Origin of the Haarlem Convention Bureau
Haarlem has a lot to offer for the business market. Local entrepreneurs and Haarlem Marketing have been convinced of this for years. The city has a variety of suitable accommodations for congresses, meetings and events. The city also has a wide variety for overnight stays and a versatile gastronomic offer. But what is needed to actually attract more business visitors to the city?
To investigate this, Haarlem Marketing and the Haarlem entrepreneurs Niels Piscaer (Van der Valk Haarlem), Anne-Marije Hogenboom (at the time working for Stadsschouwburg & Philharmonie), Bernard Lensink (Landgoed Duin & Kruidberg) and Frans van Capelle (Stempels) in 2014 an advisory board for Haarlem Marketing. They examined what was necessary to achieve this goal.
This showed that there was a strong need for a neutral and objective agency that could act as a connecting factor between supply and demand in business tourism. In early 2017, for example, the Haarlem Convention Bureau was created under the wing of Haarlem Marketing. Since then, Haarlem Convention Bureau has joined forces with partners in the city with one larger goal: to promote the city and the region among national and international event managers and to attract them to Haarlem and its surroundings..
Locations, hotels, catering and suppliers
Clients, once they have found a destination, often need several and multiple service providers to make the conference, event or meeting a success. In the first place, these are event venues, hotels and catering establishments. Secondly, suppliers such as audiovisual partners, caterers, organization agencies, transporters and decorators. Here the Haarlem Convention Bureau can help you find the right venue and suppliers for your inquiry.
Social programs; relaxation is part of tension
Increasingly, a (multi-day) meeting is not only about the primary work-related activities, such as a meeting, training or conference. Activities related to leisure time are increasingly important. These social programs, such as an activity on the beach, a city walk, dining in unique restaurants, shopping and taking part in an excursion, form a large part of the travel pattern and expenditure of the business visitor.
Independent advisory partner
The Haarlem Convention Bureau can be an independent advisory partner for any (international) organizer of meetings, events and congresses in the search for suitable locations and in the choices for the social program. To stay informed? Then sign up for the newsletter.
