July 2010 ENG by Go.Mice

10 The point and background of team building

42 Barometer of Congress prices in Slovenia and SE Europe

Regarding team building programs from a more profound point of view

Beograd cheapest, a congress in Zagreb or Bucharest is the most expensive. Maribor cheapest in Slovenia

Roman Vodeb, MSc

51 ICCA publishes a list of countries and cities by a number of meetings they hosted in 2009 ICCA

Editorial board of Kongres magazine

www.slovenia.info

SOUTHEAST EUROPE MEETINGS INDUSTRY MAGAZINE, VOLUME IV, ISSUE 3, JULY 2010 www.kongres-magazine.eu OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE SLOVENIAN CONVENTION BUREAU

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Contents

Our selection

5 7 8 10 12 13

A word from the editor Editorial Column: Dejan Križaj, MSc Column: Roman Vodeb, MSc Column: Tina Možina Column: Tomislav Dumančić

Page 10: In focus:

16 19 20 22 25 27 28 29

News: News from Slovenia News from Europe News from Slovenia Convention Bureau News from Serbia Convention Bureau News, Academy Conventa News, IMEX News, Photo session IMEX 2010 News, Apimedica & Apiquality 2010

30 32 34 36 38 40 42 46 48 50 51 52 54 56 57

Interview: Marin Rinčić In focus: Andrej Drapal Darja Brečko Poženel Uroš Čimžar Maruša Rosulnik Copenhagen Sustainable Meetings Protocol Barometer of Congress prices in Slovenia and SE Europe Rok Klančnik Statements & opinions Gastronomy: Prof. Janez Bogataj PhD Surveys: ICCA Horwath HTl IMEX Kongres magazine Agency presents: Dariva

59 63 65 66

Congress locations: Incentive locations Congress Ljubljana Congress travelogue: Belgrade Congress personality: Tone Matjašič

70 73

Examples & advice: Good practise examples Gadgets

78 81 83 87

PR: AIPC BTC, Rimini Čatež IT&CMA

90 94

The last word Meetings services spot

FIRST SOUTHEAST EUROPE MEETINGS INDUSTRY MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief: Gorazd Čad; Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief: Jan Klavora; Editorial Board: Renata Balažic, Gorazd Čad, Petra Čuk, Anuša Gaši, Miha Kovačič, Tina Možina, Srečo Peterlič, Tatjana Radovič, Darja Slivnjak, Mirjana Sušec, Maja Vidergar, Paul Kennedy; Design and AD: Andreja Martinc; DTP and prepress: Milana Veselinović; Translation: Nina Polak, Paul Kennedy; Proofreading: Metka Golčman; Printing: SCHWARZ d.o.o.; Circulation: 3000 copies; ISSN Number: 1855-8607 The Kongres magazine is entered into the media register under sequence number 1423. Magazine issued in: January; April; July; October; December

The point and background of team building Regarding team building programs from a more profound point of view Roman Vodeb, MSc

Page 32 In focus:

Branding of corporate events and incentive meetings Brands are actually stories Andrej Drapal

Page 42: In focus:

Barometer of Congress prices in Slovenia and SE Europe Beograd cheapest, a congress in Zagreb or Bucharest is the most expensive. Maribor cheapest in Slovenia Editorial board of Kongres magazine

Page 46: In focus:

Eyjafjallajökull How to handle the next volcanic eruption? Rok Klančnik

Page 51: Surveys:

ICCA publishes a list of countries and cities by a number of meetings they hosted in 2009 ICCA

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A word from the editor

Gorazd Čad

MEETING INDUSTRY SHRINES IMEX – a meeting industry holiday

very time I return from a large international exhibition, I arrive, full of new spiritual energy. Perhaps I am like a pilgrim returning from a pilgrimage. Visiting an exhibition is a ritual in its own right, with its own structural order, processes and a published system of events. It’s no coincidence, that the exhibitions are recurrent, thus creating a coherent community with positive personal and social relations. Some form of ritual accompanies most holidays – in this sense visiting the IMEX exhibition was a holiday of the meeting industry. On a holiday our homes are kept neat and tidy – and this is the way the exhibitors introduce themselves to their public. Day to day work of the industry slows down as the world prepares for a celebration. Few people in the world are really in tune with the exhibitions liturgy. The master Ray Bloom is one of the few in the know. His knowledge is about recognizing trends and finding solutions to the problems of the industry. Yet it is also about creating a community and finding the right way to address your

followers. When saying goodbye to every exhibitor at IMEX one by one, he proved once again he is one of the few, who understand the rituals of this industry to their core.

Incomprehension of the complexity of organizing an exhibition manifests itself in the frivolous criticizing of the events shortcomings. The times, when anyone could take up this business are over, along with the crisis. Room is left only for dedicated professionals, who understand the added value. The exhibitions will keep their importance in comparison to other marketing tools – in my opinion, the crisis will only strengthen it. I do expect however, to see some events, driven solely by desire for profit, to disappear

from the meeting industry map. Actual social responsibility of the meeting planners will be required. Instead of quantity of invited guests and exhibitors, their quality will be the deciding factor. Where and which exhibitions to attend after the crisis will be an important question in the future.

Churches of different religions have survived through the years due to their steadfastness and consistency. The same will be true for exhibitions. I for one will keep believing in exhibitions rituals with charismatic leaders, until we find a suitable virtual alternative, which will revolutionize the area of distribution. First virtual fairs already exist: www.virtualtradeshowhosting.com.

Editorial

and valuable employees. These are usually teams within the company or individuals who manage successful projects and are at the same time role models for other employees.

Borut Nikolaš

EXCELLENCE OF INCENTIVE PRODUCTS An all-day darts tournament does not yet make an incentive programme

t happens far too often, that after carrying out workshops, incentive programs or teambuilding trainings, I arrive at the same conclusion after talking to the clients. There are still far too many lousy providers out there, who misuse the terms incentive programs and team building, to make a quick profit and leave the cosumers high and dry. I still find it hard to accept some companies advertise themselves as incentive program organizers, but what they in fact offer are one day company trips with a few sports activities and a guided tour of Piran. The negative effect of not choosing a proper organizer is that the client companies don’t really see the benefits an actual incentive program can have to increase their competitiveness and productivity, but only see it as an additional expense.

When choosing the right organizer a client can boost morale and loyalty of its most valued employees, which will ensure a stable future for the company and long term improvement in quality which is a key element in customer and partner satisfaction.

We have to be aware that organizing an incentive program requires a large amount of experience, skill and flexibility. We must never neglect the importance of choosing the right location, which has to stand out in some way, yet also provide all the leisure the clients require. All the details of the program must be compliant with the client’s wishes and business objectives. Since they sometimes find it hard to decide which of the many world’s destinations to choose, we have to be there to understand their needs and requests and fulfil them all. We have found the element of positive surprise to be very useful, since it upgrades the quality of the program as a whole. We have to remember these are programs with a high added value and represent a reward for the most successful

Have you ever noticed how many companies advertise team building programs on their websites? Last year I called one of them out of curiosity and inquired what they recommended for a one day team building program. Their answer: “a whole day tournament in darts, which can be carried out anywhere they have dartboards. This will certainly strengthen friendly relations among employees.” I got chills when I heard firsthand what some people offer as team building. It was fairly obvious that the gentleman who gave me this information had no idea (and here he is not alone), that team building is first and foremost employee education where trust, communication, organisation and motivation within a team are strengthened through different techniques of team work and workshops. This leads to an analysis of team dynamics and individuals. Programs are devised into one-day or longer and are periodically repeated to achieve desired goals and to also measure the progress. After one day of playing darts you will certainly laugh at the suggestion that team building is useful and provides measurable data. With the right team building programs you will find it much easier to utilize the skills and potential of your employees. With the help of “practise to practise” models and FSNP (forming, storming, norming, performing), developed by Maya team as first in Slovenia, all the acquired knowledge during the training is successfully transferred to the work environment. The results can be used for a range of staff development and even succession planning purposes, as some of the personal attributes of your employees and teams may be overlooked in the everyday routine. Now that we are clear on how incentive or team building programs should be carried out we are but a step away from the level of excellence. The level, where our clients trust us completely because they are certain their objectives will be met and their staff will be satisfied, motivated and full of new energy, experience and ideas. How do we then achieve the level excellence of incentive products? I’m sure you’re aware there is no magic wand to help you with this issue, therefore we must combine all the elements of a quality incentive or team building program with professionalism, creativity and fun. Even though I’ve just mentioned fun at the very end of the article, it is and was the key element of all the high quality products, which satisfy even the most demanding costumers.

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Innovative treats of congress and Slovenian tourism Opportunities for upgrading congress and Slovenian tourism are numerous Dejan Križaj MSc

The process of innovating in tourism encompasses a number of small gradual changes and a few revolutionary shifts which have many times before redefined tourism and broadened its scope. One of those was Thomas Cook, one of the pioneers of organized tourism, who was the first to offer tourist packages in the 19th century. The end of the 20th century was marked by a new way of doing business in the air industry by EasyJet. Legoland is the first example of a park, where companies used tourist products to market their non-touristic brand and expand their business.

These are just a few examples of significant innovation, yet this is not the way change happens most of the time – sometimes, all it takes is a tiny affection and a bit of “cuddling” to steal a guest away from the competition, possibly forever. Innovations in congress tourism The meeting industry also holds numerous opportunities for a bit of innovative “cuddling”... A number of new opportunities arises from a gadget named Spotme (www.spotme.com), a tool its makes have whimsically dubbed »The Swiss Army Knife of Interactive Meeting Tools«. The device was briefly mentioned last year in the July issue of Kongres magazine and has been made since 2001. It truly enhances the interactive possibilities of business meetings.

The gadget is quite an achievement since it fulfils important needs of the organizers and participants of specialized meetings. The participants can make their own timetable of lectures and workshops they want to attend in the scope of the event and apply to them. The device also enables interactive lectures, where the participants can vote or answer survey questions, the results of which are then immediately displayed on the board. Since networking is an integral part of any meeting the devices enable the so called “human radar”, which finds and identifies individual participants according to the user’s specifications. The numbers are impressive: over 95% of participants use the device at least once during the event. In average a participant uses it 20 times a day. At one of the events of the Congrex Group the participants exchanged 9.200 messages, 940 electronic business cards, the “human radar” enabled contacts of 1.033 people. Another bunch of congress treats, waiting to be adapted to the Slovenian market, are the services of personal local business-tourist agents, who you can hire in Shanghai (www. atyourside.asia). The »modern geishas« are qualified translators, linguists and IT experts, who take care of the entire business and travel experience of the people who hire them. You could call the “local secretaries and tourist agents – in one person”. And another Asian invention from Singapore: the boutique hotel named Quincy (www. quincy.com.sg). It offers business travellers a wholesome business – tourist experience in the form of a neatly packaged “all-inclusive” deal. It starts with a free limo (equipped with wi-fi, of course) which picks the guest up at

the airport. The package also includes three meals a day, free cocktails from 6 to 8 p.m. and a free mini bar, refilled daily. The rooms are stylishly furbished and include office furniture, a lavish bedroom and bath, even laundry service is included in the deal. The price for this “all inclusive” package is a bit over 100€ per night. There are many innovations in the world which congress tourism in Slovenia can adopt and improve for its own market.

Innovations in Slovenian tourism Innovation in Slovenia tourism was seriously addressed for the first time in 2004, when the Sejalec tender was first published by the Slovenia Tourist Board (STB) for creative and innovative achievements in tourism. After two editions of the tender (in 2006) we started thinking how we can additionally improve Slovenian tourism. On the initiative of the author of this article the Slovenia Tourist Board, Turistica Faculty and the Directorate for Tourism at the Ministry of the Economy, the project Bank of Tourism Potentials of

Slovenia was started (www.BTPS.si). The portal of the Bank has since developed into an information centre for the development of Slovenian tourism. We use it to publish all the opportunities which can improve Slovenian tourism (they are also published on Facebook) and to connect individuals and institutions who want to make them happen. The project Bank of Tourism Potentials of Slovenia seems to be going in the right direction, since we received two important awards last year. The World Tourism Organisation (www.unwto.org) awarded the project the prize for special achievements in innovation in tourism Ulysses. The BTPS was also featured as a case for good practices on the portal of the European year of creativity and innovation in 2009 (create2009.europa.eu).

