Issue link: https://digital.meetinreykjavik.is/i/653841
1/26/2016 International Meetings | www.themeetingmagazines.com file:///S:/Marketing%20MIR/PR%20&%20Press/Articles%20on%20MiR/English/International%20Meetings%20_%20www.themeetingmagazines.com.html 5/8 Three new hotels will open in the city center this year, including Fosshotel Reykjavik, with 320 rooms and conference facilities. Two new Icelandair hotels will open in 2016, including one near the convention center. And in 2017, a fivestar hotel will open at Iceland's most famous attraction, the Blue Lagoon. The hotel will feature private access to the lagoon, and the plan is to build new conference facilities as well. As for event and reception spaces, Iceland delivers that "wow" factor at such venues as The Whales of Iceland museum; The Pearl, a visually striking dome and revolving restaurant; and Inside the Volcano, open summers, which puts visitors inside an actual volcano. Ireland — A Great Buy The reasons meeting planners consistently turn to Ireland for corporate and incentive trips are many. "Ireland offers the complete package and is fortunate to enjoy high satisfactions levels. The combination of worldclass infrastructure as it relates to the range of accommodations, meeting space and technology options, and the wide variety of unique and authentic experiences all brought together by Ireland's renowned brand of hospitality have made Ireland one of the top European incentive travel destinations for North American corporations," says Alison Metcalfe, executive vice president, U.S. and Canada, Tourism Ireland. "There has also been continued investment in new experiences to excite and delight such as the 'Game of Thrones' Tour in Northern Ireland, the Wild Atlantic Way, new culinary tours and our championship links golf, which remains as good as ever. "Ireland offers value and has never been easier to get to, with direct services from 14 gateways across North America. The availability of a U.S. CBP (Customs and Border Protection) preclearance facility at Dublin and Shannon airports provides an added benefit for clients traveling from across the country by reducing connecting times." Jodi Swailes, senior buyer, geographic specialist with ITA Group, offers a few additional reasons. "Ireland is a great buy, even before the lower exchange rate," she says. "The size of the country allows you to give participants multiple experiences — city of Dublin combined with the countryside of Killarney and the Cliffs of Mohr — or a lesstraveled experience such as Belfast and Northern Ireland." She adds that guests feel comfortable in part because English is spoken and many North American visitors have ancestors from Ireland. But, Swailes notes, "The people are what really make the destination. They're extremely friendly, and they enjoy meeting Americans." Macao — the Las Vegas of Asia Macao is a compact 11 square miles but offers extraordinary richness of history, culture and experience. Set on a peninsula on China's south coast 37 miles from Hong Kong, Macao also encompasses the islands of Taipa and Coloane, now connected by a strip of landfill transformed into a neighborhood of highrise hotels, shops, theaters and casinos. It's no accident that the Cotai Strip, with 9,000 hotel rooms, evokes Las Vegas. Familiar hospitality brands include the expansive Sands Cotai Central resort, home to the Conrad Macao, Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central and Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central. Nearby is the Venetian Macao. Macao also has a Wynn and an MGM. The Sheraton Macao is meeting central with more than 3,000 guest rooms and its Kashgar Grand Ballroom accommodating 5,000. Six other ballrooms accommodate 12 to 2,000. Among the hotel's interesting options are Fit meetings, based on the integrated approach to training used at Exos (formerly Athletes' Performance) facilities. Madrid — Means Business