Selling your destination on square metrage alone has long been an outmoded model for exhibition planners – and local competition along with shifting customer requirements is shaping the Benelux region into an exemplar of the modern exhibition industry.
Despite its international credentials, Amsterdam has felt pressure to innovate as local competition hots up. The city, located in the heart of Europe, boasts an airport connected to 323 direct global destinations, and 120,000sqm available in its RAI Amsterdam venue alone.
“We had a planner visit recently who said many destinations fill some of her ten criteria, but Amsterdam is the only one to fill all ten,” RAI Amsterdam’s COO Maurits van der Sluis told EW.
Few would deny that Amsterdam’s Renaissance architecture, bespoke hotel scene and liberal ambiance make it a must see destination. But as the MICE traveller is presented with an increasing roster of destinations, the city can’t rest on its laurels.
EW attended a MICE tour of the city for King’s Day, accompanied by planners from companies including Clarion, SIBOS, UBM, EASL, Montgomery and Ascential. The views from planners were glowing.
Amsterdam’s attention to detail is what attracted Ed Tranter, managing director, MA Exhibitions (MAX) to host three shows in Holland, with at least two more in the pipeline. “There’s a long list of fairly standard things I look for when choosing a venue. But when you take the obvious required list, such as square meterage, range of room types, location for the market you’re wanting to serve and so forth.
“The most important thing for me, is a venue team that want to partner with you, not just try to find every opportunity to charge you.”
Tranter says the RAI team are constantly striving to support the organiser so they can have the best event and can in turn benefit from the event’s shared success. “That to me is true partnership,” he adds.
Meanwhile, some planners reported that a systematic approach to destination finding can identify Amsterdam as a pragmatic choice. Sam Cande, group commercial director Travel Portfolio at Centaur Media says there was unanimous support for Amsterdam from stakeholders.
“In our approach to where best to kick off our geo-cloning in Europe we put out some research to our buyer and supplier community. Amsterdam came up as the city both buyers and suppliers wanted to see a business travel event at next,” she adds.
The Business Travel Summit launched last year, and started off small with a central hotel venue. “In year one, the space was nowhere near big enough. After looking around at many options, there really was only one choice.
“RAI Amsterdam’s space is perfect. There are large windows in the exhibition area giving great daylight and there are no pillars, so we can use the space exactly how we choose. Finally we get the whole of the conference venue to ourselves.
“The space allows us to have lots of content in different rooms, but also to have great exhibition space within budget.”
Cande joins Tranter in praising the RAI’s service: “On top of all the above, the team at the RAI are above and beyond fabulous. Helpful, supportive, quick to respond and by far some of the most down to earth and fun people I have got to know.”
Such endorsements are music to Van der Sluis’ ears, but he’s keen to point out that the RAI is upping its game. “It’s of note that, despite Amsterdam’s small size, it’s frequently referenced among the world’s top cities – people often cite New York, Tokyo, London and... Amsterdam.
“The nhow hotel, opening mid 2019 will be an important step for the RAI. And refurbishments and builds will be rolled out in the run up to that.”
The newly renovated Strandzuid city beach venue, situated between RAI Amsterdam and the Beatrix Park, was officially opened in May, and EW’s Amsterdam tour, coinciding with King’s Day, took in the summery spectacle.
The location’s wooden pavilions have been replaced by a new and permanent building. The location, inspired by the island of Bali, is an initiative by RAI Amsterdam and Unlimited Label.
RAI also strives to achieve CO2-neutral operations, using as many renewable energy sources as possible, such as solar energy from its 8,000sqm solar panel roof – the largest in Amsterdam – and district heating. A ‘zero waste’ principle is also employed.
While Amsterdam solidifies and builds on its global reputation, cities above its border are looking to build on their foothold. One such upcoming destination is Antwerp, which EW also visited.
While there’s no shortage of picturesque cities in Europe worthy of your time as a tourist, Antwerp, located in Northern Belgium, is combining its historic charms with practical event offerings.
The gothic and baroque stylings of Antwerp have been successfully combined with its event offerings, and its new €57m Meeting & Convention Centre Antwerp (FMCCA) is no exception.
Co-located with the Antwerp Zoo, the third oldest zoo in the world, the 25,000sqm centre is located next to Antwerp’s Central Train Station.
The venue spans three wings; the Queen Elizabeth Auditorium, with seats for 2,022, the Carnot Wing and the Historical Wing.
Marie-Anne James, managing director, Eyas Limited says: “Having never been to Antwerp before I didn’t have huge expectations but I was pleasantly surprised by the town itself and restaurants we visited - there are a few hidden gems in the streets of Antwerp which were great to see on the walking tour and I was reassured that any social evenings could be catered for,”
“I loved the convention centre. A Room with a Zoo is a special place I wouldn’t hesitate to use. I particularly liked their ethos of putting the money back into the welfare of the animals and the ambience created by the light and polished wood.
“I’ve used many conference hotels in Europe and a few conference centres - the Zoo offers something very different.”
Amsterdam and Antwerp give two very different flavours of what the Benelux region offers. Both, however, sell themselves on their historic charms and continued innovation.
Why Benelux?
Benelux is booming, says business development manager exhibitions at MECC Maastricht, Oana Cipca
What sets Benelux apart and outline your experience been in the region?
We can say that the founding of BENELUX contributed to the founding of the European Union (EU). With this establishment, Benelux has remained the centre for business initiatives that shaped up the modern European business landscape. The Maastricht Treaty, officially known as the Treaty on European Union, marked the beginning of “a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe”. It laid the foundations for a single currency, the euro, and significantly expanded cooperation between European countries.
