The dark winter months in Rotterdam will be illuminated with a new and special event. For China Light Rotterdam the Park at the Euromast will be transformed into a magical paradise from 7 December 2012 to 17 February 2013. For this unique light spectacle 40 Chinese artists will build over 35 luminous and moving figures; fairytale characters, flowers and other impressive buildings.
Every day between 4pm and 10.30pm visitors can marvel at a 100 meter long dragon and a replica of the Temple of Heaven. Feel the magical culture of China. Walking between the enchanting objects with special light and sound effects, visitors will imagine themselves in this particular country. Shows with Chinese music, demonstrations and workshops turn a visit into a full evening program. China Light Rotterdam will be the largest Chinese light event that ever took place in Europe.
You can travel to Schiphol Amsterdam Airport from Rotterdam Central Station in just 45 minutes by regular intercity train service. And the journey time is reduced to just 26 minutes if you take the Fyra from NS Hispeed train service. The Thalys train services also provide extremely easy and convenient connections to Rotterdam from European cities including Antwerp (30 minutes), Brussels (71 minutes) and Paris (156 minutes), up to ten times a day. Travellers from the UK can take the Eurostar to Brussels and transfer to the Thalys there. Intercity trains from throughout the Netherlands naturally also stop at Rotterdam Central Station.
Beurs WTC offers an impressive setting for conferences and events. Many diverse shops, the Beurs-WTC Business Center, the Beurs-WTC Congress Center, WTC Club Rotterdam and the WTC Art Gallery are all located in and around this striking building, which is worth a visit in itself. Beurs WTC can accommodate all types of events. The thirty rooms in the Congress Center vary in size, ambience and layout, offering capacity for between 10 and 1,000 people. Beurs WTC also offers comprehensive packages that include accommodation, technical facilities and host services, and provides assistance throughout the entire process, from start to finish. Beurs WTC Congress Center is located in the business heart of Rotterdam and can be accessed easily both by public transport and car.
Explore Rotterdam on the go with the Rotterdam app on your mobile phone. This mobile city guide highlights the very best that the city has to offer, from attractions and museums to hotels, restaurants and shops. It includes an offline city map and a dynamic events calendar to discover what you can see & do. NEW: Discover Rotterdam with the surprising walking tours guiding you to unique locations in the city. These step-by-step tours include pictures, audio and video. There are four themed tours: Highlights, Architecture, Art & Culture and Shopping.
To download the free Rotterdam app go to m.rotterdam.info/download or text ‘Rotterdam’ to 5040. All tours start at city promotion centre ROTTERDAM.INFO in the city centre. Here you can also pick up city maps and various brochures.
The hotel on board the ss Rotterdam is the city’s most authentic hotel. The ss Rotterdam was the most prestigious flagship of the Holland-America Line; she sailed out on many world tours and cruises between 1959 and 2000.
Her permanent berth at the third Katendrechtse Hoofd is a prominent attraction from the water and the Erasmus Bridge, and the rooms on this 4 star hotel tell the story of the ship’s original 1950s style, many elements of which have been maintained in the current design. The rooms have been designed using three unusual themes – Original, Manhattan and Bahamas – and the facilities are completely modernised. The ship can be used as a unique location for short business breaks or a base for discovering the city. Sleeping on board the ss Rotterdam entails exploring the horizon and broadening your outlook. There are 600 parking spaces on the quay.
Engels offers specialty restaurants, various cafes & bars, different venues for lunch, dinner, reception and private function rooms, conference areas, party services, parking facilities and various other facilities. Located in the centre of the city with trendy roof terraces that offer an amazing view of Rotterdam!
The specialty restaurants are: • Grandcafé-Restaurant: the place to be, with bordering terraces • Rotonde: buffet restaurant for groups with terrace • Don Quijote: Spanish tapas restaurant • Roof pavilion: with roof top terrace
One of the leading Paris hotels, the Hilton Arc de Triomphe is now The Hotel du Collectionneur Arc de Triomphe – Paris.
The Hotel du Collectionneur Arc de Triomphe is located just a few minutes from the Champs Elysées and offers a splendid Art Deco style bringing to life the refined moments of the 1930s and the luxury transatlantic liners of the period.
