architecture where history and glory of the past have united in perfect harmony, or other special locations. There are many and varied opportunities, including highlights such as the Museum Island, three opera houses and a neighbourhood culture unparalleled in the world.

These strengths make Berlin a leading destination for meetings, conventions and corporate incentive trips. In the first half of 2012 alone, 57,800 events were held in the German capital, 8% more than the comparable prior year period. 4.6 million visitors attended these gatherings, a 7% increase.

Berlin is one of the four most important convention locations in the world, as shown in the most recent statistics (2011) from the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA). With 147 events organised by international organisations, the German capital ranked fourth among the world’s leading convention cities.

Meeting and convention planners have another opportunity to get to know the German capital in the summer of 2013, at the 7th Meeting Place Berlin from 4-8 July 2013. This biennial gathering is hosted by the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office and its partners. Participants will experience a dynamic, evolving convention destination, where old gas tanks become new venues and former department stores become clubs. They will have the chance to speak with representatives from Berlin’s hospitality industry, convention centres and unusual venues. They will discover the CityCube Berlin, a multifunctional congress centre opening in early 2014. And they will get to follow the traces of the Berlin Wall...

Meeting Place Berlin has been a hit with guests in past years. ‘You have charmed me and seduced me over the two last days, so I am now deeply in love with Berlin! In my

head I constantly hear the words: “Ich bin ein Berliner!” ’ an event organizer from Norway raved. An Italian participant added: ‘I would like to be a poet, a sage of the last century and a teenager in order to express the mix of emotions caused by this magnificent, extraordinary and unique city. Berlin - it’s a beautiful city and your organization was excellent.’ A French planner summarised his experience by saying: ‘I met exactly the suppliers I needed and discovering new venues was very good!’

Registration is available now at www.meeting-place-berlin.com.

Further information on Berlin as a convention and meeting destination can be found at www.convention.visitBerlin.com.

Orangerie

31

Denmark > Malaysia

Denmark Sustainability at presidential level Denmark put sustainability on their top priority list a long time ago as you may have already read in previous articles published in Headquarters. But last year the Danes pushed the whole concept a bit further, as they wanted to have the European Presidency organized as an all-round sustainable event. Working closely with the Danish meetings industry, a special task force within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was set up to achieve this goal.

Report Cecile Caiati-Koch Of course a lot of meetings took place in Copenhagen, but there were quite a few events held in Horsens as well, close to Aarhus, a not so known city on the international scene. How did they cope? That’s what I will try to explain.

Copenhagen, sustainable as ever But let us first focus on the Danish capital.

Although red might be their official colour, Denmark and Copenhagen see everything in green! Green for organic food, green for commuting on bikes, green for hotel eco-certifications… you name it! But the queen’s city doesn’t just want to rely on its already proven skills, thanks to the success of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP 15 in 2009), and has taken things to the next level.

The Danish meetings industry is quite creative when it comes to inventing new 32

sustainability ideas. Besides waste and energy management, new concepts have popped up. In this respect, the Bella Center has set up a bee hive farm with more than one million bees on its rooftop, while the nearby, carbon-neutral Crowne Plaza uses a groundwater-based cooling and heating system (and is the first Danish hotel to do so!).

Scandic Front, a design hotel with a fantastic view of the beautiful Opera House, has developed the ‘conscious meetings’ concept, which means that resources are used in a respectful way. As far as the transport system is concerned, a brand new idea has been introduced: the Bycart. It is an electric, open vehicle with a navigation system that will tell you all the secrets and hidden places of Copenhagen. The Bycart is a great idea for congress participants willing to explore the city but unwilling to tire their legs…

In Copenhagen, organic food no longer means the dreadful looking brownish thing on your plate or your necessary untasty veggie meal: great chefs have invested a lot in this field and a fine sample of this is Krog’s Fiskerestaurant on Gammel Strand, the oldtown fishing market area.

Although red might be their official colour, Denmark and Copenhagen see everything in green!

So it’s easily understandable why Copenhagen attracts a lot of congresses dealing, from close or far, with sustainability.

When I was there, the World Congress of Wind Energy was taking place at the Bella Center. Doesn’t this say it all?

More info Wonderful Copenhagen Steen Jakobsen, Congress Manager stj@woco.dk T. +45 3355 7404 www.meetincopenhagen.com

> Denmark Malaysia

Horsens has earned its reputation for the organization of large-scale events, such as concerts of Madonna, the Rolling Stones, U2 and the likes… For this reason, it was selected as 2nd city for the European Presidency, hosting some 15,000 officials.

