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special destination > Antwerp

Antwerp

CONTENTS

+ Antwerp, a meetings cityon a rise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Philip Heylen, Antwerp’s Alderman for Culture and Tourism

+ Antwerp congress & business events bureau: an evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Inge Marstboom, manager of Antwerp’s Congress & Business Events Bureau

+ Antwerp hotel association: a new drive for Antwerp’s meeting industry . . . . . . . . 24

Didier Boehlen, GM of Radisson Blu Astrid Hotel

INTERVIEWS BY MARCEL A.M. VISSERS

MIM Europe: Antwerp is a city on the rise, as far as the Meetings Industry is concerned. How fast is this growth?PH: Antwerp certainly has the potential to grow as a meetings destination. It has important advantages such as accessibility, the status of being the economic centre of the country, the tourist infrastructure and image – but demand is also largely determined by the available meeting infra-structure. Antwerp still lacks one crucial thing: a fully-fl edged conference centre. The city has to rely on the existing loca-tions and hotels that can handle multi-day conferences for a maximum of 600 guests.

Bigger conferences are seldom organized, and are often only possible thanks to the fl exible attitude of the organizer. Problems arise for larger multi-day conferences organized on one fi xed location for plenary meetings, breakouts, catering and exhibi-tion. The limited facilities we have now keep demand low. The Diabolo-connection between Brussels Airport and Antwerp, planned for mid June, will defi nitely be an added advantage for the city. Get on the train at the airport and in less than thirty minutes you’ll be in Antwerp’s city centre. Besides offering facilities, it’s very impor-tant for a destination to be present at

international trade fairs and events. Every year we attend the two major interna-tional exhibitions: EIBTM and IMEX. At these fairs, Antwerp Tourism & Congress can assess the international interest for the city. We’re also members of several important international organizations, to assist in the promotion of Antwerp as a conference and meeting destination.

MIM Europe: How do you currently describe Antwerp to companies looking for an incentive/event location? What makes this city special? PH: Besides meeting venues in historical buildings such as the city hall and the

special destination

Antwerp, a Meetings City on the rise !An interview with Philip Heylen, Antwerp’s Alderman for Culture and Tourism, always ends on a warm note. Philip is fi ery, enthusiastic, well-informed and never pessimistic. He’s excited about Antwerp’s Meetings Industry too, but he’s not afraid to admit that there is still much work to be done.

university, there are also great locations available on or near the water (the Scheldt and the docks). Other interesting possi-bilities are locations with a story: about fashion, Rubens, diamonds and so on.On the incentive/events level, Antwerp has a lot of variety to offer as well. The four main advantages (fashion, diamonds, water, Rubens/culture) can be perfectly converted into products for a popular and exciting

incentive. We have our diamond cocktails, the Antwerp fashion hunt game, harbor cruises, museum nocturnes, et cetera. The cooperation between the city and the industry appears to be an advantage as well. Organizers welcome this level of teamwork.

MIM Europe: Do you sell Antwerp differently to congress organizers (associations), being another target group?PH: There is a close cooperation between the city, the university and Elzenveld. Elzenveld and the university both offer a good and affordable service to associations. Both locations are located right in the centre, so there is enough hotel capacity available within walking distance and the participants can enjoy the city before and after the congress activities.

MIM Europe: How do you see Antwerp as a congress destination in 2015? PH: Our hotels can currently offer conference capacity for up to 600 people. Antwerp can grow to be signifi cantly more important on the meeting market if it has a state-of-the-art conference centre to push this limit. Antwerp can and should aspire to accommodate conferences for up to 1,500 participants. A convention city with a brand new conference centre located right in the centre, with suffi cient exhibition space, will certainly strengthen its market position.

“Antwerp can grow to be signifi cantly more important on the meeting market if it hasa state-of-the-art conference centre to push this limit.”Philip Heylen

special destination > Antwerp

+32 3 203 12 34radissonblu.com/astridhotel-antwerp

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great events!Organizing, that’s what we’re good at! Whether it concerns a meeting, an incentive, a conference or a party, we’ll make sure you get what you’ve been dreaming of. Anything is possible, even a cocktail amongst 10,000 exotic fish and reptiles in Aquatopia.

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Philip Heylen, Antwerp’s Alderman for Culture and Tourism

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special destination > Antwerp

“We’re constantly scanning new markets

as well, to fi nd the ones most interesting to us.”

Inge Marstboom

MIM Europe: How was 2011 for Antwerp?IM: It certainly wasn’t a bad year: both venues and hotels are fairly happy. The last part of 2010 was exceptionally busy because of the European presidency attracting a lot of meetings. Logically we didn’t reach those numbers again in 2011, but otherwise we’ve had a very stable year. The economic crisis didn’t really touch us.

