My dear ICCA Friends,

OOn behalf of the ICCA Greek Host Committee and indeed on behalf ofthe entire meetings industry of Greece, I am proud and honoured tobe inviting you all to participate in this year's General Assembly and

Congress on the beautiful island of Rhodes. I am particularly proud that theselected venue for this year's event is the Sofitel Capsis Hotel and MarikaCapsis 2000 Convention Centre, conceived, owned and operated by theCapsis family, who extend their own warm welcome.

Your Greek ICCA colleagues are keen to show you all the many develop-ments that have recently takenplace in Greece, particularly sincethe successful hosting of the 2004Summer Olympic Games. We aim totake advantage of the winds ofchange that have blown though ourcountry over this period: Greece hascreated a new look in all aspects oftourism, with a new Ministry ofTourism and many new infrastruc-ture projects, and thanks to theOlympics has earned new levels of respect from the meetings marketplace.

The ICCA Congress has always been a resourceful and quick means of gain-ing new knowledge on the future of our industry and its trends, as well asobtaining stronger local and global business opportunities. This year weaspire to even greater heights: ICCA's Head Office team, the PCO-ledMeetings Advisory Group, and the members of your Local Host Committeehave put together an extremely innovative congress: the latest technology,exciting new meeting formats, a thought-provoking mix of outside andinside experts including top clients in the education programme. We are con-vinced that these and other new innovations will enable you to go awaywith fantastic ideas that you can immediately adapt to make your own busi-ness more successful.

Our host venue, the largest resort convention centre in Greece, is located onan island which combines all the advantages of a modern, professional andcosmopolitan European city with the timeless beauties of the Aegean: its tra-ditions, customs, hospitality, natural environment, sunshine, cuisine and cul-ture. This mix will enable you to truly combine business with pleasure in anunforgettable ICCA congress experience.

Along with all your Greek colleagues, I look forward to welcomingyou to a world where the climate is as warm as the hospitality of

our people, and where the herb scented aromas of the Aegean linkancient civilizations with today's modern Greek culture

Commercial Director, Capsis Convention Centres & Resort Hotels &Chairperson of the Greek Host Committee (ICCA CONGRESS)

N E W S L E T T E R A B O U T T H E M E D I T E R R A N E A N C H A P T E R N E W S & E V E N T S

Future is ours through a widenedcooperation between us...

Dear Friends

IIt has been almost two years since we started therebirth of Mediterranean Chapter. We proudlyproved that a chapter can act and improve her if

a will can be put behind it. We have succeeded tobring the ICCA Annual Meeting to Rhodes andICCRM to Turkey. We are invited and happily accept-ed the cooperation offer from UK/Ireland Chapter

(thanks a lotfor their kinda p p r o a c h ) .We even winthe horse racein Uruguaythrough theunbelievableeffort ofAchille... Weare the first

chapter who has a logo promoted through stickersand pins. We had the honor of having our own website and DVD. What is left to do? A lot more... We asa group will help our friends in Greece to succeedthe annual Meeting. We will all be there to share thehonor of their success. As of the speaker cooperationwe have started, we will continue the effort by par-ticipating to ICCRM as whole availing an ICCA recordof participation. We will share and increase ourexperience with our combined meeting withUK/Ireland.Chapter.

We share the proud of success stories of our all mem-bers, as of they are ours. I hope we all have a lot ofstories of honor and success to be printed in futureissues of our newsletter.

Thanks a lot for the all the effort and support youhave put behind the ideas of developing our chap-ter, developing our mission.

Future is ours through a widened cooperationbetween us...

Wish you all the best of everything...

General Manager, Serenas Group

Mustafa F. Gurbuz

Chairperson

Mediterranean

Chapter

Irini Varda-Capsis

Responsible for

the ICCA MED

Chapter Newsletter

Spring - Summer 2006 • 2nd Issue Production & Editorial Sponsored by Capsis Creative & Marketing Department - Greece

This ICCA Congress will be very different!

the news of the

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ÌÌarch 2006 - More corporate demand, increase anddiversification of buyers according to the needs ofnational and international offer, an organisation

which places exhibitors at the system core and is aimed at facil-itating the highest possible number of contacts among marketplayers: Btc gets ready to fight and, relying on the positiveresults and signals that characterised the 2005 edition, presentsits guidelines for the next edition of the event, which will beheld from 7th to 9thNovember 2006 in Florence,Italy.BTC, the place where thenegotiations for theMice world take placeThe MICE world haschanged, as has the wayprofessionals in this sectordo business: shorter andshorter planning and book-ing times, reduced budgets,great attention to return oninvestment, stronger com-petition among offer trans-actors and significantweight of new players in decision-making: Btc 2006 fits its proj-ect to an Italian sector in need of a more international andentrepreneurial attitude and presents the 2006 edition as theprivileged place of business and negotiations of the MICEworld. This is done in three steps taking shape from the resultsof the first edition organised by Exmedia: 1,000 hosted buyers,880 exhibitors, 5,207 visitors, 12,800 appointments carried outbetween supply and demand.Offer: aiming at increase and higher qualificationMore supply, more demand: the increase foreseen for exhibitorsis 10%. However, mostly relying on one of the strong points inthe 2005 edition, the exhibitors are still at the core of the BtcSystem. This has two main meanings: flexible and diversifiedtrade propositions as well as overall accuracy in selecting buyersand contacts.In particular, the trade offer has been rationalized and priceshave remained unchanged compared to last year. Four differentpackages are proposed to exhibitors.

An important innovation has been introduced to facilitate con-tact among professionals: all exhibitors will be given the buyerlist in advance to fix appointments independently thanks to aspecific software.Aiming at buyer increase and greater involvement of themain decision makers from national and internationalcompaniesOnly demand can guarantee that this sector will increase: the

aim of Btc 2006 is to take1,100 buyers to the fair(50% Italians and 50% for-eigners) and reach a 20%increase compared to thelast edition. On this frontthe action plan includessteps aimed at the involve-ment of the main decisionmakers and a strong selec-tion of players, to whichthe Technical Committee ofthe Btc System and the net-work of contacts andstrategic cooperation acti-vated by the organisation

on the national and international level will contribute.More contacts in shorter time: Btc 2006 draws theexhibiting space anewSpace has been reorganised to allow exhibitors and visitors thehighest possible number of contacts in the shortest time. Inaddition, a specific space for stately homes will be created,because this typology of exhibitor is highly required by nation-al and international buyers.Moreover, to assure more contacts in shorter time, the appoint-ment system has been planned anew and it now includes thepossibility for buyers and exhibitors to fix free appointments byusing the Btc website directly, which will be transformed into areal pre-negotiation market for supply and demand in the 2006edition.

Contact Person: Marta Pieralli, BTC International -International Meetings Conventions and Incentives Fair,

Phone: :+39 055 261021, E-mail: m.pieralli@btc.it, www.btc.it

BTC 2006, the MICE sector stock exchange

RE-ORGANIZE YOUR MEETINGS AGENDA FOR 2006

ÔÔhis year TravelExtra offers you to be in the middle of the European MICE & Spa market by presenting the outstanding proj-ects which will take place on the bridge of Eurasia; Istanbul.

The chain of organizations has been begun with the Spa & Luxury Show on 10 - 12 February 2006 in Istanbul and will be followedby MICETURKEY MICE & Spa Workshop on May 6, Civil Aviation & Airlines Congress on June 6, The International Spa & LuxuryShow on September 15 - 17 and finally, TravelExtra Incentive Exhibition & Congress on November 25.Further information will be available on www.travelextra.org very soon.

