On 24 April, between 30 and 40 business tourism professionals from the Rhône-Alpes will take part in the first specialist workshop to be organised by
Rhône-Alpes Tourisme in Paris. The Soirée Rhône-Alpes Classe Affaires, to give its proper name, will take place between 5.30 pm and 10 pm in the Salon des Miroirs located at 13, passage Jouffroy in Paris’ IX^th arrondissement.

This is an impressive venue, over 541 m² in size, an old brasserie that was opened in 1876 and has now been converted into an upmarket venue capable of hosting smart events such as fashion shows and stylish private parties. Peggy Perron, who is in charge of event management for
Rhône-Alpes Tourisme, recommended this unusual venue to us as an ideal place to organise the
Rhône-Alpes’ first business tourism event, which we hope to repeat every two years, explains Annie Martinez, business tourism manager for Rhône-Alpes Tourisme who is responsible for organising the workshop. The aim of the event is to help the Rhône-Alpes ride the business tourism wave and to strengthen its position in the domestic market in 3^rd place behind Paris and PACA. In 2006,
the Rhône-Alpes made considerable improvements to its product range with the opening of the Amphitéâtre 3000 in Lyon, the Palais Lumière in Évian, the barracks at the Bastille in Grenoble and the renovation of Aix-les-Bains’ conference centre. The year before, Saint-Étienne increased the size of its conference centre and there were several new hotels, such as the Evian Hilton, that have added to the improved accommodation options within the region .

From the 600 or so specialist agencies identified in Paris, about 60 agencies working in event management and business tourism are expected to attend. At the workshop they will be able to meet with, amongst others, the tourist offices and conference bureaux of Aix-les-Bains, Évian, Grenoble and Val d’Isère, several of Courchevel’s 3* and 4* hotels, the Radisson hotels (Lyon), Les Trésoms (Annecy) and the Royal Evian Resort complex, Courchevel’s tourist office, the Hameau du Vin, the Annecy-based Takamaka agency and Les Folies du Lac. We’re aiming to create an environment where suppliers from the Rhône-Alpes and agencies based in Paris can meet, continues Annie Martinez. And this event seems to appeal to the Paris business tourism professioinals, because 35 of them replied to our invitation within 48 hours of receiving it!

During the workshop, which will be followed by a supper-cocktail party, a wine tasting and a
well-being activity, each exhibitor will have their own table at which they will present their product range and Rhône-Alpes Tourisme will be there in force, with Michèle Bardet, marketing director, and Laurent Cormier, information director, attending alongside Annie Martinez and Peggy Perron.

The Rhône-Alpes’ business tourism offer consists of 150,000 hotel beds, 12 conference bureaux, 28 conference centres, 50 plus upmarket venues, such as châteaux, about 40 incoming agencies and 30 organisations specialising in incentive business. Business tourism represents 1% of the region’s annual bed-nights. But the profit generated by a business tourist is four times bigger than that of a traditional tourist. For the Rhône-Alpes, business tourism represents a turnover of 800 million euros which in turn represents 4% of the total tourism turnover. The main markets for the Rhône-Alpes are àŽle-de-France, the UK, Belgium and the US.