Companies from the German meetings, incentive, congress and event industry (MICE) will again have an opportunity to benefit from special marketing activities in 2010 as Focus Members of the GCB German Convention Bureau e.V.  Congrex Germany will enjoy the benefits for the first time while Berlin Convention Office and the Westin Grand Hotel Berlin are back for a second run after 2009.

The Berlin Convention Office (BCO) run by Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH helps event planners organise conventions, meetings and incentives in the German capital. Customers benefit from a wide network of contacts and free arrangement and booking of hotel allotments. In addition, the BCO's committed staff inform about Berlin as a congress and event metropolis as well as the capital's culinary and cultural highlights.

As of January 2010 the BCO has also been represented in the UK for the first time by the agency Hume Whitehead, which is to promote Berlin as a destination for meetings, conventions and incentives among British decision-makers and gain further events for the metropolis.
The results of the latest BCO congress statistics show that Berlin is an outstanding event destination with Europe's most cutting-edge hotel landscape, a wide variety of convention centres and top-notch culture offerings. As a meetings metropolis Berlin even saw growth in the crisis year 2009. Around 108,500 events - up four per cent on 2008 - with 8.26m attendees were staged in Germany's capital.
Since its foundation in 1982 the Congrex Group has become one the leading international providers of integrated solutions for planning, organising and staging conventions, meetings, conferences and symposia. In 28 branches world-wide the Congrex Group now looks after 170 companies, associations and companies. It has already been responsible for 3,500 events with 50 to 36,000 attendees in more than 40 countries, 150 locations and in 20 languages. In German-speaking countries the Congrex Group has three offices: in Basel, in Weil am Rhein and since 2009 its German HQ is located at Potsdamer Platz in the heart of Berlin.

Congrex' range of services goes beyond that of most convention organisers. The company provides all planning and organising services involved in staging a convention, from attendee registration to complete organisation. This includes the fields of financing advice and budget creation, sponsor management and canvassing, marketing, media and homepage, attendee promotion and hotel management. One of the affiliates of the Congrex Group is Congrex Travel, a travel agency that is officially licensed by the IATA (International Air Transportation Association) and specialises in the needs of meeting travellers and organisers.The modern Westin Grand Hotel Berlin lies in the capital's historical centre at the corner of Friedrichstraße/Unter den Linden with optimum connections to the airports, central station and other public means of transport.

Eleven individually designed rooms enable a wide variety of events: meetings with up to 220 attendees and banquets for up to 400 people can be organised just as well as exclusive board meetings for 20 people. All rooms are equipped with modern technical facilities and WLAN. In addition, the light-filled foyer on the first floor overlooking the generous lobby and grand staircase offers space for extraordinary receptions, presentations and exhibitions. And there's an insider tip to round off the offerings: the glass "Dragon House" in the 3,000 square metre garden which is suitable for barbecues, summer parties or al fresco business meetings. The Westin Grand Hotel Berlin has been awarded the title of "Certified Conference Hotel" and "Certified Business Hotel".

The GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. markets Germany as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives both on a national and international level, and is the place to contact for all customers who are planning events in Germany.

Its 250 members include leading hotels, convention centres and destinations, car hire firms, event agencies and service providers of the German meetings and conventions industry. Maritim Hotels, Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH and darmstadtium science and convention centre are Preferred Partners of the GCB. As Strategic Partners, Deutsche Lufthansa, Deutsche Bahn and the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) support the work of the GCB

The GCB is an interface between organisers of meetings and conventions and suppliers of the German meetings market, offers advice and support for planning and organising events, and provides contacts and addresses. Its website www.germany-meetings.com features an online search facility for meeting venues, newsletter, Germany guide and a lot more.