The redevelopment project of the East Wing of Terreiro do Paço has been carried out to provide a tourism hub to improve the city’s offer and host the increasing number of visitors frequenting this area of the Portuguese capital. The venue will add new life to Baixa area of the city and complement the facilities already available in the West Wing at Patio da Galé.
Opened in June 2012, the new retail, recreational and cultural venues will reflect a modern, avant-garde capital that is also historical and authentic, with the aim of revitalizing the east side of Lisbon’s downtown area.
This venue will house several attractions, such as the Lisbon Story Centre – an exhibit centre dedicated to Lisbon’s history – five food and beverage establishments, a beer hall, restaurant, two cafes, bar, flower shop and a food court with an entertainment and events area.
The East Tower is being renovated to be used for corporate and private events. This venue (Torreão Nascente) is a unique venue that was once home to the Lisbon Stock Exchange. It will be opened in September 2012.
The Pátio da Galé opened on the 25th Feb 2011 and has just won the Best Venue Prize at the Portugal Trade Awards 2012. It overlooks the Tagus River and has a special entrance through the majestic Praça do Comércio/Trade Square. There are two rooms and the capacities are: Sala do Risco 1200 for a reception or 600 and Pátio da Galé 1800 for a reception or 1100 for a banquet.
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, a subsidiary of US-based Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, has announced the opening of its first Sheraton branded hotel in Madrid, Spain. The new Sheraton Madrid Mirasierra Hotel & Spa is part of the brand’s initiative to open around 60 hotels across the globe in next three years.
The Sheraton Madrid Mirasierra Hotel & Spa is located close to the city centre, and includes 180 guest rooms; an all-day dining restaurant; lobby bar; terrace lounge and pool bar. The hotel is also offering the brand’s signature Sheraton Fitness programmed by Core Performance, a spacious spa and an indoor and outdoor pool; as well as Sheraton Club rooms and lounge. Roeland Vos, the company president for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said, ‘We are delighted to partner with Comercial Mirasierra Group as we debut the Sheraton brand in Madrid, an important business and leisure travel destination. The Sheraton Madrid Mirasierra is a wonderful addition to Sheraton’s global portfolio. This hotel further underlines Starwood’s commitment to continued growth in Spain.’
The hotel is offering a business centre and around 13,000 square feet of meeting space, including a ballroom and eight conference rooms for hosting events and meetings. The hotel is also offering a signature, link @ sheraton, communication hub.
Hoyt H Harper II, the company global brand leader, said, ‘The Sheraton Madrid Mirasierra is emblematic of our continued focus to grow the Sheraton brand’s already robust presence globally by working with our proven development partners to ensure we have best-in-class properties wherever our guests want to travel.’
The Portuguese capital once again joins the Traveller’s Choice list by TripAdvisor. Users of this important tourism site recommend Lisbon as one of the best European destinations for 2012, distinguishing the city’s diverse tourism offer. Tripadvisor’s Traveller’s Choice 2012 list ranks Lisbon in 11th place, ahead of destinations such as Venice (12th), Edinburgh (13th) and Madrid (14th). The top 10 is headed by London, followed by Rome, Paris, Istanbul, Barcelona, Berlin, Florence, Prague, Dublin and Amsterdam.
From 12th century cathedrals to modern bridges over the River Tagus, 18th century aqueducts to the futuristic Gare do Oriente, Lisbon “travels in time”, explains TripAdvisor. Highlights also include the neighbourhoods of the Mouraria, Alfama and Bairro Alto, as well as the many museums, outdoor markets, elevators, the Castle and of course, Fado.
Characterized by a diverse and high quality tourism offer, rich heritage and unique unsurpassed natural beauty, the Portuguese capital has recently been a constant presence in key specialty rankings, as well as the national and international media, confirming this destination’s increasing attraction.
In June, the city’s tourism offer will be strengthened with the inauguration of the East Wing of Terreiro do Paço, the setting of the biggest events in the history of Portugal, which will once again become the meeting point of the Portuguese capital.