Hotel Opus Horsens managing director Jens Ole Ambjerg was the driving force behind the project and can add it to his long list of successes. Not long ago the hotel was named the best Danish conference centre for the third time. Boasting five-star conference equipment, it lies just outside of the town, surrounded by a beautiful nature reserve.

course a lot of attention to wind energy: it’s branded as the ‘wind capital of the world’.

The town has 961 hotel rooms, of which 40% are ‘Green Rooms’. In 2013, this figure is expected to reach 60%. At the Radisson Blu, you can enjoy ‘Brain Food for Meetings’; especially designed to keep you awake during post-lunch meetings!

More info www.visitaarhus.com www.radissonblu.com/hotel-aarhus

Contact Markus Diefenbach International Marketing Manager, Business Tourism VisitDenmark md@visitdenmark.com T. +49 40-320 21 143 www.visitdenmark.com/meetings

Copenhagen ByCart

© WoCo

Horsens, rising like a phoenix Horsens, in the western part of the country, has seen a remarkable development in the last decade. In Denmark it used to be known for its prison, Faenglset, which actually is now under transformation to become a meeting and cultural place. Horsens has also been the fastest growing municipality by population and by education. Shall I dare say it has successfully transformed itself from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan in recent years?

More info www.hotelopushorsens.dk www.visithorsens.dk www.faengslet.dk

Be happy in Aarhus

Opera House

As it goes for the whole country, Aarhus is proud to say that its inhabitants are the happiest in the world. Situated in central Jutland, the regional capital is home to many national and international companies, which gives it an international character. Although a very old city with lot of charm, it also is Denmark’s youngest city with a lot of students.

Sustainability is high on the list in Aarhus, the GoGreenAarhus map itself shows it: not only will you find the usual ‘where to go’ information on it but you also get in a nutshell relevant ideas: how to not use cars or how to choose electric ones, plastic-free bags, organic and local products… and this on a map made out of stone, which funnily enough is quite soft! Worth noting is that Aarhus, located in a windy region, gives of

Your rainbow panorama, ARoS

33

Basel > Malaysia

Congress Center Basel Bets on Knowledge and Innovation

The Congress Center Basel is Switzerland’s biggest convention centre. The venue belongs to the MCH Group which operates three exhibition centres in Basel, Zurich and Lausanne.

In addition, it owns leading international companies involved in event management, event technology and stand construction.

Trade fairs and conventions have been a key element of Basel’s commercial and social life for a very long time. Basel is Switzerland’s prime location for exhibitions and conferences in need of large capacities. Its internationally famous events include BASELWORLD, the world’s biggest and most important show for the watch and jewellery industry, and Art|Basel, acknowledged as the world’s premier international art show for modern and contemporary works. BASELWORLD is attracting more than 100,000 visitors and 3,000 journalists every year in spring time.

Every year, Art|Basel bring together 65,000 artists, collectors, curators, and art lovers from around the globe.

In economic terms, the city of Basel is a major player in life sciences. It is home to numerous biotech companies, and the number of pharmaceutical companies based in and around Basel is constantly increasing. Basel offers a unique combination of innovative companies, open-minded culture, international environment and Switzerland’s oldest university - Basel is the ideal city for international events!

34

in economic terms, the city of Basel is a major player in life sciences.

It is home to numerous biotech companies, and the number of pharmaceutical companies based in and around Basel is constantly increasing New complex by Herzog & de Meuron The fair ground in Basel has undergone major redevelopment work with architects Herzog & de Meuron: the new building will be inaugurated in April 2013 and that’s where BASELWORLD will take place from now on.

The new hall is not only an architectural highlight, but the state-of-the-art facility also satisfies the most demanding planners. Plenaries with a capacity up to 10,000 delegates are possible in these outstanding premises.

Once the new exhibition complex is completed, the new multifunctional Event Hall on the ground floor, with its generouslydimensioned foyer and gallery, will considerably add up to the already existing infrastructure. With a pillar-free surface of some 3,300 m2, plus 1,500 m2 in the foyer, the Event Hall will accommodate events for up to 2,500 participants, and banquets for up to 2,000. Coming from the tram stop and going past the new 360-day Käfer Schweiz restaurant, visitors will be able to reach the Event Hall through the inviting entrance foyer, all on the same level. A walkway links the Congress Center Basel directly to the Event Hall and the new exhibition hall.