Contact Person: Onur Bucak, TravelExtra (Ekstra Exhibition Limited), Phone: +90 212 219 8646, E-mail: onurbucak@travelextra.org, www.travelextra.org

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SERENAS proudly announces its merge with ICS

SSince our latest newsletter, SERENAS has been busy

preparing herself for her partnership with ICS. As many

of you know, ICS - International Congress Services head-

quartering in Denmark, have offices in Netherlands, Canada,

Chili and Argentina. SERENAS and ICS had been in an alliance

relationship for some time and couple months ago, they have

made an important business decision to sign a partnership

agreement officially. After the legal issues are finalized in the

next few months, the company will be called ICS-SERENAS. As a

result of this partnership SERENAS becomes an INCON member

as well. Before the offical announcement of this incident, ICS

and SERENAS have exhibited together at the EIBTM in

Barcelona last November. Offical launch of this partnership is

planned to be held at the IMEX in Frankfurt in May. Mr.

Mustafa Gurbuz, CEO of SERENAS, is happy to say that SERENAS

employees are very excited, proud and enthusiastic about this

development. As a result, SERENAS now have offices inthree continents and in seven different countries.

ICS and SERENAS have already started to work together.European Cystic Fibrosis Society will be holding its conference inAntalya, Turkiye in 2007 and ICS-SERENAS is serving as their corePCO. SERENAS is also working hard towards achieving designa-tion as core PCOs of different societies in Europe.

Meanwhile, SERENAS have contiuned its presence in theinternational congress market and developed its rela-

tionships with other companies. For example, AIMSCongress and SERENAS will be organizing a conference forUnited Nations Development Programme in near future. Itseems to be that this conference will follow a series and otherrelated conferences will follow. Furthermore, SERENAS andOvation Group from Ireland are cooperating on another inter-national meeting. In addition, SERENAS as an active member ofICCA, is holding this year's ICCRM (International Congress &Convention Researchers Meeting) in June, in Antalya, Turkiye.SERENAS continues to bid for international meetings whilekeeping her strong presense in the local market.

Contact Person: AYSE ZEYNEP ASKIN-ERTEN, SERENAS GROUP,

Phone: +90 212 263-7540 etx. 123, E-mail: aerten@serenas.com.tr, www.serenasgroup.com

SETUR NEWS

FFounded in 1965, Setur is active in all areas of the tourism sec-tor, and its successes, both national and international, andits pioneering activities place it at the forefront of the sec-

tor in Turkey.

By the beginning of 2005, Mr. Ustun Ozbey with 22 years of expe-rience in the tourism field, was assigned as General Manager ofSetur by Koc Holding. With many national and international suc-cess stories to its name over the years, and an experienced work-force, Setur intends to continue to operate on the principles ofquality and distinction, and to protect its primary place in thetourism sector by being a company of vision combined with expe-rience.

2001 saw the establishment of BookinTurkey.com, an internet com-pany set up under the auspices of Setur Tourism Agency, to providecorporates and individuals with information on tourism productsand services, and allow on-line reservations to be made for theseproducts and services. The quality of the service offered is evidentfrom the fact that BookinTurkey.com was voted 'Turkey's BestTourism Portal' in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

In 2004 Setur succeeded in becoming the Turkish representative forCruise Line, an internationally famous name in the tourism indus-try, and this was followed in 2005 by another success story for Seturin becoming Turkey's official Costa Cruise representative. As of theend of 2005, Setur's total Cruise turnover amounted to $5.5 million,

representing a 70%Cruise market share.Setur is also the author-ized sales representativein Turkey for OrientExpress and GulliverTravel Associates.

Setur was elected "TheMost Qualified TravelAgency" in 2005 andtook honour in "Qualityin Tourism Sector-Skalite2005 Awards", organized by Skal International Istanbul.

After being awarded the Super Brand title in 2005, at the sameyear Setur got ahead of its competitors and was elected "The BestTour Operator", as result of research carried out by the prestigiouseconomy magazine Capital among directors of more than 1,350companies.

Between 25-27 May 2006 and under the patronage of the TurkishSociety of Plastic Surgeons Setur will act as the PCO of SeventeenthAnnual Meeting of EURAPS (European Association of Plastic Surgeons) in Istanbul.

Contact Person: I. Melih Siner, Setur Service Touristic Inc.,Phone: 90-216-5543810, E-mail: melih@setur.com.tr,

www.setur.com

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Sofitel Capsis Hotel Rhodes & Convention Centre "Marika Capsis 2000" bets and wins…

Sofitel Capsis Hotel Rhodes & Convention Centre "MarikaCapsis 2000" (the largest convention centre of Greece)was selected to be the main hosting Hotel Convention

Centre for the Congress of the World Lottery Association, whichwill be organized by the Greek Lottery representative, OPAPS.A. in Rhodes, Greece in September 2008.

Mr. Vasilis Neadas, Managing Director of the Greek OPAP S.A.,dedicated this success to the employees' efforts of OPAP, theCapsis Team and the beauty of the Dodecanese Island. TheSofitel Capsis Hotel Rhodes & Convention Centre "Marika Capsis2000" will be the Central Convention and Exhibition Center ofthe event and nearby hotels will accommodate part of theevents, as well as, offer hospitality to a number of participants.

The presentation of the can-didature was carried outduring the Association'sCongress in Mexico, atMerida city betweenFebruary 2 and 5, 2006.OPAP S.A. was representedby a 5-member committeeled by Mr. Vasilis Neadasand Mr. Sotiris Colosousas,member of the Board andVice President of theEuropean LotteryAssociation.

The impressive tender dossier of Rhodes Island (373 pages),which was prepared by the OPAP's respective department incooperation with Mrs. Irini Varda - Capsis and the Sales andMarketing Departments of Capsis Convention Centres & ResortHotels, competed successfully those of Santiago (Chile) andHanover (Germany). The Evaluation Committee announced theresults during the Congress closing ceremony and was wel-comed by the attendants.

It's worth mentioning that the island of Rhodes and Greece ingeneral will receive worldwide promotion, something that willresult in broad acceptance of the unceased efforts of OPAP S.A.and its Management for advancing the company's image andstrengthen its position in international fora.

Sofitel Capsis Hotel Rhodes & Convention Centre "Marika Capsis2000" is the largest convention centre in Greece and one of thelargest in Europe with total capacity of 8.000 persons. It offers100 meeting rooms of various capacities and an exhibition spacetotaling in 5.990 m2. Its largest Plenary Hall seats up to 3.400persons and is one of the few of that capacity in theMediterranean with natural light. The new Convention centre ismodern and fully-equipped while its personnel are highly expe-rienced and specialized. It provides state-of-the-art audiovisualand telecommunication equipment, as well as, advanced trans-lation systems and was definitely one of the strongest and mostcritical points for the selection of the Greek candidature.

This Meeting Hotel is locat-ed in front of the IxiaBeach, 5 minutes from theold town of Rhodes. It's set-tled in a wonderful locationwith an astounding view ofthe Aegean Sea and sur-rounded by palm trees, alake and colorful gardens. Ithas 691 rooms, including 40superior suites and a VIPfloor with luxurious suitesand VIP lounge. The Hotelalso has 3 restaurants and 4 bars, 3 swimming pools, a fully-equipped Gym, and a tennis court. Visitors have the opportuni-ty to play water polo, ping pong, snooker, bridge and engage invarious water games and water sports within the hotel's privatesection of Ixia beach.

Contact Person: Irini Varda-Capsis, Sales & MarketingDirector, Capsis Convention Centres & Resort Hotels, GREECE,

Phone: +30 210 6142 083 / 7, E-mail: ivarda@capsis.gr,www.capsis.gr

14th ESGO CONGRESS (European Society of Gynecological Oncology)

EEuropean Society of Gynecological Oncology was held in Hilton Istanbul Convention & Congress Center between 25 - 29 September2005. It provided an opportunity for academicians ,professionals in various related fields from all over the world. Most of the par-ticipants stayed at Hilton Istanbul,located in the heart of the city, situated in 15 acres gardens overlooking the wonderful

Bosphorus. Apart from having busy schedule participants enjoyed their stay at Hilton Istanbul as the hotel is also in the congress valleyand is walking distance entertainment/shopping areas and historical herritages. Also the organizing committee has arranged a colorfulsocial programme which the participants enjoyed the Turkish hospitality and the amazing city Istanbul during the fall of 2005.

