Meeting- Incentives-Conferences-Events

The profession of organising meetings still struggles for identity. Garbage disposal operatives are better known. However, those from whom it craves recognition must be confused. While the northern hemisphere has largely concluded that 'the meetings industry' is the phrase for them, much of the southern still doggedly clings to MICE as the all embracing acronym. Who's right? Should one faction sacrifice their letterheads for the other? Unusually and powerfully, a passionate MICE breeder in South Africa mounts a compelling case for the furry vermin. Helen Brevver CMP; Director of The MICE Club ( South Africa ); CMP International Ambassador & Exam Cram Leader; Chairperson: Ministerial-led Events & Technical Services Task Team ( South Africa ), is adamant. "The group business market continues to be plagued with definition interpretation and the decision by ICCA to apply the term 'meetings industry' fo all group gatherings is doubtless acceptable from their main member viewpoint: the suppliers. However, buyers hold somevvhat different views on such interpretation and the acronym MICE fits well in the fabric of their understanding. "MICE, being Meetings Incentives definitions have undoubtedly a place in this world." "Most importantly," "it has been agreed that a collective and simple name was needed to encompass all the meetings industry's different facets and after much discussion, just that, 'the meetings industry', was adopted." Conferences Exhibitions/Events is more than just a convenient term. Each letter of the acronym signifies differing nuances in the organising and planning process.

Initiatives to ensure Paris stays at top of association table backed by mayor The mayor of Paris has pledged his support to ensure the city remains a premier destination for business tourism. Plans for the advancement of Paris’ offering were outlined at a press conference organised be the Mairie of Paris, Paris Office de Tourism et des Congres and the Chambre de Commerce et d’industrie de Paris last week. The conference outlined a number of initiatives which the organisations hope will ensure Paris remains a global capital for business tourism in the face of stiff competition from European and international destinations. In September 2006 the Union des Associations Internationales (UAI) placed Paris at the top of the table for international association meetings, a position it has held for 27 consecutive years. The conference heard the city’s mayor, Betrand Delanoe, had addressed a group of 20 representatives from the meetings, exhibitions and trade show sectors earlier this month to push for greater coordination of actions with the Ville de Paris. The group, which includes representatives from Paris Expo and the Chamber of Commerce, is tasked with establishing a strategy on how best to defend the “supremacy” of the capital. Delanoe said the industry needed to exploit the image and spirit of the city by putting in place a branding strategy reflecting the Parisien way of life. He said: “Paris is a desirable city, with a certain art of living.” He added there was “a lot the city could do” to improve the quality of the welcome, from transportation to “welcome” signage in the streets through to VIP receptions for visitors. A single entry port between the destination and the Bureau de Congress will be established at http://convention.parisinfo.com. A media plan to improve communication and awareness of the Bureau de Congress will also be put in place and a Tourism Day arranged for 2007 to raise awareness of the economic impact of the industry among the city’s residents. The initiatives come in the wake of negative reports in the French national press about the “dethronement” of Paris as a leading destination for international congress. A headline in Le Figaro in November 2005 said the organisation of congress in Paris was in “free fall,” laying the blame at a fragmented approach involving too many different organisations and agencies. The article also slammed the “derisory” public funding given to promoting Paris as a business tourism destination compared with Germany and Spain.

Picturesque rolling hills and vineyards. 90 minutes from Paris, making it an easy day trip or overnight from Paris. Historical gothic cathedral where France's kings were crownedChampagne, the very symbol of sophistication, graceful living and celebration, is produced nowhere else in the world. All champagnes are made within a few miles of each other outside Reims and Epernay, near the Abbey of Saint-Pierre where the legendary Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, supposedly invented the bubbly by accident in the early 18th Century (some would say by divine inspiration). Just as still wines have different characteristics and tastes, so do champagnes, and the great houses of Mumm, Piper-Heidsieck, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon, among more than 100 others, want to prove this with guided tours (in English) of their cellars and tasting of the current vintage. Sightseeing centers around Reims and its Notre-Dame Cathedral, the heart of France's royal history where twenty-five kings were crowned. This Gothic structure is one of France's most magnificent churches, and some would place its rose windows among the best in the world. South of the Champagne vineyards is Troyes, once one of Europe's most magnificent cities. This capital of the Counts of Champagne, who ruled the region before there was a France, is lined with beautifully-preserved half-timbered houses built during the 16th Century. North of Reims are the French Ardennes where Europe's sometimes bloody history has been decided on the fields of Sedan, Argonne and Châlons-sur-Marne, along the rivers Meuse and Marne. The Champagne region is only a 90-minute drive from Paris, making it an easy day trip.als are trying hard to adapt to the different pace of their guests: more flexible mealtimes, menus adapted for everyone's requirements…