Ongoing investments at Congress Center Basel In addition to the major redevelopment of the Exhibition Square, the Congress Center Basel also constantly invests in its own premises: the Montreal Auditorium has recently been fully renovated and equipped with the very latest technology. The biggest room to date - the San Francisco room - has just been modernised, with a new highgrade audio and lighting system.

Further pioneering investments are planned for 2013: following a six-month renovation phase for Halls 4.U and 4.0 directly under the Congress Center Basel,

> Malaysia > Basel

New building by Herzog & de Meuron

Auditorium Montreal

an additional 7,000 m2 are now available over two storeys. Congress Center Basel is also intending to install a flexible partitioning system in this newly available surface area as of 2013, thus providing a modular room system with flexibly configured rooms holding 50-200 people. This project is currently still at the planning stage.

More than 4,700 participants Every four years the Austrian, German and Swiss Haematology and Oncology Societies meet up for a scientific exchange on the occasion of the Annual Conference of the German Society for Haematology and Oncology (DGHO) in Switzerland. For the third time, the Annual Conference 2011 took place in the Congress Center Basel with more than 4,700 participants from the German-speaking world. The organiser recommended that all conference participants use public transport to get to Basel, and attractive special offers were introduced in cooperation with the German railway, Deutsche Bahn. Thanks to Basel’s location at the heart of Europe, travelling to this bend on the Rhine is particularly simple and convenient. Basel is, after all, an international hub for Europe’s high-speed trains.

In December 2014, the City of Basel will be hosting the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation

City Lounge Entrance area

in Europe (OSCE). Amongst the 1,200 or so delegation members who will be participating in the four-day event will be the 56 foreign ministers of the OSCE states.

Congress Center Basel will have the honour of welcoming highly eminent international guests on its premises on this occasion.

Assistance right from the submission of a proposal ‘Knowledge and Innovation’ is what Congress Center Basel has committed itself to with its slogan. Day-in day-out, they see that this is not just a string of positive-sounding words - because they are engaged in considerably more than just renting out rooms and also provide support for their clients in the planning and development of events.

Congress Center Basel provides support for initiators wishing to hold an international conference in Basel, assisting with bids to present the project and the venue and with presentations to the corresponding association or committee. Staging an international conference constitutes the best way for a company to position itself globally: it generates valuable contacts and lasting impressions, and Basel is the perfect location to do so!

Contact Congress Center Basel MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) Ltd. CH-4005 Basel T.+41 58 206 28 28 F.+41 58 206 21 86 sales@congress.ch

‘Knowledge and Innovation’ at the Congress Center Basel starts with the submission of a proposal to host a conference. As an experienced and professional conference venue, 35

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> Switzerland

St.Gallen

Rolex Learning Center EPFL

The 10 S’s of Switzerland for association meetings Here are ten simple reasons - out of many - why Switzerland continues to be such an attractive destination for associations and their meetings.

Seamless. Switzerland is accessible and transport is seamless by train, boat, mountain-railway, cable car… Swiss Travel System works like clockwork. And in many cases public transport in cities is included like breakfast in the hotel rate.

Sustainable. Everything possible in Switzerland is sustainable. The country ranks first in the international Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and mineral water here comes straight from the tap.

Safe. Switzerland is safe in times when security and privacy are increasingly important issues in the meetings industry.

Surprising. One minute you’re among palm trees and within an hour on a glacier.

And people are surprising too like adventurer Bertrand Piccard, the first to circumnavigate the world in a balloon and who is now planning to do the same in his solarpowered plane.

Scenic. The Swiss experience starts as you fly in over majestic snow-capped mountains and continues with inspirational views from so many hotels, venues and conference centres. Take 2m2c in Montreux looking out over the lake and stunning mountains.

Service-minded. Switzerland is always re-investing in its meetings’ infrastructure to ensure clients get the best possible experience and service. Hotels are constantly renovated and meeting facilities upgraded.

Stimulating. A good dose of fresh Swiss mountain air and activity guarantees inspiration.

Sporting. Quite apart from snow and adventure sports which make for great individual add-ons to any meeting, Switzerland is home to Olympic sport. The Olympic Experience in Lausanne will be reopening at the end of 2013 transformed into a high-tech interactive museum and superb venue.