Both prizes gave new wind to the project so another tender named Snovalec was published last year. It is aimed at the realization of the best ideas published by the users of the Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portal, with a solid budget of 40.000 Euros provided yearly by the Directorate for Tourism.

The first four winning projects have already received their share of the prize money, so Slovenia will be richer for four new tourist novelties by the end of this year. Innovative trips round Slovenia The tenders Snovalec and Sejalec are complementary. Snovalec encourages new, unfulfilled and different tourist innovations. Sejalec rewards the already existing tourist innovations, which are not only new but also successful. The final phase of combining the results of the two tenders offered an outcome most useful for tourists. Even individual new and different tourist products can inspire tourists to visit certain parts of Slovenia for a day trip. To facilitate the search of those looking for innovative stories in Slovenian tourism we joined forces with the previous

winners of the Sejalec and Snovalec tender â&#x20AC;&#x201C; four tourist agencies and one tourist portal. We asked them to devise a series of packages, offering and innovative Slovenian experience, from the numerous awarded ideas and products. The packages offer trips from one to seven days, cost from 40 to 400 Euros and encompass several Slovenian regions. We are certain they will provide for a feeling of a wind of change, which will uncover the many new opportunities and treats Slovenian tourism still has to offer. At the Bank of Tourism Potentials of Slovenia www.BTPS.si, the packages are named Innovative trips round Slovenia (.inovativna slovenska potepanjA). You are invited to contribute your innovative ideas to the bank and if awarded also to the packages.

Column

The point and background of team building Regarding team building programs from a more profound point of view Roman Vodeb, MSc

Occupational psychology has not been known to use Freudian or psychoanalytical concepts till now. Yet since there have been some obvious glitches in the theory and the researchers of mobbing and burnout have wandered off in the wrong direction, some of us theoretical psychoanalysts felt obligated to offer our opinions. We intervened in the field of occupational psychology and altered some concepts, so things look different than some years ago. While mobbing and burnout have been pretty well defined so far, psychoanalysis pointed out some other key factors. Non selfconscious emotions at the workplace need to be addressed and researched, theoretical concepts have to be built. People from the USA and Western Europe, who introduced the concept of team building (TB) mostly don’t understand what it is really about.

Again it was up to psychoanalysts to step up and clear things up, since they can comprehend its point and theoretical background. The point of TB is mainly in non self-conscious psychic activity or non self conscious emotion of the participants, which is connected to childhood emotions. In intensely cooperating groups (or tandems) certain types of emotion occur, which have transferable characteristics. Freud completed a concept of so called transference, which is the precondition for psychic changes to occur

in psychotherapy (classic psychoanalysis), which can lead to curing or eliminating unwanted symptoms of patients. Similar transferable (symbolic) emotions occur in the workplace. A persons sentiments towards an “important other” in their childhood – mostly mother and father (also sisters, brothers), are repeated in the workplace towards superiors or subordinates. Such sentiments can be tricky. Negative sentiments (negative transfer) are always problematic – they are activated by mobbing (mostly from the “attacker”, also by “victims”). The positive transfer can potentially also cause problems especially in mixed gender tandems. Sexuality can cause issues in an otherwise well functioning team, due to the positive transfer of sentiments (but not necessarily). The advocates of TB and employers suggest such “therapies” will lead to more positive sentiments within the team and increase loyalty towards each other. Because of activities carried out in a team building exercise the collective would start feeling positive (transferred) sentiments. These can increase productivity and creativity of the team. All in all it should lead to an increase in profits and decrease of contra-productive sentiments, which can be transformed into positive ones through TB exercises. An employee, who feels good in a collective and likes to go to work, creates more output – in the sense of creativity and productivity. Activities and workshops encompassed in TB exercises are designed to makes sure co-workers start connecting more and feel positive sentiments towards each other. In layman’s terms – they get to know each other better. In the background of these positive sentiments (and in turn better trust and loyalty) there is the activation of certain emotional paradigms which reside in the

non self-consciousness and are connected with the childhood. TB cannot activate this process by “born loners”, who simply don’t have the required infantile predispositions. Yet many people do start connecting better and trusting each other through TB. To put in psychoanalytical terms – a transference happens. Workshops or activities of TB exercises are put together in a way which activates dispositions for transferable emotions. When returning to the workplace the participants see their co-workers in a different more positive way – a way unfamiliar to them before.

The ambition and concept of TB is enabling the coworkers to see each other in a positive and informal way. At work most are very official and professional. They don’t display powerful emotion. At work many people are in fact “playing themselves”. Therefore the coworkers can’t really feel them and don’t recognize them as people with deeper (positive) emotions. TB can influence these perceptions in a positive way. It is not mainly about motivating, however this is often the case, since the participants are thankful to their employer for the (expensive) workshops, and are consequentially more loyal. TB is also not about relaxation and pleasantness of which the employees don’t get enough at the workplace. The main goal of this concept or paradigm is activating transferable emotions – and this is what the providers of such workshops/activities are mostly unaware of (in many cases, neither are the employers). What they do know is that TB must be structured in a way to make the participants

feel pleasant and even feel adrenaline, when in fact the whole point of it is to break the monotony of demonstrating routine emotion. The participants are introduced to each other in a new way – a way which encourages different views and different (non self-conscious) emotion. When “equipped” with a different view of the co-workers they interact differently (better) at the workplace. The point of TB is to make sure people return full of positive energy towards the team and co-workers. This is exactly what the employer (client) truly wants – or better: should want. Some employers don’t really know about these advantages and don’t see the real point in TB activities. They commission TB workshops because they are modern and because everybody recommends it. They are unaware, however, of the scope of non selfconscious emotions and the role of the non self-consciousness in general. TB has its traps as well. It can also activate some negative sentiments – mainly in participants who oppose certain types of workshops/activities. Poorly selected workshops/activities can irritate some participants in way which will give a negative impression to their co-workers. This is not to berecommended. Some people successfully hide their “real self/Self” – or professionally: they compensate their (psychic and social) “patos”. TB should not encourage different decompensations which dwell right beneath the surface by some people. Similar decompensations occur by some people when drunk – some become totally different. By decompensating we don’t mean those who become “totally different” when drinking in a positive light, but those who turn negative – become aggressive, contentious and cranky. Awkwardly drafted workshops/activities can expose someone in a “totally different” negative light. In this case, the exercise will

not be in team building, but its destruction. TB activities can be used as “tricks” to relent certain business partners towards making important business decisions. This, however is not team building but a clever business move. The feeling of obligation or debt plays a key role when partners who benefited from and expensive TB program feel subconsciously obligated to agree to a certain level of cooperation. It can also be a certain luxury which partners participate in after already making the decision for cooperation. The non self-conscious background of such meetings is quite different than the ones where participants are co-workers. A team can be built in many ways. Expensive providers are always very original and

creative in their offers. Of course they are merely copying ideas already known for many years abroad. It has to be said that TB also encompasses a range of other activities: from company trips, group recreation, congresses, seminars, conferences and other educational events, to drinks after meetings and many more. All informal gatherings outside the workplace include some of the elements of TB. It is advisable, however, for someone to keep cognitive control over these gatherings and events. Psychoanalytically put – a “mind” should keep the emotions in check to make sure no unwanted mobbing occurs and to keep a certain level of mental supervision of any sexual contacts among superior and subordinate employees.

Column

Is there potentital for the regional incentive ideas? It’s not what we have, but what we can share

Tina Možina

I often find myself in situations where I fervently defend my belief, that the economic crisis period we are faced with, has brought us down to earth and in a positive way.

The recession, this hated, frequently used, sinister word, is losing it’sgrip and doesn’t scare today as much as it did yesterday. Optimists are certain everything is good for something. Our way of thinking has changed. Some material things, which can easily be lost, have lost their meaning. We now find comfort in things which are genuine and offer security, familiarity and love. It doesn’t matter what we have, but what we can share. Compassion has finally been awakened.

Money has lost its influence. Money no longer rules the world! A battered asymmetrical apple has become more wanted than a shiny, perfectly rounded and overly red one. What is of value today? The question is becoming increasingly difficult, since patterns change from individual to individual. What we do have in common today is to check twice before paying for anything. During shopping I’ve noticed lately the level of attention people pay to prices. I often hear questions and comments: “How much is it? Five Euros, they can’t be serious. For this?” The customers, realizing how important keeping a job is today and how hard it actually

is to make money, are becoming increasingly demanding in their role. They are getting harder to convince. The do not look for luxuries, they just want good value for money. Opinions differ, but I think the prices of hotel rooms will never again reach the levels they reached two or three years ago. As much as we, the tourist services providers, may crave it, we have been sobered up, whether we wanted it or not. The same goes for other services.

What we need is a new approach. We need stories. Romantic, whimsical, clever, interesting, thrilling stories. Stories, which we believe in and with which we can excite others. Stories, which are authentic, not fake – we have all grown tired of lies. A few months ago while reading the congress section of a newspaper I stumbled on an advertisement of a company marketing their services like this: “Organisation of business events, events marketing, motivational events, team building, business meetings, conferences, outdoor events, promotional events, incentive programs”. I’m not ashamed to admit that despite actively working in the field for over five years, I had trouble defining and distinguishing all of the mentioned terms. I feel we use far too many complicated terms, foreign words, designated to thrill. It is time to return to basics and approach things in a simple way. Is there room for regional incentive ideas? I hope my thoughts above offer a clear answer.

This region is full of wholesome stories. Not only is there room for them, they are necessary. I’m not claiming local stories are not important and don’t count, but we are not talking about quantity. We don’t need a bunch of unclear stories, we just need a few good ones. And those must be real, authentic, ours, which we believe in and with which we can convince others. As a child I was thrilled by Walt Disney stories. I can still vividly imagine the four large books, each a different colour: blue, red green and orange – like it was yesterday. My favourite was the blue one. If we believe in them the stories bring something very important. They give us confidence and fill us with pride. They make us happy and make us better people. This is what makes us better hosts. Hosts at a destination. And a good host is valued by ever single guest. A guest, who returns home satisfied, passes the stories on to his friends, acquaintances, who want to experience them for themselves. And a guest turns into a regular. The circle is full. The power of the story is proven once again.

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What do we need for a congress breakthrough in the region of Southeast Europe? We need a modern congress centre with large exhibition facilities equipped with modern multi-media accessories and with great flexibility Tomislav Dumančić

Over the last decade of intense investments into Croatia’s tourist sector, there have been significant improvements regarding the quality of accommodation and small meeting facilities, which no longer match the outdated perception within the regional tourist market which considered it as a budget tourist destination for many years. A large number of facilities has been elevated to a distinctive level of high quality matching international standards (4* and 5*) with parallel development of new amenities, namely wellness and other facilities, in order to enhance conference business development. In recent years, the MICE segment in the region has recorded relatively high growth putting Croatian congress tourism in the 41st place in the world, behind Slovenia, yet higher than other countries in the region – Serbia is ranked 55th and Bosnia and Herzegovina 81st. According to the index of ICCA for 2008 on the world ranking of congress destinations, our flagship destination Dubrovnik places at 153rd place while Belgrade is ranked 120th. Zagreb is 164th and Opatija way down at the 265th position.

Congress tourism represents only 4% of total arrivals, or alternately, only 1% of actual overnight stays in the total Croatian tourist product, which indicates welcoming potential for development in this segment.

