Conference & Incentive Travel articles from July 2006

Conference & Incentive Travel archives from July 2006

First Off: Robust market gives clients more choice.(surveys)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... The latest survey of the UK conference market by the Meetings Industry Association found a robust market with increased client budgets. However suppliers need to resist yelps of delight, because it also revealed a market where buyers are...

Visit London unveils unified business tourism branding.
July 27, 2006... Visit London has unveiled its new business tourism branding, which has been designed to highlight the capital's potential to deliver inspirational events, such as the Olympics and the Tour de France, which starts in London next year. The...

Confex ramps up programme with education focus.
July 27, 2006... International Confex will double its seminar programme for 2007 with a four-track approach to education. There will be twice as many sessions as at the 2006 event, and a more structured format will see different strands focusing on...

Racecourses create unified sales alliance.(conerence services)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... The Racecourse Holdings Trust, which owns 13 courses, has launched an integrated events brand to handle C&I enquiries across its portfolio. Pegasus will be staffed by four event specialists who will act as a central point for the courses....

UK Price Check: Residential boardroom conference.(conference rates)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Brief: Two-day meeting for 20 boardroom-style with LCD projector and one night's accommodation at a new, modern hotel in a city centre location with easy access to the M1. Costs include VAT. MARRIOTT LEICESTER Day-delegate rate: pounds...

UK Brief: St Aidan's awarded.
July 27, 2006... Durham University's St Aidan's College was awarded Best University Accommodation for Groups at the 2006 Group Travel Awards on 16 June at the London Hilton, Park Lane. www.st-aidans.org.uk

UK Brief: Verve City.
July 27, 2006... Verve Venues has acquired the historic Grade II-listed Alfred Waterhouse building in the Holborn Bars complex at 142-146 Holborn. The venue will operate under the brand Verve City as a non-residential venue. www.verve-venues.com

UK Brief: Star Cruises brochure.
July 27, 2006... Star Cruises has published its first brochure dedicated to the UK market, selling cruise itineraries across south east Asia, India and the Mediterranean. The 32-page brochure has options from two to 21-night itineraries. www.starcruises.com

UK Brief: Warwick Conferences invests.
July 27, 2006... Warwick Conferences is investing pounds 2.5m in improving its training and conference centres, with a refurbishment of all bedrooms, plus an updated central heating system and new furniture in some communal areas. warwickconferences.com

UK Brief: Easyjet routes.
July 27, 2006... Easyjet has launched three new routes, opening up Bordeaux in France, Rimini in Italy and Rijeka in Croatia from London Luton Airport. Bordeaux will be served daily while the other routes will operate four times a week. www.easyjet.com

UK Brief: Isle of Man event.
July 27, 2006... The Isle of Man has won its largest-ever event having seen off Birmingham to host the 2010 Royal British Legion Conference. isleofmanconferences.com

UK Brief: Grass Roots off.
July 27, 2006... Since publication of C&IT's June issue, Grass Roots has been taken off the sales incentive programme for NTL:Telewest.

Real Affinity buys Venues Unlimited to add to skillset.(acqusitions)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Event management agency and venue-finder Venues Unlimited has been acquired by marketing services group Real Affinity, parent of events agency Holly Benson. The deal, worth up to pounds 2m, will create a full-service communications agency....

Orange hires Archer Young for sales drive.
July 27, 2006... Orange has appointed Archer Young to run two international incentives in a bid to drive sales of its tariffs and SIM cards. Both incentives will be offered through mobile phone distributors EBS to motivate dealers to sell Orange's core...

Staff buys out Etc Venues for pounds 21m.(finance)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Etc Venues, the London-based management training and venue provider, has announced a pounds 21m management buyout. Alastair Stewart, former managing director of Initial Style Conferences, is heading the organisation since founder and...

Comet becomes latest addition to Beetlenut's roster.
July 27, 2006... High street retailer Comet has appointed Beetlenut to handle a two-day conference for 350 senior staff, suppliers and partners. The contract for the two-day event to be held in Birmingham in September follows a nine-way pitch. Comet project...