German Convention Bureau completes green accreditation
The German Convention Bureau (GCB) has successfully completed the Green Globe Certification process. Green Globe is a certification system for sustainability that is recognised world-wide and assesses companies from an ecological, social and economic viewpoint. In this context, special audit procedures have also been developed for conference and congress centres, hotels, meetings & events and other tourism sectors, such as spas, golf resort or cruises.
Pursuant to the certifier’s guidelines the GCB was audited according to 24 criteria and 207 indicators, of which it had to meet at least 51 per cent. In addition, the GCB is obliged to provide annual evidence of improvement or of new indicators which were fulfilled. Green Globe analyses and up dates its criteria twice a year, which means that the system itself is continuously improving and it is a dynamic management tool. “Due to the Green Globe certification procedure the GCB has improved its own sustainability performance and now sets a good example for the industry. Germany is already a leader in the field of green meetings world-wide. A recognised label like Green Globe helps emphasise this major competitive advantage on an international scale. The important thing is that sustainability is understood not just from the purely ecological viewpoint but also includes social and economic aspects,” says Matthias Schultze, Managing Director of the GCB.
In 2011 the German Convention Bureau, the European Association of Event Venues (EVVC) and the Federation of German Event Organisers (VDVO) had already agreed to cooperate with Green Globe Certification (GGC). Both GCB and EVVC members benefit from this agreement with advantages such as reduced certification and auditor fees.
Further measures of the GCB to reinforce sustainability in the meetings industry include the implementation of the greenmeetings and events conference together with the EVVC, which will take place from 26 to 27 February 2013 at darmstadtium in Darmstadt. In addition, the GCB is organising seminars for event planners on the organisation and implementation of green conventions, meetings and events with the support of the German Environment Foundation (DBU) this year.
The GCB is also represented in the DIN committee for sustainable event management and its website www.germany-meetings.com features a separate section on this topic with a CO2 calculator for events, among other things.
Germany number two worldwide as a convention destination
Germany has again defended its position as one of the leading global destinations for meetings and conventions. For the eighth year in succession, the study conducted by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA) showed that Germany is the top location in Europe for association meetings. Globally, Germany occupies second place. According to the rankings, only the USA has more international conventions. In 2011, the experts counted a total of 577 international association meetings in Germany – an increase of 35 over the previous year – and considerably more than second-placed Spain, which hosted 463 conventions. The United Kingdom follows in third place with 434 events.
According to the ICCA city rankings, Berlin was able to defend its outstanding fourth place in the global rankings for cities. It hosted 147 international association meetings, nine more than in the previous year. Berlin therefore continues to lie ahead of Singapore and Madrid and behind the unchanged top three of Vienna (181), Paris (174) and Barcelona (150).
“It is no accident that Germany is a fixture among the world leaders in organising international conventions. As well as offering very good value for money, excellent infrastructure and a wide range of event centres, Germany also scores highly in terms of innovation. For example, this has made Germany a leader in the area of organising green meetings – a theme that will continue to grow in importance going forward,” says a confident Matthias Schultze, managing director of the GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. The GCB markets Germany both nationally and internationally as a destination for conventions, meetings, incentives and events and is the central point of contact for all customers planning events in the country.
“Sharpening the profile of a city or region also helps to generate events. This is why, when we market Germany’s convention and meeting destinations together with our partners and members, we look to locate events in regions which are home to clusters of business and scientific expertise relevant to the theme. Programmes of events that fit well with the theme of the convention, such as factory tours, offer participants a high level of added value,” says Schultze outlining the strategy of the GCB.
Evaluations conducted by the GCB offer an insight into the sectors principally involved in the association meetings included in the ICCA study for Germany in 2011. Technology and innovation accounted for more than one quarter of the international conventions in Germany while around 20 percent of the association meetings considered were in the medical and healthcare sectors.
The GCB has also investigated the countries, in which the international organisations running their conventions in Germany were based. The United Kingdom was the leading foreign market with 66 association meetings followed by the USA in second place (64). Trailing by some distance were Germany’s European neighbours Belgium (36), France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria.
The annual ICCA statistical study “International Association Meetings Market” evaluates the trends in the international meetings market. The ICCA studies association meetings with at least 50 participants, which take place regularly and rotate between at least three countries. The International Congress & Convention Association, which was founded in 1963 and is based in Amsterdam, has been collecting information about association events world-wide since 1972.
