Hotels, Venues & Event news
The convention is the first UK events exhibition to have a hosted buyer programme, with vetted buyers being hosted across London in order to attend the event on multiple days. Among the various exhibitors, from London, the UK, and international destinations such as Japan, South Korea, Israel and Lithuania, is a strong Austrian contingent representing Vienna and beyond.
By hosting 164 events, Madrid sets a new record in the ICCA ranking and becomes Spain’s top destination for business tourism. Madrid is now one of the world’s top 5 cities within the conference tourism sector, having been ranked 22nd in 2008. The Spanish capital has overtaken Singapore and Barcelona and remains above London, despite it having held the Olympic Games last year.
This ranking is an acknowledgement of Madrid’s organisational capacity and a direct result of all the hard work carried out by Madrid City Council in collaboration with the city’s tourism industry. The capital city has increased the number of ICCA-approved conferences in 2012 by 26%, making it one of just seven cities around the world to have hosted over 150 events
Stockholm Overall Winner fDi European Region of the Future
fDi Magazine’s ranking list European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/13 awards Greater Stockholm Region as Overall Winner in Europe for FDI.Stockholm is also Overall Winner for Quality of Life. The region is second in Business Friendliness and third in Economic Potential.
The City of Stockholm is second in the category Quality of Life after Paris ahead of Copenhagen and London.
– This is great news and proves that the Stockholm region is seen as strong and competitive, says Mayor of Stockholm Sten Nordin.
“In a more competitive climate than ever, with total foreign direct investment in Europe falling by more than 7% in 2011, London has maintained its title as fDi Magazine’s European City of the Future 2012/13, while the Greater Stockholm Region has overtaken the South-East UK to become the European Region of the Future 2012/13”.
The price will be received by Mayor Sten Nordin in an award ceremony during MIPIM in Cannes in early March.
fDi Cities and Regions of the Future were created from an independent collection of data by fDi Benchmark across 253 European Cities and 110 European regions. This information was set under seven categories: economic potential, human resources, cost effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure, business friendliness and FDI promotion strategy.
The scheme covers Europe and a little beyond, stretching from Portugal to Greece, Sweden to Malta, and many places in between. Duties include meeting with representatives from hotels and meeting venues here in the UK, attending networking and education events, researching the meetings industry, and visiting the destination itself. Lucky Trinity agents have been able to visit the following locales in order to become a Destination Champion:
Berlin, Barcelona, Budapest, Cannes, Dubai, Florence, Frankfurt, The Hague, Lisbon, Madrid, Malta, Milan, Monaco, Nice, Paris, Prague, Rotterdam, South Africa, Stockholm, Vienna
After the ICCA (international Congress and Convention Association), whose 2012 ranking rated Vienna No. 1 amongst the most popular destinations for international congresses for the eighth time in succession, the UIA (Union of International Associations) has now published its statistics for the year too. These statistics rank Vienna in third place after Singapore and Brussels, one place up compared to the 2011 ranking.
In 2012 no fewer than 326 of Vienna’s international congresses met the UIA ranking criteria, which meant third place in the listing headed by Singapore (952). Brussels ranked in second place (547), and Vienna relegated Paris (276) to fourth place. These cities were followed by Seoul (253), Tokyo (225), Barcelona and Copenhagen (150 each), Madrid (149) and London (119). In the country rankings, Austria retained seventh place – the same as in 2011 – with 458 events. Singapore (see above) also headed this ranking, followed by Japan (731), the USA (658), Belgium (597), South Korea (563) and France (494). Spain (449), Germany (373) and Australia (287) were ranked behind Austria.
If you’re still not convinced that Budapest would make a wonderful destination for your next conference, then take a look at the following testimonials from people that have recently held events in Budapest.
Roger Simons, CSR & Sustainable Events, Meeting Professionals International
I’m pleased to announce that we had our most highly rated European Meeting and Events Conference ever with 99.2 per cent overall satisfaction. Budapest clearly wanted to make a statement about the suitability of the destination for international events, your fabulous hospitality and spirit of innovation and prove a point to our audience that you are a first class destination.
Leonetta Baldini, Publi Creations
I organised the IFMAD conference at the Hilton Budapest with great success. With its fabulous location and flexible meeting space, the hotel was an ideal host for the 500 pax event. The service was very smooth and the staff did an excellent job so the organising team has decided to place the congress here again within only four years.