New board and losses at first Eventia AGM.(sales report)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Eventia has reported a decline in income to pounds 115,809 in 2005, compared with pounds 142,149 in 2004, resulting in an operating deficiency of pounds 37,231. Reserves were also down by pounds 35,953. Results were revealed at...

People & Places: Marketing Manchester.(conference services)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... The cream of Manchester's C&I venues showcased their wares at Marketing Manchester's annual sales mission in London on 8 June. Held in a commodious marquee in, appropriately enough, Manchester Square in London's Mayfair, the event attracted...

Use of freelancers might mean a visit from the inspector.
July 27, 2006... The trend for senior agency staff to go freelance seems to be growing, even accepting that freelancers have been a significant part of the agency workforce for many years. As an outsider, it's hard to gauge whether it's the staff or the...

BACD hit hard as two major cities pull out.(British Association of Conference Destinations)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Major UK cities London and Birmingham have pulled their membership from the British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD). Visit London and Marketing Birmingham were among its biggest members and their withdrawal means a revenue...

Procurement gets event guide.
July 27, 2006... The meetings and events industry is producing a best practice guide for the procurement of meetings and services, which will be published in December. Rand chairman Peter Rand, who has been driving forward the project in conjunction with...

Book Review: Marketing Destinations and Venues.(works)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Marketing Destinations and Venues for Conferences, Conventions and Business Events by Rob Davidson and Tony Rogers. Given the endless growth in venues and destinations pursuing the conference dollar, the dearth of literature on how they can...

It's time for a roll of dishonour for C&I's no-show offenders.(conference services)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Did you enjoy the World Cup? Frankly I ended up caring less about the football than transfers and flights being on schedule - and whether guests stayed sober enough to get home without causing additional grief. Most irritating was not the...

Hotel sector lobbies against bed tax plan.
July 27, 2006... A proposed bed tax to increase local government funding could lead to a decline in residential conferences if it becomes law, according to a group of hoteliers from Leeds. Gordon Jackson, chairman of local alliance Hotels in Leeds, said...

Venues failing to entice clients.
July 27, 2006... Conference venues are losing business by failing to give organisers suitable deals on advance bookings, event specialist Eventwise has warned. Of the 100 UK corporate event organisers surveyed, 67 said they were likely take advantage of...

Webwatch: www.blueboomerang.com.(online directory)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... WHAT'S THE IDEA? A free online directory of suppliers and contacts across business sectors. It comprises data from directories of Haymarket's event-related publications, which include Conference & Incentive Travel, Event and RSVP....

New Orleans back in the convention swing.(disaster damage reconstruction)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... New Orleans has hosted its first major city-wide convention since Hurricane Katrina and ensuing floods damaged 80% of the city last August. The American Library Association (ALA) brought 18,000 delegates to the Louisiana hub from 22-28...

Imex 2006 beats record for visitors.(statistics)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Imex 2006 was the most successful yet, with a 7% increase in total visitor numbers on 2005 to 7,600 and a 13% boost to the number of hosted buyers to 3,400. The growth could be attributed to a strong programme of add-on initiatives, such...

Fairmont surges ahead with first property in Asia.(foreign operations)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Luxury hotel group Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has announced its first Asia hotel, a 1,500-room property in Macau's Cotai Strip owned by developer Las Vegas Sands. The development comes at a time of major expansion for Fairmont, which has...

ABTA abandons plan to convene in Athens.
July 27, 2006... The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has scrapped plans to hold its convention in Athens. The event, scheduled for 23-25 November, will now be held in Marbella after a series of personnel changes in Athens, including the...

World Price Check: Two-day Madrid conference.(conference management reports)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Brief: Two-day meeting for 20 delegates cabaret-style with two nights' accommodation at a good value hotel in Madrid. Prices include VAT. MELIA PRINCESA MADRID B&B: pounds 4,521 Room hire: pounds 1,162 F&B (inc. dinner): pounds 2,592...