Contact Person: Bike Toku, Hilton Istanbul, Phone: :0090 212 315 60 22, E-mail: bike.toku@Hilton.com, www.Hilton.com

FFiera Milano Congressi is the company in the Fiera MilanoSpA group set up in 1994 for the management of con-ferences and conventions. In just over 10 years of activi-

ty Fiera Milano Congressi has confirmed itself as leader in Italy,thanks to the capacity and flexibility of its rooms, the high tech-nology used, its efficiency and the wide range of services avail-able. The figures speak for themselves: 216 thousand partici-pants took part in conferences and conventions hosted by FieraMilano Congressi in 2003-2004 (the business year that finishedon 30th June 2004) and of these presences no less than 113thousand attended large conventions, international confer-ences and events not linked to exhibition events. "Growth of Fiera Milano Congressi has been so rapid", observesits CEO Maurizio Lupi, "but it peaked after the FMC Centeropened, the modern functional complex that has permitted usto bring major international events back into the city after avery long absence". Since 2002, when the FMC Center was inau-gurated, FMC has been the venue for large medical conventions(for example the 77th National Urology Conference in 2004, theXVI Smart Conference and the European Society ofHypertension Conference, May and June 2005 respectively),institutional events of a world calibre, like the WorldConference on Climate - COP 9 (5 thousand delegates), businessand association meetings with large numbers attending, likethe assembly of the Banca Popolare di Milano, the Pirelli 2004and IBM 2005 conventions, the Annual Confindustria 2004Conventions (3,500 people) which had not been held in Milanfor twenty years, the World Business Forum, which came to

Milan in October 2004 after its stints in New York and Frankfurt,the annual appointment with SAP Forum.

Fiera Milano Congressi has not one, but two structures ideal forwelcoming large business conventions and conferences, one infieramilanocity, the city-based exhibition district and the otherin fieramilano, the new trade fair complex.

The FMC Center, inside fieramilanocity, is the largest capacityconference centre in Italy: it in fact offers a seating capacity of10,000 and over 31,000 m² of total exhibition space. The FMCCenter, entirely wired and air-conditioned, has a Plenary Roomwith 5,000 places, 36 rooms with modular capacity from 10 to2000 places, an open space for gala dinners with seating capac-ity of up to 3,000.

The Stella Polare Congress Center, located inside the newfieramilano exhibition complex, has 9 modular rooms with acapacity from 81 to 728 and a 739-seat auditorium (giving atotal of more than 2,400 seats) in addition to an exhibition arealinked to the rooms measuring no less than 40,000 m², all on thesame level and without pillars. Another 64 meeting rooms mustbe added to the Convention Centre, distributed throughout thedistrict.

Contact Person: Achille Lanzarini,Fiera Milano Congressi Spa, Phone: :+39.02.4997.7771,

E-mail: achille.lanzarini@fieramilanocongressi.it,www.fieramilanocongressi.it

Fiera Milano Congressi News

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GREECE´S LEADING RESORT AWARD

IIt is a great pleasure to announce that Astir Palace Vouliagmeni has beengranted with the prestigious award as

Greece´s LEADING RESORT by the WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS 2005The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward andcelebrate the enormous achievements to be found in all sector of the hospitali-ty industry. Voting is cast by travel agents in over 200 countries around theworld. Thousands of votes each year are registered online at the official WorldTravel Awards website (www. world travelawards.com). This Gala Award ceremo-ny took place on November 13th in London. Astir Palace is also nominated for 2006 Greece's and Europe's Leading ResortAward.Greece´s Leading Resort - This international distinction is a great achieve-ment for Astir Palace. It reflects the commitment of the company to quality,development and attention to high service standards. The return of the luxuryhotel complex, after its extensive renovation in 2004, delivers a new concept toexclusivity, distinguished services and premier facilities.

Contact Person: DOROTHEA BAYER KOUKOULAKIS, ASTIR PALACE VOULIAGMENI, Phone: :0030-210 8902000, E-mail: k-sales@astir.gr, www.astir-palace.com

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XIII World Congress ofPsychiatry

EEmeco Travel was the local PCO forthe XIII World Congress ofPsychiatry was held in Cairo, Egypt

from 10-15 September 2005. It was thefirst time in the 55 years history of theWPA that the World Congress of the WPAwas held in the African continent, in theMiddle East, in an Arab country, in Egypt.

Nearly 6000 delegates represent 119 coun-tries and, for the first time in a world con-gress, 15 African countries were repre-sented. The largest delegate presentedwas from Egypt 676 psychiatrists, followedby India 317, Spain 196, United States 176,United Kingdom 175, Turkey 142, Portugal142, Canada 139, Belgium 138, France 137,Greece 132, and Saudi Arabia 104.

For the first time in a WPA WorldCongress, the opening ceremony wasattended by 2900 psychiatrists and it wasboth a pleasure and an honor for Egypt tohost this historical event.

The international PharmaceuticalFederation - FIP

Every year FIP organize the world congressof Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,where thousand of pharmacists meet,learn, share and exchange views.

This year Cairo-Egypt hosted the 65thannual congress. Emeco Travel wasappointed as the local organizer .

Year 2005 was a very successful year forFIP Congress as they reached more than2000 delegates between foreigners andlocals.

Contact Person: Mamdouh Saba,Emeco Travel, Phone: 202 5773011,

E-mail: mamdouhs@emeco.com,www.emeco.com

Venice Convention News

ÔÔhe global executive event organizer naseba is proud to announce the4th annual MICE Europe Congress in partnership with VeniceConvention, Newtours S.p.a, Starwood Hotels Italy and BBC World.

Over 200 senior Marketing, Communications and Event senior executives fromtop European and multinational corporations are personally invited to attendby naseba, pre qualified to be the ultimate decision makers for sourcing andplanning events for their corporations.

During two days, in the exclusive and captive environment of the Palazzo DelCasino, Lido Island Venice, the invited corporate buyers are scheduled 1-1 busi-ness meetings with global solution providers including Hotels and Resorts,Congress Centres, Convention Bureaus, Destination Management Companiesand event software companies.

Networking parties include: an exclusive reception at the Palazzo Ducale, din-ner at the Ca Vendramin, gala dinner at the Westin Excelsior.

Participants will take part in an interactive conference program featuring casestudies from industry leaders such as: Oracle, Siemens, Volkswagen, Nike,Sanofi-Aventis, or Arla Foods, on key issues affecting the European MICE indus-try.

Contact Person: Enrico JesuVenice Convention by Lido di Venezia - Eventi & Congressi Spa,

Phone: :+39 041 2420330, E-mail: jesu@veniceconvention.com, www.veniceconvention.com

PROMO LEADER SERVICE NEWS

PPromo Leader Service hasrecently acquired twoother services companies

in health fields: Centro Consulenzewhich is Consultant firm forPharmaceutical companies andmanages PR, Advertising andMarketing budgets and is also aCME provider for Italian Ministerof Health and OK SALUTE, anInternet Service Agency that withis health portal www.okmedico.ithas more than 145.000 doctors and nurses registered: it can make difference on e-marketing and communication approach for international and national congresses.

Our headquarter is in the wonderful city of Florence; today, we are glad to informyou that our offices are now also settled in Milan, Venice, Trieste, Rome and newopening in Turin next June.

Contact Person: LUIGI CAMMI, PROMO LEADER SERVICE, Phone: :+39 (0)55.2462428, E-mail: luigi.cammi@promoleader.com,

www.promoleader.com

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C&C International organized in Greece, one of the largest EuropeanMedical Congress A record size event for the Greek Conference Tourism!!

IIt is The 41st European Annual Meeting for the Study ofDiabetes (EASD 2005), one of the major scientific eventsworldwide, was recently hosted in Athens for the first time,

successfully organized by the Greek Conference Organizer C&CInternational .

The particular congress by general belief is considered the lead-ing scientific event to ever take place in Greece. The conferencewas appraised by delegates as the most successful congress inthe EASD history, considering the significant participation ofopinion leader scientists from around the world.

C&C was praised publicly by the European and Local OrganizingCommittees for its superb organization of all segments of thecongress.