Center Parcs has launched a new day delegate package for organisers. The new ‘Active8’ eight-hour rate provides clients with breakfast, morning use of a meeting room followed by lunch. For the afternoon’s activities delegates are taken out into woodland as the package includes a choice of two activities built with client objectives in mind. Activities include abseiling, laser combat, tree trekking, archery, paintballing and a spa session among others. The package is available at all four Center Parcs venues across the UK: Sherwood Forest, Elveden Forest, Longleat Forest and Whinfell Forest. The package costs £79 per person based on a minimum of eight delegates.
Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria’s primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million (2.4 million within the metropolitan area, more than 25% of Austria’s population), and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 9th-largest city by population in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century it was the largest German speaking city in the world, and before the first world war and the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian empire the city had 2 million inhabitants. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city lies in the east of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be “The City of Dreams” because it was home to the world’s first psycho-analyst Sigmund Freud, a neurologist who is well known for being one of the greatest interpreters of dreams. The City’s roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is well known for playing an essential role as a leading European Music Centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The Historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the late-19th-century Ringstrasse lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.
In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver, Canada) for quality of life (in the 2011 survey of 140 cities Vienna was ranked number two, behind Melbourne). For three consecutive years (2009–2011), the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Vienna first in its annual “Quality of Living” survey of hundreds of cities around the world. Monocle’s 2011 “Quality of Life survey” ranked Vienna sixth on a list of “the top 25 cities in the world to call home” (up from eighth in 2010).
Analytically, the city was ranked 1st globally for a culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, and 2nd globally after Boston in 2009 from 256 cities on an analysis of 162 indicators in the Innovation Cities Index on a 3-factor score covering culture, infrastructure and markets. As a city, Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners.
Each year since 2005, Vienna has been the world’s number one destination for international congresses and conventions. Vienna attracts about five million tourists a year.
The new Online Group Booking Tool at aerlingus.com makes Group Travel much easier. Groups can book early to secure the best available fare, 7-25 persons can be booked in one single transaction and names need not be confirmed until 10 days pre-departure. For added convenience, travel essentials such as checked bags, lounge access and assigned seating can be added to the Group Reservation using the ‘Manage Booking’ facility.
The airline also has a new Online Portal for Conference and Event Organisers, which can be tailored to their event, gives instant access to flights to Ireland from 22 countries, and includes an easy-to-follow online booking facility. It can include logos, text & images as required. Requests to use this portal are welcome from PCOs, Convention Bureaux, Venues and Event Organisers.
The Madrid Tourist Board has also confirmed 14 events which, together with these conferences, will attract some 16,000 professionals to the capital
• The Pan-American Congress on Intensive Care Medicine (3,000 attendees) and the Congress of the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis (2,000 participants) are two of the events to be hosted by the city
• The selection of Madrid as the host city for these conferences demonstrates the sector’s confidence in the city’s organisational capacities and the quality of the services provided by the Madrid Tourist Board
• Madrid predicts that it will consolidate its position in the ICCA ranking for 2011 and strengthen its position among the top ten international business destinations
• The quality-price ratio offered by Madrid’s hotels as well as the capital’s infrastructure and cultural and leisure activities make it a city where doing business is a pleasure
The Etihad Stadium – home of Manchester City – has overhauled two of its hospitality suites ahead of the next football season. For the 2012/13 season, corporates can use the newly-named Connell Club, which replaces the club’s fine dining boardroom offering. It will offer exclusive dining for up to 220 guests and the room also features ‘ambassador booths’ for smaller groups. A second suite, The Mancunian, has been given a new modern-look with space for up to 250 guests. The venue’s décor features lyrics from iconic Manchester bands and quotes from prominent Mancunians.
Hilton London Metropole conference hotel has invested £2.3m into the upgrade of its 354 bedrooms in the conference wing. The ‘double double’ rooms have been styled to a modern design and feature a work space with a lounge area and coffee table, plus two queen beds, a sofa bed and two 32-inch LCD TV’s. The hotel – which has a total of 1,054 rooms – has two large conference rooms each with the capacity to hold 1,500 people. The conference facilities are also located in the conference wing, allowing for both the event and accommodation to be taken care of within the same location.
