IMEX America: Showcasing Berlin for the event and congress sector

Berlin, 15 October 2018 From 16 – 18 October, Berlin is participating in the IMEX America (Stand B3832) in Las Vegas, the event sector’s leading trade show in North America. Together with Berlin Partners, including hotels and agencies as well as Messe Berlin, the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office is showcasing Germany’s capital and presenting the latest from the city at this trade fair for international experts in incentives, meetings and events.

Berlin expands its potential for hosting major congresses

With the construction of a new multifunctional hall, Berlin is strengthening its position in the international business for trade fairs and congresses. From April 2019, the Messe Berlin’s new Hub27, Berlin’s largest column-free hall, will provide an event and congress venue of 10,000 sq. metres. With its cutting-edge technologies and flexible partition walling, Hub27 can be customised to meet the needs of individual events, making it ideal for large congresses. Moreover, with direct links to two adjacent halls on the fair and exhibition grounds, more space is easily available if required. A highlight of Hub27 is the rooftop terrace with its view across Berlin. For a first impression of Hub27, take the virtual tour at hub27-berlin.com.

The Estrel Convention Centre is also planning to expand its congress facilities with a new building, scheduled to start construction in spring 2019. The project will create a 175-metre-high tower block with 800 rooms and plenty of space for congresses. Even before the planned opening in late 2021, other congress areas are to be created at the Estrel complex.

New non-stop flights between Berlin and Philadelphia to start in summer 2019

From June 2019, American Airlines is planning a nonstop service between Philadelphia and Berlin with flights four times a week. As a result, Germany’s capital city will be easier to reach in future for travellers from North America. Philadelphia is one of Berlin’s major hubs for flights from the USA and Canada. For Berlin as a tourism and congress metropolis, America is the leading overseas market and a key international market after the UK.

Trend to digital conferences in Berlin

Berlin is hosting growing numbers of events in the innovations, IT and digital sector. The upcoming events include, for instance, the OpenStack Summit 2018 (13-15 Nov., CityCube Berlin, openstack.org) and the tech conference TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2018, one of the world’s largest forums for early stage start-ups (29-30 Nov., Arena Berlin, techcrunch.com). Digital sector congresses now account for 13% of events in Berlin.

At the IMEX America, the spotlight is on the service of visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office. The Meeting Guide Berlin and a convention kit are integrated into convention.visitBerlin.com, providing a powerful search machine listing many services for event planners. In addition, the Berlin Convention Office is presenting the new ABOUT BERLIN app for Berlin as the city of freedom. This free app offers a range of short stories highlighting the struggle of freedom against unfreedom across Berlin, inspiring users to explore well-known and hidden locations in Germany’s capital city. For more on current trends see our blog interview The US in the Berlin MICE market: fast and diverse with the Berlin Convention Office’s America expert.

More on Berlin as a congress location at convention.visitBerlin.com, in the blog and on Twitter @BerlinMeetings.