Lausanne Montreux Congress
Welcome to Lausanne & Montreux
In the heart of Europe, just 40 minutes from Geneva International Airport and its 150 direct flight routes from Europe’s main cities and intercontinental hubs, Lausanne and Montreux are two compact, thriving and cosmopolitan cities surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery at every turn: from snow-peaked Alps to the tranquillity of Lake Geneva and the UNESCO World Heritage vineyards of Lavaux.
Named one of the safest countries in the world by the Global Peace Index in 2019, Switzerland is open to the world as part of the Schengen area. The combination of reliable service, political stability and renowned efficiency guarantees the success of your event. In addition, Swiss prices are transparent and competitive, with the lowest VAT rate in Europe at 7.7% – taxes and services included.
On the shores of Lake Geneva and at the foot of the Alps, the region offers a rich choice of exclusive and diverse locations as well as many excursions by train, boat or on foot. The region organises great events throughout the year, such as the internationally acclaimed Montreux Jazz Festival or the Diamond League athletics meeting Athletissima.
Conference venues
Lausanne and Montreux offer a broad range of conference venues, many with large capacities as well as the latest high-tech, innovative facilities and services. Each has its distinctive characteristic: an elegant lounge, large auditoriums, a museum, a theatre hall or one of the most advanced convention centres in the world. Located either directly on the lake side, in the city centre, in a university campus or even within walking distance of 1,000 hotel rooms, each and every convention centre has its particular setting and style.
Accommodation
With a historic tradition of hospitality, it is no surprise that Lausanne and Montreux offer such a diverse range of accommodation options to welcome guests: everything from luxury 5-star hotels to a popular youth hostel. With over 6,000 rooms in the region to choose from, there is something to meet every visitor’s requirements. In the past few years, Lausanne’s and Montreux’s hoteliers have invested heavily to ensure their business customers are ideally served, with an abundance of conference rooms and accompanying high-tech facilities, designed to make every event truly memorable.
Sustainability
Since the 1990s, the cities of Lausanne and Montreux have demonstrated a strong commitment to respect the values of sustainability, respect for the environment and the individual. For proof, both cities have received several awards from the famous Energy City Gold Award. Lausanne Montreux Congress has decided to be in line with this strategy, which today serves both the destination and its professional visitors. In order to announce its sustainability strategy, LMC has selected the Global Destination Sustainability programme, the leading sustainability benchmarking and improvement programme for meetings and events destinations around the world. Our ranking for 2019 is 14th position worldwide.
Services
Lausanne Montreux Congress is a joint collaboration of confirmed experts in congress management. They ensure every event is an unforgettable experience for participants, run with clockwork efficiency. To maximize at its best the quality of services, LMC supports the clients in the whole event process and offers:
- Expert advice & feasibility studies
- Venue sourcing to match requests
- Preparation & support of the application file
- Bidding process management
- Organisation & hosting of inspection trips
- Management of registration & accommodation for participants
- Planning of transport & logistics
- Accreditation handling & on-site event management
- Administration of speakers & abstracts (submission, corrections & programming)
- Coordination of sponsors & exhibitors
- Organisation of social activities, events & excursions
- Management of finances & accounts
- Provision of promotional material
Lausanne Montreux Congress
Sustainable and innovative destination
Steeve Pasche
Director Lausanne Tourisme
Christoph Sturny
Director Montreux-Vevey Tourisme
In 2017, you created the Lausanne Montreux Congress (LMC) partnership between Lausanne Tourisme and Montreux Vevey Tourisme. What is the upshot today in terms of productivity and expansion ? Can you give us a few details ?
This approach allows us to be more competitive. The pooling of human and financial resources allows us to concentrate our efforts on the congress field by dedicating 100% of these resources to it.
Could you give us a brief overview of what makes LMC so attractive?
The Lausanne Montreux Congress structure allows the congress organiser (whether an association or an individual such as the professor) to benefit from a single contact from the beginning of the bidding process to the end of the event. This advantage allows us to be relatively reactive to last-minute requests, an increasingly common trend.
LMC also encompasses the strengths of two cities: Lausanne and Montreux, thus offering a more varied range of activities, accommodation and event infrastructures.
How did the year 2020 start for LMC? and what are the prospects for the current year?
The year 2020 has started very well, with some very fine bidding projects from 2021 to 2028 for the most distant ones. If we compare with previous years, we note a trend towards more and more last minute congresses for the current year. This requires more reactivity on our part but we are fortunate to have local partners who understand the congress model. Another strength of Lausanne Montreux Congress!
At the same time, we also support our local clients in the development of long-lasting conferences in Lausanne and Montreux.
LMC is ranked in the “Global Destination Sustainability” (GDS) index as one of the top 20 sustainable business destinations out of about 50 cities worldwide. By joining the GDS index, what is your commitment and strategy as well as your economic return on investment in this regard?
LMC’s sustainability ambition is to work in partnership with its key players in the region to ensure :
- a low environmental impact based on responsible consumption; a good and diversified transport infrastructure that is attractive to the public; committed local places, hoteliers and businesses and a wide range of activities in an exceptional natural environment (UNESCO heritage sites).
- a positive social impact by actively supporting quality education and a dynamic research environment by encouraging innovation, as well as promoting equality, culture, sport and well-being.
In order to achieve this, LMC bases itself on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDO) as well as on the strategy of local authorities (Climate Plan 2030 of the City of Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud). The return on investment is illustrated by :
- sustainable economic returns that guarantee customer satisfaction, support a dynamic local community and maintain a reliable infrastructure
- a growing demand for more responsible congresses and events
- recognition of Lausanne and Montreux as leading sustainable destinations