Bordeaux
Premier conference cru
PAUL COLSTON EXPERIENCES A SPECIAL EVENT DEGUSTATION COURTESY OF BEAM IN BORDEAUX AND FINDS A HEADY VINTAGE IS TAKING SHAPE .
ordeaux , famous for its wine , is now in the process of creating quite an event
B vintage . This multi-faceted
metropolis is diverse and authentic and able to host events of all sizes , from select gatherings of a dozen people , up to large-scale events for 50,000 . I was able to sample the full event flavour on a recent visit to the city courtesy of BEAM ( Bordeaux Events And More ).
Despite the city ’ s 18th-century architecture and its central UNESCO World Heritage site area , Bordeaux until relatively recently had not attracted tourists in large numbers .
Now , a mixture of ultra-modern museums , including most prominently the Cité du Vin wine museum and its swirling architectural design – where you can experience the evolution of the region , and indeed the world ’ s , wine-making heritage .
The historic wharf areas have been given a modern facelift and a complete new visitor infrastructure including hotels and smart cafes and restaurants . For the event organiser , eight conference and exhibition centres are increasingly busy and fully equipped to meet the most exacting needs of the business tourist and delegate .
Relaxed ambience The city also has a relaxed atmosphere and is proud of its green and sustainability credentials – with an overall score of 85 % on the GDS-Index , Bordeaux is in the global Top 5 of the 72 destinations audited thus far . Greenery , agricultural land and woodland together make up 51 % of the total surface area of Bordeaux Métropole .
The city air is clean and a tram network – where much of the cabling is underground – spans the 28 constituent municipalities of the metropolis , along with 330km of cycle paths . 93 % of the city ’ s large hotels are accessible within 30 minutes using public transport . The ambience is further relaxed by the
Hang out for exhibitions at Hangar 14 with views of the Garonne river
Stéphane Kintzig , BEAM director
city ’ s water backdrop provided both by the River Garonne and the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean .
Bordeaux ’ s historic vineyards and wine culture breathe right throughout the city , of course , with a veritable Nebuchadnezzar size offer of wine bars , tasting schools , wine museums , wine merchants and micro-wineries .
This welcoming city is an inspiring place to organise a wide range of events and , this year , Bordeaux will play host to major events such as the European Company Sport Games , the Robocup and the Woodrise congress , along with a series of major sporting events and public celebrations including the Rugby World Cup in the Autumn . While the city ’ s world-famous wine festival , Bordeaux Fête le Vin , again took place successfully at the end of June , a month when the city ’ s hotels reported being over 80 % full .
The Bordeaux Convention Bureau says it is working on 150 future corporate events and congresses which add up to a combined total of 400,000 event days . Most of the corporate projects are scheduled for 2023-2024 , but they also include 46 congress partnerships , some of which run until 2029 .
Bordeaux is back to pre-Covid levels of activity and the number of hotel rooms available across the metropolis has risen by 1,500 since 2019 .
Congress business is still to approach 2019 levels but the gap is narrowing : 2022 was just 10 % down on 2019 and that was only on nine months of trading . The business tourism Observatory coordinated by the BCB identified 2,500 professional events taking place across the metropolis in 2022 .
Activity in the corporate sector has , however , bounced back to 2019 levels and the outlook for 2023 is very good , says Olivier Occelli , managing director of Bordeaux Tourism & Congress .
Sustainability team Bordeaux Métropole ’ s Tourism and Congress board has established a dedicated sustainable development
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