PARIS TAKES THE LEAD IN THE WORLDWIDE ASSOCIATION BUSINESS Welcome message in front of the City Hall THOSE WHO FOLLOW THE CONGRESS INDUSTRY KNOW THAT PARIS IS CONSTANTLY DEVOTING THE GREATEST CARE TO THE ASSOCIATION BUSINESS. OBVIOUSLY IT WORKS; PARIS HOSTS OVER 600,000 DELEGATES AND 900 CONGRESSES EVERY YEAR AND REACHED THE FIRST PLACE EX AEQUO WITH VIENNA IN THE 2008 ICCA CITY RANKING. Report Marcel A.M. Vissers (with Rémi Dévé) Pro-activity and mobilisation - these are the key characteristics that the Paris Convention Bureau team keep clearly in view when they go about attracting large congresses to Paris. In 2008, this service kept track of 350 associations and supported 60 bids for large international congresses (a 30% growth over 2007). Mobilising all the players in the field has resulted in more than 50 international associations selecting Paris for their congresses between 2009 and 2016 (for a total of over 200,000 delegates). Meanwhile, another 60 projects are up and running in competition for congresses between 2010 and 2019. The Paris Convention Bureau (PCB) is no stranger to these situations. And I must be even more precise: I’m talking about the team of Elodie Coudre, Congress Manager. In a very short time, Elodie has become the darling of many association executives. Because she’s a charming young lady? No, that’s not the only reason! In particular, it’s because she’s competent, displays great enthusiasm for her work, and has mapped out with her team a working process that can serve as a model for a lot of European convention bureaus. I experienced this first-hand at the beginning of April, during the second edition of ‘Paris Destination Congrès’ gathering the local scientific profession, the French members of international associations based in Ile-de-France, and the Parisian congress players hosted by the Mayor of Paris in the City Hall’s elegant salons. What an honour! AN EXPERIENCED CONVENTION BUREAU There was a clear overtone during ‘Paris Destination Congrès’: a city can only develop into a successful congress destination when all partners make an extra effort. Paul Roll, Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau general manager, knows that better than anyone. He can take pride in the fact that he has created in 2004 a specialised unit within the PCB that seems to be at ease with coordinating the Parisian players as well as assisting association executives at each stage of their bidding process and event. And there are just a handful of these in Europe, or rather, in the world. During ‘Paris Destination Congrès’, the tremendous efforts that must be made to land a congress were frequently attested to by the association executives themselves. Competition is fierce, and the know-how has to be there. AN ACTIVE AND LONG-TERM INVOLVEMENT OF THE CITY OF PARIS In 2006, the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë and the Paris City Council committed themselves to giving active support to hosting international congresses in the city by creating a welcoming atmosphere (support letters and welcome speech, social event at the City Hall, messages on the 170 city billboards, etc.), guarantying the smooth running of the whole process and heightening public awareness of the content of the HEADQUARTERS 2 © Paris Tourist Office - Jocelyne Genri HQ > PARIS