The strongest incentive in continuing the growth of the MICE segment in the region would be the construction of modern congress centres. Currently, there are approximately eighty hotels with multifunctional halls of various capacities and degree of equipment in Croatia, about twenty in Montenegro, thirty in Serbia and ten in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nevertheless, these locations are still not up to standards required to hold the largest assemblies which have a capacity of a few thousand seating places for plenary conferences, along with a number of smaller meeting rooms. In many cities there are exhibition centres which have been renovated and adapted to hold events, yet the last of these was surprisingly built over forty years ago. In order to build new congress centres with large exhibition facilities equipped with modern multi-media accessories and with great flexibility, the general community needs to get involved and it has to be financed on the principle of Public Private Partnership. Additionally, an important condition for congress tourism development is good traffic infrastructure. With a fairly good network of international airports, Croatia also has a sound network of quality motorways, main roads and good connectivity to main European traffic routes which is crucial for regional congress events. In recent times, the economic crisis has negatively influenced the effect on the total demand for congress and incentive packages on the world market. Such a trend has an even bigger effect upon very attractive, exotic and mostly transoceanic destinations, which makes congress destinations in the region more attractive and price-competitive which presents new opportunities for business development.

Thanks to continuous investments of hoteliers into quality of services within congress tourism but also to infrastructural potential stated above, we can expect that Croatia and the whole region will record a substantial growth in this segment in the coming years. Finally, I would like to address the company I work for – Valamar Hotels & Resorts which, is developing in its coastal destinations (Dubrovnik, Istra, islands Krk and Pag) a rich supply of congress facilities, high quality accommodation, gastronomic and wellness amenities. Some of the essential conditions in order to develop the MICE segment in our company are: acquiring new knowledge and managerial skills, readiness to access the market share as well as strategic orientation towards accelerated expansion of congress packages. Along with last year’s opening of the largest modern equipped congress hotel, the Valamar Lacroma Dubrovnik, the company has recently also offered a part of its land in Dubrovnik to construct a modern congress centre through a Public Private Partnership.

The Global Meetings & Incentives Exhibition Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain

30 November â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2 December 2010 www.eibtm.com

Where The World Meets

16 News

News from Slovenia

Religious congress tourism surpasses all others in Slovenia Celje hosted the holly mass ceremonies of the Eucharist Congress, which gathered together 25.000 people. This proves the importance of religious congress tourism and what a market niche it could represent, since this was the largest one day congress in Slovenia this year. We are not yet aware of the opportunities in this field even though we have excellent religious locations such as Brezje, Ptujske Gore, Sveta gora over Solkan, the Stična monastery. We can only hope to benefit from those in the future.

A new hotel for Bioterme Bioterme Mala Nedelja are building a new four star hotel. First guest are expected in the middle of June 2010. Hotel Bioterme **** is a modern facility, which combines a modern hotel environment with freshness, a touch of nature and the heritage of our forefathers. www.bioterme.si

Want to know how milk turns into cheese and how life is like in the hills of the Soča (Isonzo) front? In the new museum of Creamery Planika you can now see the exhibition “From hill to Planika”, prepared by the Tolmin museum. It introduces the heritage of herding in the hills and the almost thousand year tradition of cheese making. With the new tour guide of the “Walks of peace” foundation you can explore the ditches and caverns of the Italian and Austro-Hungarian front line and discover the life and work in the hills nearby. www.potimiruvposocju.si

Heritage tourism – a new opportunity to develop quality services in Slovenia Faculty of Tourism Studies Portorož – Turistica in cooperation with Faculty of Humanities Koper and the Science and Research centre of University of Primorska presented a new masters program in the field of tourism – Heritage tourism, which is the first in Slovenia and fulfils a void in studies of tourism and heritage. The program develops opportunities for a new drive in Slovenian tourism, which will ensure the satisfaction of tourists, tourist services providers and the inhabitants. www.turistica.upr.si

Dravska vila sails on Drava for the first time The tourist boat Dravska vila sailed on the river Drava for the first time. During a pleasant voyage and an excellent view of Maribor the locals and tourists can enjoy coffee and sweets in the ship’s café. The boat sails everyday at 11am and 18pm, its journey takes you from the double bridge to Mariborski otok. The boat can also be hired, which includes a welcome drink and by additional payment also catering. The ship can host up to 80 people. www.maribor-pohorje.si

Tourist economy and tourism science together towards new challenges The year 2010 is full of challenges for global tourism due to the unfortunate economic crisis and natural disasters. The experts in the field have joined forces with tourist economists and are putting together a memorandum of the tourist development of Slovenia. It encompasses three main points: 1. Suggestions and visions for the development of tourism in Slovenia; 2. Recognizing the limitations and problems in their implementation; 3. Suggested solutions. www.turistica.si/downloads/gradivo10_2_(2).pdf

17 News

A vacation in Pirate bay This year the Indians of Terme Čatež were joined by pirates. These have stuck to water and built a settlement on water of over 20 floating houses. These are built on a lake, connected to the shore by a wooden bridge. The houses are built from natural materials and feel homely. Every house can host up to 5 people. www.terme-catez.si

fabrics and signature detailing that has always defined the architectural and interior Art Nouveau style of the Hotel Union. Amenities have been upgraded by including new flat wide screen televisions. www.gh-union.si

hosted it’s first guests for active holidays in Soča valley. Since launching they have successfully developed three different brands: Team Spirit, which organises and implements a variety of team-based and conference-based activities (incentive, team-building and team-bonding programmes, business events); Outdoor Centre, looks after the organisation of individual and group one-day adventure experiences (rafting, kayaking, canyoning, trekking, cycling ...) and Slovenia Experience, which provides active holidays in Slovenia for families and individuals. www.maya.si

Remote Site Catering – Moscow, Berlin, Helsinki, Belgrade, Madrid, Milan… Dimitrij Piciga, MSc named as director of Slovenian Tourist Board (STB) again In the offices of Slovenian Tourist Board (STB) on Dimčeva street 13 in Ljubljana a meeting of the board took place on May 31st. The members of the board led by Eva Štravs Podlogar chose Dimitry Piciga, MSc to resume his role as president. www.slovenia.info

In cooperation with the Slovene Tourist Organisation, the Jezeršek Culinary Catering has specialised in providing remote site catering services. After having provided culinary catering services at the prominent WTM London last year, the Jezeršek Culinary Catering participated at numerous presentations and promotions of Slovene tourism. With the development of modern catering technology, the distances of 100 - even 1,000 – kilometres are now perfectly accomplishable when it comes to providing culinary catering services. www.jezersek.com

New look after a century of tradition in service and quality Celebrating its 105th birthday this year, the Grand Hotel Union Executive will unveil the second phase of renovation of the 86 hotels superior rooms. The refurbishment was partially financed by the European Union (the European Regional Development Fund). The rooms have been given a new softness thanks to the use of subtle but high-quality

10th anniversary of Maya Team Maya team celebrated its 10th anniversary on 21st April 2010. Ten years ago, the Maya agency

GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre: A great place to make business After GR successfully hosted the largest Congress of the year in Slovenia, the 7th International Congress on Autoimmunity 2010, with 1,400 delegates, we proudly announce the 3rd International Forum on Aphitherapy and 2nd International Forum on Apiquality in October. The congress will attract 1,000 world experts, as well as Slovenian enthusiasts of the apiculture industry. www.gr-sejem.si

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Bohinj Park EKO Hotel awarded with prestigious Green Globe certificate Bohinj Park ECO Hotel has become the 1st ecological resort in Slovenia with the prestigious Green Globe certificate. "In an effort to avoid the travel industry's 'green washing' labels, we have become part of a program which is serious and reputable," said director Anže Čokl. The hotel not only represents one of Europe's most advanced ecological properties but also aims to set general foundations for sustainable development in Slovene tourism. www.bohinj-park-hotel.si

A new hotel in Rogaška Slatina

A new bike map of Obsotelje and Kozjansko

Rogaška Slatina is richer for another new hotel called Grand Slam ***. This unique hotel includes 4 indoor tennis courts and 6 more outside. The hotel is appropriate for team building exercises: it’s built on a peaceful location, surrounded by nature, cycling and hiking trails and a smaller ski slope. www.terme-rogaska.si

In the beginning of the cycling high season in May the Development agency Sotla from Šmarje pri Jelšah published a new bike map of Obsotelje and Kozjansko. “Tell me what you drive and I’ll tell you who you are” is a modernised version of an old Slovenian proverb. If your answer is “bicycle” you are probably healthier and environmentally conscious as well as invited to get to know the new cycling destination – Obsotelje and Kozjansko www.ra-sotla.si

UNIOR TOURISM CONTINUES TO INVEST IN TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE The most significant investment this year is planned in the spa, upgraded of Dobrava hotel. The spa will get 45 new rooms with 100 beds, expanded restaurant with 173 additional seats, new conference rooms in size 622 m2 and wellness area size 440 m2. Investment value is estimated at 10,9 mio €, of which 2,5 mio is obtained from the European Union. The construction will begin next month, its completion is sceduled for May 2011. www.terme-zrece.eu �1�0�0 �9�5 �7�5

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News from Europe

Valamar Lacroma in Dubrovnik is the pharmacist's choice The spring congress season at the hotel Valamar Lacroma in Dubrovnik began with the congresses of the pharmaceutical companies, held in Dubrovnik’s largest conference and spa hotel. In March, Cardiovascular Congress was held by the pharmaceutical company Abbott, while in April, it was the venue for the ADIT 2010 conference. Many important future conventions have also booked, such as Special Conference on Hepatocellular Carcinoma with 800 participants which will be held June. www.valamar.com

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reputation and legacy, operational excellence and efficiencies and ability to deliver a truly insightful DMC service beyond mere logistics and tactical delivery. MeetAdria DMC group operates successfully in Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro – also covering the complete coastline between Italy and Greece for shore excursions. www.meetadria.net

Rovinj and Maistra Host Microsoft WinDays The tenth Microsoft WinDays conference was held in Rovinj from 19th till 23rd April this year. The event took place in a unique corporate and congress venue of Maistra, a former tobacco factory conveniently located in the town centre. The most important business and technology conference in Croatia started right after the closing of the Weekend Media Festival, the region’s biggest meeting of communications experts.

Convention Bureau and former president of the in ICCA and the European Federatiopn of Congress Towns. Mutschlechner formally received his award on May 26th, at the award ceremony at the IMEX trade show in Frankfurt.

Football world cup 2010 will produce over 6 times as much carbon dioxide as the one in Germany 2006 The “mundial” in South African Republic will produce more carbon emissions than 1 million cars in a year. That is 2,57 million tons of CO2 or over 6 times more than the last world cup in Germany. The large amount of emissions was mainly influenced by a huge number of flights to SAR and the building of new infrastructure. We can clearly say that carbon emissions did not play a role in choosing the location of the world cup. www.euinfrastructure.com/article/carbonfootprint-of-world-cup-2010

www.maistra.com

MeetAdria DMC group from South East Europe has joined the world leading Global DMC network – Ovation Global. Ovation Global DMC is an international Destination Management Company with offices in 19 key destinations across four continents. In addition to the wholly owned offices, Ovation also has representation in 7 more destinations through its Strategic Partnerships and Alliances totalling some 26 locations Ovation Strategic Partners are, typically, the leading DMC in a destination and are selected by Ovation according to strict criteria including industry

Slovenia among the elite

Mr. Christian Mutschlechner awarded JMIC Unity Award The president of Joint Meeting Industry Council (JMIC) Leigh Harry has announced the winner of the 2010 JMIC Unity Award – Herr Christian Mutschlechner, the Director of the Vienna

The website www.tourism-review.com has published an article where Slovenia is mentioned among the elite destinations, such as: Abu Dhabi, South Africa, Beijing (China), Zaragoza (Spain), Baltimore (USA) and Brazil. The article stated: “Europe is a leader in the international associations market, and Eastern Europe has made significant strides in the business travel and meetings industry. Slovenia served as the EU Council Presidency from January to June 2008, and is emerging as a cost effective destination for smaller meetings that offers diverse experiences all within a short drive: the Alps, Mediterranean, wine country, historic towns and more”.

