VisitDenmark and ten of its closest MICE partners from Denmark are ready to invade Northern England once more, conquer lots of meetings and take them back to Denmark, when this year’s sales presentations in the UK are kick-started on March 27-29. The first of several road shows will concentrate on the Manchester and Leeds-area in northern England and will, apart from the mandatory meetings during the day, include soirees with Danish “hygge”, glam cocktails and funky food at the Room restaurant in Manchester and The Restaurant Bar & Grill in Leeds. The road shows are sponsored by IMO (International Marketing of the Øresund Region) and will focus on promoting this particular region which boasts many great MICE venues - a few of which would be historically related to the Vikings too…

Lotte Henriksen, Sales Manager for VisitDenmark UK & Ireland, says: “Northern England is a very important MICE-market for us and we are, of course, always happy to visit meeting professionals’ offices around the country to give a sales presentation of what Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark has to offer for British meeting planners.”

Further information: www.visitdenmark.com. VisitDenmark UK & Ireland, Lotte Henriksen, Sales Manager – MICE, tel: +44 (0)20 7201 3985, e-mail:lhe@visitdenmark.com

“Perfectly designed to get your message across” is the title of a brand new partner profile brochure published by VisitDenmark and Wonderful Copenhagen this spring. The brochure contains useful information on Danish meeting and incentives specialists that VisitDenmark and Wonderful Copenhagen have combined forces with on market UK and Ireland in 2007. It will also function as an insert in the up-coming MICE brochure 2007 ready for hand-out at VisitDenmark’s stand at IMEX in Frankfurt on April 17-19. A copy of the partner profile is enclosed in this mailing.

Further information: www.visitdenmark.com. VisitDenmark UK & Ireland, Jonathan Cohen, Marketing Manager – MICE for VisitDenmark, Tel.: +44 (0)20 7201 3977, E-mail: jc@visitdenmark.com

If you are looking for a special conference destination away from the “hustle bustle” and distractions of the bigger cities, with time to think, clear your mind and re-evaluate priorities, then Sealand, including the islands of Møn & Lolland Falster outside Copenhagen, could be the answer. An exclusive selection of five meeting professionals on Sealand have joined hands and now offer tailor-made meeting and incentive packages for meeting planners on market UK. The “fabulous five” have set out on an quest to convince its British customers, that there is “Something for every group on Sealand” and consist of the following Danish companies; Mødecentrum Sjælland, Sørup Herregård, Marienlyst, Øst-dansk Turisme and Nordic Incentive.

Further information: www.visitdenmark.com. VisitDenmark UK & Ireland, Jonathan Cohen, Marketing Manager – MICE for VisitDenmark, tel.: +44 (0)20 7201 3977, e-mail: jc@visitdenmark.com

By the end of this month, no other city in Scandinavia will offer as many routes to and from the UK as Copenhagen. By end March , the Danish capital will get its 10th and 11th UK destinations as Cimber Air launches a new route from Newcastle to Copenhagen and bmi regional launches a new route from Leeds Bradford to Copenhagen. The new services will be the only direct air links between Leeds and Copenhagen and Newcastle and Copenhagen respectively.

With both airlines operating on a day-to-day basis, the new services are expected to attract leisure and business travellers alike. Business travel out of Leeds and Newcastle to Copenhagen is, however, expected to take off significantly, as the routes are likely to be used by UK passengers from this part of the country not only for the purpose of visiting the capital of Copenhagen or the rest of Denmark, but also to use the Copenhagen Airport as an international hub to the rest of Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Eastern Europe and Asia.

Further information: VisitDenmark UK & Ireland, Jonathan Cohen, Marketing Manager – MICE, tel.: +44 (0)20 7201 3977, e-mail: jc@visitdenmark.com

In November 2006, the Bella Center, the largest convention centre in the Nordic countries, constructed more flexible congress facilities. Thus, 20 brand new meeting rooms now offer not just improved flexibility for large events, but also the possibility to hold two large meetings simultaneously, each capable of hosting 2,500 guests. Already, the Bella Center is the largest Convention and Exhibition Centre in the Nordic countries with the ability to host conventions with up to 20,000 participants.

Further information: www.bellacenter.dk.  Rikke Borup, PR Manager for Bella Center, tel.: +45 32 47 26 11, e-mail: rikke.borup@bellacenter.dk

Once again Copenhagen will host a big international IT-conference when Microsoft in October launches its “Convergence 2007” conference in the city. More than 3000 decision makers, IT-managers and IT-companies as well as journalists and analysts from Europe, The Middle East and Africa are visiting the city from October 22-25 to find out more about Microsoft Dynamics’ products for business, industry and the public sector.

