…
The 9th Annual Congress and Events Day took place on 31 March 2009 in historic Gurzenich Koln, and was organized by the Cologne Convention Bureau (founded last year), KolnKongress GmbH and the Cologne Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Congress and Events Day, which takes place every two years, provides a format for Cologne industry professionals to present their services in the conventions, meetings and incentives sector. The event had sparked immense interest ever since the registration phase: almost 700 trade professionals signed up to participate.
The list of 50 exhibitors from Cologne’s events industry was exceptional: Providers of convention and meeting spaces, event locations and event technologies, along with suppliers from the hotel, gastronomy, and events industries, as well as artist agencies and representatives displayed their attractive portfolios of services. The exhibition in Gurzenich Koln drew the attention of trade professionals from agencies, associations and businesses to the panoply of offerings in the Cologne events industry. “As Cologne’s central office for conventions, we use Congress and Events Day as an opportunity to showcase the vast potential that Cologne, as an MICE destination, has to offer for exhibiting on a nationwide scale. We want to give visiting trade professionals a chance to get to know the diversity of offerings – bundled and immediately available right here – and also to try them out", says Stephanie Franke, head of the Cologne Convention Bureau.
The General Program that came with the Congress and Events Day was very well received by the trade professionals in attendance. All events were already fully booked in advance. The variety of program items gave visiting trade professionals the opportunity to experience Cologne as a destination, through a bicycle city tour, for example. Or learn more about events technology at a workshop. The exclusive “Casino Vinophil”, a recently developed "wine casino", made for a uniquely pleasurable experience, enticing visitors to "play, relax and enjoy". Visitors could also discover the latest in passenger conveyance technology by paying a visit to the "Segway" parcours.
In addition to the vast array of options found in Gurzenich Koln, visitors were also able see other one-of-a-kind sites in Cologne during the entire event via the free shuttle service.
This year for the first time, on the day before the event, a Hosted Buyer Evening took place, and more than 50 selected event planners from companies and agencies were invited to attend. In cooperation with the evening host, Take Five Hotels, the organizers of the Congress and Events Day were able to indulge their guests with the culinary delights of the “VINTAGE Genuss Schule". Beside the live cooking demonstrations and various “delectable morsels stations”, the highpoint of the evening for the Hosted Buyers Group was the presentation from legendary concert promoter Fritz Rau, who read from his book “50 Jahre Backstage”.
Cologne’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) considers tourism in Cologne and in the Region to be a diverse industry of major economic importance. More than 11,700 firms can be classified as part of the tourism sector in the IHK district Cologne. A total 3,636 companies can be counted from the “meetings, incentives, convention and events” sector alone. Tourism in Cologne generated sales of 5.5 billion euros in 2008. Despite the slight decline in visitor figures, the record level of revenues achieved the prior year was also achieved in 2008, due to an increase in turnover (Source: Cologne Tourist Board).
Elizabeth Slapio, Managing Director of IHK Cologne, adds: “IHK presents itself this year with an enhanced range of offerings, and putting the accent on promoting the location in general, as well as education and training in the tourism profession.”
In addition to general tourism, conventions, meetings and events also make an important contribution to the macroeconomic effects on a city or region. They draw a substantial volume of revenues to Cologne, and secure or create jobs. The conventions that take place in the premises of KolnKongress GmbH, themselves account for 164.8 million euros in total expenditures from the event participants (induced sales) in Cologne in 2007, primarily generated by the Cologne food and lodgings sector, handicrafts (including services), retail trade and public transportation. In addition, Cologne gained 2.8 million euros in tax revenues and it employed a total of 3,196 jobs for able-bodied labourers.
Bernhard Conin, Managing Director of KolnKongress, sees another advantage that these event centres generate, beside the important macroeconomic impact on Cologne and environs: “the events centres, as engines for the economy and culture, provide substantial contributions to community development, as well as recreational activities, which are playing an increasingly important role in making decisions on location and investment.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