20 News

News from Slovenia Convention Bureau

Slovenia Convention Bureau elects new presidency of the Council On the 6th of May members of the Council of the Slovenia Convention Bureau convened in Drnča Mansion in Begunje na Gorenjskem, to elect a new president and deputy president of the Council for the period from 2010–2012. The members of the Council of the Slovenia Convention Bureau are: Renata Balažič (Grand Hotel Union d.d.), Karmen Novarlič (Slovenia turist board), Dušica Todorovič (Cankarjev dom d.d.), Gorazd Čad (Go®Mice d.o.o.), Boštjan Horjak (Liberty International d.o.o.), Tomaž Krušič (Demaco d.o.o.), Tina Možina (Kompas d.d.), Tatjana Radovič (Tourism Ljubljana) in Azra Botonjič (Slovenia Convention Bureau) as a representative of the employees. Six members of the council attended the election, three were absent. In the election the most votes for president went to Gorazd Čad from Go®Mice d.o.o.. In the vote for the deputy two members received the same number of votes in the first round Tina Možina (Kompas d.d.) and Boštjan Horjak (Liberty International d.o.o.). In the second round Tina Možina, director of Incoming, Kompas d.d. was unanimously named deputy of the president of the Council of the Slovenia Convention Bureau.

Convention Bureau successfully attends workshop in Spain The Slovenia Convention Bureau attended an organized workshop for corporate clients

from 22nd to 24th of April. The three day event included a two day workshop where providers of congress services had individual meetings with foreign invited guests from all over Europe. The workshop, organized by the Spanish agency ABC Events introduced 35 providers. Slovenia Convention Bureau presented Slovenia to twenty-eight potential clients, most of whom were not familiar with Slovenia, but were thrilled to see what it had to offer. The guests will be invited to attend Conventa to experience Slovenia first hand.

Workshop in Munich: huge interest for organizing events in Slovenia Slovenia Convention Bureau in cooperation with the Slovenia Tourist Board, marketing agency TMF and fourteen other members of the Bureau, organized a workshop for German meeting planners in Munich on April 14th. The event was held in Stromberg (www.holgerstromberg.de) a renowned location in the centre of Munich. The owner of the restaurant, the acclaimed chef Holger Stromberger is a recipient of a Michelin star, a frequent guest of German TV shows and the official chef of the German football team. Over thirty invited guests from event and travel agencies and businesses attended. The guest enjoyed the culinary wonders of Vivo catering and premium Slovenian wines from Klet Bistrica. The German guests also participated in a competition and two of them received excellent prizes donated by the Slovenian workshop participants: Grand Hotel Union, Tourism Ljubljana/ Convention Bureau and Bernardin Group. The German market is still very important for Slovenia as a congress and incentive destination. The connection of Ljubljana with Munich and Frankfurt through Adria Airways plays a key role. Through the workshop we established there is

a great interest to organize events in Slovenia. Some of the guest had already specific inquires for their events. It has definitely been proven such events establish the position of Slovenia as an incentive and congress destination for the German market. Only with continued presence and effective marketing will we maintain brand presence and strength in this important market.

The Convention Bureau attends workshop in Milan The Convention Bureau along with nine Slovenian tourism business representatives attended a workshop in Milan on Tuesday the 15th of June. The workshop was organized in cooperation with Ediman agency, which invited over forty clients. Our venue was different than usual, we chose Spazio Anniluce in the centre of the city. The Convention Bureau attended the workshop with Slovenia Tourist Board and seven other companies or bureaus from Slovenia: Ljubljana Tourism, Lifeclass, Bernardin Group, Hotel Mons, Hotel and congress centre Ljubljana, Grand Hotel Union, Hotel Lev and City Hotel Ljubljana. The Italian guest expressed a great interest for organizing events in Slovenia and we expect at least some of the inquiries to be realized. The Italian guests also participated in a competition and four of them received excellent prizes donated by the Slovenian workshop participants: Grand Hotel Union, Tourism Ljubljana/ Convention Bureau, Hotel Lev, City Hotel Ljubljana and Bernardin Group.

21 News

marks a 14 % increase in individual and group meetings, nearly 57.000 of which took place. What matters more than facts and figures is the positive atmosphere of the exhibition among buyers and exhibitors; the latter marked an increase in the number of meetings and realized deals. Obviously larger was the number of invited buyers from emerging destinations such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, there was also a high increase of buyers from Asia and the USA.

This year 65 % of the participants were foreign and have never before attended the SIW. In 2009 only 52% of new participants were recorded. The number of Slovenian participants also reached record levels.

IMEX 2010: over 290 foreign meeting planners visit the Slovenian stall Slovenia attended the global exhibition IMEX in Frankfurt between 25th and 27th of May. Despite the global financial crisis, the international meeting industry climate was quite positive, which could be felt at the exhibition among the service providers and clients. Slovenia was represented by the Slovenia Tourist Board, the Convention Bureau, Tourism Ljubljana and fourteen other companies. The Jezeršek Culinary House prepared a treat for the visitors of the stall and cans of the Slovenia energy drink were also passed out and well received. Contacts were established with over 290 congress services buyers. The partners had over 160 meetings and ten group presentations were also held. Over 290 foreign meeting planners visited our stall and expressed interest for cooperation. This reaffirms our belief Slovenia is getting more and more popular in the international meeting industry. The participants at the IMEX were: STB and Convention Bureau, Tourism Ljubljana, Adria Airways, Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre – GR, Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana, Grand Hotel Union, Hotel Habakuk, Hotel Lev, Hotel Mons, Hotel and congress centre Ljubljana, Life Class Hotels & Spa, Bernardin Group, Intours DMC, Kompas Slovenija, Gormice, Sava Hotels & Resorts. Despite the unfortunate economic climate the IMEX exhibition registered a record attendance this year. Over 3.800 invited buyers from sixty countries attended, the overall attendance this year was around 9.000. The exhibition statistic

Planned marketing activities of the Convention Bureau in cooperation with STB till end of 2010 - Strategic meeting of the Council of the Slovenia Convention Bureau – beginning of July. Exhibitions: - EIBTM, Barcelona, 30th of November – 2nd of December 2010, deadline: 5.9.2010; www.eibtm.com

Convention Bureau at SIW 2010 The 13th Slovenia Incoming Workshop (SIW) the largest annual tourism trade event in Slovenia, was held in Ljubljana from 3rd to 5th of June. The SIW had a special green motif this year – to encourage green vacations and services. This is one of the reasons it was held in Ljubljana – a junction of green nature and culture. The tourist offer of the country, which attracted the attention of renowned critics of green tourism, is linked with partners who know what the clients want. The organizer of SIW, Slovenia Tourist Board, has invited many new and up-and-coming clients, who will open up new opportunities.

Workshops abroad - Milano, Italy, 15th of June 2010, in cooperation with Ediman; www.ediman.it/chisiamo.asp - Great Britain, London, 8th of July 2010, in cooperation with Moulden Marketing. - Belgium, Brussels, 15th of September 2010.

22 News

News from Serbia Convention Bureau

“4 in-a-Row” foR BelgRade After a most successful organization of the 16th International Meeting of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology – ESGO boosting an audience of 1.900 delegates, Serbia’s and South East Europe biggest and best equipped congress centre Sava Centar has won the organization of the 21st European Maintenance Congress in 2010 (700 participants), 13th European AIDS Conference in 2011 (3.500), Heart Failure Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in 2012 (3.500) and 9th European Congress of Menopause in 2014 (2.000 participants). Visit the Sava Centar stand (number EO10), located between two main entrances.

seRBia hosted ihRa woRld congRess The 47th Annual Congress took place between 18th and 21st of January 2010, at the Continental Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia. This international congress has gathered more than 200 hotel representatives from around the world including owners, general managers and directors from the world best hotel chains as well as around 50 hotel representatives from the Balkan regions.

the open skies agReement to Boost seRBia’s image The Open Skies Agreement (ECAA) gives free access to the aviation markets of the 36 signatory countries. By signing this agreement Serbia is on a good path to boost its international meeting

market. Nestled in the heart of Europe, Serbia is a meeting point of civilizations. With over 250 flights zooming in and out of the city every week, Serbia’s cosmopolitan capital is more accessible than ever. Belgrade is a direct maximum twohour flight from over 40 major European ports and cities. With the announced cooperation of new air carriers and new direct flights, Serbia is now closer than ever.

BelgRade Rocks the night away Night falls in the capital of the former Yugoslavia, and music fills the air. Everywhere! Along the banks of the Danube and Sava rivers, serpentine chains of music-blasting "splavovi" the floating raft clubs, snake into the inky Balkan night. Fortified by huge meat-kebab dinners and Turkish coffees from Belgrade's myriad of cafes, crowds of night owls line up to listen to Gypsy bands, electronic mixes, rock 'n' roll, jazz and house music. New! Cool! Hot! Exotic! In the heart of Europe with every day direct flights from more than 40 capitals and ports around Europe, Belgrade represents the starting point for international incentive/meeting groups. The Lonely Planet Guide compiled a list of the world's top 10 party cities in its new “1000 Ultimate Experiences” guide. In competition with cities like Dubai, Buenos Aries and Cape Town, the guide declared Belgrade, Serbia’s capital as “The No 1 City to Party the Night Away”. With an energetic population and its legacy as an intellectual hangout, Belgrade offers varied nightlife, ranging from eclectic watering holes for those in the know, to the busy restaurants and bars of the Skadarlija district and the summer clubs in barges on the Sava and Danube Rivers.

“destination pRo” staRted in seRBia A joint initiative between Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) and European Cities Marketing (ECM) has resulted in the launch of “Destination Pro”, a professional development program for entry to senior level destination sales and marketing professionals. To receive the Destination Pro Diploma, an individual must be employed by an official DMO (CVB or Tourist Board) and successfully complete the ECM Summer Scholl and DMAI Destination Sales Training I & II. A Destination Pro certificate will be awarded only if the education is completed within a two year time frame. The first five “Destination Pro” certificates in the world were issued in Serbia with certificates being awarded to meeting professionals in Slovenia CVB, Serbia CVB, Opatija CVB, Vienna CVB, Brussels and Flanders CVB.

seRBia to launch the “amBassadoR pRogRam” Serbia Convention Bureau is starting its Ambassador Program. This program is being implemented to increase the awareness and importance of Serbia in the international association market through the network of Serbian professors, doctors and businessmen that are recognized in their international networks. Initiation of the Program is a vital step for introducing the Serbia as new destination to prospective international clients. Besides the aforementioned academic and business representatives, all key meeting industry stake holders, together with Serbia Convention Bureau and official ministries representatives are included in this successful puzzle.

News, Academy Conventa Knowledge as a precondition for success in the meeting industry Sign up for the next modules - you will not regret

Nowadays, knowledge is no longer a privilege but a necessity for development and success. Academy Conventa, therefore, offers opportunities to gain in depth knowledge and best practice examples in the field of the meeting industry. Its guideline is to share knowledge and experience that has been developed through years of tradition with those that will be shaping the future of the meeting industry tomorrow. Thus the Academy Conventa hosts lecturers with professional experience as well as those from educational institutions. Formal education has become a foundation without which development is no longer possible. But the characteristics of the meeting industry also require broader as well as more specific knowledge that the Academy Conventa offers. Srečo Peterlič opened the floor with the Basic Module intended for obtaining operational knowledge for effective management or work on congress projects. As Srečo Peterlič explained: »The participants gained basic information and knowledge on the meeting industry that

are prerequisite for all engaged in the meeting industry«. The participants appreciated gaining practical knowledge, not just theoretical background in the meeting industry. “Indeed I gained knowledge and advice that I can immediately put in practice,” said Špela Pipan of Sava Hotels Bled. Also Bernarda Karo of the Maribor Tourism Board was pleased with the basic training module since she “learnt a lot and is thus looking forward to the next module”. Other modules held were Marketing and Communication Modules led by Gorazd Čad of Go.Mice and Rok Klančnik of the Slovenian Tourism Board respectively. Forthcoming are the Destination Module by Miha Kovačič, Slovenian Convention Bureau, and Executive Module by Paul Kennedy, Kennedy Consulting. The former will regard mechanisms for implementing quality and meeting industry standards to destinations, while the latter strategic business development and marketing in the global meetings industry. For more information, visit www.academyconventa.com.