EASD 2005 in Numbers "From September 10-15, 2005 the scientific program of the con-gress was attended by 12.841 delegates from 100 differentcountries.The Scientific Program about Diabetes included 1,195presentations, 218 scientific sessions, 390 plenary ses-sions with 320 Key Note speakers and 350 Journalistsfrom various International Media.

As the Managing Director of C&C pointed out, in order to real-ize the size of the project you have to consider that one scien-tific session of the congress alone was attended by 8,000 dele-gates in two conference rooms, while simultaneously there wasbroadcasting in the internet and another 100 stations aroundthe world through cable TV.

In addition to the scientific program, remarkable social eventswere organized, exclusively for the EASD delegates, such as aperformance of Ancient Tragedy at the Herodion Theatre underthe feet of the Acropolis.

It is worth mentioning that in order for C&C International tosuccessfully manage the project and respectively obey the inter-national organizational standards set forth by the InternationalAssociation of Professional Congress Organizers (IAPCO), ofwhich is a member, it engaged about 500 specialized collabo-

rators, while the congress secretariat operated 50 working sta-tions with 38 Lap tops reaching an average waiting period perdelegate of one minute at most.

In terms of technical infrastructure C & C International gave pri-ority to the supply of IT support and Internet bandwidth in aquality and quantity far above the level of any previous medicalconferences held in Greece.

A High-Speed Internet Corner was operating during all daysand hours of the Conference, while the Conference Center wastransformed into a wireless "Hot Spot" for the needs of the del-egates and exhibitors. The Network could support 400 concur-rent users on-line and it was fully protected by advanced secu-rity and antivirus Software.

Additionally, a wireless call Center had been set up in all areasof the conference venue that supported all the internal andexternal communication needs of the Conference personnel.

Specific attention was given to the Press Room , with 50 work-ing stations operating with online computers, copy machines ,fax and laser printers. Lastly Specialized Technical personnelwas on call 24 hours a day providing support as needed

Furthermore, the following services were available dur-ing the congress, also proven to be of great value.• 2 Exclusive Use Press Conference Rooms• 5 Information Desks located in various crucial areas of theConference Venue.• Exterior Supervising working stations, responsible not only forsecurity monitoring services but also offering information toarriving/departing delegates about the Conference Center • Hospitality Desks for receiving delegates upon arrival at the

airport, and receiving Positions at the public transportation sta-tions for directing delegates to the social events venues.

Contact Person: Anastasia Vatsika, C & C INTERNATIONAL S.A.CONVENTIONS & CONGRESSES, Phone: :(+30) 210 6889100,

E-mail: info@cnc.gr, www.cnc.gr

PP.C. PODIMATAS AUDIOVISUAL S.A., that is consideredto be among the biggest Greek audiovisual companies,now expands its activities also in the field of exhibition

stands. Specifically, our company undertakes the proposal,design and full construction of exhibition stands and in thisway manages to supply a wide range of services that are sup-ported always with equipment of latest technology. In co oper-ation with the stage scenery department, this innovative serv-ice guaranties the best quality and ultimate results.Furthermore, within the first months of 2006, our new branchoffices in Serbia and Romania will start their audiovisual activi-ties.Here below, follows the presentation of two very importantand successful projects that were undertaken by P.C. PODI-MATAS AUDIOVISUAL S.A. the past year and can best describethe potentials of our company.

JANSSEN CILAG EVENT• Date: 3rd of January 2006 at the Grand Resort Hotel Lagonissi,Attica. • This was the event for Janssen Cilag Company, one of mostwell known pharmaceutical companies worldwide and P.C.PODIMATAS AUDIOVISUAL S.A. was called to cover all therequirements in technical and audiovisual equipment.

• There were two halls for approximately 250pax, where therewere installed high technology sound and lighting systems (e.g.Martin Mac 2000 and HOG III lighting desk) that provided ahigh quality and maximum results. Furthermore, state of theart visual equipment, and specifically Barco SLM R-10 and BarcoELM R-6, were used to cover the needs in the field of visual.• Additionally, our company was responsible also for the pro-posal, design and construction of stage scenery for both rooms.

Exhibition stand for the Organization ofTelecommunications of Greece (photos- exhibition standOTE no 003, 004)• Date: from 9th until the 17th of September 2005 at the 70thInternational Exhibition of Thessaloniki.• This project was actually the proposal; design and full con-struction of the exhibition stand for the Organization ofTelecommunications of Greece, at the most famous exhibitionof Greece that is taking place annually in Thessaloniki and itwas given to us by Publica Direct Production Company.• It was a very demanding project, since we had to cover a verylarge area, approximately 700sq.meters, with sound, light andvisual equipment. The construction of the stand itself was alsoa challenge since it was really sophisticated and complex.• Specifically, there were used high technology lighting systemsMartin Mac 2000 and a laser machine that provided a highquality and maximum results. Additionally, Meyer SoundSystem and ELECTROVOICE System guaranteed an ultimateresult concerning sound. Furthermore, there were used Christyprojectors, LED screens and the Barco I-LITE 6 XP to cover theneeds in the field of visual. • Finally, the adjustment of such a big amount of audiovisualequipment in combination with the complicated constructionplan of the stand was the main difficulty to which we had tomanage.

Contact Person: Panagiotis Podimatas, Managing Director,P.c. Podimatas S.A., GREECE

Phone: +30 210 6036111, E-mail: athens@podimataso.gr,www.podimatas.gr

THE NEW ACTIVITIES OF P.C. PODIMATAS AUDIOVISUAL

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New Gloria Suites - opening in Summer 2006

ÔÔhe new Gloria Suites of Gloria Golf Resort will be opening in Summer of 2006. Located in the beautiful garden, there aretotal of 72 Gloria Suites which consist of 3 storey high, 4 buildings all connected to each other. The 60 m² large GloriaSuites have one bedroom and one kid’s room. There is one French bed, a large sitting area, office desk, Plazma TV, bath-

room/bathtub in the bedroom. In the kid’s room there is one twinbed, one bathroom/shower cabin and Plazma TV. These luxuri-ous suites have parquet flooring, spacious wardrobes and hall. All suites have balconies or terraces.The complex is designed to have 2 shops, 2 restaurants and a bar in its self-contained area situated in a natural surrounding. Thereis also a swimming pool within the same complex. Guests of Gloria Suites may enjoy facilities of both of Gloria Golf Resort andGloria Verde Resort & Spa hotels without any constraints.

Contact Person: Yasemin Fuentes, Gloria Golf Resort, Phone: :+90-242-7100600, E-mail: info@gloria.com.tr, www.gloria.com.tr

TThe commitment that Firenze Convention Bureau (FCB)and the congress structure of Florence have addressed,both in Italy and abroad, to publicising the advantages

that a destination like Florence can offer has brought manyprestigious international events to the city in the three-yearperiod of 2006-2008. The congress structure of Florence hasthrown its collective weight behind the FCB's message in work-ing to attract international events to a destination whose unde-niable fascination worldwide needs no generic promotion.Avant-garde technology, quality services provided by membersof the FCB, prestigious accommodation facilities and publicresponse are bringing Florence to the fore as a natural choicefor international event organisers to locate scientific and spe-cialised cultural congresses. The Fortezza da Basso, PalazzoCongressi and Palazzo Affari are Florence's main congress ven-ues and constitute a natural conglomerate in the heart of thecity. These three facilities together can house up to 20,000attendees over a total area of 60,000 sq mt of covered exhibi-tion space. Firenze Fiera is planning to renovate these threecentres. The Fortezza halls will be renovated, and avant-gardeequipment installed while Palazzo Affari will be equipped withhalls also designed for corporate clients. The accommodation inFlorence is broad and varied with 538 hotels for a total of16,585 rooms. For making itself known internationally FCB hasa network of international contacts, and its advisors compriseseveral Italian opinion leaders, and its stated objective is to setup authentic promotion centres abroad as can be seen in itsjoint project with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Londonfor promoting and developing the idea of Florence to the con-gress and corporate markets in England. This project will see theopening of a series of new FCB representative offices in 2006 formaking direct contact with foreign associations and companies.Affiliation with important international congress associationssuch as MPI, ICCA, EFCT, and FCB's constant presence at themost important trade-fairs on congress tourism worldwideplace it within a network which is well equipped to give the

highest profile toevents brought toFlorence. The com-mitment of the FCBtoday is to providea on-going guaran-tee of top quality inthe product andprofessional servic-es it offers in whatis one of the

favourite destinations of congress-goers as seen in the Mice sta-tistics for the number of delegates confirmed for their destina-tion. The FCB is continually working to strengthen its services toadd quality and technology to a destination brand which isalready very strong at international level. The following are theupcoming events in Florence:

