Teams from destination marketing organisations and convention bureaux around the UK will reunite next month for the second Meetings Industry Association’s (mia) Destinations Summit.
Sponsored by VisitBritain, the two-day event will take place from 11-12 February at the Hilton Liverpool City Centre and is open to anyone responsible for attracting conferences and events at a destination or convention bureau.
Following the success of the inaugural summit last year, convention bureaux professionals from across the UK have come together to create a thought-provoking two-day programme designed to upskill the knowledge, skills and confidence of those working in key roles to attract business events to their destination.
Highlights will include a key note address by one of the leading figures of the international meetings and events industry, Christian Mutschlechner, the director of the Vienna Convention Bureau.
Airbnb’s head of EMEA partnerships Hadi Moussa, will also be giving a talk about new and innovative ways for destinations to utilise their system for events and Julian Stubbs, founder and CEO of Up There, Everywhere will be delivering a session on branding and place marketing.
Paul Szomoru, director of business at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau and Destinations Chair for the mia, said: “We are really excited about holding our second mia Destinations Summit in Liverpool. With a fantastic mix of international speakers and colleagues from VisitBritain and UK destinations, we are pulling leading experts and practitioners from near and far to share best practice on a range of subjects.
A lot of the content is being delivered by convention bureaux for convention bureaux on some very important subjects such as accommodation booking service excellence and destination strategic alignment.
“VisitBritain is a key delivery partner and it’s fantastic to have its support and involvement in the programme. The VisitBritain business events team will be delivering some great sessions, sharing the latest insights and engaging with destinations about the expertise the team can bring.”
Kerrin MacPhie, head of business events at VisitBritain, said: “We’re very pleased to be working with the Meeting Industry Association, supporting the Destinations Summit to boost the UK’s appeal as a leading destination for business events and promoting our role as a key partner to increase our share of the global marketplace.
“It is an exciting time for business events in the UK with new venue openings and product launches in 2019. VisitBritain is also working on new initiatives to win more international business and the quality and strength of the convention bureaux is vital to making this happen, as well as the strong relationships we have with destination teams across the UK.”
Nestled between France & Italy, The Principality of Monaco is a mere 35-minute drive or 7-minute helicopter from Nice-Cote d’Azur International Airport which has connections to 100 international destinations and 70 flights a day to Europe’s main hubs. With its 300 days of sunshine and everything in walking distance, it is the ideal year-round destination for events. Sandrine Camia, Director of the Monaco Convention Bureau shares her hidden secrets…
Unique selling points of Monaco as a destination
Monaco is one of the easiest destinations to reach from UK & Ireland with more than 25 daily flights from London City, Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton, Bristol, Exeter, East Midlands, and Belfast.
Monaco is considered one of the safest nations in the world and where everything is within walking distance.
There is a great selection of hotels offering 2,500 rooms and a long-lasting tradition of welcoming demanding clients.
The Grimaldi Forum Monaco is a high-tech, eco-certified convention centre, with 35,000 square meters of floor space, it can host events for up to 3,000 people.
The mild temperature makes it perfect destination for every season, including winter when destination offers very good value for money.
Principality of Monaco is also a dynamic, competitive and innovative community possessing real knowledge hubs and experts in many sectors.
Value for money
The destination offers very good value for money, especially outside of the summer peak periods. Prices of hotels in Monaco are equal to or lower than those in the same category in other major European cities. Here are few examples:
Hotel rates of Monaco Meetings offer are starting at 206 euros in 4-star category for low season 2019 (January to march + November & December) and 171 euros in 3-star category, including breakfast and WIFI access, upgrades and complimentary rooms for staff.
Destination is compact and safe. Most of hotels are walking destination to the convention center, offering big savings on time and transportation.
Monaco has a wide selection of restaurants and venues. It is famous for unique venues (Salle des Etoiles, ballrooms of Hotel de Paris and Hotel Hermitage …) and highly rated restaurants, but many more offer various menus and accessible range of prices: brasserie style, Italian, international, vegan. For groups, event organizers will find attractive dine-around solutions at very competitive prices.
A selection of venues
Monte Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SMB) manages and owns four hotels – Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, Monte-Carlo Beach, Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort and the Méridien Beach Plaza – with a total of 850 rooms. Combined, these hotels offer 50 meeting and banqueting rooms, 30 restaurants and bars, three spas, a Beach Club, 23 tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course and four casinos to choose from.
Fairmont Monte Carlo offers professional meeting facilities supported by a comprehensive array of professional and state-of-the-art services. The event planners offer expertise in planning events and the hotel’s meeting venues comprise of spaces suitable for an executive meeting for 10 and a professional conference for 900. Meeting venues include flexible meeting rooms, dedicated boardrooms, upscale hospitality suites and one of the largest ballrooms in the French Riviera. Fairmont Monte Carlo also offers certified meeting professionals and a Learning Environment Specialist who are on hand to organise and oversee the critical details that make a meeting great.
Hotel Metropole comprises of 126 rooms, including 64 suites, two Michelin starred restaurants, a pool-side restaurant designed by Karl Lagerfeld, Lobby bar, Spa Metropole by Givenchy and six conference rooms. This includes three meeting rooms featuring interiors by Karl Lagerfeld; Homere is ideal for presentations, Penelope & Ulysse are meeting rooms that can be combined or used separately, The Foyer is perfect for small committee meetings, a reception office or coffee breaks whilst The Theatre can be customised for lots of different types of events.
Key Figures
Monaco hosts around 500 business events per year.
Monaco has seen significant increase of meeting & events business for the past 5 years.
MICE business represented 26% of tourism activity in 2017 (against 18% in 2012) with a 6% increase of room nights compared to 2016.
Finance, Medical and IT sectors represented 59% of M.I.C.E. business activity in 2017 with an increase of market share of 5 points and +6% of room nights compared to 2016.
These same sectors represented 48% of MICE Business in 2013, the year of the launch of a new marketing campaign for promoting business tourism in Monaco.
The trend is strengthening in 2018 with an increase in the number of room nights by + 10% by end of June (more than 8,000 overnight stays) and a market share of 32% of total tourism for the first semester.
Support from Monaco Convention Bureau
To facilitate the organisation of each event, the Monaco Convention Bureau offers and delivers a unique, high-value “Monaco Meetings” package, featuring affordable harmonised hotel rates and great benefits and services offering great value for money.
The main conditions for taking advantage of the Monaco Meetings offer are:
RFP has to be sent to your local Monaco Convention Bureau
Significant occupancy of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco
Book a minimum of 1,200 room nights during a minimum of two consecutive nights and two hotels located in the Principality.
Monaco meetings offer includes discounted hotel rooms and meeting space rental, complimentary welcome cocktails for all participants, discounted airport transfers and free access to public buses in the Principality.
Subject to size, length of stay, significant occupancy of convention centre, the Government could also offer financial support in room rental at the Convention Centre. Financial support should be commensurate with the economic impact of the event. There is no minimum or maximum basis, just a tailor-made proposal.
