From Hildburg Bruns
Cannes can be nice. Hotel de Provence, second row from the beach, the Croisette. Berlin construction politicians and top officials have been staying here for years when they travel to the MIPIM real estate fair. Most recently for 833 euros/night. Are the business trips to the Côte d’Azur a scandal, as the left claims, or a compulsory program?
Overnight stays in Cannes cost 20,674 euros this year; in 2022 it was 16,483 euros. “We would like to have cheaper hotel prices and booking conditions,” says Martin Pallgen, spokesman for the Building Senate. “But in Cannes there are very rigid conditions during trade fair times. At the last trade fair, for example, we had to book six rooms for four nights to accommodate the delegation.” Incidentally, ten days is the lower limit at the Cannes Film Festival.
Sun, beach, palm trees – our head cinema immediately shows a holiday mood. “These are not pleasure trips, as is being politically suggested here,” says Pallgen, contradicting the criticism of the left, which is demanding that the state of Berlin fundamentally avoid real estate fairs. As a rule, 20,000 experts from 80 countries (planners, engineers, urban planners, brokers, city representatives, etc.) take part in MIPIM.
What happens at a trade fair stand? On the three days of the trade fair, senators and state secretaries take part in discussions and specialist panels, and top Berlin officials provide information to trade fair visitors. Pallgen: “We use trade fairs to provide information about important topics in Berlin’s urban development and special housing projects.”
In addition to the overnight stays, there are also the flights – for example 1,360 euros for the senator last year.
The second important real estate trade fair in Europe is currently taking place in Munich. The Expo Real. 15,600 euros have been earmarked for overnight stays for a Berlin delegation. The capital’s participation in the trade fair stand costs 75,398 euros. In Cannes it was 82,225 euros.