27 - 30 April 2006: Therapeutic Patient Education 20069 - 13 May 2006: Aqua 200619 July -5 August: 91° International Esperanto congress27 - 30 August 2006: Wonca Europe 20064 - 7 October 2006: 7° National Pneumology congress6 - 10 March 2007: The Fourth International Conference onTumor Microenvironment27 - 31 May 2007: 6th Biennial Isakos Congress 15 - 17 June 2007: 15th Annual Congress of EuropeanAssociation for Psychotherapy - EAP 9 - 13 September 2007: World Congress of Perinatal Medicine14 - 18 September 2007: 36th International ConferenceEDTNA/ERCA30 March - 2 April 2008: Annual Meeting Eur. Group Bloodand Marrow Transplantation13 - 16 September 2008: 30th Congress of the EuropeanSociety of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition - ESPEN '30

Contact Person: Diana Cora Tenderini, FirenzeConvention Bureau, Phone: +39-055-4973201, E-mail: d.ten-

derini@conventionbureau.it, www.conventionbureau.it

The Firenze Convention Bureau's foreign growth strategy is based on quality and technology

The new Fair "Master Centre"

TThe Novi Sad Fair is bringing to completion one of the largest investmentsin the centre of the Province of Vojvodina, which will make it possible forthis largest fair institution in Serbia and Montenegro to become a real

European and regional, exhibition and congress, business and trading centre.Along with the current potential of the exhibition site and the 30 events organized annually, the Novi Sad Fair will have becomericher with a comprehensive, multipurpose business facility by the beginning of 2006, and apart from exhibitions, it will enablethis company to diversify its portfolio towards congressional activities. Five connected units of the "Master Centre" - the exhibi-tion hall, the congress centre, which will facilitate 1200 people, the "garni-type" hotel, the business premises and the entrancehall, which will connect the existing and the new facilities - covering in total 30,000 sqm.The comparative advantage of the "Master Centre" will be in the joining the Network of European business centres, in a power-ful business portal, which will be an integral part of the technical facilities of this environment, and in the centre of commodityexchange - all in one place.The Master Centre will also host the headquarters of the Exhibition Association of Southeast Europe - EASE.

Contact Person: Nebojsa Drakulic, NOVI SAD FAIR, Phone: :+381 21 421 612, E-mail: ondrakulic@nsfair.co.yu, www.trade-fair.ws

nine

Belgrade…

BBelgrade won the title "Future capital of southEurope" by Financial Times. Promising future,new job places, stronger economy, defined

tourism offer, is that ahead of Belgrade and were doesBelgrade stand now. A two million Capital is going through big renovation

with mayor streets reconstructed and building facadesre-dun. Biggest differences are noticeable in NewBelgrade part of the city on the west bank of Sava river.Magnificent new sports Arena with 20.000 seats,Business Centres and Mayor 4 and 5 star hotels like,Hyatt Regency, Inter*Continental and the new ones "InHotel Belgrade" and "Holiday Inn" that are under con-struction and due to be finished summer this year andbeginning of spring next year, are certainly improvingthe picture. With new Multi purpose exhibition venueslike EXPO XXI (10.000m2) developed beside alreadyexisting Sava Centre - Belgrade's mayor Congress andExhibition Centre, renovated airport, and muchimproved city's infrastructure question is how farBelgrade is from "stealing" mayor international eventsfrom other leading Cities. Serbian Convention Bureau due to start work this sum-mer is one of institutions that is going to help answerthe question by presenting Serbia and Belgrade as oneof Europe's top destinations for mayor events.Friendly attitude, prices that are still below Europe's,professionalism and experience of people involved incongress business should be the driving force in placingBelgrade where it once was and clearly belongs. Is the City on the right track, yes it is, and it proved thatby hosting last years EBRD conference and Europe'sBasketball championship. Will it be even "readier"tomorrow, not questionably it will, so if you are plan-ning a mayor event don't miss the opportunity to hostit on the confluence of Danube and Sava, place wherememories are born.

Contact Person: Marko Kragulj, Zepter PassportPCO, Phone: +381 11 328 34 82,

E-mail: office@passport.zepter.co.yu,

Nice welcomes the MITM EUROMEDA major international tourism trade fairNice Acropolis from 6th to 8th April 2006

TThe Nice Convention Bureau, finalist last February inLondon in the inter-national competition for BestConvention Bureau, has also been selected (in competi-

tion with Florence, Istanbul and Cyprus) to host, from 6th to 8thApril, the annual meeting of Meeting International TourismMarketing: MITM EUROMED, an event which will celebrate its10th anniversary on this edition.

This is the first time the event will be held in Nice, at Nice-Acropolis Convention and Exhibition Centre, and it will mobiliseall the MICE professionals of the region " Nice and Greater Nice" will appear as the official host.

This important trade fair for international tourism will bringtogether the biggest hotel chains, Convention Centers andConvention bureaus who will welcome their clients (event organ-isation agencies and meeting planners) from all over Europe, themediterranean basin but also from the United States in fields asvaried as pharmacology, high technology, finance, insurance…

On this occasion, the City of Nice will hold a welcome receptionat the Nice Observatory: Grasse will organise a gala evening witha dinner composed by 3 renowned chefs of the french Riviera,Jacques Chibois, Alain Lorca and Serge Gouloumes.

Nice will thus reinforce its leading position for the hosting ofprestige operations and as a quality destination both in terms ofinfrastructure and its ability of presenting a competitive and uni-fied offer.

Contact Person: Isabelle Billey-Quere,Nice Convention Bureau, Phone: :33 (4) 92 14 46 15,

E-mail: isabelle.billey-quere@nicetourisme.com,www.nicetourisme.com

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place where memories are born..

VARESE CONVENTION BUREAU

FFrom 21st to 25th August 2006 the province of Varese willguest the 57th National Liturgic Week.

In fact, Varese and its territory has won the National Candidaturefor this event that will bring around 1.000 people (both Catholicsand not), coming from all over Italy.

4 days of meetings and events that will involve hotels, restaurants,transports, theathes and all the services connected to the meetingand social activities.

Contact Person: ILEANA BOLCATO, VARESE CONVENTIONBUREAU, Phone: :0039 0332 295318,

E-mail: oconventionbureau@va.camcom.it, www.vareseconventionbureau.it

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The Grimaldi Forum Monaco launches the Italian version of its website

IIt's almost a year since the Grimaldi Forum Monaco gave itswebsite (www.grimaldiforum.mc) a complete makeover so asto make it as practical as possible for MICE websurfers to

access everything our congress centre has to offer.

As the next step after last spring's total overhaul of both con-tent and styling, the Grimaldi Forum is now putting an Italianversion of the new website online. Since one of the GrimaldiForum's ongoing objectives is to establish close relations with itsclients and contacts so as to ensure it fulfils all their expecta-tions, we wanted to provide the Italian market with a website

in its language, in addition to our many team members whospeak it, to make it as easy as possible for Italian speakers tofind and request information.

The website home page has been further updated but still givesdirect, immediate access to the congress section and the cultur-al section separately, an initiative that all visitors appear to havewelcomed. This clear division of the Grimaldi Forum Monaco'stwo spheres of activity makes the website clearer and faster touse and so saves valuable time for everyone visiting it.

