ITB
ITB BERLIN NEWS • Saturday 9 th March 2013 www.itb-berlin-news.com
MICE SPECIAL FEATURE 23 You’ll Find MICE in Hiltons in Every Part of the World Philippe Garnier, head of sales, Hilton Worldwide, Europe, spoke to ITB Berlin News about the importance of MICE to his group MICE has always been, and remains, an extremely important part of our business. With more than 4,100 meeting rooms and over 5.8 million square feet of hotel meeting space, Hilton Worldwide is recognised as a leader in the delivery of MICE. We are in a unique position in that we are able to offer clients a choice of six hotel brands across Europe. What makes the difference when hosting groups or conferences? For larger meetings we have an experienced team that works closely with event managers to create tailored and bespoke programmes. The organisers of smaller meetings, on the other hand, often need to make arrangements quickly without compromising on quality. We have launched a concept called Hilton Meetings Guarantee at three of our Hilton hotels in Germany, which guarantee that we deliver on a set of essential products and services. And if we don’t, and do not fix the shortcoming within 30 minutes, we will give customers their money back. Which of your brands are developing fastest in terms of MICE? We have significantly grown our portfolio of brands One of the main trends we’re starting to see is the growing popularity of MICE in Central and Eastern Europe across Europe. In terms of location, demand in Europe remains strong, but one of the main trends we’re starting to see is the growing popularity of MICE in central and eastern Europe – in Prague, Warsaw and Istanbul for example. We see that trend continuing as we open more hotels in Eastern Europe, which is a key growth region for us. How do you promote MICE activities? Our MICE promotional and marketing efforts include one-to-one meetings, focused events, direct mail communications and offline and online campaigns with customers. Social Media also plays an important part as it increases awareness, improves and maintains a high level of customer service, while communicating directly with target audiences. [Interview by Richard barnes] Hall 20 Stand 138 Philippe Garnier Head of sales, Hilton Worldwide Chiang Mai set to Become World MICE Destination The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) joined forces with eight key government and private organisations in Chiang Mai to lay the framework for further development of Chiang Mai as a worldclass MICE destination. The northern Thailand capital is due to open its brand new Convention Centre in April, a facility the city has been waiting for over a decade. The government named Chiang Mai set to become a Global MICE city 2013 Chiang Mai’s Year of MICE, and at a recent Chiang Mai MICE Summit a master plan was created for the development of Chiang Mai as the MICE destination for Thailand and ASEAN in five years. Chiang Mai has very strong infrastructure advantages which support this plan. The province has a total of more than 33,000 hotel rooms while Chiang Mai International Airport is Thailand’s fourth-largest, with seven airlines offering international connections. The master plan has three phases: in the first phase, starting this year, the target is domestic MICE, while all concerned agencies work together to improve infrastructure. In the second phase, from 2014 to 2015, promotion will be extended beyond domestic MICE to cover regional markets. In the third phase, from 2016 to 2017, Chiang Mai will become a Global MICE city with the capability of handling large international events. The total number of MICE events held in Chiang Mai in 2011 was 491. Hall 26.B Stand 226 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Saturday 9 th March 2013
