Hidden Hamburg
Hamburg Convention Bureau’ s Florian Gerdes on the city’ s hidden event appeal
Why choose Germany?
Matthias Schultze, managing director German Convention Bureau
Why hold events & meetings in Germany? A combination of excellent infrastructure, great value for money, connectivity and a highly versatile range of meeting facilities from convention centres to unusual venues, makes Germany a compelling destination for meeting and event planners. The country retains its place as a global leader in the industry, ranking number one in Europe and second worldwide( only behind the US) for the 12th consecutive year, with 667 meetings in the annual ICCA rankings. One of the factors that makes Germany a global leader in its field is its focus on trendwatching and keeping up-to-date with the latest innovations in society and the meetings industry. The GCB recently launched a series of future meeting scenarios as part of its Future Meeting Space research project in partnership with the European Association of Event Centres( EVVC) and the Fraunhofer Institute of Industrial Engineering( IAO). The Future Meeting Space project aims to give planners, delegates and service providers a preview of the best practices for meetings, conferences and events incorporating design, technology, format and knowledge sharing approaches. ■■■
With around 1.7 million inhabitants, Hamburg is Germany’ s second largest city and has long been a hub for trade and business. It is a stronghold for brands, a media city, the third largest civil aviation location in the world, and one of the most important ports in global trade. In addition, its elegant city centre and many green spaces make it an extremely popular visitor and meetings destination as the city continues to record overnight stays.
BUSINESS MEETINGS – tap into local expertise The Port is also the economic heart of the city and the maritime and logistic sectors are some of the city’ s areas of expertise which organisers and delegates can tap in to – experts in these industries can serve as speakers, guides for tours or hosts for site visits. This makes it easy for organisers to add a distinctive flair and personality to their events.
VENUES – the‘ rolling wave’ of Hamburg Designed to look like a rolling wave in homage to Hamburg’ s famous harbour, the
Elbphilharmonie is due to set sail in January 2017 – providing a truly unique new meeting venue with performance halls and a new five star Westin hotel. www. elbphilharmonie. de / elbphilharmonie-hamburg. en
ACTIVITIES & AFTER HOURS – climb a ship’ s mast across the River Elbe Hamburg is best experienced on the water – choose a solar-powered raft, a cutter ride on the River Schlei, a mini cruise on the Baltic Sea, a speedboat on the River Elbe or a Chinese dragon boat on the Alster Lake. Courageous travellers can even scale the mast of the cargo ship Cap San Diego, crossing 30 metres over the River Elbe. Every night owl should visit the renowned Reeperbahn district packed with restaurants, bars, theatres and nightclubs.
ACCOMMODATION Once the office for Electricity and Harbour Construction, the recentlyopened 25hour Hotel Hamburg Altes Hafenamt is a piece of living history. www. 25hours-hotels. com / en / hamburg-hotels. html
TRAVEL Hamburg Airport, just a 20 minute journey from the city centre, offers direct international connections to Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East. The city’ s comprehensive public transport system of six S-Bahn lines, four underground lines and numerous bus connections means that there are excellent transport links throughout the city and beyond. ■■■
EW / EN 2016 Germany, The UK Organiser’ s User Guide 19