Jonathan Cohen, Marketing Manager - MICE for VisitDenmark UK & Ireland says: “VisitDenmark have been involved in the bid since October 2006. Naturally, we are very pleased that Microsoft decided on staging yet another conference in Copenhagen, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Denmark.”

The secret of Copenhagen's continued success as a convention city lies in the short distances between its hotels and conference venues, and the fact that Copenhagen Airport is Northern Europe's main air traffic hub. On top, the city boasts an excellent international reputation for its low crime rate, general efficiency levels and its fine selection of cultural and entertainment attractions. Microsofts’ largest development centre in Europe is placed in Vedbæk north of Copenhagen.

Further information: Jonathan Cohen, MICE Marketing Manager for VisitDenmark, tel.: +44 (0)20 7201 3977, e-mail: jc@visitdenmark.com

Bill Clinton has accepted an invitation from the House of Industry to visit the Faroe Islands. The story could not be verified but the Faroes would probably be the smallest nation the former US president has ever visited and spoken to. The Swede Hans Blix, the former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, will be accompanying Clinton. The two are taking part in a conference at the Nordic House in Tórshavn on 24 May.

Jan Mortensen, Director of the House of Industry, adds:”The visit proves that we are a part of the internationalisation trend. If we are able to fully exploit this opportunity, Faroese industry and tourism will receive a significant boost.”

Per Hansen, Director for Faroe Islands Tourist Board agrees:”Bill Clinton’s visit is without doubt the greatest opportunity the Faroe Islands have ever had to attract the world’s attention, and we will quickly draw up plans for taking advantage of this unique opportunity.”

The Nordic House is as charismatic as the famous guests expected to arrive very soon. Built on Nordic tradition, the entrance is made of Norwegian stones, the chairs are of Finnish design, the wooden panels remind guests of deep Swedish forests, the special glass and steel construction is Dansih, the roof construction Icelandic and the grass on the roof as Faroese as it’s green. The venue takes up to 380 people in its main hall and 150 persons in the “Klingran”. More details about Clinton’s visit is to be announced in the near future.

Further information: www.visit-faroeislands.com and www.tourist.fo. Faroe Islands Tourist Board, Hildur Durhuus, tel.: +298 355 824, e-mail: hildur@tourist.fo

In February 2007, Greenland’s official and most frequently visited tourist website www.greenland.com was re-launched by Greenland Tourism and Business Council. The new website has been six months in the making.

Niels Feerup, Marketing Director for the National Tourist Board of Greenland, says: “On the new Greeland.com, we have enriched the visual impression and given advertisers access to promote their own Greenland products. We have moved away from being a factual, encyclopaedia-like site to being a site with much more focus on the needs of our users, with more travel details and information about existing activities. With the current strong interest in Greenland and the growth in passenger volume, we believe Greenland.com could reach over one million visitors annually relatively fast.”

Further information: www.greenland.com. Niels Feerup, Marketing Director, National Tourist Board of Greenland (in Copenhagen), tel.: +45 32 83 38 85

Nordic Incentives, a Danish incentives and teambuilding company with offices across Scandinavia, has launched a new online “Activity Search Engine” on www.nitat.dk. The new search tool gives meeting professionals accessibility to what is said to be the largest selection of incentives- and teambuilding activities in all of Scandinavia.

Bent Hadler, CEO of Nordic Incentives, explains: “Being a local company, we know exactly "what’s going on" out there, at this will give our customers access to the best buy at all times. The "Activity Search Engine" will take meeting professionals on a guided tour and will introduce them to a string of activities, that have been carefully selected, tested to secure the highest possible quality and will match various purposes; incentives, events, fun day out, high speed teambuilding or other...”

The search engine recommends certain activities to the user and the cost(s) of each activity. Once a user has found an activity of interest, he/she simply has to fill in a request form and within 48 hours (workdays) Nordic Incentives will send a quotation.

Further information: www.nitat.dk. Nordic Incentives, Bent Hadler, CEO, Tel.: +45 70 27 13 26, E-mail: ceo@nitat.dk

With new offices opened in Stockholm and Tallinn and no less than 11 direct flight services operating in and out of the UK from Copenhagen, DMC (Destination Management Copenhagen) has a broad reach across Scandinavia and the Baltics for UK-based MICE professionals. In 2007, DMC will offer the busy and budget conscious event manager everything from efficient transfers and airport meeting services for high profile, security conscious groups to supplying a welcome glass of mead to cap off an incentive group’s adventure into the Viking’s world. In fact, DMC plans exclusive ship building and sailing excursions for groups under the instruction of skippers and craftsmen skilled in the traditional Viking techniques aboard exact replicas of the Viking ships as sailed to Dublin 1,000 years ago. DMC has developed a host of new and targeted team building programs over the past six months, all of which can be tailor-made for a company’s directives, tied into its annual strategic planning and/or reported electronically directly onto its website.