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+386 (0)4 259 45 55 events@adria.si www.adria-airways.com

News IMEX

News

A brief IMEX report

The IMEX worldwide meetings exhibition in Frankfurt ended on 27th of May 2010. I’ve been participating at the exhibition since its beginnings in 2003 and since then I have seen it become one of the key meeting places in the meetings industry. This is evident by the growing number of partners, since most of the important actors in the industry are always present. This year over 3.500 exhibitors from 150 countries met 3.800 invited guests and over 9.000 visitors. The point of the exhibition is organizing meetings between partners. This year 57.000 of such meetings took place, which is 14% more than the previous year. Many of the industry experts agree with me in saying that first impressions were not as promising as expected. We mostly missed exhibitors from our region, mainly Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the other hand, this year’s IMEX offered an excellent educational programmes and numerous accompanying events. Though, we didn’t witness any revolutionary innovations, the whole event was very positive in light of the expected end of the recession. This was also confirmed by the IMEX Politicians Forum, which comprised of 29 politicians and 65 leading meeting planners. The event was accompanied by other forums, such as the Future leaders’ forum, attended by the students of VGS Bled, a Women’s’ forum and the Tech Tap. This year’s exhibition was in part dominated by green stories, many exhibitors included sustainability principles as part of their marketing approach. Nevertheless, this was promoted also by the organizers, which failed to follow the principles in practise, other than partnering with The Green Meeting Industry Council and giving out green awards. The exhibition is mostly a platform for discussion, development and research in the area of sustainability in the meetings industry. The way towards a greener attitude of the exhibitors is still long, with some exceptions, like the award winning Swiss wooden booth. New business models and connections in the meetings industry remain the key issue. Practical solutions were still surrounded by mystery at the round tables, lectures and exhibitions. The last

word will as always belong to the invited buyers – meeting planners, who are the reasons we attend the exhibition in Frankfurt every year.

organizing the conference COP 15 along with VisitDenmark, Bella Center and other government agencies. www.webcast.cop15.dk

IMEX America’s step forward The preparations for IMEX America held in October 2011 in Las Vegas are going as planned. Many strategic partners have joined including MPI and one of the largest organizers of business and incentive travel programs Maritz. IMEX expects more than 80% of the invited buyers to be from the USA. www.imexamerica.com

First Austrian meetings statistic presented

NEWS FROM THIS YEARS IMEX Nik Račič receives the IMEX Academy Award The annual IMEX award for the area of Europe was awarded to Nik Račič, for his key role in developing the Croatian meetings industry. www.htz.hr

IMEX announces first socially responsible event IMEX has announced their first socially responsible event named IMEX Challenge Poland. A group of voluntaries will clean up an abandoned park near Warsaw on September 24th. www.imex-frankfurt.com/imexchallenge.html

Danish foreign ministry wins The Green meetings award The Danish ministry won the award for outstanding achievements in sustainably

Austrian congress bureau (ACB) and Austrian tourist office have presented a first ever Austrian statistic for the meetings industry. According to the data over 2000 scientific and professional meetings were held in Austria in 2009, 52% of which were national, 48% international. Over 50% of those were held in Vienna. Over 3000 corporate events were also held in 2009. www.acb.at

Sava Center Belgrade acquires important international meetings Sava Center, the largest congress centre in SE Europe has announced four new international events at IMEX: - 21st European Maintenance Congress, 2010 with over 700 participants; - 13th European AIDS Conference, 2011, 3.500 participants; - Hart Failure Congress – ESC, 2012, 3500 participants; - 9th European Congress of Menopause, 2014, 2000 participants. www.savacentar.net

28 News

Photo session IMEX 2010

Even though the venue is a fairground, this event is not intended for a usual fair-goer. The swarm and crowdedness in the aisles are accompanied by speed and conciseness of the conversations. Everyone is thrilled to meet their business partners, yet scurry away after a few short sentences. A world in small or a race of design innovations to attract the attention. The desire to attract attention sometimes overshadows the actual presentation of the qualities of a destination. An event where everyone is looking for â&#x20AC;&#x153;wowâ&#x20AC;?.

News, Apimedica & Apiquality 2010

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GO®MICE HELPS PRESERVE THE BEES

Helping Slovenia regain 100.000 lost bee swarms

In a flood of sustainable and green meetings campaigns only a few actions concretely contribute to decreasing the carbon footprint. The company GO®MICE took a professional approach with the start of a research project about a sustainable and responsible meetings industry, lead by early stage researcher Maruša Rosulnik. All communication and congress activities will be carried out with actual and measurable effects for the environment. The first of these initiatives is the campaign to Preserve the bees in cooperation with the Slovenia Beekeeper’s Association. In the area of meeting organization we are preparing for the largest congress in Slovenia – forum Apimedica & Apiquality 2010. While organizing the congress we were introduced to the problems of beekeepers. This year huge losses of bee swarms were recorded (23%). Biggest losses were noticed in the Coastal and

Karst region (41%) and Ljubljana region (37%), in the immediate surroundings of Ljubljana and its Western parts losses reached almost 50%. Most beekeepers lost their swarms in the winter. Why are bees of crucial importance for man? They pollinate up to 80% of all plants. No bees, no food, no life. Due to this pressing issue the agency and partners designed the campaign Preserve the bees in cooperation with the Beekeeper’s Association. It is based on simple facts and activities we can all perform to contribute to saving the bees. Some of these are planting trees and other plants, which provide lots of honey, helping with reforestation and taking care of forests and trees such as maple, pine trees and firs, limiting the use of pesticides in gardening, becoming a beekeeper, joining a local Association, helping the bees get access to clean water and actively contributing to the campaign.

Over 15 projects will be carried out within the scope of the campaign, signatures will be collected for the petition to preserve the bees and a number of educational and promotional events will take place. Traditional Honey days organized annually by the Beekeeper’s Association will take place during the Apimedica & Apiquality forum 2010. Exhibitions and fairs will take place in Ljubljana, Bled, Dolenjske Toplice, Lipica and Maribor, where the local beekeepers will introduce their products during the Beekeepers Festival. The festival will be accompanied by lectures and entertainment. The participants of the Forum will be able to feel the vibe and authenticity of Slovenian countryside.

Več na: www.ohranimo-cebele.si

30 Interview

Founder and CEO of Rina Travel, one of the leading Croatian agencies specialized in MICE. He graduated from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics, at the Department of Organization and Management. Today, Rina Travel & Events is an established company, which employs young professionals and has many regular customers.

Interview with Marin Rinčić

Interview

A discussion of the state of incentive tourism with one of the leading agencies, Rina Travel

1. - Can you please briefly introduce us with your company? What are your main activities, when did you start with incentive tourism, which are your main products… Rina Travel & Events is an agency specialized in MICE. We provide professional help in organizing business meetings, seminars, workshops, presentations, events, conferences and other business gatherings. The agency’s headquarters are in Zagreb but business is done throughout Croatia, especially on the coastline from Dubrovnik to Istria. 12 professionals are currently working to make sure every incentive, meeting and event is perfectly organized but in a seamless fashion. The roots of the company are in team building and incentives but nowadays these activities (and we have more than 70 to offer) make up less than half of our services to corporate clients. During our 10 years of being in the marketplace, we were encouraged by our clients to give out a full package – everything MICE stands for. 2. - What do you consider as incentive tourism? In this region team building and incentives are often thought as being the same thing, but we look at the incentive as being a reward tool and team building being a tool for enhancing and improving teamwork. Incentive tourism is a product of a constant corporate need of rewarding and motivating employees’ efforts, as well as complimenting the clients in order to retain successful collaboration. It’s a known fact that if you reward a person with a gift or a bonus the effect is shortly lived, but an exceptional journey to another country is surely much more memorable. 3. - The entire world is dealing with financial and economic crisis. How would you describe year 2009 compared with 2008 and 2010? Which sector of your business (incentive

programs, congress & meetings, events...) do you feel had the highest decline in revenue? Incentive programs were the first to be cut not just by companies in a position of laying people off but also by those companies which were in a good financial situation but just didn't want to be seen as the ones that are spending when the economic news are filled with pessimism from the markets. 2008 is remembered as extremely successful concerning the MICE segment that reached an all time peak in that year. 2009 on the other hand has been strongly influenced by the economic turmoil; In our case 55% decrease in customer demands to be exact. In 2010 we are seeing slow but constant growth, not so much within the Croatian and regional markets still badly affected by the crisis, but in the Western Europe.

our experience in the MICE sector we can say that we are recognized as a reliable partner by the corporate clients. This can be noticed in our list of references.

4. - How would you estimate Croatian Incentive tourism in SE Europe and how if you compare with all Europe? Are you follower or innovator?

7. - Into which direction do you think that incentive programs should develop? Where do you see your opportunity?

As for the SEE region, every country works with different elements and only the things that are in the top of its category, their strongest points bring in people. You have to work with what you've got and offer clients the entire experience. This being said there is not much room for followers; everybody has a different thing to offer. In comparison to the rest of Europe, Croatia has the potential of becoming the leading incentive destination in the region, due to its position, Mediterranean history and climate, and as some say the most beautiful coastline in Europe. 5. - Do you think you have a lot of competitors in Croatia? What about in SE Europe? A lot of agencies advertise themselves as being specialist for everything in tourism (MICE included) but true competitors are only a few. With 70 incentive activities to offer and

6. - Team building programs are getting more and more popular. Your main clients from team building programs come from which counties? Croatia takes the first place, followed by regional countries: Serbia, Slovenia and Bosnia. We get a lot of Scandinavian groups too, and lately the USA has become an important market. Increasingly it’s becoming tough to answer where your clients come from because in a conference or an incentive there are a few people from almost every country of the world.

Offering one of a kind experiences: the things that are best done in a certain region and those special elements that cannot be found anywhere else, that is the thing that everyone is looking for and also the best way to attract clients. Our mission is developing such programs, offering the best possible level of services. 8. - Which incentive program is the most popular in your company? Can you describe it in 100 words? Clear, warm sea and more than a thousand islands make Croatia a perfect place for sailing, yachting and enjoying sea activities. Croatia is definitely an ideal place for all those interested in experiencing rich history, manmade beauty and thrilling natural sights, yet unspoiled by mass-tourism. Mediterranean food and wine are known to be healthy and delicious at the same time. Combine these factors and you will get a good picture of what people like.

32 In focus

Branding of corporate events and incentive meetings Brands are actually stories

At it’s core the question of branding is actually simple , yet in practise we often get overrun by a load of important an unimportant questions, so we are eventually unable to see the forest for the trees. If we know brands are actually stories, which “organize themselves” around a certain person, organization, event or any other human activity, we have basically said it all.

Andrej Drapal, consultant and partner, has been working at Pristop since 1991, having previously led the theatre and film program in Cankarjev dom. Before that the editor of Radio Študent, editor of Tribuna...even before that philosopher and author. Author of the book »Kako stvari vznikajo« (Vale Novak, 2009) and author of the Standard model of branding®.

Most stories in this wild competition remained more localized, limited – yet no less successful in their segment. The lesson for our purposes here is that the way to universal victory leads over specific local ones. These are based on adopting the story to answers to questions of beings we are interested in. I use the word being on purpose, not to limit myself to determining factors of a common occupation or any other demographic characteristic.