Successful. Switzerland’s success as a meetings destination is enduring. In 2013 Switzerland is proud to welcome 1,000 delegates at the 49th Congress of the European Societies of Toxicology - EUROTOX 2013 in Interlaken; 2,500 at the 60th UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition in Geneva; 300-400 at the 16th Annual Conference of the European Biosafety Association in Basel and over 240 more association meetings. In Switzerland success is guaranteed!

Swiss. In addition to its existing Official Carrier Agreement (OCA) for major events, Swiss International Air Lines recently launched OCA Light for events with 50 to 400 participants. Now smaller groups will be able to enjoy benefits such as fare reductions of up to 15%.

Swiss also stands for an excellent free service from Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau: researching destinations and venues; providing comprehensive information; advising best solutions, arranging site inspections.

And last but not least, Swiss VAT @ 8% is the lowest in Europe in a country which continues to offer meeting planners quality-for-money.

For more information on Switzerland for association meetings Myriam Winnepenninckx Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau +32 (0)2 345 83 57 scib.belux@switzerland.com www.myswitzerland.com/meetings

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> Mexico

Mexico Tourism Board opens an office in Brussels The views of Virginia Arana

A meetings destination that wants to focus on association business should preferably open an office in one of the world’s major capitals of associations’ headquarters. The Mexico Tourism Board has chosen Europe as the continent and Brussels for its headquarters - a natural choice as Brussels is the leading capital of headquarters of international associations in the world. Virginia Arana was appointed as Director of Associations Meetings Europe and started her assignment in July 2012. What are her views on Mexico and associations?

Interview Marcel A.M. Vissers Virginia Arana

HQ: You moved from the Visit Mexico office in Washington to Brussels. I heard that Belgium is familiar territory for you.

Is that true?

Virginia Arana: Yes, I love Belgium and Brussels. I studied at the University of Antwerp and often visited Brussels to meet with associations. It’s like coming back home a bit for me.

HQ: Mexico as a congress destination is no longer unknown for Europeans. So what is the purpose of this revival plan?

Virginia Arana: As you know, interest in Latin America has grown in recent years in the meetings industry because it is one of the new emerging continents.

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The association sector is flourishing and that’s also the case in Mexico. We were already known as a congress country thanks to the position of destinations like Cancun, Mexico City, and Guadalajara - but Mexico is once again stepping to the front of the stage and taking advantage of this explosive growth. Mexico is interested more than ever before in announcing services and assistance for the hosting of events in our destinations. We want to inform the meetings sector about our new office in Brussels which is exclusively dedicated to this segment and available with staff prepared to provide information and make events a rewarding experience for all.

HQ: Sometimes the news we receive about your country is not so positive.

How do you communicate about this to congress organisers?

Virginia Arana: Mexico Tourism Board’s main focus is to promote the destination and to inform the public of its best services and experience available. The Mexico Federal Government is seriously handling the security issues and fighting against drug trafficking along the border with the US. However, I can say that many internationally known Mexican cities have not been affected by crime at all. It’s often the case that one single problem in a country is generalised and this is what’s happening now in Mexico.

> Mexico

I don’t think associations are easily distracted by sensational news stories. One example that illustrates this attitude is the announcement that Mexico will host two major world events on bioethics. At the 11th World Congress of Bioethics which was held from 26 to 29 June in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Mexico City was unanimously chosen by the International Association of Bioethics to host the next edition of the Congress in 2014. I think that says it all.

Virginia Arana, a short biography Virginia Arana joined the Mexico Tourism Board in 2008 to promote Mexico for international meetings. Her work and passion is to inform the association meeting professionals about the great opportunity of doing an international meeting in Mexico.

Previously, Virginia was the Promotion Manager for the Yucatan CVB in her hometown Merida, and she also held executive positions in the shipping industry. She holds a B.A. in International Relations, a M.A. in Marketing and a M.Sc. in Transport and Maritime Management. She is member of ICCA, MPI, PCMA, HSMAI, DMAI and SITE. She is also an active member of ASAE and was part of their Industry Partners Alliance Committee during her position in Washington DC. State that is being very successful attracting international meetings and incentives.

Three destinations are in the spotlight: Guadalajara (Capital City), Tequila (inland town where tequila is produced), and Puerto Vallarta (beach destination with a new convention centre).

