Lyon: Crafting Connections in France’s Capital of Innovation

Lyon has made a name for itself as one of Europe’s top conference destinations, combining location, scientific excellence and a strong commitment to sustainability. With a tradition of hospitality, a diverse range of venues and a robust innovation incubator, the city has been making waves as a stage for association events, while also standing out for its collaborative approach to urban development.

Capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Lyon is a city that preserves a typically French art of living, combined with a centuries-old tradition of hospitality. As early as the 15th century, it became an important European trading hub due to its strategic location at the crossroads between northern and southern Europe. Its central geographical position is a major advantage for bringing together European participants, with optimised travel times thanks to high-speed TGV rail links and air service via Saint-Exupéry Airport. Lyon's reputation as a tourist destination is built on its world-renowned gastronomy and its architectural heritage, which spans 2,000 years of history and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "As a medium-sized city, everything is within walking distance. The city offers several venues for hosting events of different sizes. The Lyon Convention Centre stands out for its location between the Parc de la Tête d'Or and the Rhône River in the 6th arrondissement. It is a state-of-the-art facility, certified by the ISO 20121 standard for sustainable event management," says Valérie Ducaud, Managing Director at ONLYLYON Tourisme et Congrès.

Lyon is one of France's leading cities in the conference and events sector. With a diversified economy across several competitive clusters, a strong industrial base, and a high concentration of research centres, hospitals, universities and biotech companies, it has many assets that favour these sectors. “To attract association events, cities need to have local members,” she says. "Lyon is fertile ground in scientific and economic terms, which has allowed us to maintain second place in France in the ICCA ranking for years. Our priority sectors improve our economic activity and allow us to create synergies with the university. This is a great asset for creating scientific and medical content at a conference.” One of the innovation hubs is Lyonbiopôle, specialised in life sciences and biotechnology, which plays a particularly strong role in the field of association-led conferences. It accounts for more than half of the congresses organised in the region. “This sector has received special attention, as association events also serve to highlight advances in research, providing an opportunity to make certain content more accessible in order to share data with the general public and improve quality of life,” adds Ducaud.
 

Musée des Confluences © Quentin Lafont

In terms of urban transformation, major events required the expansion of Lyon Part-Dieu railway station, completed in 2025, to accommodate more passengers. The renovation of the airport with the creation of a new terminal, as well as the opening of new high-end hotels, were also part of this development. “We work with 150 local partners, including major event venues such as the Cité Centre de Congrès, the Eurexpo exhibition centre, the Halle Tony Garnier, universities, hotels, PCOs, restaurants and transport providers.” The hotel offering in metropolitan Lyon in 2024 was about 19,200 hotel rooms reaching almost 9.56 million in the metropolitan area. In 2023, the city of Lyon hosted around 220 events, an increase of 4.8% compared to the previous year. “We have developed a tool that allows us to launch hotel room tenders for large events. The tool compiles offers from each hotel, categorising them by type for a given event, quickly and efficiently. We also carried out a qualitative study with industry stakeholders (clients, hotels, venues) to better understand the purchasing behaviour of event attendees, as well as their expectations regarding the growing bleisure trend” adds Ducaud.

Since 2007, ONLYLYON has brought together thousands of local and international ambassadors to help promote Lyon in France and around the world through their activities. "We regularly organise events that bring together local members of international associations to get to know them better, as the timeline between bidding and hosting an event can be quite long. These gatherings create momentum among active local ambassadors and those aspiring to submit a bid," explains Ducaud. “These are small events held throughout the year, sometimes alongside cultural events such as the Nuits de Fourvière.” Once a year, the Lyon Metropole organises an evening event dedicated to local congress ambassadors to honour them for their involvement in their fields of expertise and for the recognition gained through the congress.
 