Appointment: Eventia.
July 27, 2006... Eventia has hired Izania Downie as its new executive director. She was previously Starwood Hotels and Resorts' global account director for the MICE sector.

Appointment: Expotel.
July 27, 2006... Expotel has recruited Ian Burnley as CEO following the departure of David Heslop. Burnley spent the early part of his career at venture capital group 3i.

Appointment: Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
July 27, 2006... Small Luxury Hotels of the World has appointed Patrick Burke as chairman of its board of directors. He succeeds Jonathan Slater of the Chester Grosvenor Hotel, who steps down after a three-year tenure.

Appointment: Qantas.
July 27, 2006... Qantas has appointed Hazel Young as regional account manager for Scotland and Ireland.

Appointment: Excel London.
July 27, 2006... Excel London has hired Jane Hague as head of corporate sales. Hague joins from the De Vere Grand in Brighton where she was sales development manager.

Appointment: Seadream Yacht Club.
July 27, 2006... Seadream Yacht Club has promoted Ian Buckeridge to the new post of senior director. His role will include implementing the cruise company's sales and marketing strategy in the UK and Ireland.

Appointment: Nottingham Arena.
July 27, 2006... Nottingham Arena has recruited Julie Warren as its new sales and marketing director, following her five-year stint at Wembley Arena.

Appointment: Yotel.
July 27, 2006... Yotel has appointed Jo Berrington as its first sales and marketing director. Formally head of marketing for the BA London Eye, Berrington's responsibilities will cover managing of the brand and communications.

Octopus appoints director to foster US business leads.
July 27, 2006... Octopus Communications has hired former Deutsche Bank group communications director Kim Kennedy to spearhead new business in the US. Based in California, Kennedy's role will be to build new business and promote Octopus to clients. Her...

Brazil nets ICCA rank debut for Americas.(International Congress and Convention Association)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Brazil has broken into the top ten of the ICCA rankings for the first time, marking the debut appearance for a destination in the Americas. The country climbed three places in the rankings by total number of MICE participants, and also...

Silk Events looks east with Austria office.(foreign operations)(Brief article)
July 27, 2006... Macclesfield-based Silk Event Management has opened its first overseas office, in Austria. The events agency will use the office in Vienna as the base to target pharmaceutical companies from the emerging markets of Eastern Europe,...

People and Places: Lisbon.
July 27, 2006... Six lucky agencies - including Absolute Corporate Events and Peppermint Productions - saw the best of Lisbon and its surrounds in June when DMC AIMS Portugal, representation company RAM Organisation and national carrier TAP linked up for a...

Overseas Brief: Rey Juan Carlos I floor.
July 27, 2006... Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I in Barcelona has opened an executive floor. Located on the 12th storey, it offers 32 double-deluxe rooms, free internet access and VIP check-in among other facilities. www.hrjuancarlos.com

Overseas Brief: World of Incentives welcomes.
July 27, 2006... World of Incentives, the international DMC network, has welcomed Crete and Egypt DMCs Ibis El Greco and Excel Travel Services to its ranks. www.woinetwork.com

Overseas Brief: Disneyland evening.
July 27, 2006... Disneyland Resort Paris' corporate events department Business Solutions has launched an interactive evening for corporate hospitality in Discoveryland. Delegates will enjoy unlimited access to Discoveryland's flagship attractions, followed by a...