We have now reached the question of the What we have said is we ambitions of branding? How wide do we want can count on a powerful to reach? This is not a question we should brand if we are able to ask because we consider some events to be smaller and not deserve the effort of branding, produce a relevant story around our event, meeting, and some larger that do. fair, congress,... a story Every single event is relevant to the public actually a brand of its we’re addressing. own. Problems occur This poses the question of who we are actually when an event manager trying to reach and what kind of world they overestimates the power live in. In case of corporate events we often of the sorry of the event delude ourselves “we are very familiar with itself; or when that power our core audiences”, since we often know the guests’ profession and interests which is underestimated. bring them to the event. We often think this is enough. Yet if the question of branding is in fact simple, it should still not be simply overlooked. Occupation, geographic location and other demographic characteristics such as age, gender, family income, do define a target audience to some point, yet not nearly well enough to enable the creation of a relevant story. Only a handful of stories can achieve what the “Little Red Riding Hood” did, by becoming a universal story of the Western civilization. Due to its power it gives the impression to be made for each and everyone.

The Olympic Games 2000 years ago had to be a powerful local event, which would have never developed if it were pumped with the ambitions of the Olympic Games in 2008. Events and brands grow (if they develop in accordance with their genetic predispositions) – and with growth they require more and more food and offer more in return. I assess most failures are based on underestimating this simple life fact. I’ve mentioned the genetic predisposition.

33 In focus

Every manager of an event should be aware of this predisposition and should have a detailed explanation of it in writing. Similarly as genetic codes of living beings are being recorded in microbiology. This is the only way events can be replicated and developed (mutated) by improving with each repetition, yet keeping their genetic code intact. Olympic Games are a good example of this idea – always the same in their core, yet different every four years. This brings us to the question many brand managers get wrong in the first place. How? How to communicate? How to promote? These are of course important questions, yet if we have never solved our primary problems and questions the only thing we will do is communicate and promote confusion. If we lack a story we will forcefully promote something empty nobody cares about, which will not be in our favour. If we “push” an irrelevant story the participants will easily forget it. If we claim something one year and something completely different the other, we will just waste our energy. And in the end we have reached what most people define as branding: image, names, corporate design, visuals, sound, smell of an event. Corporate design tends to be an important moment of truth for some brands, yet it is just one of the few. Its place is important, since it connects things in a unified way; it represents a point of identification of

sorts. Yet in reality it is only a point, powerless without its surroundings and all other truths of a brand. In the end we return to the beginning. Branding of corporate events, incentive events to a point also congresses and even fairs is mostly a question of the so called internal branding rather than outward positioning. Put simply: an event will sooner fail due to a lack of internal coordination, focus (brand), than dues to bad corporate design and advertising. All in all: most corporate and incentive events pose the question of co branding. An event is organized by a certain company or is legitimized by its brand. When an event is the carrier of its own brand the question of its relation to the brand of the organizer arises. A strong brand of the organizer spills some of its value onto the brand of the event, yet it should be considered what happens to the brand of the organizer when a slip occurs in the brand of the event, another overlooked, yet simple truth. Everything concerning branding is in fact basically simple. We sit on the stove and tell stories. And we’re aware there is no room for laptops, plastic shopping bags and quickfrozen foods on the stove.

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The role of design in the meeting industry

Foto: Franci Virant

Why meeting industry also requires good design?

Darja Brečko Poženel is a university graduated designer of visual communications and the winner of students Prešeren Award. She cooperated with renowned Slovenian design agencies for many years. For the last eight years she managed the image and visual communications for well-known Slovenian companies, such as RTV Slovenia, Mercator – Pekarne Grosuplje, and other smaller ones. She is the art editor of the magazine Oddih and cooperates in many tourist projects. More recently she’s been lecturing at the Academy of Design in Ljubljana, course Visual communications.

Where is the first place we notice design promoting meetings and events? In the advertised invitations to the event, of course – online, print, e-mail and mail. The invitation usually consists of a “header” – the corporate design of the event – and then basic information about when and where the event will take place. Sounds simple, sounds familiar. But can the invitation be convincing enough so our core audience will believe our promise of a once in a lifetime event they can’t afford to miss? Will it raise interest? Of course we want a good response to our invitation and ensure large attendance. At the same time we want all of the applications prepared for the event to be attractive and convincing for the participants. In the best case scenario they would remember all printed applications, which usually cost us a lot. All of this is possible and can be realized if we know how to draft the visual communication of an event, starting with corporate design. Other than the theme of the event we have to establish who our key audiences are when planning the design. Are they experts of a specific filed or are they off different occupations? There is a totally different visual language recognized by the pharmaceutical industry in comparison to beekeepers, a group of ministers for technology or tourist experts. The narrower the group the easier we plan the visual language of our message.

This is what design is all about – forming a message which our core audiences will understand and notice immediately. In the case of meeting industry we are mostly addressing experts in specific fields and have to adapt to their needs. Is there a second chance for a first impression? You have probably heard this proverb many times and have experienced it firsthand. In the world of professionals – potential clients and partners, our presentation is of crucial

importance. Missed opportunities are that much more painful since the reputation of the whole company or organization can suffer. Also, fixing mistakes and bad impressions takes far too long. And you certainly don’t have that much additional time. Therefore, a good visual program is of crucial importance, since it will establish recognisability with our key audience. How do we achieve that?

A symbol or logo of our event has to clearly and unambiguously associate the theme of the event at a symbolic level. The symbols must consist of clear and simple shapes – the more complicated it is and the more elements it includes, less clear and recognizable it will be. If we take a look at some of the most beautiful and recognizable symbols in the world, such as the familiar sign of Mercedes, we can clearly see the answer to this question. Considering the content of the event the choice of colours, typography and composition is very important. All of this impacts the persuasiveness of our corporate design and of our first official ambassador, responsible for creating a first impression – the invitation. Planed and consistent corporate design establishes trust and reputation How much would you trust an organizer when you received a dingy piece of paper, where all of the information is screaming one over the other and the colours match those of a flyer from your local discount store? You would probably check twice before deciding to attend the event. When designing an image and applications the grading of information is very important as well. You’ve probably been faced with a dilemma of how to sort the information, since all of it is so important.

35 In focus

You have to place the name of your organization, possibly the name of the partners, name of the conference, location, date, another important sponsor and three smaller ones. Sure you can leave out the smallest sponsors, yet what do you do with important ones, not to offend anyone and still give the participants an idea of the contents? This is where a designer comes in and creates a wholesome product using gradation and composition. This is the only way you will achieve an impression of professionalism. And what is professionalism other than making sure you are reliable, serious, professional and punctual. This is exactly what your business partners want to hear from you.

It is also important all the materials are styled and designed in the same manner and that they immediately give the impression of coming from under the same roof. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably not necessary to point out how important the quality of printed materials is. Just remember the feeling of holding a neatly designed, beautifully printed brochure on gorgeous paper, so you find it hard to throw it away. This is the level you want to achieve, yet it is mostly too expensive. Not necessarily. A good designer knows the way to use simple methods to achieve these goals. Well thought out visual communication strongly influences the impact of out messages. Therefore, it is our professional duty to make sure of that and enable our future reputation and business success.

April 25-26, 2010 in Brdo, Slovenia

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Website tests Why detest when we can test?

Designing websites should not be left to coincidence. When faced with this task we often start with goals the page or website needs to achieve. When these are set we need to think about the means of achieving them. This is where things get interesting.

Uroš Čimžar is the director of Web agency Klaro, which developed from a company established by him and his classmates during their studies at the Faculty of Computer and Information science. Uroš is an expert in information architecture; he studies the different aspects of the web. He always follows technological and creative innovations offered by the internet.

There is rarely only one way of achieving a certain goal. When we start designing a website at Klaro agency, we establish a project team comprised of individuals with different skills and outlook. Everyone contributes their ideas. Certainly the number of possible solutions gets reduced through discussion and previous experience, yet three or four feasible solutions for one goal can remain. So, which one to choose? Before tempers start getting out of control we can suggest a different method of choosing: testing.

What to test? Theoretically all of the elements of a website could be improved by testing: content organization or information architecture, design, texts, applications and functions and the combination of all of the above. Testing is most common by landing pages, sites selling products or services. Visitors are invited to them through different means – online advertisements, website optimisation et cetera. All of the above requires sizable investment so it matters how successful the landing page is in turning visitors into buyers. Sometimes even the slightest change in design, arrangement of elements on the site or in text can dramatically influence the sales results. We have seen cases where sales went up 40% because of small changes, which is a huge effect. In practise testing all the aspects of a website would be too time-consuming and costly, so we have to make a few decisions at the start. Firstly, we have to decide which goals are important enough to require testing. We select an appropriate method of testing and evaluate its precision. When planning a test we mind the costs: if we are testing a site which sells individual products, we start the

37 In focus

in our experience the data is reliable. If we do testing we quickly get interested in what the main attraction of our site is. To this end we could carry out complicated and expensive tests, where eye movements of an individual are tracked with a special camera. Yet if we test different sites at the same time and require quick results we can use a clever shortcut. AttentionWizard is a simulator of camera testing which uses a large amount of data to assess how the glance of our visitors would move through the site and what would attract their attention. test with one product and then apply the most successful solution to all others. If these are similar products with the same or similar key audience, we will probably not be wrong.

How to test? Choosing a method of testing depends on the goal we are following and partly also on tools at our disposal. If our task is to select the form and design of a landing page, which will lead the visitors to buying the product, we can do the following: we design two different landing pages and publish them online. The sites differ in one crucial property, such as: colour, images, parts of the text or location of elements. Visitors are brought to both pages with the help of ads on Google. The ad for both sites is identical. After the test, we measure the result in the form of submitted orders or buys. With analytical tools such as Google Website Optimizer, Google Analytics and CrazyEgg, we are able to monitor the behaviour of visitors on both pages – where

do they click, how long do they stay on the page et cetera. We make sure the same person does not come across both variations of the page. This can be done by using cookies saved by the browser, which lead the user to the same page each time. This is how we decide on one variations of the site. The chosen site probably also has room for improvement. So we set up another version of the page, let’s call it the challenger, which is different from the chosen one in one detail. We repeat the process of testing and keep the winner. This cycle is repeated until our landing page reaches the goal we set at the beginning in content and if possible in numbers. The described method is called the A – B or bi-variation testing. Multi-variation testing also exists, where a several properties are tested at the same time. What can help us? We have mentioned the analytic tools from Google Analytics and CrazyEgg. Both are accessible on the web for free and require basic knowledge. Google Analytics is an extensive system for tracking website visits, which tell us how visitors come to our site, how long they stay there and what they do. The tool can be modified to fit our needs and set other criteria of measurement. Google Analytics is activated by including a tracking code in the code of the website, which means we require the proper access. CrazyEgg also offers different types of data and it’s advantage is the clear display of clicks on each individual site. It’s simple to use and

The decision to test can bring numerous advantages. We just need to be careful not to get trapped in a vicious cycle of trying to find the perfect version – while our web presence is neglected and should be filled with a working website or an online store. The beauty of internet is that even the already published sites can be improved and adopted every day.

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Emerging destinations and their determinant factors in the incentive travel industry Changes in the environment demand the organizers and individuals constantly adapt to change

Incentive travel is considered to be a powerful tool for rewarding and motivating participants to attain exceptional levels of achievement in their places of work or education. Like other segments in the tourism industry, incentive travel is highly vulnerable to environmental change that could affect the businesses in the near future. It is understood that managers’ perception of environmental change influences to a large extent the formulation and implementation of business strategies. A study of Xiang and Formica (2007) examines how managers in the incentive travel industry perceive environmental change and accordingly formulate business strategies. Using the cognitive mapping technique, managers’ perceptions of their competitive environment and important strategic issues related to incentive travel businesses were identified.

Maruša Rosulnik, early stage researcher at Go. Mice, congress and marketing agency, assistant at Anton Melik Geographical institute, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, doctor level student in the area of sustainable congress destinations and contributor to the Challenge Europe project.

