Prevue July/August 2012 - (Page 72)

Toulouse [ON LOCATION] GREG OATES Emerging French city is a ‘magniﬁque’ mix of business, brains & beauty G eez, these things are enormous. I’m standing with a group in front of four gargantuan Airbus A380s watching men maneuver a Rolls Royce turbofan into place under one of the wings. The engine is the size of a house. Headquartered here in Toulouse, Airbus Industries offers large group tours around the 1.3 million-sf assembly floor, the third largest contiguous space in the world. That’s followed by a slick video presentation on the 7th floor viewing room, detailing the Shakespearean drama that went into getting this thing in the air. Building the $350 million A380 required one of the greatest multinational business collaborations in modern industry. The process begins with the manufacturing of individual components in the four countries footing the bill: France, Britain, Spain and Germany. The wings, for example, are built in Bristol; the tail comes from Cadiz. The plane is then bolted together in Toulouse before flying to Hamburg for painting and final delivery. The So Toulouse! Convention Bureau is leveraging the Airbus network to showcase to meeting and conference planners the city’s technical expertise and logistical infrastructure. Because in 2016, the new Parc des Expositions (PEX) opens with a new convention center designed by celeb architect Rem Koolhaas, with a 165,000-sf event hall and 440,000-sf exhibition space. “Because of Airbus we have so many companies here active in technological innovation, international economics and engineering research,” says Jean-Francois Renac, director general of So Toulouse. “We also have the second largest university campus in France, and the best ranked in economics and science, so we’re a very aggressive and dynamic city.” “It’s as if Toulouse represents the ‘New France,’” I suggest. “Voila!,” exclaims Renac, with a gleam in his eye. “We’re conscious that knowledge and research are important for our future growth. We’re a very young city, unlike many other cities in France, and we realize that culture and beauty are not enough.” RENDEZVOUS TOULOUSE Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France after Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux, with 73 international incoming flights (including direct from Atlanta) and 72 daily between Paris. The city’s primary conference venue is Pierre Baudis Congress Center, with its largest hall seating 1,000 pax in rounds, complemented by a wide variety of historic venues and modern meeting facilities. We’re here for the France MICE tradeshow, “Red, White & Blue Rendezvous,” hosted at the 125-room Hotel Pullman Toulouse Centre. It overlooks the busy Jean-Jaures Boulevard, which Renac says is converting into a pedestrian mall in 2013. 72 | prevue magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue July/August 2012

Planner's Pick: Washington D.C.
Fresh Meets: Loews Hotels & Resorts
Bureau Buzz: Orlando
Good Business: Hyatt Resorts
Sea Shores: Celebrity Cruises
Creative Comfort Food
Caribbean + The Bahamas
On Location: Dominican Republic
On Location: Vintage Inn, Napa
Southern Soul
Vegas Eats
Chile + Peru
On Location: IRF Conference, San Antonio
Toulouse, France
Check Out: Eilan Hotel Resort & Spa

Prevue July/August 2012