Having the commercial efficiency principles at its base, Benelux remains a convenient location for many international businesses today. The Benelux treaty constitutes an equally great status and superpower like countries such as Germany and France. It is the springboard to the rest of Europe.
MECC Maastricht is geographically ideally positioned for trade show organisers who want to start their journey in Europe. Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany being nearby not only in terms of logistics and supply chain challenges that become less complex, on top of that it is the ideal location to test at least 4 important markets in Europe.
Doing business in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg is a smart choice when geographic convenience add to logistical and legal efficiencies. With two major European ports, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Antwerp in Belgium, BENELUX is a perfect transportation hub offering great opportunities for trade and commerce.
Business opportunities and legal advantages include attractive holding companies legislation in the Netherlands, excellent banking services in Luxembourg and zero-percent asset tax in Belgium and make it easier for businesses to operate in the heart of Europe.
How does it compare to nearby/global destinations for MICE buyers?
Europe is the preferred region for European MICE buyers, due to its proximity and connectivity. The Benelux has big and well-known capitals that have a lot to offer to visitors. It is easily accessible by public transportation and has a well-heeled history. Just as in the rest of the world there are many multinationals in the Benelux, which leads to a lot of opportunities.
Maastricht is an international city with a multitude of international organisations and educational institutes (like Maastricht University). The city welcomes talented people from all over the world.
Trade shows organisers don’t just choose MECC Maastricht for its location. MECC’s multifunctional character offers organisers services tailored to their specific needs. Flexible in application and multifunctional in use, from a meeting for 20 people to a 30,000m2 exhibition space and a state of the art Congress Centre.
As an international conference and exhibitions destination, Maastricht is favoured by many organisers and delegates because of its excellent conference and exhibition climate. The city is compact, which means a higher density of networking in the conference evenings. Because almost everything in Maastricht is on walking distance, the city starts on the doorsteps of your hotel. In the historical city centre and surroundings there are above 4000 hotel rooms within short distance from MECC Maastricht. Maastricht is very centralised in Europe and has 8 international airports within one hour drive.
What are MECC’s niches for exhibitions?
MECC Maastricht is the third exhibition and trade show centre in the Netherlands. MECC Maastricht offers event organisers a range of options, tailored to specific needs and requirements. Our team is really dedicated to the success of our clients. We see shows growing at MECC Maastricht and penetrating further in Europe and Worldwide. An example is our most prestigious show, TEFAF. The European Fine Art Fair was born in Maastricht and welcomes yearly over 70,000 visitors, from over 60 nationalities, demonstrating the wide reaching international appeal of the 275 dealers. TEFAF just held its second edition in New York.
At MECC Maastricht business is guaranteed to be generated. Organisers can get to know the surrounding countries from Maastricht. Many organisers choose MECC for its central location in Europe. They have had their best experiences with (international) trade shows at MECC.
In the field of life sciences, for instance, the Academic Hospital Maastricht and Maastricht University work in close cooperation with the Brightslands Health Campus. This campus is a world class institute for research in life science and biotechnology with numerous international connections. In combination with the Brightlands Chemelot Campus a few kilometres north of Maastricht makes the city’s economy even stronger. The Brightlands Chemelot Campus is a unique chemical and materials community that ensures accelerated business growth through the open exchange of ideas. Together the two campuses form the economic engine for the Maastricht region and MECC Maastricht offers the platform for their presentation.
Maastricht has fantastic international exhibition facilities
- MECC Maastricht as a compact exhibition venue can provide the perfect configuration for tradeshow organizers
- Is a venue where tradeshow evolve internationally because of a team dedicated to the success of the shows.
- The venue facilitates the organisation in event marketing, hotel services, transport, Audio Visuals, Catering, exhibitor services
- Great hotel services at walking distance containing a nice mixture of historical and modern hotel
- Both the city of Maastricht and the Provice of Limburg are well disposed towards international exhibitions
- Organiser can receive possible financial support from the Maastricht Convention Bureau
Reasons to choose for Maastricht
- Life Science and (bio)materials represented by two R&D Campuses; Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus and Brightlands Chemelot Campus
- Maastricht University as academic partner (6th best young university in the world)
- Strongly supported by Maastricht University Medical Centre – Maastricht UMC+
- One of the top 10 locations in Europe for medical and health science valorisation
- Five medical and health care related spin-offs per year, on average
- 8050 people currently work at Brightlands Campuses
- 90 companies are based at the Brithlands Campuses
- DSM, Sabic, Lanxess, Sappi, BioMedBooster are amongst these companies
Connect better / faster to Europe
- Due to Maastricht’s central location in Europe
- Short distance to Belgium (5km) and Germany (20 km)
- Several European capital cities just a stone’s throw away, Brussels (1hour), Amsterdam (2 hours), Paris (3 hours), London (3 hours)
- Direct Access to European Markets (Belgium, Germany, France, Luxemburg, UK)
- Possible cooperation with several universities within 100km range
Maastricht is the most European city in the Netherlands
- The ambience you feel in the streets of Maastricht is similar to the ambience in French romantic cities
- Numerous European and international institutions are based in Maastricht
- The European Union as we know in nowadays was born in Maastricht (Maastricht Treaty 1991/1992)
- Maastricht is the proud host of many important European meetings and is host of the TEFAF (The European Fine Art Fair)
- Maastricht as a student city counts 60.000 foreign students
Excellent Accessibility (both national and international)
- Eight international airports surrounding Maastricht (up to 1 hour drive)
- Amongst them are two main conference hubs, Brussels Zaventem and Dusseldorf Airport
- The city provides shuttles services from the airports to Maastricht both logistically and financially
- Easily accessible by car from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany via highways
- Well connected to public transportation system (train station in the middle of the city centre and a train station at 2 minutes walking distance from MECC Maastricht)