Overseas Brief: Hyatt hotel.
July 27, 2006... Hyatt International has announced the new 300-room Hyatt Regency Yekaterinburg, set to open in 2008. Building has already begun and the hotel will be Hyatt's second property in Russia. www.hyatt.com

Overseas Brief: MCI CEO awarded.
July 27, 2006... MCI institutional division CEO Robin Lokerman has won the AIME 2006 Industry Person of the Year award, announced at the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo in Melbourne in June. www.aime.com.au

Overseas Brief: Tourism showcase.
July 27, 2006... The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions is planning a three-day showcase event for European meeting planners in Utrecht in August. Interested planners should call Karin Loohuis on 020 7539 7959. holland.com/showcase

Overseas Brief: Domina move plans.
July 27, 2006... The Domina Hotel Group has announced plans to move into Jordan, with its Domina Inn Aqaba scheduled for 2007. www.dominahotels.com

Opinion: Sounding Off - The three pillars of sustainability can be attained by C&I.
July 27, 2006... With the high profile given to corporate social responsibility by the media, and with the Government moving climate change higher up the agenda, our industry could be the focus of targeted criticism. Much of the focus is currently on...

In Person: Patti Heaven - Events manager, Axa Sun Life.
July 27, 2006... 'There is no great genius without some touch of madness,' according to Seneca, the great Roman writer and moralist. And there is perhaps no one in the events industry who demonstrates this quite so clearly as the exuberant head of events at Axa...

Analysis: Do awards motivate and inspire?
July 27, 2006... The merger between the CEA and the ITMA has enabled Eventia to take a fresh look at its awards and address some of the criticism they have faced over recent years, as Stuart Derrick reports. What is the point of industry awards? It seems an...

World Cup Diary: Germany calling.
July 27, 2006... The World Cup is one of the blue-riband hospitality events, and C&IT has been kept in the picture by our man in the stadia, First Protocol's Craig Pugh. First Protocol account executive Craig Pugh (pictured fourth left) has had a front row...

Diary of a Start-up: Brand building, that's where the fun starts.
July 27, 2006... Having dealt with other people's brands for so long, it's sobering having to create your own. The problem is that when you lay out every brand idea you've ever had, it just looks like a mess. But actually it's a complex jigsaw puzzle. We were...

Case Study: Beefeater's best of British.
July 27, 2006... A Routemaster bus was ideal for bringing a taste of the UK to a French island. Brief: When Scotland-based drinks group Chivas Brothers acquired Beefeater Gin last year, it welcomed a classic brand into its portfolio. Few products have...

Country Retreats: Five of the Best Venues with a difference.(statistics)
July 27, 2006... There can be more to out-of-town events than an overnight stay in a country-house hotel. In her quest for the unusual, Abigail Wills takes to the water in Devon and ascends Scotland's peaks. CAIRN GORM MOUNTAIN, AVIEMORE Contact: Helen...

Sporting Venues: Major league players.(meeting planners)
July 27, 2006... Phil Heard rounds up some of the UK's best C&I venues that offer a unique sporting heritage. ASCOT RACECOURSE; CONTACT GARY ENGLAND, 01344 878564 The draw: Last month, Ascot made its welcome return to the racing calendar to host the...

Management Training Centres: Learning by design.(Interview)
July 27, 2006... Etc Venues' marketing chief tells James Ottery why people can be as important as the facilities. Mary Fowell is sales and marketing director at Etc Venues. She joined the company four years ago as its first head of sales and marketing, and...

Management Training Centres: Case Study - Tesco's long haul.
July 27, 2006... The supermarket chain required a venue for a four-week training course that would keep the participants enthused throughout The brief: Supermarket firm Tesco holds a number of training academies each year for senior staff. For this...

European Convention Centres: Bigger and better.
July 27, 2006... Demand for better facilities is driving developments across Europe's convention centres. Anna Bowden reports on what the UK and its neighbours are doing to attract business. From the debate currently raging in London over the need for an...

European Convention Centres: Showcase - Buildings that are shaping the future.
July 27, 2006... Cutting-edge designs are transforming the face of large venues. Anna Bowden selects seven of the best ISS DOME, DUSSELDORF, GERMANY; www.iss-dome.de Opening in September, the modern ISS Dome will offer planners the chance to stage...

