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| Rimini and Riccione get ready to open their two new convention centres |
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Rimini’s, with a 4,700-seater plenary hall, and its Riccione counterpart, with a main hall seating 1,400, will both be operational in 2008. Two ultramodern venues that complement each other like the two Riviera towns, which, in addition to beaches and a long tradition of tourism, also boast excellent services for the events market.
 
Rimini, on the Adriatic coast, has been one of Italy’s leading conference destinations for over 20 years, mainly because of its impressive accommodation capacity: over a thousand hotels of all categories in a city of 120,000 inhabitants. Dating back to Roman times, it is surrounded by green hills and has 14 km of beach and coastal resorts. It combines the typical liveliness of seaside towns with a long fascinating history, and is set in a region rich in culture, beautiful landscapes and excellent food and wine.
The destination is very well prepared for large conferences, meetings and incentive events, chiefly thanks to the work of the Riviera di Rimini Convention Bureau, which coordinates the offer of its associates, monitors their quality standards and bids for international events.
The results are exemplary: in the first half of 2006, 3,636 events were registered (a rise of 8.89% on 2005), with 689,148 participants. Part of the town’s success is down to infrastructure: Rimini offers a large, modern fair district in Rimini Fiera, and its Palacongressi is the largest purpose-built convention centre in Italy. From 2008, it will be used as a music auditorium, and will pass on the baton to its successor, the Nuovo Palacongressi, now under construction: 42 rooms, the largest with 4,700 seats, a shell-shaped amphitheatre with a capacity of 1,400 and 4,000 sqm of exhibition space.
News from the hotel industry
As well as large-capacity venues, Rimini boasts a long-standing hotel industry that has been successfully modernised to meet the needs of the conference sector. New developments in this area abound: in 2006 two hotels made their debut on the market: the Club House Hotel and the Hotel Card.
Meanwhile, renovation work at the historic Grand Hotel Rimini, an icon of Rimini’s hotel industry immortalised by Federico Fellini in many of his films, will be completed in 2008, on the occasion of its centenary, while the National Hotel has recently opened Villa dei Gelsomini, an annex located 50 metres from the hotel with 12 deluxe and superior suites. There is more news at the Méridien Rimini, which now has two new meeting rooms and the Furakha spa, an area of over 400 sqm dedicated to relaxation and treatments.
In 2008 Albanesi Hotels will swell its ranks with a further two openings: the Grand Hotel Fiera, next to the Rimini trade fair, with 130 rooms, and the Hotel Touring, on the seafront, with indoor, heated swimming pool and spa area.
Outside Rimini, on the hills of Coriano, lies a truly extraordinary place: the San Patrignano Community, the largest and best known Italian community village for people with drug issues, where 1,200 people live and work. San Patrignano offers considerable space and services for conferences and outdoor events. Usually conference delegates eat with the members of the community in the large dining room as part of the experience, but from this year they can also pay a visit to the Locanda San Patrignano restaurant, whose menu is based on the community’s produce. |
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RIMINI AND RICCIONE AT A GLANCE
Number of Hotel Rooms
Rimini
5-star: 171 rooms,
4-star: 2,943 rooms,
3-star: 23,549 rooms
Riccione
5-star: 70 rooms,
4-star: 1,955 rooms,
3-star: 6,682 rooms
Airports
Rimini Airport
Seasonal flights (spring to fall) from: Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Goteborg, Hamburg, Hannover, Helsinki, Karlsruhe/Baden, Kracow, Luxemburg, Munich, Nottingham, Paris, Prague, Stuttgart, Vienna
Forlì Airport (57km)
Flights connecting the following European cities: Barcelona, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Moscow, Paris, St Petersburg
Ancona Airport (108km)
Flights connecting the following European cities Barcelona, Liverpool, London, Munich, Moscow, Paris
Bologna Airport (120km)
Flights connecting the following European cities: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, Cologne, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Lion, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Munich, Oporto, Paris, Prague, Stuttgart, Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw.
• HOTELS
• CONFERENCE AND EVENTS VENUES
• DMCs
Riviera di Rimini Convention Bureau |
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 Make contact
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 Riccione: everything within walking distance
Riccione lies a few kilometres from Rimini: this elegant seaside town is smaller, and everything is within walking distance. It has 450 hotels, 100 restaurants, around 1,000 shops and 250 bars, pubs and clubs spread along the beach and its wide tree-lined avenues. It is considered the more trendy option, and complements Rimini perfectly.
The Palariccione convention centre, located right in the centre, is now under construction, and will be open in 2008: with five modular conference halls, exhibition spaces and banqueting areas, it will be one of the most innovative in Italy, boasting photovoltaic panels, eco-friendly furnishings, and a new system of foldaway seats that turns a conference room into an exhibition space.
The Riccione Terme spa is also a popular attraction, with four thermal therapeutic swimming pools at different temperatures offering a wide range of treatments. Next to the spa stands the Palaterme conference centre, set in the Perle d’Acqua park, four hectares of garden, where an open-air spa with thermal pools, hydromassage baths, revitalising water treatments, beauty farm and performance arena is being built.
The town’s hotels are mainly in the 4-star category, generally have good conference spaces and are keen to develop events facilities: for example, the Atlantic Hotel (where the Atlantide spa was opened in 2006), through its own catering company, now offers exclusive use of the 17th century Villa des Vergers, the little Versailles in Rimini’s hinterland, in San Lorenzo in Correggiano, for receptions and gala dinners. Meanwhile, the Grand Hotel Des Bains, the only 5-star in Riccione, is building a new beauty farm. |
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The doors to the incentive market open
Traditionally considered a fair and conference destination, Rimini and its region are now becoming increasingly popular for incentive programmes, and Riminincentive.it is the first specialised DMC on the scene here. The activities it organises include: “Flying on the beach”, a kite-power course for groups; “We are all artists”, a day in the company of a sculptor to attempt to produce works of art; “Fishing for mackerel”, a fishing competition at sea.
DMC Riccione Congressi proposes golf clinics at Riviera Golf Resort, a truly elegant hotel with an 18-hole course in the hinterland a few kilometres from Riccione, and team-building activities (ghost hunt, murder mystery dinner, quintain jousting) organised at Palazzo Viviani, a medieval castle in the village of Montegridolfo, 26 km from Riccione.
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An adrenalin-fuelled ride
Those brave enough cannot resist: the Misano World Circuit, the race track about 30 km from Rimini, offers original incentive activities, and in the last few months has gained international prestige by being selected as one of the locations for the MotoGP 2007. The Misano World Circuit also organises tailor-made activities for corporate groups. “SpeedDrive Santamonica” is undoubtedly one of its most interesting, and gives participants the thrill of driving a single-seater car under the watchful eye of qualified instructors. Each driver, piloting a Formula Renault Campus, is provided with suitable clothing for a spin around the track.
A thrilling “Drifting Course” (controlling a car sliding at an angle) is also on offer, using the BMW M3, Series 3 and Minis of the company specialising in safe driving GuidarePilotare owned by Siegfried Stohr (psychologist, F1 driver and Italian F3 champion), which operates on various racetracks across the country. The initiative concludes with a go-kart race with a prize for the fastest driver. The programme, which lasts one and a half days, also includes hotel reservations and catering services.
July 2007
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