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THINGS BEGIN AND END WITH PEOPLE Interview with Špela Terpin, Strategic Marketing Director at GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. INTERVIEW BY JASMINA JERANT PHOTO CREDIT GR, BLAŽ ZUPANČIČ
»By establishing the mixed company Dekon. si last year, together with our partner Dekon, we can now offer professional conference organiser (PCO) and destination management company (DMC) services.« Q: You have been working in the MICE part of the GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Congress Centre since its beginnings. In that time you have seen GR grow into one of the two most important congress centres in Slovenia. Could you describe the development of GR, or rather the steps that your team had to take to bring it to the top? Things begin and end with people. It began in such a way that we decided that part of the GR team would leave the trade fair team. To begin we offered just a limited range of services on the domestic market, mostly halls. Then we gradually enhanced our offer, we installed additional equipment, began to work with a network of quality partners so that, in line with our motto 'Everything is possible', we are able to offer our clients practically everything. By establishing the mixed company Dekon.si last year, together with our partner Dekon, we can now offer professional conference organiser (PCO) and destination management company (DMC) services. We are increasingly searching abroad for clients, especially in the market of associations and the corporate segment. Špela Terpin has been a part of the MICE team at the GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre (GR) since its beginnings. She has great knowledge of the industry and decades of direct insight into GR's meetings operations and marketing. She began her professional career working as an engineer in agronomy at the Ministry of Agriculture where she learned about the necessary strategies to reach agreements in the international arena, which equipped her with the necessary skills for her future work at GR. Her experience, skills and knowledge have contributed immeasurably to GR s decades of success, particularly in the last few years when the centre has widened its scope to include world-renowned exhibitions. On the grounds of her work, GR remains one of the biggest and most important convention centres in Slovenia that annually hosts half a million visitors.
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Q: 2018 is a record year for GR in terms of hosting large international meetings – there will be 12. How do you attract organisers to choose GR? What strategy do you use to convince them? A prerequisite for successfully marketing GR is the placement of Slovenia, and in particular Ljubljana, as a destination on the map of desirable congress destinations. In convincing clients, the most important element is trust – those who are in contact with potential clients must be competent. Positive references also play a large role in this business.
