A good place to see the latest trends and new offerings of the German meetings and convention industry is the Germany stand A100 at IMEX…
A good place to see the latest trends and new offerings of the German meetings and convention industry is the Germany stand A100 at IMEX – incorporating Meetings made in Germany – The Worldwide Exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. From 12 to 14 May, the industry will meet for the second time at IMEX in Frankfurt/Main staged in hall 3 of the Frankfurt Trade Fair.
Germany’s comprehensive offerings for meetings, events and incentives
The GCB German Convention Bureau e.V., which markets Germany as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives, will take a 1,200 square metre stand featuring 135 exhibitors – leading hotels, convention centres, destinations, event agencies and other service providers of the German meetings and incentive industry. This wide variety of German exhibitors will make IMEX particularly attractive for event planners who want to organise congresses, meetings, events or incentives in Germany: No other international meetings industry fair has such a large presence from German suppliers. In total, IMEX will feature 2,500 exhibitors from over 100 countries and expects to attract 6,000 visitors from more than 30 countries.
Meetings in exciting cities and beautiful landscapes
Around 30 German meeting destinations and regions – one third of which are first-time exhibitors at IMEX – will present their venues at the Germany stand. The north offers unusual incentive options in the new Bremen Space Centre, Europe`s largest indoor space travel theme park, which opened in early 2004. And another Hanseatic city also has novelties to offer to meeting planners: In March, Hamburg Tourismus GmbH published its new edition of the Hamburg Location Guide – MICE, listing the city`s best meeting and event venues, for the first time on CD-ROM.
Berlin, the German capital, already a leading congress destination in Europe, will be represented at the Germany stand by 14 exhibitors. Berlin will present new venues like the modernised Schluterhof, Berlin`s oldest baroque courtyard, and the former tram depot Meilenwerk – Forum fur Fahrkultur. The newly opened Berlin Congress Centre (bcc), with a capacity of over 2,500, as well as numerous new hotels round off the capital`s meeting offerings. Neighbouring city Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, presents itself at IMEX with its new brochure, Potsdam Meeting and Event Planner.
The meeting venues of the federal state of Hessen are right in the heart of Germany: Hessen Touristik Service e.V. will present new facilities at IMEX, such as Congress Park Hanau, opened in 2003, with a 1,000-seat congress hall, a 700-seat theatre and concert hall, several smaller and medium-sized rooms as well as approximately 2,000 square metres of foyer space. Hotel Dolce International in Bad Nauheim can be booked for meetings in the former Kurhaus complex. With 27 meeting rooms and its Art Noveau theatre offering space for up to 786 people, the hotel boasts 2,750 square metres of space for events.
Meeting planners will also find new venues in Dresden: Right after IMEX, the new central International Congress Centre on the Elbe River will open with space for up to 4,000 meeting-goers.
As of autumn 2004, there will be a special venue in the south: Stuttgart`s new Art Museum, a filigreed glass cube on the Schlossplatz. Munich also boasts new and unusual venues, such as the Festsaal Paulaner at Nockherberg, the Transport Centre of the German Museum, in three halls that have been designated as historic landmarks, and the historical Hubertussaal in Nymphenburg Castle. For inventive events, you may book the Forum of the German Museum in Munich, which houses a spectacular multimedia theatre with Germany`s first IMAX cinema as well as a planetarium. Two cinemas, 23 meeting rooms and over 7,500 square metres of usable space are available for events. Since spring 2004, Bayern Tourismus Marketing GmbH has presented both venues in Munich, along with and many other destinations in Bavaria, with its new business travel programme, Gipfeltreffen (Summit Meeting). The project features meeting hotels, destinations and event centres in Bavaria that meet strict criteria for quality.
Bigger meeting capacities and modern technology in convention centres and event venues
Congress centres and event venues will be represented at the Germany stand by 40 exhibitors. Karlsruhe offers a new information and communication forum in Karlsruhe Fair, a venue with four halls that was completed in autumn 2003. Congress Centre Essen GmbH (CCE) presents a new venue: the Philharmonic hall in the historical Saalbau. Located right between the opera and the Sheraton Hotel and adjacent to the park, the venue will be available as of June 2004 for events with up to 2,000 people. Moreover, the CCE will begin a push for quality in 2004, with comprehensive support for event organisers. Alte Oper Frankfurt also has a new venue to offer: The Mozart Foyer rounds off the meeting facilities of this historic site. Congress Centrum Mainz will start expanding in July 2004. By spring 2006, it wants to offer a new hall next to Rheingoldhalle for congresses with up to 1,400 people. Congress Centrum Hamburg (CCH) will increase its exhibition space from 4,000 to 12,000 square metres by April 2006.