The following aggregate maps were created to represent managers’ perceptions of strategic business issues. The first map illustrates executives’ perceptions of emerging incentive travel destinations. Emerging destinations refers to those that are becoming popular incentive travel destinations for the US market. These are Asia, Caribbean, Latin America and Mediterranean, including the Balkan region.

The incentive travel executives identified the region of South East Europe as an emerging destination gaining popularity and attracting incentive travellers. The region presents a growing competition to the existing destinations such as Hawaii,

Cancun, and Tahiti. The attractiveness of emerging destinations is perceived as determined by a number of factors, including travel budget, security issues, demand of group travel and hotel infrastructure. The level of service and technology development also determines whether a destination can attract incentive travellers. Travel budget and security issues are becoming increasingly important for destinations given the political and economic changes in recent years. The second map represents the decision makers’ perceptions of environmental trends that impact incentive travel businesses. The map can be roughly partitioned into three layers. The outmost layer represents incentive travel businesses’ remote environments, such as economic/political, socio-cultural, new management and technological environments. The middle layer shows the consequences or impact of these forces, while the centre includes nodes representing issues related to the operational environment of incentive travel businesses such as corporate spending, new customer and managerial changes. As an economic force, economic downturn leads to less corporate profit, more interference and pressure from stockholders and the press, more government mandate and corporate self-regulation, which cause less corporate spending on incentive travel. Ability to travel and demographic changes are identified as two major socio-cultural forces which lead to globalization of travel, the emergence of savvy travellers, diversity of society and more women in the workforce, all of which contribute to the emergence of new customers in a sequential order. Information technology is the force in the technological environment that causes lower labour cost, higher ease of transaction and provides more information channels for incentive travel businesses. The new management force

39 In focus

Determinant factors Terrorism

Security

International programs Corporate executives

Group travel

Politics

Budget

Hotel infrastructure

Facilities

Fitness Indoor pool

Access to business Deluxe

Business facilities

Service

Technology

Wireless Internet

Destinations

France South Africa

Potential destinations

Emerging destinations

Latin America

Balkan

Asia

Bali

SARS

Hawaii

Multinational companies

Vietnam

Epidemic Diseases

Bird flu

Demand

Business opportunities

China

Cuba

Business potential

Amenities

Caribbean

Bahamas Lack of knowledge

Mediterranean

Cruise access

Negative perceptions

Cancun

Political pressure

Tahiti

compete with

Existing Destinations

is-property-of is-part-of

cultural, technological and new management environments are considered more important than those in the ecological environment, which was not mentioned at all throughout the discussion. Furthermore, decision makers tend to focus on the issues that would have an immediate impact on their businesses, such as how to satisfy the needs of new customers, how to cope with the cut-down in corporate spending and how to handle managerial changes.

leads to issues such as difficulties in decision making and communications and ultimately requires managerial changes. The map indicates that some of these environmental trends are interrelated and overlapping. For example, the decrease in the cost of travel by air (an economic trend) boosts individuals’ ability to travel (a sociocultural change), which in turn, leads to the globalization of travel and the emergence of savvy travellers. Trends in the economic, political, socio-

Most of the identified environmental trends

are largely seen as a threat by decision makers. Except for information technology, other concepts such as corporate spending, diversity of travel need, difficulties in decision making and communications, are often framed as problems. As one manager commented: “You have a nanosecond to provide pricing and quotes to a person who has nothing to do with travel but perhaps will make those decisions…”. Indeed, paced environmental change requires organizations and individuals to continuously adapt to forces that drive change.

Economic/Political

Economic downturn

New management +

Government mandate

Press interference

Corporate self + regulation

Stock holder + interference

Corporate profit

Competitiveness of pricing

Corporate spending

Managerial changes

Difficulties in + decision making

Labor cost -

Difficulties of communication

Low quality of information

Technological

Competitors

Clients

Perceived commoditization of incentive travel Demographic change of clien base

Socio cultural Web / Email / Mobile

Means to provide information + increase - decrease

Lack of information about suppliers

Incetive travel business

Pressure on product delivery

Commitment to destinations

Cost of ground transport

Ease of transaction

Client/ customer expectations

New costumers +

Globalisation of travel

Savvy travelers

Diversity of society

Women in + workforce

Ability to travel

Demographic changes

40 In focus

Copenhagen Sustainable Meetings Protocol A contribution to a greener meetings world

Lars Blicher-Hansen has over three decades of experience in congress and meetings organisation and marketing. He now acts as an independent consultant, building on his experiences as Market Director for Business Tourism at VisitDenmark, Managing Director of the Danish Convention Bureau, Deputy Director of the Danish Hotel Industry Association and Chief Information Officer at the Bella Center in Copenhagen. www.blicher-hansen.dk – lars@ blicher-hansen.dk

In December 2009 over 33,000 people participated in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, COP15 (Conference of the Parties). For over two years the hosts and venue invested great amounts of time, energy and money into delivering an event of the highest possible level of sustainability. It was not the most environmentally friendly conference ever seen, but it demonstrated how a large, complex event can be organised in a more sustainable and strategic way to create benefit for the organisers, for the participants and for the environment.

In order to capture and share the experiences gained in preparing Copenhagen for COP15, a coalition of seven organisations came together to create a documentation, called the Copenhagen Sustainable Meetings Protocol (CSMP). The protocol builds not only on the COP15 experiences, but also on Denmark’s strong traditions and leadership in creating sustainable solutions and communities. During the period up to the COP 15 mega event, I was working for the national tourism and meetings organisation VisitDenmark and succeeded in establishing a “Task Force for Green Hosting of the COP 15” with several key partners, including the national hotel & restaurant association and the organizations that finally formed the coalition behind the protocol. We all shared a common vision for a more sustainable, responsible and ethical meeting marketplace, and we found the UN conference simply a unique opportunity to join forces to capture, share and improve on the learnings and experiences in preparing Copenhagen for COP15.

The objective was two-fold: - Contribute to accelerating the transformation of the global meetings industry through sustainability; - Further enhance Copenhagen and Denmark’s position as a prime host destination for sustainable meetings. Despite the disappointing political results of the COP 15 in Copenhagen December 2009, we feel today that we are very much on the track to actually achieving both goals.

It is of course important, that international meeting industry media like Kongres Magazine are helping by spreading the word about CSMP as a new tool which is at free disposal for all planners worldwide and can support the efforts in making their meetings and conferences more green and responsible. The task force and the coalition represented a wide ranging team of key stakeholders within the meetings industry: - The Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the logistical organiser of COP15); - Bella Center (the venue of COP15); - VisitDenmark; - Wonderful Copenhagen Convention & Visitors Bureau; - The City of Copenhagen; - MCI Copenhagen (professional congress organiser); - Novo Nordisk A/S (large corporate event planner). The protocol was written on behalf of the above stakeholders by the international expert Guy Bigwood, Head of MCI Sustainable Services.

41 In focus

It offers a flexible umbrella framework that can be used to organise large, complex meetings in a more sustainable way. It does not provide detailed checklists, but the protocol showcases best practice and leadership thinking, so that experienced event professionals can see how a systematic strategic approach to sustainable event management, using internationally recognised standards, can deliver long-term business results. The CSMP will not only help corporate, government or association event organisers, but also consultants and managers of

venues and large hotels. It is designed to be used in conjunction with The COP15 Event Sustainability Report which provides in-depth details of the COP15 sustainability approach, initiatives and performance. With clear examples and specific measured data, the COP15 Event Sustainability Report sets a new standard for the meetings industry. The event management system behind the organisation of COP15 was certified by Danish Standards according to the international event management standard BS8901. This standard is also the target for the Olympic Games in 2012 in London and is expected to be raised to an ISO level within the next few years. The CSMP and the COP15 Report will be presented to the UN with a recommendation that future UN meetings be developed along the guidelines laid out in Copenhagen. Copies of the Copenhagen Sustainable Meetings Protocol and its corollary document, the COP15 Event Sustainability Report, can be downloaded from www.csmp.dk.

42 In focus

Barometer of Congress prices in Slovenia and SE Europe

Beograd cheapest, a congress in Zagreb or Bucharest is the most expensive. Maribor cheapest in Slovenia.

The editorial board of Kongres magazine decided to establish a barometer of congress prices for Slovenia and some cities across SE Europe. We asked the most popular provider of congress capacities at a certain location to prepare a price for a hypothetical meeting of an association, taking place in the high season in September 2011. The barometer included nine locations. To compare the results we prepared a standardized form. The price of the congress was split in two parts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the congress itself and the accommodation.

The research showed the cheapest congress destination is Belgrade; the most expensive are Zagreb and Bucharest. Most Slovenian providers are in the golden middle. More information about individual suppliers can be found below.

The price of the congress part includes hiring a conference room for 100 people and: - Cinema set up of chairs in the room; - 2 coffee brakes including coffee, tea, water, juice and pastry; - 1 lunch break (cold and hot snacks) - The conference room should have LCD, a sound system and a present technician. The accommodation part includes a bed and breakfast in a 4 star hotel.

City

Price of congress part (EUR)

Surface of conference hall (m2)

Distance from int. airport Price of accommodation (km) (EUR)

Belgrade

2.300

250

Sofia

3.350

275

Dubrovnik

3.900

225

125

Maribor

3.950

230

100

Bled

4.220

283

116

PortoroĹž

4.700

145

125

Ljubljana

5.500

250

140

Zagreb

5.500

286

145

Bucharest

6.320

535

180

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PORTOROŽ

MARIBOR

LJUBLJANA

Congress part:

Daylight in conference hall

yes

Daylight in conference hall

yes

Free parking for participants

yes

Free parking for participants

yes

Free parking for participants

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers)

yes

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers)

yes

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers)

Area of conference hall Distance from international airport

145 m² 250 m²

Area of conference hall Distance from international airport

65 km

Area of conference hall

230 m²

Distance from international airport

60 km

no 250 m² 25 km

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 4.700 EUR.

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 3.950 EUR.

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 5.500 EUR.

Accommodation part:

Free wi-fi in rooms

yes

Free wi-fi in rooms

yes

Swimming pool

yes

Swimming pool

yes

Swimming pool

yes

Fitnes

yes

Fitnes

yes

Saunas

yes

Saunas

yes

Golf

Other: free entry to Casino Bernardin, free wi-fi in the lobby. 4* hotel

4* hotel

The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 100 EUR.

The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 140 EUR.

www.maribor-pohorje.si – Jurij Pivka

Tourist organisation of Portorož

The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 125 EUR.

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DUBROVNIK

BELGRADE

SOFIA

Congress part:

Daylight in conference hall

yes

Daylight in conference hall

yes

Daylight in conference hall

yes

Free parking for participants

yes

Free parking for participants

yes

Free parking for participants

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers)

yes

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers)

yes

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers)

yes

Area of conference hall Distance from international airport

225 m² 22 km

Area of conference hall Distance from international airport

250 m² 20 km

Area of conference hall Distance from international airport

275 m² 12 km

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 3.900 EUR.

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 2.300 EUR.

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 3.350 EUR.

Accommodation part:

Free wi-fi in rooms

yes

Free wi-fi in rooms

yes

Swimming pool

yes

Swimming pool

yes

Fitnes

yes

Fitnes

yes

Saunas

yes

Saunas

yes

Golf

4* hotel

Other: casino 4* hotel

The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 125 EUR.

The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 85 EUR.

The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 60 EUR.

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BUCHAREST

ZAGREB

BLED

Congress part:

Congress part: yes

Daylight in conference hall

yes

Free parking for participants

yes

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers)

yes

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers)

Daylight in conference hall

yes

Daylight in conference hall

Free parking for participants

no yes

Free wi-fi in the hall (for speakers) Area of conference hall Distance from international airport

535,2 m² 20 km

Area of conference hall Distance from international airport

286 m² 17 km

Area of conference hall Distance from international airport

283 m² 30 km

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 6.320 EUR.

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 5.500 EUR.