Ms Berivan Kockaya, ICSC Europe LLC
We held the ICSC European Marketing Conference at the InterContinental in Budapest last June. Budapest was considered a ‘hot’ destination because its latest shopping centre developments, central location and cultural sights made it attractive for many of the pan-European delegates. ICSC was really pleased with the service provided by the InterContinental and Budapest also offered very good value for both our delegates and our organisation.
Martin Rottiné, CCD Global Events
We chose Budapest for its good air links from many European destinations and easy transfers into the centre; it’s an attractive city with good hotels and venues and ample off-site options and also it is a tried and tested destination.
Many delegates explored Budapest in their free time and their feedback was extremely positive
Hanna Timonen, Spinverse
During the event everything was flawless and executed with precision and professionalism.
Thank you very much for all your assistance with planning and hosting Euro Nano Forum 2011 conference and exhibition at the Novotel Congress Centre. Your expertise in handling the logistics, the meeting arrangements, the AV, co-ordinating accommodation, food (breakfast & lunches) and in general organising the event were greatly appreciated.
The Hotel d’Angleterre reopened last week following a comprehensive renovation which has lasted for over two years. It was a soft opening with 35 rooms and suites of 90 in total welcoming guests. The remaining rooms will open during the autumn of 2013.
The signs of the renovated ‘New d’Angleterre’ are apparent as you stand on the cobbles stones of Kongens Nytorv in the heart of Copenhagen and look up at the palace’s beautiful new facade. Inside, the new lobby has an entirely different light and everything has been finished with carefully chosen materials of the most luxurious quality. The radical transformation of this historic hotel has been carried out with respect for the building’s history, yet it also meets the demands of contemporary technology and discrete service.
There has been a hotel at this address since 1755. Following the reopening, there will be 120 staff waiting to serve guests who will stay in rooms and suites decorated with silk wallpaper, hardwood panelling, marble and stone. The suites range in size from 45m2, to the Royal Suite, which is 250m2.
The hotel is equipped with meetings facilities, among others the Palm Court, at 300m2, and the adjacent Louis XVI Ballroom. The balconies in the Palm Court have been redesigned and now have space for choirs, speakers or orchestras beneath the impressive mosaic ceiling.
The hotel’s restaurant, Marchal, is in the capable hands of the Danish chef, Ronny Emborg, most recently of the Michelin-starred AOC in Copenhagen, while the champagne bar, Balthazar, offers 160 different champagnes and champagne cocktails.
As well as this, all guests have access to Amazing Space d’Angleterre, a spa and fitness area with fully-equipped fitness room, swimming pool and private treatment rooms.
Copenhagen secures coveted EWEA Offshore congress despite having just 14 days to prepare bid. The congress is expected to draw up to 10,000 delegates to the Danish capital in December 2015.
The bidding process for congresses can last many months or even years, but last week Copenhagen won one of the largest congresses despite having just 14 days’ preparation.
Steen Jacobsen, congress director at Wonderful Copenhagen, comments:
”In recent years we have intensified our efforts to bring international congresses to Copenhagen and have both won and held a large number of mega-events. As a result, today, we have a great deal of experience and some strong, broad alliances, which means that we as a destination are always in the starting blocks if we need to make a fast bid. That is why we were able to win a major congress like EWEA Offshore with such a brief preparation.”
Copenhagen had originally intended to bid to host EWEA Offshore in 2017, but when the host city for 2015 withdrew, the Danish Wind Industry Association were approached by the EWEA to hear if Copenhagen could bid. Together with Wonderful Copenhagen, and in close cooperation with, among others, Bella Center, State of Green, Københavns Kommune and the city’s hotels, a bid was put together which was judged superior to those of the competing cities, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Paris.
Last year Denmark hosted the first ever sustainable European Union Presidency, achieving the first ISO20121 certification in the meetings sector. The sustainable actions lead to a €40mio saving compared to previous Presidencies. Now the legacy and learning are shared in a new report entitled ‘Driving Change Through Collaboration’.
Leadership: Nicknamed the ‘Tap Water Presidency’ by the press, due to the focus on environmental and cost saving actions, the Danish government implemented an ISO compliant sustainability management system for the 100 meetings which hosted 15.000 participants in Copenhagen and the city of Horsens. Local organic food was served – with no additional cost – accompanied by tap water; 100% of all hotel rooms and meetings venues were eco-certified; all suppliers were compliant with the responsible procurement policy; all signage, carpets and branding were made from sustainable materials; and sponsorships were created to install innovative new sustainability technology into the venues and power them through Danish Wind Energy.