Convention Center © J.leone

The Lyon Metropolitan Area was the first French metropolitan authority to develop a sustainable tourism development plan, based on collaborative work that began in 2020 with industry stakeholders. “This development plan, which runs until 2026, sets out the strategic priorities for consolidating Lyon's position as a leading destination for responsible tourism in four main areas: strengthening a resilient and balanced destination; supporting tourism-related employment; accelerating the transition to more environmentally responsible practices; and ensuring inclusive, participatory and respectful tourism in both the leisure and business segments.” OnlyLyon Tourisme et Congrès has supported this transition by financing 80% of the costs of eco-certification for hotels to help them adopt sustainable practices. As a result, the DMO achieved the ISO 20121 certification in 2021, as did its main event venues. “Our Bureau has also created a guide to help event organisers plan events with a positive impact in Lyon. This document assists them in implementing concrete actions using local service providers who follow a responsible approach,” explains Ducaud. Thus, Lyon has risen to 8th place worldwide in the GDS-Index 2025 – the highest-ranked city in France this year.
 

"As a major economic hub focused on finance, life sciences, and chemicals, Lyon has the second largest capacity in France, after Paris, both in terms of venue size and hotel capacity."

In this regard, the role that business events and association conferences play in the flow of visitors to the French city is critical. "As a major economic centre focused on finance, life sciences, industry and chemicals, 65% of daily hotel rates come from business travellers. Lyon has the second largest capacity in France for hosting events, after Paris, both in terms of venue size and hotel capacity," she says. Between 15 and 20% of participants take advantage of these events to stay longer in the region. Lyon is less affected by seasonality compared to destinations more focused on leisure tourism, although there are peaks in activity from September to December and in spring until the end of July. In September 2024, Lyon hosted the 47th WorldSkills International Competition, whose mission was to showcase a wide range of professions through a contest aimed at participants under the age of 26 from around the world. “WorldSkills was a perfect case of an event that left its mark on our team and destination, as part of a national and local strategy. It was an opportunity to raise awareness among young people in the region and to give them a concrete overview of the career opportunities available in this sector as well.” Welcoming 1,500 competitors from 70 countries, WorldSkills Lyon was much more than a competition, leaving a lasting and tangible legacy by supporting long-term projects and initiatives.
 

Riverbank overlooking th Grand Hôtel Dieu ©Tristan Deschamps
 

On the other hand, Europe is currently experiencing a period of inflation that is impacting the sector, forcing customers to seek cost optimisation. Although these geopolitical tensions are not currently noticeable in this part of Europe, they remain a source of concern. “Given the time lag between submitting a proposal and actually holding a conference, the geopolitical context may change, putting decision-makers in a position that requires foresight. In this sense, associations need to be reassured and supported by host destinations on issues relating to participant safety,” asserts Ducaud. Furthermore, DMOs are increasingly using data-driven approaches to improve visitor experiences and facilitate the involvement of local communities. “We conducted a qualitative study with industry stakeholders (clients, hotels, venues) to better understand the purchasing behaviour of event participants, as well as their expectations regarding the growing trend of bleisure in recent years.’ This approach enabled it to improve its welcome package – including welcome and directional signage at strategic points throughout the city – with prior communication about local tourist and cultural offerings during the event dates. “The goal is to encourage participants to plan an extended stay before or after the conference,” she says.

Widely dissected by HQ, the EU CVB Network brings together a group of second-tier European cities based on a common foundation: destinations that were hosting the same conferences just a few years apart. Why shouldn't we share our knowledge and best practices on conferences?" asks Ducaud. Today, the alliance offers associations a portfolio of eclectic destinations, each offering personalised service and a wealth of shared expertise. “The Network is a great example of cooperation based on trust, sharing experiences and case studies. This will help us improve conference organisation, benefiting both member cities and associations,” she concludes.
 

Events in Lyon to keep an eye on:

• the International Mass Spectrometry Conference (IMSC) 2026;
• the International Congress of the European Academy of Paediatrics & the European Society for Paediatric Research (EAP-ESPR) 2026;
• the Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) Conference 2026 (check out the interview with the organising association in the latest HQ Magazine #123);
• the 7th World Congress of International Dermoscopy Society 2027;
• the European Social Science History Conference (ESSHC) 2027.

Published by Meeting Media Company, the publisher of Headquarters Magazine (HQ) – a leading international publication based in Brussels, serving the global MICE industry and association community.