Mexico is already known as a congress country thanks to the position of destinations like Cancun, Mexico City, and Guadalajara - but it is once again stepping to the front of the stage and taking advantage of an explosive growth.

HQ: Cancun is the most popular congress destination for Europeans.

How do explain this?

Virginia Arana: Cancun is a beautiful and well-staffed destination for the meetings segment. Due to its convenient location, it is one of the two most important entrances to Mexico, after Mexico City. In addition to the good service, expertise in the meetings segment and renowned hotels we can’t deny that participants are attracted to the beautiful beaches and cultural environment that exists in Quintana Roo. From the outset, Cancun was the ideal destination for companies to invite their customers and relations, and this activity has influenced the organisation of meetings. Cancun was also the first city to build a congress centre. The destination is still number one but other regions are gradually making great progress.

Guanajuato’s (Cancun) historical city centre

HQ: Which new congress cities are in the pipeline for the coming years?

Virginia Arana: Mexico is constantly improving in educating the tourism and meetings industry to provide an excellent consistent service. MTB is noticing the outstanding efforts from Puebla and Leon in the State of Guanajuato. These destinations are easily accessible from the capital, Mexico City, and offer convention centres, PCOs and hoteliers prepared to handle the demands of the international market. In February 2011, the Querétaro Convention and Conference Centre opened. In Mexico heartland, the city of San Luis Potosi opened a new convention centre designed by renowed local architects. Los Cabos, the popular beach destination, has announced it will open a new convention centre this year and host the G20 Summit. And I mustn’t forget the West Coast region, and in particular Jalisco

HQ: Latin America is growing substantially for associations and also as a congress destination. This means extra competition for your country. What will the future bring in your opinion?

Virginia Arana: Mexico is aware of the growth and professionalism presented by other countries in Latin America as I said earlier. We applaud all efforts and feel that the more interest generated for the region as a whole and increasing growth within the tourism and meetings industry shall benefit all of our countries and economies.

Contact Virginia Arana Director of Association Meetings, Europe Mexico Tourism Board varana@promotur.com.mx T. +32 (0)2 629 07 91 www.visitmexico.com/meetings

Guadalajara

Los Cabos

39

> Mexico

Cancun leads the way to Mexico Cancun is a world-famous tourist resort that everybody has heard of. However, it is also the city that has made Mexico a great congress destination. It has been popular for quite some time and is even experiencing a revival because the Yucatan Peninsula is one of the safest areas in the country and Cancun is blessed by nature with everything to fulfil people’s dreams. The Mayan history also remains an essential part of all of this.

The sun of North America It’s the first lesson in history that you receive when arriving in Mexico. You’re in North America and Mexico is a Latin American country (so not South American, even though Central America also exists). In fact, Cancun would fit nicely in a Caribbean region. The fact that Mexico has become known as a meetings destination is to a large extent due to the exceptional location of Cancun. In the South of North America, the sun is yellowier and warmer, and the ocean bluer and more expansive.

But that’s not all. Javier Gamez Bautista, of Allianza Punta Cancun, told me the

When Cancun Convention Centre opened in December 2003, the road was open to declare the Yucatan Peninsula as one of the best congress destinations in Latin America following story: ‘Local medical and pharmaceutical companies discovered early on that Cancun was an ideal place for organising incentives and meetings for

their clients and business relations. These business relations were often doctors, researchers and professors who in turn were often members of medical associations. Through their business connections, Cancun is engraved in their memories as the paradise resort and also as a potential congress destination.’

So this is the reason why Cancun has so many conference hotels. When Cancun Convention Centre opened in December 2003, the road was open to declare the Yucatan Peninsula as one of the best congress destinations in Latin America.

And for Americans it was the paradise of the south. Cancun still enjoys this natural wealth despite the growing competition from other Latin American countries. For this reason, Cancun wants to put itself back on the map.

41

> Mexico

This time, however, not so much with sun and sand but with an unprecedented offering of top conference hotels, unbeatable prices and service to make you smile.

I experienced this service myself when I visited a sister hotel of Fiesta Americana, the Live Aqua Hotel. Roberto Romero, Group Sales Director, told me about the five senses that the hotel wants to caress. Nicely put, but what does that mean? I smelt the sensual hotel fragrances (literally), tasted the finest drinks and snacks, listened to the finest lounge music but unfortunately had no time to enjoy the wellness activities.

