62 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 67GermanyBerlinSome 115,700 conventions, meetings and events took place last year in Germany's capital, Berlin, which is a two per cent increase year-on-year. These were attended by 9.7m delegates, which is seven per cent more than in 2010 and the number of room nights rose to 6m, a nine per cent increase. Visit Berlin says these numbers mean the convention industry generates more than a quarter of all hotel room nights in Berlin.By way of economic impact, ?1.8bn were generated last year by meeting and convention delegates visiting Berlin; a 10 per cent increase compared to the prior year. The meeting and convention industry secured 34,000 full-time jobs, an increase of 2,000 compared to 2010.Visit Berlin's CEO Burkhard Kieker says the convention industry is an important pillar of Berlin's business community. "We will continue to do our utmost to further strengthen the convention destination. "The BER airport is an important stage on Berlin's way towards a world metropolis in order to secure more international conventions for the German capital. New air connections will contribute towards turning Berlin into an even more successful meeting and convention destinations. "In order to be able to continue to grow, the number of possible event locations must likewise be increased. A new demand arises here," he adds. In 2011, the international percentage of congress participants amounted to 19 per cent. The number of national delegates rose to 81 per cent, a one per cent increase year-on-year. A particularly large number of meetings and conventions took place in Berlin for the pharmaceutical and commerce sectors, each accounting for 10 per cent.DusseldorfThe Congress Center Düsseldorf (CCD), which hosts 2,000 events and 400,000 visitors a year, is located in one of Germany's most important business and scientifi c hubs. Düsseldorf is second only to Frankfurt as Germany's major banking and fi nancial centre, with numerous international companies headquartered there, including 450 Japanese fi rms. Set on the banks of the Rhine and linked to Messe Düsseldorf exhibition centre, the venue, which is one of Germany's largest congress centres, is three kilometres from Germany's third largest airport and 5km from the Old Town. The complex can accommodate up to 15,000 delegates at one time.Upcoming events at the CCD include the International Rotating Equipment Conference for Pumps and Compressors for the second year in September 2012 and the Sports Business Summit in February 2013, also returning for another year.There are 300 hotels in Düsseldorf offering 23,000 hotel beds in the city and another 54,000 in the region. An alliance between Düsseldorf's hotels, the DüsseldorfCongress and Düsseldorf Marketing and Tourism, provides organisers of large-scale events with a contingent of hotel rooms that can be booked at fi rm prices, even years ahead of time.StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and is considered to be one of the most innovative metropolitan regions in Europe. Around 160,000 companies produce a gross domestic product of ?90bn, which corresponds to that of Finland. The region has an industrial reputation as the 'cradle of the automobile' with a long history in the automotive sector. This has helped it to win large conferences in this sector. Names like DaimlerChrysler, Porsche, Neoplan, Bosch, Mahle, Mann and Hummel, Behr, Beru, Eberspächer and Bertrandt have all had a long tradtion in Stuttgart and together with research and development companies invest more ?13 million here each day. This 10 per cent of the overall spend in all of Germany.The International Congress Center Stuttgart (ICS), with 9,500sqm of meeting space, opened its doors for business four years ago.Since its opening the centre has hosted such events as the CDU Federal Party Convention, the German Savings Bank Conference and the Forum of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Baden-Württemberg. At the end of January, the Auto Motor Und Sport magazine invited the who's who in the automotive industry to the award presentation ceremony for The Best Cars of 2012 at the ICS.conventions, meetings and events held in Berlin in 2011VISIT BERLIN115,700