MICE 21 report the MEEtIngs and busInEss travEl MEEtIngs and busInEss travEl In assoCIatIon wIth 16 PARIS Je t’aime INDESIGN ILLUSTRATOR PHOTOSHOP Editor Charles Vandeleur editor@raellen.com Qatar luxuriance of arabia 10 MasterCard >> ceo interview 12 Cracking the WIHP Vincent Ramelli, CEO of WIHP, talks about a commission-free future for hoteliers MaxiMize your Meetings budget 56 Singapore Rocks 38 HigH-iMpact events in tHe east >> world perspectives 16 Paris The city of light >> features 10 MasterCard Corporate Solutions Intergrated tools for efficient event management 34 Michelin Guides Travel your own way with the new Michelin Green Guides 60 Serviced Apartments Home-from-home for the business traveller £3.45 / €4.50 S Editorial Team Cliff James Ed Carpenter Peter Morrin 50 IMEX The premier exhibition for MICE planners Design & Print Production Phillip Wentworth Advertising Sales James Stone Colin Gilmore-Smith Peter Ritter Lucy Goldsmith Publishing Director Julian Bonny Finance Director Andrew Lidstone Subscriptions Manager Liam Bonny Published by Raellen Communications Ltd 145-157 St John Street, London EC1V 4PY United Kingdom Tel: +44 208 777 8355 Web: www.themicereport.com ometimes it’s not easy to be ingenious when it comes to coordinating incentives that are more outstanding than before, or delivering the most imaginative events in impressive locations. According to received wisdom, the highest expression of genius is originality – an ever-rising benchmark for event organisers – which is why, inside this edition of The MICE Report, innovation is the watchword. Fresh perspectives on familiar locations can provide some bold results, and we take a revolutionary look at that all-time avant-garde favourite: Paris. With a summer programme teeming with cultural events, we reveal the highlights and top business hotels in the ‘City of Lights’. Rediscovering Europe, we report on the environmental and financial advantages of European conferencing, and explore the stately capitals of Stockholm and Bratislava. Pioneering eastward, we travel to the Arabian Peninsula and encounter the rich heritage and luxurious hospitality of Qatar as a modern business destination. Our global journey to new MICE frontiers takes in Ghana, Montenegro, and the cosmic conference facilities in Houston, headquarters of NASA. For the most recent innovations in event administration, we review MasterCard’s ground-breaking partnership solutions and online tools for the effective management of meetings expenditure, and reveal the latest sure-fire strategies for delivering a perfect meeting every time. Although international travel can take its toll on the health of business travellers, we uncover the hottest nutritional tips for keeping fit, focussed and stress-free while on the move. And, as medical tourism becomes a worldwide phenomenon, we take a detailed look at the incentives of combining medical or cosmetic treatment abroad with a well-deserved vacation. If originality is the highest mark of genius, then this edition of The MICE Report is a valuable master class in the art of inventive event management. MICE the MEEtIngs and busInEss travEl Newsagents please contact W.E. Saarbach GmbH Tel +49 2233 79963 the ��t�r CLOLI@8E:< F= 8I89@8 M��terC�r� MEEtIngs and busInEss travEl D8O@D@Q< PFLI D<J 9L;>