Poland: Warsaw's renaissance.(tourism promotion)
July 27, 2006... Quietly and out of the glare of publicity, Poland's capital has undergone a transformation that is totally at odds with perceptions of a foreboding, post-communist city. Anna Bowden reports. While UK groups have known about Krakow's...

Cruising: Rites of passage.
July 27, 2006... Impressive new on-board facilities, exotic ports of call and exclusive-hire options show that the cruise sector is determined to win over planners' prejudices. Kunal Dutta reports. Few ideas ignite prejudices like a cruise. For some, it...

Golf: Six of the Best - European golf resorts.
July 27, 2006... Stuart Derrick selects half a dozen venues from among Europe's leading golf properties. HYATT LA MANGA REGENCY RESORT, SPAIN Contact: Reservations, +34 968 17 55 77 Web: www.lamangaclub.com Meeting spaces: 16 Largest space holds:...

Gateway to Morocco.
July 27, 2006... Already a popular pitch with agents, Morocco is going from strength to strength. Ben Lerwill hears about the tourist board's future priorities. The Moroccan National Tourist Office's Aziz Mnii grew up in the Moroccan capital city of Rabat....

Mexico: The Event Planner's Guide to... Mexico's marvels.
July 27, 2006... Put aside sombrero preconceptions, Mexico has an enviable C&I infrastructure. Although a favourite destination for US C&I groups, Mexico has yet to make serious inroads to the UK market. Mexico receives more than 400,000 visitors from the...

India: Experience of a lifetime.(tourism promotion)
July 27, 2006... India still offers a sensory adventure that is second to none, but the country's burgeoning infrastructure means it's not just for hardened travellers. Ben Lerwill reports. Recent years have smiled on India. The pull of the country itself...

Australia: Assessing the bush te legraph.
July 27, 2006... Is Tourism Australia's marketing message resulting in more groups venturing down under? Yasmin Razak investigates. Tourism Australia has had a committed C&I presence in the UK for more than ten years and, despite a decade of promoting the...

Venue Focus.
July 27, 2006... Steigenberger has added to its German portfolio with a property on the Baltic Coast. Located on the beach promenade in Zingst, the 121-room hotel features two meeting rooms and meeting facilities for up to 70 delegates. The hotel is situated 60...

Diary: Don't Miss..(Diary entry)
July 27, 2006... MPI World Education Congress: 9-11 July; MPI's annual gathering of the chapters in Texas. www.mpiuk.org C&IT Agency Forum: 2-4 August; London's Riverbank Park Plaza hosts the annual networking and education event. www.agency.citforum.co.uk...

Diary: York and Humber says 'Hurray for Bollywood!'.(Diary entry)
July 27, 2006... It's not often that the famous northern double act, the alluringly monikered Yorkshire and Humber, gets to put one over on more glamorous international destinations such as New York. But now red carpet suppliers will be batting their eyelids...

Diary: 1996: stone-age man.(Diary entry)
July 27, 2006... And a bottle of Diary's finest fizz for the first reader out of the hat to identify the scribe, and still working industry luminary, who wrote to C&IT ten years ago, fretting about the rise of US-style PC 'sensitivities', putting our own C&I...

Diary: Hospitality & Tickets at Arsenal.
July 27, 2006... Win a hospitality package for two at the brand new home of Arsenal, the fantastic Emirates Stadium. The winner and guest will get the chance to see the Gunners in action at a home match next season and enjoy the world-class hospitality...

Diary: Crazy Golf.(Diary entry)
July 27, 2006... The grass might be greener, but the greens might be slower. And a tad bumpy. Welcome to Croatia, where the first 'free range' eco-friendly golf course has opened on the island of Veli Brijun in Brijuni National Park off Istria's western coast....

Diary: The Headlines 10 Years Ago.(Diary entry)
July 27, 2006... - Conference business in the UK grew by 35% in 1995 against the previous year. The British Conference Market Survey, which monitors all events that last six hours or more for groups of 15 to 3,000, reported that the biggest growth was enjoyed...