Rome Debuts New Convention Bureau

Rome now has a convention bureau of its own, formed in conjunction with the surrounding Lazio region, the Roma & Lazio Convention Bureau aims to attract more meeting, incentive, convention and event (MICE) groups to the capital of Italy, and to assist group planners in organizing events. Services range from connecting planners with local partners including venues, destination management companies, and incentive houses to running familiarization trips and connecting planners with agencies from the city government and Italian Ministry of Culture that can help personalize events, gain access, and get questions answered quickly. And, of course, helping manage requests for proposals. The Roma & Lazio Convention Bureau has 117 members, including six major convention centres and venues, and 13 professional conference organizers, destination management companies and incentive houses, as well as 43 hotels of three- to five-star quality and 42 service providers, among others. In total, Rome has 1,014 hotels with nearly 50,000 rooms, including 170 four- and five-star properties with conference facilities that have a total of 70,600 seats. Add in the broader Lazio region and that’s nearly 2,000 hotels and almost 80,000 rooms.