He was right, they were not just words.

What is the message?

Janek Rattinger, associate director group sales of Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Hotel, one of the best conference hotels in the Cancun Hotel Zone, was the ideal host for showing me around Cancun. He took me to the roof of the hotel and asked me what I saw. Well, in front of my eyes, there was an expansive turquoise sea with high waves that crashed onto the most beautiful white sandy beach I ever had seen in my life. That is true, he replied, but do you also see the shape of a Big Seven.

Indeed, Cancun stretches out as an immense number seven built-up with the most diverse variety of hotels.

Associations, then, have an enormous choice. One example: twice a year the Primatological Society organises a world congress. In 2012 they selected Cancun.

What did the congress organisers tell their delegates about Cancun? On the event website, delegates were provided with more practical details than purely tourist data. International visitors, indeed, need information about how they can organise

their participation at the congress as efficiently as possible. It was all there, thanks to the proactive approach of the venue, transport and hotels which played an important role in providing this useful information.

Cancun Convention Centre (CCC) Located in the heart of Cancun Hotel Zone and within walking distance from various hotels, the centre is 20 minutes away from the airport and less than 15 minutes away from the town centre. Totally refurbished with its 13 column-free salons, dividable in 37 spaces and a sparkling 14,000 m2 of convention and exhibition areas, Cancun Convention Centre can provide a full range of support services. Also, it is worth mentioning that it won the World Travel Award in 2008, 2009 and 2010. More info on www.cancuncenter.com

Accommodation options and transportation Nearby hotels are within a 10 minute walk from the Cancun Convention Centre.

Downtown hotels are about a 15 minute bus ride from the IPS Congress Venue.

Cancun has an extensive bus system within the hotel zone and buses run 24/7. Coming from Downtown Cancun is quite easy, since the bus system runs many routes to different parts of the city. The cost of a ticket in the hotel zone is 10 pesos (0,60â‚Ź!). The busses pass by about every 5 minutes.

Preferably use Greenline taxis. A Group service also exists: www.tucankin.com No organiser can escape a gala dinner in Cancun. The programme always includes a ballroom with a taste of Mexican music and food.

Alianza Punta Cancun Javier Gamez Baustista is chairman of the Alianza Punta Cancun. He explained to me in detail why this Alliance is so important for meeting planners. ‘We have a lot of experience with partnerships to promote Cancun and keep it on the map for congress organisers. Our Alliance consists of four institutions and more than 30 prestigious companies They have joined forces to work with a clear mission: to ensure that Cancun is the best location for world-class congresses and exhibitions.

We work together for the promotion and communications about the specialised services that we can provide for congresses, exhibitions and events. We focus strongly on a warm-welcome policy.

Hotels, restaurants, entertainment and transport companies, and especially the congress centre strive to deliver tailor-made solutions for the potential organiser, including substantial discounts for the customer. You could say the Alliance is a one-stop shop for the organiser.’ 42

> Malaysia

> Mexico

Yucatan Peninsula Land of 1000 haciendas The Yucatan Peninsula, with Cancun and the Riviera Maya as the resounding names, is an emerging meeting location in Mexico. It is also a region with a great legacy: the Maya Civilization. The Mayans left remains of their amazing culture but not only on stones, we can still hear the language and experience its traditions. Their descendants are famous for their warm and friendly hospitality. This land has a lot to offer to conference organisers.

Meetings on the Riviera Maya coast The former fishing village Playa del Carmen (previously know as Xaman-Ha) is about half an hour from the airport of Cancun. The holiday village now has about 120,000 inhabitants and grew thanks to tourism en route to the island of Cozumel. Playa del Carmen has developed spectacularly over the last 15 years. From a quiet fishing village with splendid and quiet sandy beaches into a fullyfledged holiday paradise with major hotels (in Playacar), and trendy restaurants and bars.

The conference business has also flourished.

Off the coast of Playa del Carmen you have the largest but one reef in the world: the Maya reef. The main shopping street in Playa is 5th Avenue which goes from south to north, parallel with the white sandy beach. Never in my life have I seen such a long shopping street with so many alfresco establishments.

The Casa del Agua restaurant is the ideal location for congress organisers to take

a group for some great food. The chef is French. This resort along the Riviera Maya coast offers access to a pristine coastline and a colourful range of flora and fauna. This is where you’ll find the best conference hotels.

