North America tightens grip on Berlin

North America has strengthened its grip on Berlin’s meeting business. In the first six months of 2015, 62,000 events took place in the German capital (up 1.5% compared to the previous year) with 4.82 million participants. The number of overnight stay increased by 3 per cent to 3.3 million while 18% of event participants came from abroad. The most important overseas market remains the USA and Canada with 8% of all participants. From 13 to 15 October 2015, the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office (BCO) had its own stand at IMEX America in Las Vegas. Together with eight partners, including hotels, agencies and Messe Berlin, the BCO informed potential customers about the latest trends in the German capital. Heike Mahmoud, director conventions of the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office said: “The interest in Berlin remains on a constant high. The wide range of modern hotel offerings in the city is a popular selling point for our customers and the good value for money is a strong factor driving our success.”