MIM Europe: How is Antwerp promoting itself to the industry? IM: Since a few years, we’re attending both EIBTM and IMAX again, and it’s starting to show. Each year, we have more appoint-ments and our brand awareness rises. What amazed me on EIBTM last year, was the attention we were getting from associations. They’re actively attending these fairs to compare cities to each other, giving us some valuable new options. We’re constantly scanning new markets as well, to fi nd the ones most interesting to us. We’re concentrating on India this

year, because of the links with the harbor and diamond industry. We’ve also noticed companies are becoming more creative due to the economic situation. While more and more video conferences are being held, there’s still a need to meet in person. But the style of incentives is changing. A lot of businesses are trying to mix leisure activities with something cultural or educational. It’s not just meeting for 5 hours straight before going to the pub anymore. We’re keeping this in mind.

MIM Europe: Are there any new meeting locations we should know of?IM: There’s a few: “Het Koetshuis” behind the Palace on the Meir is a wonderful but temporary event venue, the MAS museum can be rented for meetings and events. ALM in Berchem has multiple meeting rooms/halls and Portview is a trendy new location in the harbour with a fabulous view which is especially interesting for companies in the port sector. The Sir Plantin hotel recently got a makeover, there’s a new All Seasons Hotel near Astrid Square and Hotel O in the South district is a perfect place for smaller meetings. After the plans for the Keyserlei had been made public, a lot of catering businesses specifi cally started looking to open a venue there.

Inge Marstboom, manager of Antwerp’s Congress & Business Events Bureau, shines her light on how the city’s meeting industry did in 2011 and takes a look at the near future.

Antwerp congress & business events bureau: an evaluation

Inge Marstboom

Things are moving in Antwerp. The renovated and enlarged Central Station, the direct train connection with Brussels Airport planned for this year, the remodeled Astrid Square, the ongoing renovation of the famous Keyserlei and foremost: the completion of the Flanders Concert and Congress Centre in 2014. All of these projects will no doubt make the Antwerp Station Area the city’s most important business hub.

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special destination > Antwerp

AHA: The Antwerp Hotel AssociationAHA was founded last June to promote Antwerp and its hotels, to improve their general image and to be a well known point of contact for anyone needing a word with the hotel world. It also works on improv-ing and strengthening the cooperation between Flanders Tourism, Flanders Catering Federation, Antwerp Tourism & Congress and other professional organizations.

“Mutual hotel coordination andcooperation is the key to making

it all work. It’s a matter of earning trust andliving up to it.”

Didier Boehlen

Antwerp fi nally has its own Hotel Association. President of AHA (Antwerp Hotel Association) is Didier Boehlen, GM of Radisson Blu Astrid Hotel.

Antwerp hotel association: a new drive for Antwerp’s meeting industry

MIM Europe: Why was it necessary to fi nally create a hotel association?DB: When I started working here 18 months ago, hotels weren’t really communicating with each other. We were missing a general point of contact, and decided to create an offi cial non-profi t organization. All of our members pay a fee – € 10 per room annually – which

isn’t cheap. But since our startup, 3,700 rooms already joined, giving us a lot of fi nancial capacity from membership alone. Our goal is to create business and raise the demand for hotel rooms in Antwerp, not to defend our own interests.

MIM Europe: What’s your view on Antwerp as a congress destination? Is it aiming at the international market?DB: Because of the lack of mutual coordination, organizing big meetings in Antwerp was traditionally diffi cult. If you’re working with multiple small, inde-pendent hotels, it’s a burden to quickly book a large number of rooms. A lot of opportunities were missed this way. We have a larger capacity and bigger rooms than Bruges for example, but they get more MICE business than we do. This will change in the near future: a direct train connection with Brussels Airport is underway (just 23 minutes), and in 2014 the Flanders Congress & Concert Centre will be ready: important new assets for Antwerp, making it a fi rst class congress destination and a qualitative but cheap alternative to Brussels. Mutual hotel coordination and cooperation is the key to making it all work. It’s a matter of earning trust and living up to it.

MIM Europe: Are you satisfi ed with the station area as a meeting destination?DB: We’re happy, but not fully satisfi ed yet. We could be in 2015: with a new congress centre, a new Keyserlei, a new Opera square and a tunnel under the Leien. The neighborhood’s atmosphere will change dramatically, and most likely for the better. We have a room capacity of more than 700 beds within walking distance of the station. We’ll be perfectly suited for congresses of about 500-600 delegates.

Didier Boehlen