Keen to publicise a new direction for the city’s tourism facilities, Chambéry has recently worked with a specialist consultancy to develop a coherent strategy to respond to the various issues that face the destination in terms of its image, reputation and appeal. Such goals, previously considered under-developed, have led to the creation of Chambéry Congrès, a convention bureau that will represent the whole range of business tourism services including Le Manège conference centre, the new multi-use hall Le Phare as well as the SavoiExpo exhibition park.

“All of the different facilities can work hand in hand with each other as they’re not direct competitors,” explains Bernadette Laclais, the city’s mayor and president of Chambéry Promotion. “We offer a wide range of services and can therefore react to all sorts of different requests, weighing up which of our facilities better suits each specific project”.

Chambéry Congrès works out of the tourist office and is effectively a one-stop shop for clients. Requests are received directly by the bureau which then puts the client in contact with the facility that best matches their requirements. The bureau is also responsible for any follow up required to ensure that a response is sent out and also to coordinate the diary to make sure that there is no other major event planned for the same dates.

In the future there is potential for creating a system that will also include Aix-les-Bains, as hotels in both cities are often used for events in the Chambéry area that involve several hundreds of delegates. Hopefully this will then lead to the partners working jointly on certain projects, whether for marketing or sales campaigns or for joint presentations when it comes to bidding for major events.

Its location at the heart of the Alpine area and at the junction of several motorways means that Chambéry can play the accessibility card to attract seminar and conference organisers. Over the next few years, the city is planning to extend Le Manège, its convention centre situated right in the middle of the old town, with the addition of more break-out rooms. 2010 also sees Chambéry in the limelight for another reason, namely for being the capital of the former Duchy of Savoy and annexed to France 150 years’ ago.

A number of significant events linked to this anniversary are programmed throughout the year and Chambéry also has several national meetings booked, including a gathering for mentally disabled delegates which will focus on accessibility in a city environment as well as a conference for a solar energy cluster.

This follows other earlier events, including a biomedecine conference in January and a symposium on law and the mountains that was held at the end of 2009 to mark the 30^th anniversary of the Université de Savoie. All reflect Chambéry’s stated aim to be active in the areas of mountain, solar energy and accessible tourism.