Paris wants to appeal more to professional travelers
Corinne Menegaux, CEO of the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau, believes in the natural strength of her city – its heritage, its influence, its culture, its gastronomy, its history… Is it necessary to expand? on such matters? The bias is clear:The subject is not the promotion of our destination, everyone knows its advantages, it is the welcome and the customer experience that we are able to offer.“.
The discourse applies to both the leisure clientele and the MICE public… Just as there would be no need to indicate that the city is rich in museums and monuments, the event infrastructures or the large-bodied hotels are would be obvious.
In fact, the figures seem to speak for themselves: year after year, Paris is on the podium of world “congress” destinations, most of the time on the first step – excluding representatives of few Covid years. Barely Barcelona, Berlin or Vienna dare to challenge him for his leadership. But most of these destinations sponsor the events hosted or make spaces available to them. In Paris, no need. And to tell the truth, not too average either: unlike the capitals mentioned above, the municipality is not the manager of the largest event spaces, even when it owns them, thus, for example, the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
Values
However, we must speak of “attractiveness”, nuance Corinne Menegaux, but this one is “ethics, values. These are the key elements of the future, I think. Particularly in MICE where the destination chosen must be in line with the identity and/or the message of the company.“And vice versa: in an ideal world, Paris should only host events whose values are not in contradiction with those that the city of light intends to convey. In this respect, the Qatari Football World Cup constitutes a perfect counter- example.
And these values, the OdT fights so that it is transmitted by a little dusted vectors. To this MICE group which demanded, for its opening ceremony, the dancers of the Moulin Rouge and a beret for each participant (!), the OdT proposed an alternative much less cliché and more in tune with the times. And convinced: it was finally the projection of the documentary Seize the sun leverswith a Thomas Pesquet playing the sax on the screen, accompanied live by a formation of young musicians in the room.
charter
The MICE is neither more nor less than half of the income linked to tourism in the capital. It is therefore understandable that he occupies the teams of the OdT. Their current action consists in particular of the overhaul of the city’s “MICE charter”. The idea is to add “major events” chapters. And above all to broaden the spectrum of suppliers and operators to which it is addressed.
In addition to accommodation and event infrastructure, it is above all on carriers that Corinne Menegaux wants to spend it. It intends to bring together the ideal interlocutors to put the subject on the table. So that participants in an event can benefit from accelerated routes in Paris airports (in and out); so that they are authorized, on departure, to register their luggage at the congress venue (trade show, convention, etc.); that they benefit from a fleet of bicycles, shared vehicles, limited taxi ranks… There is no shortage of ideas, players still have to be convinced, sometimes too focused on their backyard, reluctant to work with others, because they lack a global vision capable of convincing them that cooperation can benefit everyone.
In addition to transport with easy access, according to Corinne Menegaux, the other major issue for ensuring that Paris is maintained at its level as a flagship MICE destination, concerns the commercial policy of the players in the sector, in particular the places events: “Hoteliers have almost all dropped rates without flexibility. They understood, in particular thanks to the crisis, that it was no longer appropriate. Event venue managers must also review their booking conditions, flexibility, cancellation, reporting“. Essential in times of uncertainty.
Individuals too
These two subjects will, in one way or another, be integrated into the future charter. Which will itself be included in a Hospitality Manifesto encompassing the entire tourism industry in Paris. In the meantime, at the OdT, we would also very much like startups – rather than offering a fiftieth app for guided tours of the capital – to look into the “little irritants” that hinder the journey of the pro traveler: “Where can I make a video in good conditions when I participate in a trade show? What do I do with my suitcase? What show can I see during my professional stay?…“
These elements of friction which thwart the fluidity of Parisian professional stays also concern individual business travellers. Corinne Menegaux also assists in realigning the policy of the OdT – “No one addresses this clientele, which is nevertheless profitable, prescriber of leisure trips but also of MICE“. Do not act.