The agency was set up in 2001 on the initiative of the Regional Council, and enjoys the support of key public and private sector agents of economic development (Chambers of Commerce, departments, professional organisations, etc.). Its task is to make a long-term contribution to sustainable growth in the Paris/Ile-de-France region.

The ARD works to promote business start-ups and job creation in the Ile-de-France region through the following actions:

1. Canvassing projects and anchoring them in the region; supporting certain firms in key projects, including major economic change
o Detecting investment projects, particularly those of overseas origin,
o Offering services and solutions to client firms,
o Promoting their development in the Ile-de-France region,
o Planning for and assisting economic change to minimise its impact on employment.
2.Promoting and enhancing the economic and technological reputation of the Ile-de-France on the international stage
o Ensuring that the Ile-de-France has a permanent presence in certain strategic foreign cities,
o Conducting partnership-based marketing and communication campaigns,
o Devising and disseminating tools to showcase the Ile-de-France.
3. Participating in the construction of a regional offering that will be attractive over the long term
o Nurturing, publicising and supporting emerging sectors with significant job-creation potential,
o Developing organisational, expert and consulting skills on behalf of the region and local authorities,
o Making a commitment to sustainable development part of the appeal and international image of the Ile-de-France region
4. More recently, playing a part in the formulation and implementation of regional policy for the meetings and professional events industry in the Ile-de-France, with the creation of a dedicated department within the ARD responsible for the sector and its international promotion (Paris Region Trade Show programme).


Contact :
Paris Ile-de-France Agence Régionale de Développement
Monsieur Jean-Luc MARGOT-DUCLOT
3 rue des Saussaies – 75008 Paris
Tél. 01 58 18 69 00 – Fax 01 58 18 69 71
www.paris-region.com

The Rhône-Alpes region is France's third most popular MICE (meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition) travel destination, with estimated annual revenue of €800 million. The region has many key advantages to offer.

With a total of twenty eight convention centres, the Rhône-Alpes region is ranked as France's third most popular MICE travel destination after the Paris region and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region, with estimated annual revenue of €800 million. Lyons is second only to Paris in terms of facilities and exhibition spaces, and boasts such major venues as the Cité Internationale conference centre with its 3,000-seater amphitheatre, Eurexpo, the Tony Garnier Hall and the Espace Tête d'Or. The Conference Centre alone plays host to 100,000 conference participants a year who, along with trade fair visitors, account for some 300,000 overnight stays a year.

Grenoble is served by Alpexpo and Europôle, while Annecy features four specialist venues around the lake (including the Impérial Palace and the Centre Bonlieu). Saint-Étienne focuses on its conference centre (75,000 visitor days) while Chambéry chips in with its Manège centre, hosting up to a dozen conferences a year of which 20% are international. Lastly, Valence has seen growth in seminar and study day business countered by a downturn in major conferences, with twenty nine events hosted in 2005 for revenue net of VAT of €211,000.

Underpinning its development as a MICE destination, the Rhône-Alpes region can point to a total of 145,000 hotel beds and excellent transport links with Paris, Brussels and London, three of the leading sources of MICE travel.

In addition to its city centre venues, the Rhône-Alpes is fortunate in being ideally placed to offer seminars and incentive travel opportunities in its winter sports resorts, headed by Chamonix, Val-d'Isère, Courchevel, Megève and Les Arcs.

Much effort has also gone into improving existing resources, particularly in Lyons, with the new Salle 3000 hall and the extension of Eurexpo (Espace Alto, the new Hall 66 and a future 16,000 m² extension), but also in Saint-Étienne with the extension to its conference centre.

Contact :
Rhône-Alpes Tourisme
Madame Annie MARTINEZ
Responsable Offre Tourisme d’Affaires
104 route de Paris – 69260 Charbonnières-les-Bains
Tél. 04 72 59 21 75 – fax 04 72 59 21 60
Annie.martinez@rhonealpes-tourisme.com – www.rhonealpes-tourisme.fr