For its 4^th edition, held at the conference centre of Lyon’s Cité Internationale on 18 and 19 January, the Séminaires & Business tradeshow fulfilled all expectations of its organisers, Yves Rioton and Marc Lamboley, by attracting 150 exhibitors and 1500 visitors. Having turned away 30 exhibitors because of lack of space, the 2008 edition of the Séminaires & Business tradeshow planned for 16 and 17 January next year already promises to take on an extra dimension in the face of increased demand. At least that’s what Marc Lamboley is looking forward to:

For the 2007 edition we had to stop taking bookings from new exhibitors from mid-December onwards and as we know already that at least 85% of this year’s exhibitors will return next year, we’ve booked more space to respond to the increased demand. Our initial feedback suggests that our exhibitors were very satisfied with the quality of visitors and it would seem that the visitors appreciate not having to travel to Paris in order to organise their events. The Séminaires & Business tradeshow is increasingly becoming a must in everyone’s diaries .

An opinion shared by Hervé Saulignac, President of Rhône-Alpes Tourisme and a Rhône-Alpes regional councillor : This tradeshow is really taking off in the
Rhône-Alpes and getting bigger every year. The business tourism sector represents 1.5% of bed nights and over 800 million euros in turnover. The Rhône-Alpes is well placed on this market because of its excellent geographic location, good transport links and a high-quality environment.
Rhône-Alpes Tourisme also supports this market sector with various promotional events, such as the workshop organised on 10 October last year in Geneva and another similar event planned for Paris on 24 April this year. Our Rhône-Alpes Business Class e-newsletter, which is sent out on a monthly basis to more than 10,000 addresses, also ensures that big regional events such as Sirha
(Salon International de la Restauration, de l’Hôtellerie et de l’Alimentation) or Grand Ski are given good promotional coverage .

Jean-Michel Daclin, deputy to the Mayor of Lyon in charge of international relations, underlined the advantages of the Centre de Congrès where the Séminaires & Business tradeshow was held for the first time : This facility is a magical venue which offers great flexibility. We’ve taken the decision to use business tourism to spearhead the tourism development plans for Lyon and the surrounding area. We recognise that business tourists often return to Lyon for their own pleasure, and it’s worth noting that tourism represents 20,000 jobs in Lyon and a turnover of 1 billion euros. It’s a major industry that brings both medium and long term benefits .

The two local politicians are both delighted to welcome two international tourism events to Lyon next year: the Rendez-vous France workshops organised by Maison de la France – to be held on 1^st and 2^nd April with 800 foreign tour operators invited – and the conference for American travel agents planned for mid-April, when at least 1500 delegates are expected to attend….