Bordeaux,
the ideal destination to motivate your team

With UNESCO-listed architectural heritage and a dynamic economy, Bordeaux is the ideal destination for your business events.

Known for its exceptional wine, authentic cuisine, and quality of life, Bordeaux attracts visitors from all walks of life. Voted the best travel destination by Lonely Planet in 2017, the capital of Gironde is truly thriving.

Although the city was once known as the ‘Sleeping Beauty’, there is now no doubt that Bordeaux is wide awake! This renewal is evident in the city’s new neighbourhoods, vibrant cultural life and the presence of innovative start-ups and companies.

As the second most attractive and entrepreneurial regional city for foreign investment*, Bordeaux is known for its dynamic economy, tourism industry and cultural life.

The Bordeaux metropolitan area has become the key location for international business tourism.

A REGION OF INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE

Events held in Bordeaux benefit from the area’s dynamic and innovative ecosystem of excellence. The metropolitan area benefits from the influence of 11 competitiveness clusters and 70 business clusters in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region (aerospace, optics & lasers, geosciences, health ICT, eco-habitat, digital economy, robotics).

FRENCH TECH BORDEAUX

The French Tech Bordeaux association earned the French Tech Capital label and now includes more than 850 companies and stakeholders from the innovative and technological ecosystem in Bordeaux and Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

A LOOK AT NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE REGION’S HIGH-PERFORMANCE HEALTH SECTOR 

The region’s health sector is especially successful. It is present in 4 major priority sectors: medical devices, e-health, biotechnology and pharmacy, as well as cosmetics. With the Alliance Innovation Santé, the Nouvelle Aquitaine region has brought together 8 business clusters and 1 competitiveness cluster (Cancer-Bio-Health, Limousin Medical Cluster, ICT Health Cluster, Osasuna, 2ACBI, RDM-NA, Technopole du Grand Poitiers and GIPSO). It represents 250 companies and 36 research and training institutions. This organisational model allows for extensive regional coverage and common initiatives that promote the development and influence of health stakeholders.

In 2017, the Nouvelle Aquitaine region also gained a centre for research in neuroscience. Neurocampus Bordeaux, located right near the university hospital, brings together 650 researchers specialised in neuroscience. It now rivals world-renowned organisations.

With a strong innovation culture and cutting-edge equipment, Bordeaux is now developing research of excellence and a global reputation in neuroscience, cardiology, imaging and oncology.

A CITY COMMITTED TO BECOMING ECO-RESPONSIBLE

Bordeaux has committed to a pilot ISO 20121 certification programme with the goal of obtaining the “Responsible International Destination” label.

To achieve this objective, the city has joined the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-index) which includes some fifty cities from around the world. The GDX Index is a performance improvement programmed aimed at making the business tourism industry more sustainable.

With over half of its territory made up of natural and agricultural areas, 150 parks and gardens, a downtown pedestrian district and many bike paths, Bordeaux offers a pleasant place to stay during an event.

MODERN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BUSINESS TOURISM

New hotels have been flourishing in the city, helping to meet the accommodation needs of business customers. The hotels include well-known names such as Hilton Garden Inn, Radisson Blu and the Golden Tulip, as well as hip locations like the Elko chain, Central Hostel, and the Mama Shelter.

Bordeaux is truly a forward-looking city. This is evident in the development of new neighbourhoods and cultural centres with modern architecture, including the regenerated Bassins à Flot neighbourhood, the Bordeaux Euratlantique development project, Matmut Atlantique Stadium, Arkéa Arena, and Palais 2 l’Atlantique.

New major cultural venues also support these efforts to promote the region and make it even more attractive, including the recently-inaugurated Cité du Vin, Musée Mer Marine and Bassins des Lumières.

AN EXCEPTIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

The Bordeaux metropolitan area, the gateway to southwest France, benefits from a central location in a multi-faceted region. When you organise an event in Bordeaux, you find yourself in the heart of one of the world’s first AOC wine-growing regions, with 60 world-renowned wine appellations. Staying in Bordeaux also means benefiting from the entire region and its famous attractions: the Arcachon Bay and its oyster huts, the exceptional chateaux of Saint-Emilion, the Médoc wine route…

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Professor Stéphane Lafitte: ‘Grounding knowledge, expertise and sharing’

October saw the successive hosting of four medical and scientific congresses of national and international significance. Destination Bordeaux was the venue of choice to host these important gatherings, such as the 19th edition of Echo Cardio Bordeaux. Professor Stéphane Lafitte, Chairman of its organising committee and member of the scientific committee, gives us an insight.
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Maritime Economy Forum (AEM): Bordeaux to host an edition devoted to the transition of the maritime economy

Philippe Fourrie, co-founder of the Ilago agency and coordinator of the Maritime Economy Forum [Assises de l’Economie de la Mer - AEM], the 19th edition of which will take place at Bordeaux Congress Centre on 19 and 20 November, takes us behind the scenes of this key event for maritime sector players. Organised since 2005 by Le Marin, a specialist publication by the Ouest-France press group, this annual event brings together key policymakers and experts from the sector which alone represents 1.5% of France’s GDP.
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Interview

“Business tourism is an economic dynamo”

Stéphane Kintzig, Managing Director of BEAM, shares his optimism for a local events sector on the offensive, and reviews key issues of the moment, such as European objectives and business tourism in Bordeaux.
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