Three hotels on Mexico’s famous Riviera Maya coast stand out with their harmonious blend of nature and luxury: Fairmont, Banyan Tree and Rosewood are all situated inside the integrated resort development of Mayakoba. This resort along the Riviera Maya offers access to a pristine coastline and a colourful range of flora and fauna.

Fairmont hotel is set in a gated Riviera Maya resort community and is called an AAA 5 Diamond hotel. It offers an unparalleled conference experience in four distinct ecosystems: dune, water canals, tropical forest and mangroves. The 401 elegant guestrooms include lagoon and jungle view casitas and beach area suites located on the resort’s 47-acre retreat setting on the Riviera Maya. The hotel is ideal for conferences up to 350 participants.

Chichén Itza, Kukulcan

Historic Haciendas of Yucatan Every country has its own names for historic buildings and estates. In Mexico and in particular in Yucatan Peninsula, visitors are enchanted by the exquisite haciendas. You travel back in time but also into the future.

The Haciendas of Yucatan - more than a thousand of them - emerged as family businesses in colonial times (17th century) and have now become historical attractions. Many of the haciendas were originally cattle ranches and later converted to henequen. Every traveller to Yucatan should include a visit to one of the many haciendas in the region, most of which at one time were part of the history of ‘green gold’, or henequen production. And if you want an unforgettable experience into the past, go to Hacienda Sotuta de Peón, the only henequen/sisal fiber hacienda in the area that continues to work as it did 100 years ago. The hacienda also offers comfortable lodging in 30 cabañas and there are ample possibilities to organise a cocktail or dinner combined with a guided tour of the factory.

45

> Mexico

It is often said that the Rosewood hotel feels less like a hotel but more like a nature and wildlife preserve dotted with bungalows and villas. It remains relatively small with 128 rooms and conference facilities up to 100 participants. Banyan Tree Mayakoba Residences is the most recent and exotic addition to Mayakoba. With roots in Asia, this is Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts’ first entry into the Western Hemisphere. Giant lotus pools and traditional Mexican floor tiles, blending the two cultures to create an impressive and lavish entry. Luxury par excellence!

(evening show) with more than 300 actors on stage, resulting in a musical journey through the history of Mexico since preHispanic times to the present day, with all its colourful costumes, folklore and dancing. The re-enactment of a pre-Hispanic ballgame is what sticks in my memory.

A Mexican sponsor should be found to revive this spectacular game.

Never pass by one of the wonders of the world. In the land of the Mayans you have the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, an important Maya city where you can see

To learn more about the Maya culture you need to go on a few day trips. Delegates who are more adventurous will enjoy the two large nature and amusement parks Xplor and Xcaret Visiting the land of the Mayans To learn more about the Maya culture you need to go on a few day trips. Delegates who are more adventurous will enjoy the two large nature and amusement parks Xplor and Xcaret. These two locations offer many opportunities for social functions, cocktails and dinners. Xcaret is probably the best choice for conference delegates. It’s a modern and majestic archaeological eco park. Here you can experience Mexican history during a splendid musical performance

the Pyramid of Kukulkan which is on the UNESCO world heritage list. It’s the largest and best preserved pyramid complex in Mexico. The attractions to see are the statue of Chac Mool (the reclining man who gives the sacrifices) and El Castillo (the temple of Kukulkan). The temple is 30 metres high and has 365 steps with nine terraces. The 365 steep steps represent the days of a solar year. This site has a lot to offer and a good guide is essential.

My guide taught me a lot about the Maya

culture of which I was quite ignorant.

I remember one particular expression of wisdom: I am you, you are me. I also admired the Juego de Pelota, an old ball court. It’s the largest in Mexico and also the best preserved in the country. The playing field is 3,276 m² in total and you can still see the rings on the enclosure walls. If Mexico revives this ballgame, I’ll be one of the first spectators.

Mexico at a glance • In numbers 57 international airports 56 convention bureau 45 destinations 34 UNESCO world heritage sites 495,000 hotel rooms • for associations Mexico has several major focus points that make the country interesting for organising association congresses: - Mexico is a cost-saving destination - Hotel facilities are top-notch - Friendliness is a daily value - People are born to provide service - Mexico is authentic and has a great sense for feelings - Music and happiness are everywhere

Hancienda Sotuta del Peon

Fairmont Mayakoba Riviera Maya

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Xcaret