Luxembourg: the go-to destination for business meetings

It is worth noting that the business events industry in Europe is worth many billions of euros, and competition to attract events is fierce. Still, Luxembourg knows its strengths, and is aware that business events are an effective way to promote the country’s economy, research communities, and educational institutions. In 2019, it created the Luxembourg Convention Bureau, branded as Business Events Luxembourg. Under the direction of CEO François Lafont, the international team is composed of experienced professionals who are certain that Luxembourg is the place for business events, and they are eager to get the word out.

Bringing people together has long been something the country does well, often while facing demanding specifications. Luxembourg City is one of the three capitals of the EU and has been hosting major EU meetings for decades. These days, more and more visitors are drawn together in Luxembourg by the country’s burgeoning key sectors, many of which have the vigorous support of the forward-looking government. These include ICT, health technologies, space mining, smart mobility, and clean technologies. In town, internationally known experts mingle with business and political leaders, and due to Luxembourg’s size, there is the distinct feeling that they are all just a handshake away.

Business Events Luxembourg has developed a multipronged, conceptual strategy to transform the country into a major business events destination. Firstly, it promotes Luxembourg as a congress destination in key economic sectors linked to the university, research institutions, and companies, and fosters close links with key people from these sectors. When an association chooses Luxembourg as the destination for its event, it has quick and easy access to an entire network that can help to maximise the event’s impact.

The second part of the strategy is to promote the country as destination for corporate events, team buildings and incentive trips, while at the same time giving organisers support and tools. Thirdly, Business Events Luxembourg helps to organise and strengthen the local events sector by building partnerships with hotel and venue operators, event agencies, event service providers, and transportation companies. This effort has yielded tremendous results, with the number of partnerships having increased from 26 to 193 since its creation.

A more recent strategy, one that aligns with the efforts of the Luxembourg government, is in digitalisation. Eight digital drivers – that which will give the country a distinct competitive advantage – have been put forth, and Business Events Luxembourg is hard at work promoting their integration into the business events sector. Among these drivers are customer- centric experiences, creative and interactive digital offerings, and mobile-enabled solutions. Given the national data strategy and the enthusiasm for the transition, Business Events Luxembourg sees a great opportunity to position Luxembourg as a frontrunner of the digitalisation of business events.

Luxembourg does not aspire to be a one-size-fits-all destination for every type of business event, but rather one that is chosen for its dynamic key sectors, access to key people in these sectors, high-quality services provided by the local events sector, and the broad support from Business Events Luxembourg. It is certain that the country will become an important destination, just on its own terms.