The Italian version should also be an additional asset for eventorganisers since it will help them communicate more easily withthe Italian press, which in turn will have direct access to infor-mation about events here. The Grimaldi Forum Monaco is com-mitted to communication as an added-value factor and con-ducts press relations for our clients who wish it, so this new ver-sion will help us all push the doors of Italian journalism wideropen. Visit us at www.grimaldiforum.mc!!!

Contact Person: Nadege Masse Hugon, Grimaldi ForumMonaco, Phone: +377 99 99 25 00,

E-mail: nmasse@grimaldiforum.mc , www.grimaldiforum.mc

ICVB BRINGS 3 MORE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES TO ISTANBUL

IIstanbul As Istanbul's official MICE destination marketingorganization, ICVB is engaged in promoting Istanbul to lead-ing international associations on a continuing basis.

Whether at top international fairs or by using databases fromICCA and other sources, ICVB tracks conferences that couldcome to Istanbul and contacts key decision-makers.

The Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau (ICVB) thanks to itsdestination marketing, tracking of international conferencesand one-on-one marketing efforts, has attracted three newconferences to Istanbul: The 2007 Congress of theInternational Federation of Air Traffic ControllersAssociation (IFATCA), the 2008 European Congress on theClinical & Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis &Osteoarthritis (ECCEO) and the 2011 International SeedFederation Congress (ISF).

Every year, approximately 5,000 participants attend theEuropean Congress on Clinical & Economic Aspects ofOsteoporosis & Osteoarthritis, organized by ECCEO(International Osteoporosis Foundation). ICVB hosted ProfessorJean-Yves Reginster, President of ECCEO in May 2005, and later,the International Osteoporosis Foundation President, ProfessorPierre Delmas and Prof. Reginster, between 23rd and 24th ofAugust 2005 in Istanbul. Istanbul was selected to host the 2008congress, with the support of the President of the Turkish JointDisease Foundation, Professor Dr. Sahap Atik. The conferencewill take place at the Grand Cevahir Hotel & Convention Centerfrom April 7 - 12, 2008.

The IFATCA Congress, which is expected to bring at last 1,000participants to Istanbul, will be held at the Istanbul Convention

& Exhibition Centre (ICEC) from April 16 - 20, 2007. Through thejoint efforts of the Turkish Air Traffic Controllers Associationand ICVB, a customized Istanbul conference and destinationpresentation was made at the IFATCA Conference in Melbournefrom April 17 - 22, 2005, where Istanbul won out in competition

with Abuja (Nigeria).Istanbul was also selected as the host city for the 2011 Congressof the Seed Federation at the ISF General Assembly in Santiago,Chile between the 29th of May and the 1st of June 2005. TheCongress of The Seed Federation is organized by theInternational Seed Federation (ISF) every year. It will take placeat the Istanbul Convention & Exhibition Center (ICEC) from May21 - 25, 2011 and about 1,500 participants are expected toattend.

Contact Person: Mrs. Handan Boyce, Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau,

Phone: :+90 212 343 00 00, E-mail: handanboyce@icvb.org,www.icvb.org

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AIM Group news

TTo begin with it was an interesting challenge: organisinga medical congress on a cruise ship, a great idea, certain-ly, but what would it involve in terms of logistics and

organisation?

When SICPRE, the Italian Society of ReconstructivePlastic Surgery, contacted our Group asking if we wouldorganise their National Congress, the venue for theevent had already been decided…….the Costa Romanticacruise ship belonging to the Costa Cruise Lines. So all wehad to do was to accept the opportunity they were offering ustry something different that, for sure, would increase our expe-rience. This choice of the venue by the customer, an innovativeone when you think of the previous SICPRE NationalCongresses, was dictated by a desire to keep all the participantstogether for the whole duration of the event, to avoid the dis-persion a feature of typical congress locations. Indeed, all thescientific sessions, exhibitions and social activities were allorganised onboard the ship. The participants could make use ofall the facilities they normally find when they attend Americancongresses: a hotel which also serves as the location for the con-gress with restaurants and fitness centres too so there is noneed to leave the venue … everything in the same place … adream which means they were not subjected to endless toursde force.

All perfect and apparently simple, with no creative work for theorganising agency to select restaurants or venues that are suf-ficiently capacious and attractive to host the gala dinner; nohassle to organise transport in private buses, through streetsthat are always too chaotic and narrow, and lastly no need toselect hotels and decide the allotment of the accommodationto be offered to participants.

All this is true, there were none of these problems, butin this case we were faced with difficulties of a sort dif-ferent from those of a "conventional" congress.

We had to optimise the operations required to prepare theCosta Romantica as far as possible, because from the time thatthe ship arrived in the port of Savona to the beginning of thePre-Congress Courses we had only a very few hours to disem-

bark the passengers of the previous group along with their lug-gage while at the same time taking on the technical equipmentof our service personnel, the material for the exhibition areasand finally the participants at our congress and their luggage. We were required by law to clear all the material taken onboard through customs and to notify the Costa Cruise Lines per-sonnel in advance of the names of all the people who wouldboard the ship, even for just a few hours, providing a list withdetails of their identity and of the identity documents that theywould show to the security officer when they went on board.

In addition to this, we had to adapt the structures of the pre-existing salons (areas normally devoted to other uses such asthe Ballroom) so that we could guarantee the best possibleservice to conduct the scientific work and satisfy the needs ofthe sponsors and scientific companies.

For the Sponsors, we created personalised areas where theycould welcome guests, meeting rooms in suites. In this case too,we brought in specialised architects to devise ad hoc solutionswhich would take the place of conventional exhibition standswithout any trouble. Needless to say, for the sponsors it was asuccess, with their customers constantly "on site". The endresult repaid us in full for all the hard work and thecruise proved to be a pleasant alternative to a conven-tional Congress!

Contact Person: FLAMINIA ROBERTI, AISC & MGR - AIMGROUP, Phone: +39.06.80968219,

E-mail: f.roberti@aimgroup.it, www.aimgroup.it

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN CONGRESS"THE ROLE OF WOMEN in the ALLIANCE of CIVILAZATIONS"

IInternational Women Congress was organized by Turkish Republic Prime MinistryDirectorate General on the Status and the Problems of Women between 28-29 January2006 at Istanbul Conrad Hotel with the support of Emine Erdogan. On the first night of

the organization, which was carried out by DEKON Congress & Tourism, a fashion showof Ozlem Suer performed at Esma Sultan in which popular Turkish models like Cansu Dereand Sema Simsek took place. Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan made the opening speechof the congress at which 500 participants attended.

Contact Person: CENGIZ KORKMAZ, DEKON CONGRESS & TOURISM, Phone: :+90 2123476300, E-mail: cengiz@dekon.com.tr, www.dekon.com.tr

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OOne of the ten member states who joined the EuropeanUnion in May 2004, and the smallest addition to theMalta is a charming island located in the heart of the

Mediterranean. The Maltese Islands have been important tradingports and a vital geographical bridge throughout their rich 7,000-year history. Today it offers a safe, friendly and fascinating envi-ronment for delegates from all over the world.

The island boasts of a continuos development with new productson the local scene. Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts have signed anagreement to manage and operate a new five star hotel in BallutaBay, St. Julians. The 282-bedroom Le Meridien St Julians hasopened its doors to its first guests in February, 2006. The propertyis situated in the grounds of a 19th century villa. The originalbuilding has been refurbished as part of the new hotel. The hotelhas an atrium style 1600 square metres Leisure and Wellness centreand a conference centre of over 1800squaare metres. It offers 14meeting rooms for up to 315 delegates, and includes a 125-seatamphitheatre with space for desks and four wheelchairs. LeMeridien also operates the Le Meridien Phoenicia in Valletta,Malta's capital city.

