Newsletter 1-2005,February 24, 2005

IMEX – incorporating Meetings made in Germany 19 – 21 April 2005

Information for visitors

Only a few weeks left to go before the third IMEX – incorporating Meetings made in Germany – kicks off in Frankfurt.

Visitors who want to take part in the international fair of the congress, meeting, event and incentive industry in Germany, can register on http://www.imex-frankfurt.de/ since the beginning of this year. Admission is free on all three days and registered visitors will receive a fair pass 2 weeks before the event by post.

Registered visitors will also benefit from discounts when renting cars from Sixt and Hertz, have the opportunity to book low-priced hotel rooms in Frankfurt and can make appointments with exhibitors approx. 2 weeks before the event thanks to the online appointment system.

In total, IMEX 2005 will boast approx. 2500 exhibitors from over 130 countries. The Germany stand A 100 – A 180 will feature approx. 140 exhibitors – hotels, congress centres, incentive and event agencies, and technology companies.

This year – due to huge demand - IMEX will take place for the first time in hall 8, the largest single-level hall of Frankfurt Fair. But even in the new hall the 1,200 sqm stand will be very close to the right entrance. The exhibitors of the Germany stand and the GCB team look forward to your visit! It's worth it!

Seminars

As a special offer the German Convention Bureau (GCB) will stage free German-speaking seminars which will inform you about important topics for event planners on all three afternoons of the fair. You don't need to register for the seminars. Places are awarded according to the "first come, first serve" principle. The German-language seminars will deal with essential topics like tips and tricks for Customer Relationship Management, practical advice for more customer satisfaction and effective budget planning for events according to the motto "well-planned is half as expensive“. A further seminar will provide useful tips on how to prepare a fascinating presentation and there will be a workshop on the topic of trust in the event business.

Richard Rheindorf, your contact at the GCB branch in New York, offers providers fascinating insight into how they can sell their product successfully on the US market. You will find all the details on the topics and speakers on www.imex-frankfurt.de/seminars.htm. English-speaking breakfast seminars will take place every morning before the start of the fair. Info on www.imex-frankfurt.com/seminars.php.

Wild Card

At IMEX 2005 the GCB will for the first time support lesser known German providers who have never taken part in a trade fair with three wild cards – offering free participation at the Germany stand. The three winners, who made it out of an overwhelming number of 32 applicants, are Krongut Bornstedt in Potsdam, Schrannenhalle in Munich, and Rostock, Güstrow and Bad Doberan Marketing-Initiative e.V. At stand A 135 the three exhibitors will have a first opportunity to present themselves to a wider audience for meetings, incentives, events and conventions. Here are the three wild card winners: www.imex-frankfurt.de/wildcardgermany.htm

Meetings with flair – attractive destinations far from the big cities

The German Convention Bureau (GCB) successfully markets Germany as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives both nationally and internationally. Germany's big cities like Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt have already established their position in the top league of international meeting and congress destinations. As a contact for anybody planning an event in Germany, the GCB also wants to highlight the many advantages of destinations that are far from the big cities, in other words cities with a population of under 400,000. Under the motto "Meetings with flair – attractive destinations far from the big cities", 27 of them will exhibit to a large international audience at the GCB Germany stand A100 – A180 at IMEX - incorporating Meetings made in Germany, The Worldwide Exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events, in Frankfurt from 19 to 21 April 2005.

"Often smaller cities like Rostock, Erfurt or Freiburg stand out for their historical city centres, their location in beautiful landscapes and short routes between convention centres, hotels and cultural attractions“, says GCB director Lutz P. Vogt. He is also convinced that "the personal atmosphere allows people to relax more before or after the meeting." Other benefits include a normally excellent value for money and an infrastructure that is comparable to that of big cities. In addition, the destinations are very service-orientated and both guests and meeting planners receive personal support. Virtually all cities can handle events with up to 2,000 people in their convention centres and other venues without any problems and have a well-balanced range of hotels of all categories. "Meetings with flair – attractive destinations far from the big cities" describes, above all, the excellent facilities smaller cities offer for extraordinary meetings, social programmes and original incentives.

It's really worthwhile to look for unusual meeting venues far from the big cities: The destinations are featured on the GCB's website - http://www.gcb.de/, and at our Germany stand A100 – A180 at IMEX the following "attractive destinations far from the big cities" and/or convention centres will be present: Aachen, Aschaffenburg, Baden-Baden, Bielefeld, Bonn, Bremerhaven, Erfurt, Freiburg, Friedrichshafen, Halle (Saale), Halle (Westphalia), Heidelberg, Kassel, Leverkusen, Magdeburg, Mainz, Mannheim, Münster, Offenbach, Osnabrück, Pforzheim, Potsdam, Rostock, Saarbrücken, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Weimar and Wolfsburg.