1. Has your company been hit by the crisis and have any special precautions been taken?
Yes.
 2. Has your budget for 2009 been changed drastically?
Budgets are cut down, we’ll have to be more creative.
As a financial institution, we can feel the impact of the crisis, in term of the MICE planning we are taking some precautions.
3. What are the main arguments for your choice of venue/destination?
Transport/originality destination or venue/ green arguments. CSR is very important for us.
4. Which destinations – national & international – have you planned for 2009/2010 or later?
We’ve finalised the planning for our educational seminars Delta Lloyd Academy, the first two started last Month. The planning for meetings and incentives in 2009-2010 has not been finalized yet.
5. National: what do we have in Belgium that you find nowhere else or what do you feel is missing in Belgium in the MICE industry?
Missing: 1 perfect centralised and updated database with standard info for planners.
 6. International: what is your most special discovery in the MICE sector?
We’ve organised an eco-incentive, back to Nature, in the Calvi region in Corsica. Upon arrival, participants personally took to the wheel of their Kangoos, and set off on an original self-drive discovery of the region. The journey was packed with interesting stops and activities, included canyoning, kayak and the crossing of a nature reserve. The choice of accommodations provided a unique contrast between the simplicity of an old convent on the first evening, and the charming Relais & Chateaux on the second night.
7. Which column do you never miss when reading BBT Online and what would you like to see added?
- I read everything.
- I would like to see added CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)/ Green meetings.
| 8. One name, One choice |
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Favourite MICE destination: Norway |
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Favourite restaurant for groups in Belgium: Pakhuis, Ghent. |
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Favourite airline: Jet Airways |
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Favourite Venue: Handelsbeurs Gent or Refuge on Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Auronzo di Cadore) good for a trekking back to action incentive. |
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Best Kept Secret: Balance between 3P’s (People- Planet- Profit) in events & incentives: People=social wellbeing, Planet= ecological quality, Profit=economic prosperity. Making choices and setting priorities keeping
the 3 P's in mind. |
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What to do in any situation is not only based on purely rational arguments but follow my gut feeling and knowledge. Look in the mirror every day. |
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MICE personality:
Bruno Leunen |
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1. Has your company been hit by the crisis and have any special precautions been taken?
Not yet. As a trade association, we manage a fixed budget based on the needs/priorities identified by our members in the previous year.
2. Has your budget for 2009 been changed drastically?
No, but we are of course asked to make savings wherever possible within the agreed priorities.
 3. What are the main arguments for your choice of venue/destination?
Accessibility, originality, professional partners.
4. Which destinations – national & international – have you planned for 2009/2010 or later?
2009: General Assembly: Bled, Slovenia
2010: to be finalised
 5. National: what do we have in Belgium that you find nowhere else or what do you feel is missing in Belgium in the MICE industry?
Plus: Belgium is easily accessible, offer multilingual expertise and great sense of hospitality.
6. International: what is your most special discovery in the MICE sector?
 Unusual venue: the Kruisherenhotel in Maastricht, splendid example of a religious building converted into a conference hotel.
7. What is the absolute worst ‘never again’ experience, venue or event, you ever experienced?
A poor, amateur fam-trip to Istanbul, where hosted buyers were “locked-up” in the basement room of a hotel for a full day workshop with hotels we visited the next day …. Without seeing hardly anything of Istanbul + accommodation in the poorest hotel ever.
8. Which column do you never miss when reading BBT Online and what would you like to see added?
- MICE news
- Add reports on “unusual”/original venues, not accessible to general public (e.g. private or public properties for MICE events)
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Siviglia Berto
Danièle Vranken-Marteaux
