Paris…home of the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa, the French Open, high fashion and haute cuisine… The French capital is the most frequently visited city in all of Europe, and a primary tourist destination for Americans. But few people realize that Paris is also an excellent meeting destination, and that the French Government Tourist Office (FGTO) and the Paris Convention Bureau are actively seeking to bring American business dollars to the City of Light.

Does Paris offer anything special for the African-American business or association that would like to organize a meeting? From both a business and a cultural perspective, the answer is a resounding “yes!” This article will present Paris as a meeting destination in general and highlight several resources for the African-American business or organization desiring to hold a conference there.

Conventions, trade shows and congresses accounted for 43% of “business tourism” for Paris in 2002, followed by 38% for business meetings and 14% for conferences. For the past 24 years, Paris has led the world as a meeting place for international associations, hosting 228 such meetings in 2002. It held 420 trade fairs during that year, of which 225 were professional, 174 were open to the public, and 21 were mixed. Paris trade fairs welcome more visitors and account for the rental of more exhibition space than any other city in Europe.

Nine out of ten business travelers stay in hotels, with those located in the 8 th, 16 th and 17 th arrondissements (districts) being favored due to their proximity to local business centers and to the La Defense business complex that lies just outside the city limits. Most American meetings and congresses are held in four-star hotels.

Of course, accommodations and exhibition space are not the only reasons that a company or organization will choose a particular city to host its meeting or congress. After hotel expenses, business travelers spend most of their money on food and drink. Paris offers a great variety of restaurants, wine bars, sandwich shops and other forms of restoration, both French and foreign cuisine, in all price ranges. Thus, there is culinary fare to satisfy every appetite and every pocketbook.

Once the business traveler has satisfied his hunger and quenched his thirst, he seeks to shop. According to the Paris Tourist Office, shopping accounts for 18% of a business traveler’s spending per day. Paris offers many shopping opportunities, including four great department stores, numerous shopping streets and quarters, and several flea markets. There are also shopping malls and beautiful, historic 19 th century galleries (called passages couverts), which are the shopping mall’s predecessor in France. And the shops located in museums and monuments provide numerous gift selections for friends and loved ones back home.

The next largest portion of the business tourist’s spending dollar (~10%) is devoted to cultural visits and excursions. Paris’ many world-class museums and inimitable monuments, such as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, undeniably represent a powerful draw for these visitors. But there are also art galleries, music concerts, parks and gardens, and more.

The French Government Tourist Office offers free assistance to those wanting to plan a meeting or congress in Paris. It publishes a newsletter entitled “Meet in France”, which informs readers of new or recently renovated properties that are poised to receive business travelers. It also publicizes special offers to entice businesses to make France their next meeting place. FGTO partners with Air France, and sometimes with American Airlines and Delta Airlines, to market and promote France as a business destination. Its French Convention Bureau boasts 150 members, of which more than a third are hotels. FGTO is in contact with many suppliers and intermediaries, and is thus an invaluable resource for meeting planners.

While the FGTO seeks to attract American business travelers to France, it does not actively seek out African-American business travelers as a group. It therefore has little knowledge of the services that African-American companies in Paris can provide for your meeting or congress. The following information should prove useful to those wishing to support African-American businesses while profiting from all that Paris offers as a meeting destination.

Carolyn Davenport-Moncel launched Motion Temps, a virtual office assistant service, in 2001. Her Global Business Traveler Service provides emergency office and travel planning support for American and other English-speaking business travelers during visits to Paris. Meeting, conference/seminar, event planning and preparation assistance; travel reservations; copy editing; errand running and personal assistance; transcriptions and on-site assistance are among the many services available.

Davenport-Moncel has more than eight years of experience working in public relations and six years of experience in Internet marketing. She has worked in the private sector – in agency, corporate and nonprofit environments – and also in the public sector, developing strategies for local political campaigns.

For an evening of entertainment at your conference venue, Joan Minor and the Major Minor band are ready to provide you with jazz at its finest. Minor, formerly a human resources executive at Stanford University, moved to Paris in 1999 to pursue her dream to become a professional singer. Having made a name for herself in some of the best nightspots in town, including Le Petit Journal Montparnasse and the Palais de Congrès, Minor and her band released their first CD in 2003. Bassist Raymond Doumbé, drummer Etienne Brachet, and guitarist Benoît Gil are the musicians who are an integral part of the group’s success.

Minor shifted her home base to New York in January 2005, but still performs in Paris. Her latest gigs included the Fête de la Musique (a day of music to celebrate the summer solstice) and a performance at the Franc Pinot, an intimate jazz club on the Ile Saint-Louis in central Paris in June.

Thanks to the efforts of a travel planning service called Discover Paris!, meeting planners can now propose a variety of structured Afro-centric leisure activities to congress attendees and their spouses during their stay. These include a comprehensive bus tour on African-American history in Paris, a private, guided visit to view representations of blacks in European art at the Louvre, Picasso and Orsay museums, and a visit to view ancient and contemporary African art at the Dapper museum.

Discover Paris! also proposes a wine pairing dinner with instruction in wine appreciation hosted by an African-American sommelier-conseil and a pastry/chocolate walk led by an African-American culinary professional. Shoppers will be delighted to learn that the company proposes a private, guided shopping tour for lingerie and women’s clothing and a visit to Paris’ most famous flea market. Both of these tours are lead by African-American guides. Finally, Discover Paris! offers self-guided walking tours for individuals or small groups that wish to explore African/Diaspora history and culture (see sidebar).

African-American businesses and organizations that take a fresh look at Paris as a possible meeting destination will find that the city and its African-American professionals have much to offer!

French Government Tourist Office

www.franceguide.com/us
Contact: Anouk Thibaut
e-mail: anouk.thiebaut@franceguide.com

Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau
www.paris-touristoffice.com
Contact: Corinne Bernadou

Motion Temps
www.motiontemps.com
Contact: Carolyn Davenport-Moncel
e-mail: carolyn@motiontemps.com

Joan Minor and the Major Minor Band
Contact: Joan Minor
minorjoan@aol.com