In October 2005, the Radisson SAS opened a five-star resort on theMediterranean island of Malta and one month later hosted theworldclass Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM), which was presided over by Her Majesty the Queen.Built on the cliff edge overlooking one of Malta's most popularsandy beaches, the Radisson SAS Golden Sands Resort offers 300luxury rooms, conference facilities including a 600 square metrehall and several syndicate rooms, a 1000 square metre spa andleisure centre, two outdoor adult swimming pools, fine outdoorchildren's pool, one indoor pool and a private sandy beach. Sportsfacilities will include an in-house diving centre, tennis courts andhorse riding. The hotel is owned by the Maltese company IslandHotels Group, which already owns the five-star Radisson SASBaypoint in trendy St. Julians, which recently hosted the Institutefor Travel and Tourism's annual conference.

Another addition to the conference venues will be the massive ten-sioned structure which will be used to host major conferences andevents. The structure, purchased by Maltese exhibition and eventdesign company Sign-It, covers an area of 1.5 football pitches.Sign-It is teaming up with fellow designers Casapinta to createArena One Malta Convention Centre to manage the facility. The

structure will be erected at Ta' Qali.

Malta also boasts historic, splendid venues, such as Palazzo Parisio,which was the stately home of the Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna andhis descendants. It is now open to conference groups. The vast cel-lars of the palazzo are scheduled for conversion by October 2006in order to accommodate 100 covers. The Gardens rank amongstMalta's finest privately owned gardens - a fine example of classic,baroque formality mixed with the vivid colours and scents of theMediterranean.

Relevant events would be champagne receptions, brunch, lunch,elegant afternoon teas and Malta wine tastings for cruise groups,incentives, conference partner programmes and upmarket specialinterest groups.

Towards the South of the Island one finds Palazzo Abela or Il-Kastell as it known. This Palazzo is believed to have been one ofthe first to be built amongst many others during the 16th centuryby noblemen and Grandmasters. In the early 1900's, the Palazzowas used by the British Armed Forces as a place for rest and recre-ation. During the World wars, the Palazzo had some variousimportant guest, and it is said that the British Prime Minister, SirWinston Churchill, had secret meetings at the Palazzo.

Today it is used as a restaurant serving typical Maltese cuisine andcaters for conference groups for banqueting purposes. Maximumcapacity for seated dinner is 60 pax while it can host up to 250 paxfor a standing up reception.The selection of food consists of typi-cal local nibbles like maltese ftiras, maltese cheeselets, sun driedtomatoes and maltese treacle rings.

Contact Person: Ms. Suzanne Cassar Dimech, Malta TourismAuthority, Phone: (00356)22915204,

E-mail: suzanne.dimech@visitmalta.com, www.visitmalta.com

NEWS AND LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN MALTA

MARITIM PINE BEACH NEWS

ÌÌaritim Pine Beach Resort & Pine Beach Club has the biggest Congress Center in Mediterranean region of Turkey and in 2006beside lots of incentive and meeting groups, is going to host the biggest Medical Congresses of Turkey such as Brain Surgery,Pediatry, Dermatology, Nefrology, Neurology.

It is a great pleasure and honour for Maritim Pine Beach Resort to host you in 12th ICCRM (International Congress andConvention Researchers Meeting) Congress which is going to be in June 2006

Contact Person: Hakan Duran, Maritim Pine Beach Resort,Phone: +90 242 7100200, Email: info@clubpine.com, www.clubpine.com

CroatiaCroatiaCroatiaCroatiaCroatia

CyprusCyprusCyprusCyprusEgyptEgyptEgypt

EgyptFranceFrance

GreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreeceGreece

IsraelIsraelIsraelItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItalyItaly

MaltaMaltaMonacoSerbia&Monte-negroTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkeyTurkey

Atlas Travel AgencyConcert & Congress Hall - Vatroslav Lisinski-Croatian Convention and Incentive BureauGrand Hotel Adriatic d.d.Tourist Board of SplitZagreb Tourist Board and Convention BureauCyprus International Conference CentreCyprus State Fairs AuthorityCyprus Tourism OrganizationLouis Tourist Agency Ltd.Cairo International Convention & Exhibition Centre -CICC-Emeco TravelGalaxia TravelMISR TravelWings Tours & Nile CruisesCannes Palais des Festivals et des CongresJacqueline Pietri OrganisationNice Convention & Visitors BureauAstir Palace Vouliagmeni City Resort Hotel & SpaAthens Concert Hall OrganisationC & C InternationalCapsis Beach Hotel & Sofitel Capsis Palace Palace Hotel & Convention Centre Convin PR Marketing Conventions & Incentives BureauCreta Maris Hotel & Conference Center/TEAV S.A.Frei S.A. Congress ServiceHELEXPO saHorizon Travel S.A.Ibis El Greco S.A.Kipriotis Village, Resort Hotel Convention CentreP.C. Podimatas Audiovisual S.A.Rodos Tours S.A.Sofitel Capsis Hotel Rhodes Convention Centre 'Marika Capsis 2000'Thraki Palace Hotel & Conference CenterTriaena Tours & Congress S.A.TUI Hellas S.A. Corporate ServicesICC Jerusalem International Convention CenterMinistry of Tourism International Conventions & Marketing SegmentsOrtra Ltd.AISC & MGR S.r.l. - AIM GroupBTC International - International Meetings, Conventions & Incentive FairConvention Bureau della Riviera di RiminiEdiman S.r.l.Fiera Milano CongressiFiorentino Travel Organisation - ItalyFiorentino Travel ServiceFirenze Convention BureauIdea Congress srlKassiopea Group SRLLaguna Palace & SuitesMSC Crociere Italiane SPANewtours SpAOltrex 4M SPAOvest Destination ItaliePalazzo della Cultura e dei Congressi Bologna / Bologna Congressi -S.P.A-Promo Leader Service SRLRiva del Garda Congressi - Palacongressi SpATorino Convention BureauVarese Convention BureauTriumph GroupVENICE CONVENTION by Lido di Venezia - Eventi & Congressi SPAMalta Tourism Authority Conference & Incentive Travel DivisionMediterranean Conference CentreGrimaldi Forum MonacoNovi Sad FairSava CentarZepter PassportCNR International Trade FairsConrad IstanbulDekon Congress & TourismFigur Congress ServicesGloria Golf ResortGrand Cevahir Hotel & Convention CenterHilton IstanbulIKON Tourism & Trade Inc.Interium Tourism Limited Company.Istanbul Convention & Exhibition CentreIstanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau -ICVB-Kongresist Convention & Destination Management Inc.Mirage Park ResortMartim Pine Beach Resort & Pine Beach ClubOytur - Oyak Marketing, Service and Tourism Inc.

Republic of Turkey/Ministry of TourismSerenas Tourism, Congress Setur Turyat Inc.Sungate Port Royal Top-Kon Touristic Services Co.Zed Tourism Travel AgencyTravel Extra & MICE turkeyVIP Tourism - VIP MICETuyap Fairs & Exhibitions Inc.Visitur Travel and Tourism Inc.

Denise KalinicLovro LisicicNik RacicSanja DejanovicVedran MatosicDrazen HocheckerMargarita SofocleousKikis PetevisMichalis MetaxasGeorge IoannidesAmbassador Salah SelimKarim El MinabawyNasser Milad MelekMohamed ShafikAtef El-WassiefMarie-Anne EonJacqueline PietriBernard MorelMyrto SofianouLenia ContopoulosAnastasia VatsikaIrini Varda-CapsisAntonia AlexandrouNikos KontakisNiki GargasoulaKyriakos PozrikidisAristide G. TsaldarisYves MaebeEleftheria DanopoulouPanagiotis PodimatasA. HatziliamisIrini Varda-CapsisApostolos PalakidisPenny ChatzigeorgiouChristos ConstantinidisMira AltmanMoshe Even-ZahavLior GelfandP. Semprebene BuongiornoMarta PieralliStefania AgostiniCristiana TungoliAchille LanzariniNino FiorentinoMassimo FiorentinoDiana Cora TenderiniRob. Miraglia del GiudiceMaria Teresa SotgiuAndrea TommasiniFranco RonziGiuseppe LepriGiuseppe MattiazzoMarida AielloPatrik RomanoMr. Luigi CammiIlaria FranchiMarcella GaspardoneIleana BolcatoMaria CriscuoloEnrico JesuSuzanne Cassar DimechRosette MicallefLaurence GarinoAleksandar AndrejevicRade HinicGordana PlamenacGolun AkyildizPinar Gunay GulbakanogluCengiz KorkmazMichel A. NeijmannYasemin FuentesIslam CevahirBike TokuRabia BakiciAli Kadir IzberkErsa Eriskin TuzunHandan BoyceOzkan DerbendSamuray ÖnenHakan DuranFulya Kirkli-WolkenSelami KaraibrahimgilMustafa F. GurbuzI. Melih SinerDilek YetisenerKemal KuralTarik S. B yükkalkanYalcin AvciDeniz UrgenKamuran HasekiInci Güngör Sensoyu

