Eco Club focuses on business tourism in the Principality

Friday 12 May, Monaco Innovation Runway by Monacotech, Monaco Economic Board (MEB) and the Monaco Eco Club - Nice Matin Group held a conference focused on business tourism which represents a third of tourism in the Principality. Key players in the sector gathered to take stock and discuss the current situation, the competition, testimonials and future prospects.

 

Guy Antognelli, head of the Tourism and Convention Authority kicked off proceedings with a brief review of some statistics, particularly nights spent in the Principality. Clearly 2022 was still impacted by restrictions in the early part of the year, but the first quarter of 2023 is still below that of 2019, with 28,504 business tourism nights compared to 40,549 during the pre-Covid reference year. “It was partly due to 2019 being an exceptionally good year, but mainly because all business transactions from 2020 to 2022 were logically less productive,” explained Guy Antognelli. “But the prospects for the future are excellent!” he said.

Each talk by organisers of major events in the Principality was preceded by a short video. Luxe Pack, Aesthetic & Anti-Ageing Medicine World Congress, One to One Retail E-commerce and Monaco Yacht Show all illustrated the many advantages of hosting an event in the Principality: geographic location, proximity to facilities within walking distance, quality of services, etc.

Another key factor cited was Nice Côte d’Azur international airport, second busiest in France and the number two hub in Europe for business aviation. The Principality recognised this by becoming a shareholder when it was privatised in 2017. Chairman of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur, Franck Goldnadel, who attended, confirmed the importance of business tourism for the airline sector, although difficult to assess accurately. Highlighting the value of the regular Nice-Monaco helicopter service, he confirmed efforts were being made to smooth connections at the airport which have deteriorated due to new regulations since the Covid crisis. He also outlined development of new destinations, starting with Atlanta, as a major American hub.

Representing the hotel and catering industry, Pascal Camia, now responsible for international business development at Monte-Carlo SBM and Guillaume Rapin, Managing Director of the Novotel Monte-Carlo illustrated the Principality’s capability to offer organisers turnkey events that take care of delegates and exhibitors from morning to night with bespoke packages where quality-price ratios sometimes surprised the prospects approached.

Impossible not to cite the flagship Grimaldi Forum in this context. Its Director Sylvie Biancheri recalled that the congress centre closed for only three and a half months during the pandemic thanks to the agility and flexibility of its teams and Monegasque authorities. The facilities were able to very quickly offer hybrid events to organisers. A crucial aspect, CSR when tendering for events was discussed as it is essential. The Director stressed that “we must combat this image that northern countries would be greener than others as we have so many assets and have done for a long time”.

Sylvie Biancheri and her teams are looking to a future linked with the Mareterra land extension project; the Grimaldi Forum will gain 6,000m2 of exhibition space and more than 2,000m2 of outdoor areas to be delivered early 2025. It’s an opportunity for existing customers to expand their events and the Grimaldi Forum to prospect for new bigger players.

Business tourism continues to contribute to the Principality’s prosperity.

➢ Photos (credit Franz Chavaroche - Nice-Matin)

➢ Press contact: Benoît Ulrich / Delphine Quilichini – presse@meb.mc