Qatar
There’s no denying Qatar’s MICE ambitions – there are currently 77 new hotels and 42 hotel apartments under construction, bringing 21,107 new rooms into the Qatari hospitality market. 2011 saw the opening of the Qatar National Convention Centre at Education City, featuring a 2,500-seat auditorium, a 500-seat theatre, and a multi-purpose hall for conferences. The sovereign Arab state is currently undergoing an investment increase of $17 billion on tourism infrastructure. Chairman of the Qatar Tourism Authority, Ahmed Abdulla Al Nuaimi, says the long-term goal is to position Qatar as a leading destination for both leisure and business travel. “We are currently putting a lot of effort into encouraging visitors on business trips and stopovers to spend an extra 48 hours in Qatar,” he says. “We will soon be launching a series of offers and packages in conjunction with Qatar Airways, offering special tickets and itineraries.”
www.qatartourism.gov.qa
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Qatar National Convention Centre
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Croatia
Situated in central Europe and boasting five-star congress hotels, a national carrier (Croatia Airlines) and a reputation for quality services, Croatia is becoming better known as a convention and incentive destination. According to the Croatian Convention and Incentive Bureau, the country’s future is bright, following an 18 per cent increase in the total number of business meetings last year and openings including the 240-room Radisson Blu, Split, capable of handling up to 445 delegates for meetings. The Confex Group declared Croatia to be the second best destination for business tourism and congress tourism in 2009, with the country winning the silver medal for best overseas destination.
www.croatia.hr
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Radisson Blu, Split, Croatia
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Durban, South Africa
Durban started seriously selling itself to the MICE market seven years ago, when a business tourism unit was set up. Since then it has landed major events, such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2011, which have helped the city emerge as a popular business haunt. Business tourism manager at South African Tourism, Donna Abberley, says that the city can handle up to 13,000 delegates and companies, including Volvo and Audi, have recently held incentive and conference events there. “South Africa as a whole is becoming more and more attractive to the UK MICE market, but Durban, in particular, will be put on the map for MICE travellers as word about its excellent facilities spreads,” she says. The Hilton Durban features 10 meeting rooms for up to 400 delegates.
www.durbanexperience.co.za
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Hilton Durban
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Cyprus
A number of factors suggest that Cyprus is set for a MICE boom in the next few years. This year sees the Presidency of the Council of the European Union coming to the country, bringing with it an estimated 400-600 extra meetings and helping promote its wares to the rest of Europe. To coincide with this, a host of new hotels, golf courses and marinas are being planned. GTA partner Alan Wodzynski, who represents destination management companies in Cyprus, says the country is currently being mined for natural gas, which could put it on the energy industry’s map and herald an unprecedented boom in business tourism. Hotels set to gain from the upsurge include the 189-room five-star Almyra Hotel in Paphos.
www.gtassociates.co.uk
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Paphos, Cyprus
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Poland
Poland was the only European Union nation to show GDP growth in 2009 as most of the world faltered, and continued to grow in 2010/11. The Poland Convention Bureau predicts an increase in MICE travellers in the coming years due to the country’s relatively low prices and a spate of new facilities, including a convention centre due to open in Cracow in 2015. Hosting this year’s UEFA Euro 2012 soccer championship, in tandem with Ukraine, will also boost the country’s MICE visibility. The Poland Convention Bureau’s senior conference specialist, Aneta Ksiazek, says: “We have won several awards in recent years and have enjoyed a lot of MICE activity from the UK. We recently won a major automotive contract through a UK event company for 2012, which is in keeping with the growth we are expecting.” Key MICE hotels include the Le Meridien Bristol in Warsaw, which features 12 meeting rooms accommodating up to 2,500.
www.poland-convention.pl
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Cracow, Poland
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Zaragoza, Spain
Zaragoza has worked hard in recent years to boost its profile in the MICE market. It hosted Expo 2008, a world’s fair on water and sustainable development, and was a potential candidate city for the 2022 Winter Olympics (the Spanish Olympic Committee eventually chose Barcelona). The strategy seems to be working – hotel stays rose 11 per cent year-on-year to just under 800,000 in 2010. For incentives, the destination offers adventure sports, kayaking and botanical walks. Its top business hotels include the Gran Hotel Cascada del Balneario Termas Pallarés, which can hold up to 100 delegates.
www.incentivesinspain.com
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Baltimore, USA
After hosting AIBTM (The Americas Meetings & Events Exhibitions) in June 2011, Baltimore was put firmly on the MICE map. The city is easily accessible for UK tourists, with British Airways flying daily to Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI). In November 2011, Sales Focus, a Marriottsville-based sales outsourcing firm, announced a MICE focus as a reaction to the anticipated MICE market boom. MICE friendly hotels are also springing up, including the 256-room Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore (see p104). Another popular hotel in the city is Kimpton Hotels’ Monaco Baltimore (near the Baltimore Convention Center), a 202- room property featuring six meeting rooms occupying 557sq m.
www.gepdmc.com/baltimore
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Hainan, China
The smallest province in China, Hainan comprises some 200 islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast. MICE facilities are housed within a range of resorts located in the islands’ three major centres: Haikou, Sanya and Boao.
After suffering a tourism dip in the downturn, Hainan recently regained the spotlight as a business destination after attracting conferences and incentives from companies including Ford, HP (Hewlett-Packard), Macquarie Group and Intel. Meanwhile, Hainan Airlines reported a 17.8 per cent growth in travel in 2011. Sanya has hosted three Miss World contests and boasts a range of golf courses. The Crowne Plaza Sanya offers 2,377sq m of meeting space, including a 1,300sq m grand ballroom.
www.coco365.net
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Nuremberg, Germany
Known, but not yet established with the UK MICE market, Nuremberg is looking to increase its UK activity in 2012, and double overall MICE turnover in the long term. The city’s 120-plus hotels include a good range of global brand and independent properties with meetings facilities. “In German terms we are established, but not in Europe,” says Nürnberg Convention’s Geoffrey Glaser.
“Internationally we had far more requests last year from the UK and Asia, so I think, combined with our congress targets, the destination is at a tipping point.” He adds that Nürnberg Convention’s recent attendance at EIBTM in Barcelona was successful in a tough business climate – a sign of renewed interest in the destination, which is aiming to become the most technologically advanced conference venue in Germany.
www.nuernberg.de
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