Further information: www.dmc-cph.dk. Amanda Beal, DMC Denmark, e-mail: abeal@dmc-cph.dk

Facelift: Conference facilities at Marienlyst in Northern Sealand
After a thorough renovation, hotel Marienlyst’s 5-star conference centre is ready to welcome back local and foreign meeting professionals alike. With its magnificent location directly on the Sound and next to the famous Kronborg Castle (a UNESCO heritage site), Marienlyst has been a popular conference venue – locally and internationally – ever since 1901. The story goes that this was the first place in Denmark to offer “conference facilities”. Today, the hotel boasts an attractive 5-star conference centre with 11 conference rooms, 9 group session rooms and a Hall with room for 400 persons.

Further information: www.marienlyst.com. Birgitte Høffner, Sales- & Marketing Coordinator, tel..: +45 49 21 40 00, e-mail: bhr@marienlyst.dk

Expansion: “Jetlag treatments” and “Spa & wellness meetings” at Hilton Copenhagen Airport’s new spa & wellness centre
Hilton Copenhagen Airport is investing DKK four million in a new spa- & wellness area. Come April 2007, the Spa will be open to hotel-residents and non-residents as well as guests attending meetings or conferences at the 5-star hotel. The spa- and wellness centre will be located at the hotel’s second floor, which already offers a swimming pool and fitness centre.

Allan Aggerholm, General Manager for Hilton Copenhagen Airport, says: “The spa will appeal to our weekend guests, but it will also be open during the week, offering relaxing treatments for the busy business traveller, etc. Located at the airport we expect that “Jetlag – treatments” for international travellers and “spa and wellness – meetings” will become very popular.”

The new spa & wellness centre will also be part of the hotel’s meeting concept, where a spa–experience could be a relaxing and different break from a meeting, helping to push creativity to its uppermost limits.

Further information: www.hiltonworldwide.com. Lene Walther, PR Manager for Hilton Copenhagen Airport, tel: +45 32 44 55 53, e-mail: lene.walther@hilton.com

Brand new hotels: Clarion Hotel Copenhagen and Cph. Living
Clarion Hotel Copenhagen is the name of the latest modern 4-star with 215 rooms located in Sydhavnen, Copenhagen’s’ newest and quickly growing commercial district. The new hotel has a restaurant, bar and a relaxation area, where you can enjoy a quiet moment in the Jacuzzi or the Finnish Sauna. It is conveniently located only 5 km from the city centre and 9 km from Copenhagen Airport and offers top professional conference facilities that can comfortably accommodate up to 550 attendees. Rooms are stylish and bright with leather chairs and state of the art technology and spacious break-out areas too. Further information: www.clarionhotelcopenhagen.com. Ursula Rol, Sales Manager of Clarion Hotel Copenhagen by Choice Hotels Scandinavia, Tel.: (+45) 36 15 51 16, E-mail: ursula.rol@choice.dk

Denmark's first floating hotel, Copenhagen Living, will also open its gangway for guests this summer. The hotel will be located in the inner harbour just ten minutes walk from central Copenhagen and is operated by the Waterliving company. The highly regarded restaurant ship, VIVA, adjacent to the hotel, will handle catering and room service for guests in the ship’s 12 exclusively decorated rooms. The interior of the hotel will blend design classics with bespoke furniture specially made for the hotel, while the panoramic windows will afford guests an excellent view of the harbour and city. The rooms will be decorated by some of the most talented young artists in Denmark. Just around the corner from the hotel is one of the city's open-air harbour swimming pools, open to the public from June to the end of August.

Further information: Mr Lars Rahbek, Press Coordinator, tel.: +45 2680 9230.

For more hotel news from the greater Copenhagen Area, have a look at Wonderful Copenhagen’s website www.visitcopenhagen.com/press too.

VisitDenmark in London is pleased to welcome Anne Marie Barsøe as its new Press Officer for MICE.

Jonathan Cohen, Marketing Manager – MICE for VisitDenmark UK & Ireland is thrilled to have Anne Marie onboard: “Anne Marie has been working as a freelance PR Consultant in London for the past 6 years. Previously she worked for Wonderful Copenhagen as Project Manager in the Press Department, so she does not only has a solid insight in the UK market and media world, but also into our most unique selling point: Copenhagen.”

The employment of Anne Marie means a further strengthening of the VisitDenmark London MICE team, as Lotte Henriksen joined the team as Sales Manager only four months ago.

Further information: Jonathan Cohen, Marketing Manager – MICE for VisitDenmark UK & Ireland, tel.: +44 (0)20 7201 3977, e-mail: jc@visitdenmark.com