From April 12 - 16, 2008, Lyon hosted the IDE (International Destination Expo). 1,200 tourism professionals from around the world came together at the Lyon Convention Center.

Following Prague (Czech Republic) in 2006 and Jeju (Korea) in 2007, the Lyon Convention Center hosted the International Destination Expo (IDE), a prestigious event organized by the ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents), the most powerful professional association of travel agents, with 20,000 members in 140 countries.

In partnership with all the regional institutions, the IDE offers travel agents a program of intensive training on the host destination. It enables them to get a real feel for the city and the region so that they can offer their clients original, high-quality products. This convention came just a few months before the re-opening of direct transatlantic service between Lyon and New York (on July 18, 2008) and made it possible to raise travel agents' awareness about the destination and to learn more about the American tourist market by meeting its key players and opinion leaders.

Thanks to this event, Lyon was in the spotlight for 5 days, and is expecting major positive knock-on effects on tourism.

© Pascal Muradian