In 1999 Grenoble’s tourist office decided to set up a conference bureau, giving it the main job of selling the destination and the surrounding local area of the Isère on the business tourism market and to create a communications strategy based on the offer. 

Tourist office director Carole Clouet appointed Yann d’Ascoli to manage the department which represents 130 key players in the local Isère area, 80% of them based in and around Grenoble itself. The bureau works closely with event organisers, handling on average 500 files a year.

Our business has picked up strongly over the last few years, smiles Yann d’Ascoli. In 2003, the bureau handled about 150 files. This increased to 350 in 2004, 425 in 2005 and almost 500 last year, with a confirmation rate of 50% ! We help organisers choose according to their required dates, although the majority of requests come in the periods March to June and from September to November, with an average six-month completion time .

Most of Grenoble’s events are for between 100 and 300 people, with the focus on seminars, study days and conferences. 49% of demand is local, linked to laboratories, companies and universities, continues Yann d’Ascoli. And half of the local demand involves an international element. Our second market is the àŽle-de-France and the third is the Rhône-Alpes region, with most of the companies based in the Rhône area. Finally, between 5-10% of requests come from abroad, mostly from Belgium, Switzerland, the UK, Poland and Russia.

Known for its professionalism, the Grenoble’s conference bureau works in close collaboration with each organiser, right from the moment a request is received to the point of confirmation. We develop the file with the client, creating a record of requirements that we then pass onto the various service providers best suited to the event. The client is then left to make his or her own choice from amongst the resulting proposals. Our strength is that we’re right at the heart of the system, able to offer venues both in Grenoble and the surrounding area including a number of ski resorts, because of course the mountain image of the destination is still strong. As far as we’re concerned, everything is of interest even the smaller events, and we never turn away potential business .

In Grenoble, the majority of business tourism events come from the sectors of research, finance, high-tech industries and education. And it’s obvious that the city’s ultra-modern image since the 1960s has a big influence on the business handled by the conference bureau. In order to satisfy demand, the bureau depends on a range of venues which are divided into five different categories.

The first category includes Alpexpo/Alpes Congrès, which offers a 42,000 m² exhibition space, 1000-seat auditorium, another 475-seat hall, 3000 seats at the Summum and about 15 break-out rooms, and Europole, the conference centre managed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (534-seat auditorium and 10 break-out rooms right in the city centre).

Next on the list are various different working centres such as the auditorium of the CCI and the Maison du Tourisme, the Prisme at Seyssin, the Agora at Saint-Ismier, the Domaine des Fontaines at Bernin, Amphibia at Les 2 Alpes and the conference centre at Alpe d’Huez.

The third category includes hotels with meeting rooms, about 60 properties, 10 of which are based outside of Grenoble. The best properties are the 4* Park Hotel, owned by Henri Ducret, who is in charge of the tourism delegation of the Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry; theHôtel d’Angleterre, the Hôtel Europole and the Mercure Président. Grenoble offers a total of 3,860 rooms between 88 hotels, most of them either 2* or 3* properties that are perfectly suited to the Association and research sectors.

The fourth category promoted by the conference bureau involves more unusual venues, such as the Bastille (see other article), Chez le Père Gras, the Saint-Eynard fort, Bresson golf club, the Palais des Sports, the Magasin which is a modern art centre, the Musée de Grenoble, the Chartreuse cellars and the Musée de l’Eau at Pont-en-Royans.

The final category includes a number of estates and châteaux like Saint-Jean-de-Chépy, Sassenage, Chaulnes, Le Touvet, Faverges-de-la-Tour, Clairefontaine, Chapeau Cornu and La Colombière. To complete the picture, Grenoble can suggest several renowned caterers such as La Fine Fourchette, Magner, Le Chardon Bleu and Le Viennois Declerck, as well as several specialist agencies like All Voyages, Perraud Voyages, Sport Aventure Voyages and Insight Outside.

The conference bureau has an annual budget of 265,000 euros available, most of which is provided by the city of Grenoble and its outlying district, the Conseil Général, Europole, Alpexpo, the CCI, the Club Hôtelier and the Syndicat National des Agents de Voyages. In order to sell the destination, it places adverts in specialist magazines and participates at trade shows such as Séminaires & Business, Bedouk, Réunir and Assist’Expo.

We also organise meetings with local companies and associations as well as two annual workshops at Lyon and Paris, confirms Yann d’Ascoli. Other activities include the publication of a brochure giving details of what’s on offer. We print 5,000 copies, of which 3,000 are sent to a specialist mailing list. And finally we produce a bi-monthly newsletter and we’re also members of Maison de la France’s Club Français du Tourisme d’Affaires as well as the Association Internationale des Villes Francophones de Congrès .

The conference bureau, which has just brought out its new brochure, is preparing to redesign its website too and is planning to participate for the first time at the Paris-based trade show Event.