CongressCenter Nuremberg (CCN) presents its new CCN Ost Congress Centre, slated to open in early 2005. In addition to Frankenhalle, with a capacity of 5,000, the largest hall in CCN Ost will be able to accommodate up to 1,200 people. Together, its 19 meeting rooms will offer a total of 3,300 seats. Congress Centre Dusseldorf (CCD) will also present its conversion plans at IMEX. As of January 2005, the completely revamped building will offer a pleasant meeting venue with friendly, light-filled rooms. A redesigned forecourt with 7,500 square metres of exhibition space will be added to the facilities of Congress Centrum Saar GmbH (CCS). And for expanded meeting capacities, with three new halls featuring W-LAN hotspots for wireless Internet access, look no further than the International Congress Centrum (ICC) Berlin, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2004. Messehalle Sud of Halle Munsterland also began offering business travellers flexible access to the web in November 2003. Moreover, the convention centre has demonstrated its innovative flair by participating in the nationwide Okoprofit project: Halle Munsterland is the first event centre to take action for the environment in this field.
Novelties for hotel and ship events
At the Germany stand, more than 20 hotels and hotel companies will also be presenting their novelties and trends. Half of the venues will be exhibiting at IMEX for the first time, such as the new Ritz-Carlton Berlin on Potsdamer Platz in the heart of Berlin. The Estrel Convention Centre in Berlin presents elaborate new sound and light systems. Hotel Palace Berlin, another five-star hotel in the capital, boasts a new 2,400 square metre banquet area, furnished in the finest materials. And there will be a new hotel project in the heart of Berlin by Maritim Hotelgesellschaft mbH, which will also present another project at IMEX – Dresden Erlweinspeicher, with direct access to the new International Congress Centre. ArabellaSheraton Hotelmanagement GmbH will present a special website for event planners at IMEX 2004.
Event planners can also stage events on the water, for example on the new MS Rheinenergie event ship, run by Koln-Dusseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschifffahrt AG, beginning in June 2004. The Color Line shipping company will offer even more meeting options. As of December 2004, the new M/S Color Fantasy will add a 1,600 square metre conference area to the fleet`s meeting capacities on the Kiel-Oslo route.
Services for conventions, meetings, incentives and events
At the IMEX Germany stand, you will also find service providers for incentives, meetings and conventions: suppliers of innovative software solutions and incentive agencies or car rental firms. One of them is INFOLOGICA AG, an IT systems provider and consultant with software solutions for event business and address management. The GCB partner Swisscom Eurospot will present innovative systems for conferences and business travellers at the Germany stand: Exhibitors and visitors will be able to use the W-LAN network there. This wireless connection makes your work more flexible. Visitors to the Germany stand will be able to use their notebooks at the stand and download e-mails or surf the web.
IncentPartner, a new full-service agency for incentives, events and meetings based in Tegernsee, Bavaria, will also be featured at IMEX. Another provider, Berlin-based C.E.S. Congress & Event GmbH, will present its products for organising events and conventions at IMEX.
At the Germany stand, Sixt GmbH & Co Autovermietung KG will present its limousine service, with chauffeur, shuttle and VIP services and which can also be booked for events, as well as the Sixt Sightseeing Service.
Attractive competitions, sweet surprises and water-based relaxation
The IMEX Germany stand offers both information and entertainment. For example, at the stand of CongressCenter Nuremberg (CCN), visitors can win tickets for the Wetten dass…? TV show in December 2004 in Nuremberg and for the Rock im Park concert in June 2004. A deluxe weekend in Germany with a Porsche is the main prize of the competition by car hire firm Avis. And you can win a seminar for twelve people in a raffle staged by Business Breaks, Center Parcs Europe. Attractive prizes are also to be won in the Color Line competition on all three days. And for sweet surprises, visit Central Germany Marketing Co-operation, offering products by Aachen-based chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli, or the Dresden Tourist Promotion Board, where Dresden`s Chocolate Girl will welcome IMEX visitors. AquaMassage Berlin GmbH also invites you to relax on its Spa Capsule water massage bed.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
