But that's all over now! If you want to win planners' and guests' hearts today, you need to focus on sustainability and green meetings, energy-efficient technology, green waste management and regional products.

Hence, the very latest edition of the GCB's customer magazine "meetings made in germany" focuses on green management projects, approaches and concepts of German hotels, convention centres and MICE organisers. From energy-efficient invitations through low-emission social programmes to climate-neutral travel from and to the venue. The message for event planners around the globe: MICE destination Germany is not just a pioneer of sustainability and conservation. All players between the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and Lake of Constance - hoteliers, convention centres, cities, organisers and even the German government - are making a concerted effort to save and protect the climate and environment both now and in future.

And the GCB German Convention Bureau also takes sustainability seriously: "For the first time we have printed our GCB customer magazine on FSC-certified paper. In addition, the entire production of the magazine is now climate-neutral with investments in a wind power project registered with the WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature) compensating for greenhouse emissions worth a total of 12 tons of carbon equivalents," says GCB Managing Director Lutz P. Vogt.

Another topic of the GCB customer magazine is "High Tech - Simply Fun". For this reason the informative expert reports, latest industry news and hot MICE tips in the latest GCB magazine are not just about rather serious ecological issues. MICE planners can also find out all about fun destination Germany - and that water is more than just a scarce resource or meeting drink.

Quite the opposite: The homeland of beautiful landscapes between the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Lake of Constance, between the Rhine and Main, Weser, Elbe and Moselle is a never-ending source of events with a water theme - from idyllic punting tours on the river Neckar through hair-raising mast-climbing sessions out at sea to a beach buggy tour along the Baltic Sea coast.

The GCB's customer magazine "meetings made in germany" will come out in late September and can be ordered as a free subscription - just like the monthly online newsletter with useful news from meetings destination Germany - on www.germany-meetings.com

The GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. markets Germany as a destination for conventions, meetings, events and incentives both on a national and international level, and is the place to contact for anybody planning an event in Germany. Its 250 members include leading hotels, convention centres and destinations, car hire firms, event agencies and service providers of the German meetings and conventions industry. Maritim Hotels and Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH are Preferred Partners of the GCB.