Luxembourg Convention Bureau sets sights high for international meetings

The newly created Luxembourg Convention Bureau is aiming to secure a spot in the top 50 business meetings and events destinations in the ICCA ranking.

“Our main goals are to enter the top 50 of the business events destinations worldwide and to double the number of international congresses,” said Francois Lafont, CEO of business events Luxembourg.

Luxembourg  has the quality of being one out of three capitals of the European Union, its excellent connectivity, its location in the heart of Europe and its innovative economic sectors will definitely secure Luxembourg on the agenda of international congress organisers.”

The Luxembourg Convention Bureau was set up to optimise the country’s meetings and events offering with strong support from the government.

The convention bureau aims to build upon Luxembourg’s economic and scientific strengths, with an emphasis on securing association meetings from its key economic and research sectors, as well as regional and European corporate and incentive events.

The main sectors that Luxembourg has identified are automotive, cleantech, finance, IT, life sciences, logistics, manufacturing, maritime and space.

“We are working on putting together an ambassador programme at the moment and we want to ensure we pick the right people from the main sectors we have identified,” Lafont added.

Luxembourg has also announced strategic partnerships with key industry players such as Luxinnovation, its national innovation agency and Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) which aim to further highlight the local knowledge expertise.

Luxembourg has ambitions to become a country where industry professionals chose to meet, exchange and connect. With more than 170 different nationalities, Luxembourg is a crossroad road for people coming from all over the world. The new convention bureau is dedicated to connecting the right people outside Luxembourg to the right people inside the county.

Inside the Dubai Exhibition Centre, host venue of Expo 2020

The team behind the in-construction Dubai Exhibition Centre has released a ‘fly-through’ video of the venue, ahead of its opening on 20 October 2020.

The venue will be home to Expo 2020, the six-month world expo taking place in Dubai next year.

DEC will comprise 45,000sqm of space spread across two campuses, a theatre, auditorium, several multi-purpose halls, four suites and 24 meeting rooms.

The DEC aims to create a legacy of business and tourism in the region, encouraging a sustainable and diversified economy in line with UAE Vision 2021 – a set of national priorities to mark the country’s Golden Jubilee.

Ahmed Al Khatib, Chief Delivery Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “By any standard, the Dubai Exhibition Centre will be a cutting-edge venue that will play a pivotal role during Expo 2020.

“But the impact of such a unique space will stretch well beyond the six months of the Expo, boosting the region’s meetings and events industry, furthering the UAE’s reputation as a destination for major conferences, and fuelling growth in Dubai’s knowledge-based economy for many years to come.”

Shaun Vorster, Vice President, Strategy and Business Integration – Programming at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “There will be no place on the planet offering more exceptional business networking opportunities than Expo 2020 Dubai, and the DEC will be right at its heart.

“Bookings are already going well and this latest 3D animated fly-through, which gives a taster of the high-tech facilities on offer, has already sparked keen interest among the 190 countries participating in Expo 2020.”

Marriott announces plans to open more than 1,700 hotels by 2021

The hotel group plans to add between 275,000 and 295,000 rooms by 2021, supported by the strength of its record 478,000-room pipeline, including roughly 214,000 rooms already under construction.

The group said its new room openings during this period could contribute $400m (£303m) in fee revenue in 2021.

Arne Sorenson, Marriott International’s president and chief executive officer, said: “Starwood [the hotel group acquired by Marriott in 2016] has made us a more formidable competitor, providing a more valuable loyalty program, brands with strong appeal to loyalty members and owners, talented associates, terrific locations, particularly in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, significant cost synergies and meaningful scale.”

Leeny Oberg, Marriott International’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, added: “Our new three-year plan, with Starwood fully integrated, demonstrates how our fee-based, asset-light business model generates even stronger and more sustainable cash flows. This allows us to invest profitably in our core business at high rates of return and also return significant amounts of capital to shareholders. Our proven business model combined with opportunities to leverage our significant scale from the Starwood acquisition uniquely position us for additional shareholder value creation.”

International destinations – what’s hot for 2019

Global DMC Partners, the largest global network of independent Destination Management Companies has released their 2018 Global Destination Index which presents the most popular meeting and incentive destinations around the world for 2018 and identifies up-and-coming markets that are already trending for 2019. The data was compiled based on analysing data from more than 6,000 meeting and incentive programmes across 2018 and 2019 in over 500 destinations that Global DMC Partners represents.

Top 10 International Cities for 2018

  • Paris
  • Amsterdam
  • Munich
  • Stockholm
  • Vienna
  • London
  • Barcelona
  • Berlin
  • Prague
  • Rome

Additionally, the 2018 Global Destination Index highlights data about newer markets to watch in 2019. Destinations identified on this list are already seeing a boost in interest from meeting planners for programs operating in 2019 compared to the interest that was shown for the destination for meetings or incentives operating in 2018.

Volcano in Costa Rica

2019 Meeting & Incentive Destination Hot List

  • Costa Rica
  • Bahamas
  • Malta
  • Puerto Rico
  • Morocco
  • Croatia
  • St. Lucia
  • Denver/Colorado Springs
  • South Africa
  • Thailand

President of Global DMC Partners, Catherine Chaulet commented, “Part of our responsibility is to open up the world to our clients, so that they can encounter different cultures and experience something extraordinary. Identifying destinations for this list helps us present secondary markets and those intriguing destinations that our clients will soon discover are also perfect for meetings and incentives. Flight lift patterns, cost-effective local options, and a wide range of unique activities are just a few of the reasons why these destinations are already showing popularity for 2019.”

For more information about booking your conferences and meetings and for help finding a venue call 01780 484051 or email us now!