denis.kalinic@atlas.hrravnatelj-lisinski@lisinski.hrnik.racic@htz.hrsanja.dejanovic@hotel-adriatic.hrtz-split@st.htnet.hrdrazen.hochecker@zagreb-convention.hrCICC@cytanet.com.cycsfa@cytanet.com.cycytour@cto.org.cygioannides@louisgroup.comchairman@cicc.egnet.netkarimm@emeco.comnmilad@galaxiatours.comchairman@misrtravel.netmain@wingsegypt.comeon@semec.comJacquelinePietriOrganisation@wanadoo.frbernard.morel@nicetourisme.commarketing-sales@astir.grlenia@megaron.granvatsika@cnc.grivarda@capsis.grtalex@convin.grnikon@maris.grfrei@travelling.grkp_fairs@helexpo.grhorizon@horizon.gribiselgreco@ibiselgreco.grsales@kipriotis.grrental@podimatas.grtasos@rodos-tours.comivarda@capsis.gra.palakidis@thrakipalace.grinfo@triaenatours.grinfo@tui-corp.grmiraa@iccjer.co.ilmoshee@tourism.gov.illior@ortra.comp.semprebene@aimgroup.itm.pieralli@btc.itinfo@riminiconvention.itbusinessdevelopment@ediman.itachille.lanzarini@fieramilanocongressi.itnino@fiorentinotravel.itinfo@fiorentinotravel.itd.tenderini@conventionbureau.itinfo@ideacpa.commariateresasotgiu@kassiopeagroup.coma.tommasini@lagunapalace.comfronzi@cruit.mscgva.chlepri@newtours.itgiuseppe@gpnet.itincentives@ovest.cominfo@bolognacongressi.itluigi.cammi@promoleader.commarketing@palacongressi.itm.gaspardone@torinoconvention.itbolcato@va.camcom.itm.criscuolo@gruppotriumph.itjesu@veniceconvention.comsuzanne.dimech@visitmalta.comrosettemicallef@mcc.com.mtlgarino@grimaldiforum.mcdgaa@nsfair.co.yucongress@scentar.co.yuoffice@passport.zepter.co.yugolun.akyildiz@cnr.netpinar_gunay@hilton.comcengiz@dekon.com.trmaneijmann@figur.netinfo.gloria.com.tricevahir@grandcevahirhotel.combike.toku@hilton.comrabia@ikontour.comizberk@interium.com.tresraeriskin@icec.orghandanboyce@icvb.orgcontact@kongresist.cominfo@mirageparkresort.com.trhakan.duran@clubpine.comfkirkli@oytur.com.trselamik@kulturturizm.go.trmgurbuz@serenas.com.trmelih@setur.com.trinfo@portroyalantalya.comcongress@topkon.comtarik@zedturizm.com.tryalcinavci@travelextra.orgdeniz@vip.com.trkamuranhaseki@tuyap.com.trvisitur@visitur.com.tr

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fifteen

Why now is the time to consider ICCA membership?

WHY DON'T YOU ENJOY THE BENEFITS THAT CAN BE GRANTED TO YOU THROUGH WIDE NETWORKINGAND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OF ICCA? ICCA WILL ADD POWER TO YOUR PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS WITH A WIDELY KNOWN AND WELLCOMEDBRAND NAME.

We have just been through a major reassessment of the association's strengths, and what came through clear-ly was ICCA's focus on business.

The main source of business leads being of course the ICCA database, which has undergone major develop-ments and is fully available online. For more information on this please check with the ICCA Head Office or theregional offices.

Another strength of ICCA is the strong network of meeting suppliers of all branches within the meetings indus-try and the very strong cooperation with the clients, while education opportunities within ICCA have been movedto another dimension and are catering to the needs of today's fast, demanding and modern life.

As the Chairperson of the ICCA MEDITERRANEAN Chapter, I would especially like to point out how the region-al structure of ICCA can assist you in gaining additional business leads.

WE HAVE A WEB PAGE WHERE YOU CAN PROMOTE YOUR COMPANY AND ACTIVITIES TO THE OTHER MEM-BERS, EVEN HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY OF USING IT FOR PROMOTION OF YOUR DESTINATION AS WHOLE. AS ITCOVERS ALL THE SECTORS OF MICE INDUSTRY THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA ALSO CARRYING THER SAMEBRAND NAME AS OF YOU. WE ARE STARTING TO PUBLISH AND DISTRIBUTE OUR OWN NEWS LETTER WHICH WILLAVAIL WITH A CHANCE OF PROMOTING YOUR LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN YOUR SECTOR AND EVEN IN YOURCOMPANY. WE THUS HELP YOU TO EXPOSE YOURSELF TO OTHERS ON NO COST. WE HAVE MORE PLANS TO FOL-LOW AS MENTIONED IN OUR AIMS CODE. WE PLAN TO COORDINATE CLIENTS SO TO TRANSFER MEETINGS WITH-IN THE REGION; DESTINATIONS WILL PROMOTE THEMSELVES SO TO INFORM OTHERS OF THE OPORTUNUTIES THEYCAN SUPPLY. WE WILL EVEN HAVE A PROMOTIONAL VCD OF THE REGION WHICH IS PLANNED TO BE DISTRIBUTEDWIDELY. SO EXPOSING YOURSELF AND PROMOTING YOURSELF IS FREE OF CHARGE WITH A GRANTED ADVANTAGEOF WIDE DISTRIBUTION. BE A MEMBER JOIN THE CHAPTER AND ENJOY THE BENEFITS… CAN YOU MISS IT?

I would also like to use this opportunity to invite you to attend one of the Chapter meetings as an Observer,where you can see ICCA in action and experience at first hand the many business opportunities ICCA has to offer.

Should you have any further question please do not hesitate to contact either myself or one of theMembership Recruitment teams at ICCA Head Offices or the Regional Offices. We will be happy to demonstratewhat ICCA could bring to you!

Bes t r e ga r d s ,Mu s t a f a F . Gu r b uz

Cha i r p e r s o n ICCA Med i t e r r an ean Chap t e r

Dear potential member

SEND us YOUR latest NEWS for THE next ISSUE!!!If you are an ICCA member & located in the Mediterranean, then:

Send us your latest news you wish us to published in our next newsletter,i.e. any important congresses you might have organized in the past 1 year, the renovation of your hotel,

any change that took place in your company, any other important news, etc...

You should only send: 1/2-page description of your news (no company profiles please!) + 1 or 2 photos.

Promote your company news to a l l ICCA members (& no t on l y ) !Remember i t i s one a : f i r s t - come- f i r s t - se rve bas is .

Send your News at: capsis-athens@capsis.grFor Advertising Purposes please contact: Irini Varda-Capsis at capsis-athens@capsis.gr

GET TH

E M

OST O

UT O

F YOUR IC

CA M

EMBERSHIP!

Join an ICCA D

ATA

Workshop and generate m

ore business in 2005!

ICCA MEDITERRANEAN CHAPTER MEMBERS WORKS TOGETHER TO INCREASE THEIR RELATIONS TOAVAIL BETTER OPPORTUNITIES TO EACH OTHER AS WELL AS CREATING A GROUP UNDERSTANDING

UNDER DIFFERENT BUSINESS AND SOCIAL CIRCUMCTANCES.

ICCA Med Chapter Mission Statement is: