CVB view
Pulling through together
A LOOK AT HOW HAMBURG CVB HAS BEEN SUPPORTING ITS MEMBERS THROUGH THE COVID CRISIS
ith restrictions in
Hamburg now eased – the
German northern port city
is able to host meetings
and events for up to 1,000 people
(outdoors) – and venues, hotels and event
spaces are now open for business.
Hamburg State’s event regulations
(due to be reviewed 31 October) are as
follows:
• Indoor events with fixed seating - 650
people max.
• Indoor events without fixed seating -
100 persons max, reducing to 50 people
max if alcohol is served.
• Outdoor events with fixed seating –
1,000 people max
• Outdoor events without fixed seating
– 200 people max, reducing to 100
people max if alcohol is served. (Full
details: www.hamburg-convention.com/en/
corona/)
Against this backdrop, the Hamburg
Convention Bureau (HCB) team is
working with key industry players to
develop a business events launch
timetable.
Tasks include leading working groups
dealing with topics such as
implementing recommendations for
Forthcoming events scheduled
for 2020 in Hamburg include:
6th Aortic Live Symposium -
Congress of Vascular Medicine
2020, 26-27 October 2020
The European E-Fuels
Conference - 4-5 November
2020
Wind energy December 2020
- 1–4 December 2020 at
Hamburg Messe. A bi-annual
event hosted in Hamburg.
events, hygiene measures and hybrid
event formats, work that is designed to
prepare the city’s conference industry for
the new business reality.
The HCB has set in place a schedule
of roundtables and working groups for
its members, designed to provide
guidance on grants, regulations and
legal advice. These meetings also give
an opportunity for members to raise
wider industry concerns which can then
be shared by the HCB at local
government level.
The HCB and its publications are also
a hub for accessing the latest travel
information, training opportunities and
marketing support - such as the new
video campaign.
Locally based MICECLOUD
Solutions worked with the HCB to
launch a free tool for planners that
calculates the required room size in line
with new Covid-19 regulations.
MICECLOUD Solutions also added
coronavirus-based criteria to their
venue search website, Micebooking.
com. When searching for an event
space, visitors click to apply the corona
capacity calculation – this filters the
Above:
Elbphilharmonie
Below: Florian
Gerdes, marketing
manager
conventions, HCB
venue options in line with current social
distancing regulations. Planners are
then able to receive a definitive list of
spaces that will comfortably – and safely
– host their chosen number of
participants. The idea is for planners to
feel confident they are choosing the best
fit – and safest option – for their
meeting or event.
Hamburg Tourism Board, HCB’s
parent company, has also been busy,
launching #wirstehenzusammen – a new
business forum in partnership with the
Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Transport and Innovation of Hamburg,
DEHOGA Hamburg, the Hamburg
Chamber of Commerce and the
Hamburg Tourismusverband. The
#wirstehenzusammen (which translates
as ‘we stand together’) forum is aimed at
tourism suppliers and promotes support
and solidarity. It is also a platform for
suppliers to exchange ideas, advice and
experience and support each other.
Topics discussed include, how to deal
with reductions in working hours,
drastic cuts in business, and hygiene
best practice.
Florian Gerdes, marketing manager
conventions at the HCB, explains:
“With Hamburg’s venues, hotels,
restaurants and bars open again, the
city is now able to accommodate
small-scale meetings and events. We
have worked closely with our partners
since the outset of the crisis and are now
implementing a number of measures to
support our members at this crucial
time in their business.
“The emphasis right from the very
start of the coronavirus crisis has been
on collaboration and there has been a
real solidarity with businesses pulling
together to support one another in these
tough times.”
ISSUE 108 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 37