The price (VAT included) should include all the above mentioned requests and a congress hall for 100 participants. The price for organizing a meeting of this size is 4.220 EUR.

Accommodation part:

Free wi-fi in rooms

yes

Free wi-fi in rooms

yes

Free wi-fi in rooms

Swimming pool

yes

Swimming pool

yes

Fitnes

yes

Fitnes

yes

Fitnes

Saunas

yes

Saunas

yes

Golf

yes

5* hotel The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 180 EUR.

Other: welcome glass of champagne, access to the spa centre 4* hotel The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 145 EUR.

4* hotel The price should include the abovementioned request along with VAT. The price is 116 EUR.

46 In focus

Eyjafjallajökull How to handle the next volcanic eruption?

Rok Klančnik

Could you imagine a more complicated and unpronounceable title of an article? No. You couldn’t – yet, this word, this Icelandic volcano, which has been spewing ash since the middle of April and grounding aircraft, encompasses the whole message of newly discovered knowledge on crisis management in (Slovenian and international) tourism. Just as described in the book published by our publishing house a few months ago. A negative event or occurrence in the age of “new normality” can happen any time anywhere. If it happens in Iceland, we might feel it in let’s say....the Slovenian town of Olimje. We have to expect the unexpected. It’s true: nothing may surprise us, as we used to say in the times of the bitter red regime. The ash eruption of Icelandic volcano (Eyjafjallajökull lies 25 km from Katla, a more powerful volcano. Every eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in the years 920, 1612 and 1821 was followed by an even stronger one from Katla), has caused the grounding of aircraft all over Europe and even Slovenia. It’s true – we’re not guilty of anything, yet this crisis in air travel has affected us as well. To be realistic, the Slovenian meeting industry was affected first, because April and May are ideal months for business meetings, much less so for vacations. Who is to blame? Eyjafjallajökull, the only volcano with its own fan club on Facebook. Not one, but three. No one can be blamed for the eruption of a volcano. Remember there are two types of negative events in tourism: those caused by man (terrorism, arrogance or accidents), and those referred to as “vis maior”, higher power or even as the act of god. This eruption is of course counted as the latter. Yet the quarrels in the European air market were caused by people. We have to understand that even our small national air carrier Adria Airways suffered over one million Euro in losses –

imagine the losses accounted by the gigantic Lufthansa.

Airplanes are like hotel rooms – the most expensive ones are empty ones. A plane unable to fly is a luxury no air carrier can afford. Opinions on whether a plane could fly through volcanic ash are of course very different. While airports and air controllers claimed no human life should put at risk (planes should stay grounded) the airlines and their representative IATA were furious. Giovanni Bisignani, who has been running the Geneva airlines association for eight years, told the BBC that what happened was a ‘complete disaster’. The situation was worse in the UK, since British Airways uncovered evidence that volcanic ash would not harm the planes. The thousands of tourist, and congress delegates had no access to this data. They have lost a lot of money, time and nerves. So did many hotels, including receptionists, waiters, taxi drivers, along with many guests. A lot of materials printed for congresses in April or May will go to waste. Who will pay the damages? Apparently, we’ll have to ourselves. So what do we do if Eyjafjallajökull keeps spewing ash? Or if his larger brother Katla gets the hiccups as well? There are thousands of possible scenarios. It might be a good idea to sit and write them all down with a nice glass of wine in hand. The book “Crisis management” will not solve the crisis, yet it will provide useful advice on how to behave in such cases. We are certainly not going to Iceland to try to put out the raging volcano; we will rather grab the bull by its horns.

47 In focus

Since the largest number of foreigners is brought here by Adria Airways it deserves our full attention and cooperation. We have to acknowledge our business partners also have serious issues and costs with the cancellations of flights. Keep regular contact with them, if possible pay them a visit and try to negotiate the rescheduling of a conference, meeting, incentive trip. In short – we need to focus on two main tasks: a) Crisis communication before, during and

after the crisis of the air industry (keep contact with Adria Airways and other airlines, communicate with other meeting planners and tourist groups, also with agents who can transport the guests by ground); b) Internal en external responses to the crisis: internal are mostly fresh organization solutions and updating the work processes, the external is focusing on markets which are accessible without air travel. Considering the latter – let us remind the Slovenian government once again we need to hurry with the modernization of the Slovenian railways. A normal high speed train (TGV, InterCity) could reach Ljubljana from Amsterdam in six instead of twenty hours.

The boy who cried “wolf”! A long time ago a boy from an Indian village cried “wolf, wolf!” each night. The villagers took to their arms and came to his defence only to realize he was dreaming. Eventually they stopped coming altogether. One morning they found him murdered by wolves. So, it might be a better idea to keep the planes on the ground than to risk an accident like the one near Smolensk where the Polish president was killed. The very first scenarios of crisis management came from none other than airlines. Let us conclude with some borrowed Brecht: “The book is an excellent instrument against the crisis in tourism, do read it sometime”.

48 In focus

Statements & opinions

We asked the clients who commissioned team buildings activities, how to get the most out of an incentive program. These are the answers we got: Drago Cotar, president of the board of Zavarovalnica Maribor At the Insurance company Maribor one of our long term goals is creating an inclusive business culture, which enables the employees of the company to feel well at their workplace and do their job with joy and quality. A culture which inspires employees for team work and enables cooperation in creating the visions of ZM and their own personal missions. This is achieved through annual interviews, internal communication and a special emphasis on personal communication of the management also through forms of team building. We have been increasing affiliation with the company and employee loyalty through different workshops as well as trade and strategic conferences. We have tested many different methods of cooperation through games or in the form of “secret friends” along with group problem solving aimed at testing the limits of trust through creative brain storming. We have found the team building programs to open up new insights for the employees as well as for management. Carefully choosing your team building providers is of crucial importance – you need someone who can encourage and build the right values and team spirit with a high level of competence.

Tamara Valenčič, , director of corporate marketing and employee relations at Si.mobil Si.mobil ascribes great importance to the building of quality relations among coworkers and straightforward communications. We expect the strengthening of team spirit and better communication between coworkers from different divisions, from such team building exercises. A quality incentive program usually leads to better problem and conflict recognition and resolution and better understanding of expectations for different positions within the company. At the same time the events make it easier to uncover individual sources of motivation. Such meeting outside the workplace should make the employees more zealous and more willing to discuss possible issues. Past experience suggest such activities lead to different results as a simple conversation in the workplace. A manager addressing issues in a different environment is able to find out more about their background. These programs are most successful when held outdoors and under professional supervision. Quality of services and meeting the needs of the employees and the company are of crucial importance.

www.simobil.si

We asked the organizers of team buildings activities, how to get the most out of an incentive program. These are the answers we got: Maya team Incentive or motivational events are firstly a reward for teams within the company or individuals who manage successful projects and are at the same time role models for other teams and employees. When choosing the right organizer a client can boost morale and loyalty of its most valued employees, which will ensure a stable future for the company and long term improvement in quality, which is a key element in customer and partner satisfaction. Such programs are aimed at companies and corporations well aware of the importance of their employees and the value of their commitment and knowledge. The Maya team is well aware incentives should not be solely a reward, but an encouragement of innovativeness and loyalty. Therefore, our incentive programs comprise of education, natural and cultural heritage, sports and gastronomy, typical for the chosen location. We want to achieve a level of motivation for future work in form of team work, which is fun and relaxing, with interesting and different programs. With the emphasis on communication, trust and organizing the teams all of our programs have an added value and ensure our customers keep returning every year.

www.team-building.si www.ZavarovalnicaMaribor.si

49 In focus

LIFETREK Events An incentive meeting is not merely a business transaction – it is expression, creativity, physical dynamics. Each event is planned with a specific story in mind, which increases memorability. Our programs are ‘built on the belief that creativity pays’, that is why we accentuate the development of ideas and strengthen the level of new experience. A well prepared motivational program does not cost much more than a poorly planned one. Yet the end effect of a good program is motivation, zeal, drive, happiness and surprise. These are the consequences we “bend over backwards” to achieve. What we provide are answers to questions of making an efficient, dynamic and thrilling program. A happy and motivated participant is the highest guarantee of our success. At Lifetrek Events we keep in touch with global trends so we are able to provide fresh scenarios and develop unique stories. And a little secret at the end: though we think and feel throughout the whole course of the program, the actual effects can be seen after the end.

http://www.spiritowin.com/en/

end is pure satisfaction which leads to new dimensions of cooperation.

KorenSports www.koren-sports.si

Rina travel & Events The first and the most important step is to, through dialog and advice from our side, decide on one or a few possible destinations. That makes the next step a lot easier, and that is finding the adequate DMC. The best thing you can do is to let the agency know everything about the group; what kind of event is it, your wishes and expectations and as much details as possible. If you are satisfied with your choice of DMC leave it to them to create the best possible solution there is. It is smart to give information on the budget, for that is the way we as a professional can recommend the best value for money. That way you avoid offers that are not in the expected price range. It is important to trust the experience of an agency like Rina Travel & Events: over 800 incentive programs tailored and preformed. We know how to create memorable experiences and a successful incentive that will benefit the group and the corporation.

but try them out. Our company carries out over 100 different programs; most of them are still further adapted to the needs of the clients. This is exactly what every organization should take into account when deciding to carry out a team building or incentive program – that the program is tailor-made. We feel incentive programs are most effective when they intertwine with the local surroundings – be it history, geography, ethnology, ecology or local legends. This is what adds a new level to the programs. The clients should ask for advice which programs to choose to meet their needs and which locations will be most appropriate to carry it out. This can include a simple theme bike tour through Slovenian Istria or an extreme alpine venture into the Alps. You can choose a romantic experience on ferries in Prekmurje or a wild caving adventure in Notranjska. Maybe a technological treasure hunt with GSM phones in Ljubljana is more appropriate, or an Eco program in Bled. There should be no limits regarding content and location even if we have to go across the borders of Slovenia. Such programs can entertain from 10 to 1000 participants. You should not only ask for the execution of the program from you team building agency, you should also request advice and guidance in preparing a program, entangled in the local environment and carried out by certified professionals.

KOREN SPORTS d.o.o. – Humanfish Holidays Experience the emotion, team spirit, motivation, informal communication – all of these are factors we take into account when organizing top level outdoor events. Koren Sports organizes professionally led outdoor events, full of pure energy, emotion and once in a lifetime experiences, for companies aware of the importance of motivating employees, partners and clients. All of the above will increase recognisability and reputation of the company and informally connect all of the participants. What we are left with in the

www.tba.si

www.rinatravel.com

Teambuilding Akademija If you want the incentive program to have the biggest possible effect on the participants they should not only see some attractions,

50 In focus

Meetings and local cultural environments Allow the participants to experience the local environment

Prof. Janez Bogataj, PhD

In the search for new content and new approaches in organizing meetings we often don’t even think about the amount of strain it puts on the participants. The congress hall is a sort of enclosure for the participants, since it encompasses program, content, timetable, transportation, food et cetera.

Even though the theme of most meetings is their content and professional contacts, every participant probably wants to get to know some of the things outside the congress hall. With that I mean more than just classic pre and after congress events, which have become a somewhat outdated form considering the economic circumstances. This is where the questions of what the local environment can actually offer our guests and how to connect the participants with local specialties arise. Do we put enough effort and alternative ideas into offering something more than the enclosed congress hall and gala dinner or reception at the same venue? It is not surprising some participants are put in a bad mood after returning home and answering questions about the location with: we never left the conference hall, all I saw was the way to the airport and back, they only took us on a short bus trip, etc. The basic point in developing a full congress experience, which is connected to the local cultural environment, is in creating a path between the theme of a meeting, congress or conference and the possibilities the local environment has to offer. Of course not by

following the principle of general tourist brochures and visiting museums, cultural monuments, restaurants and so on. Other than specialized participants who might be interested in a certain exhibition, there is no need to bring all of the guests to the same museum/gallery. When planning a meeting, specialized visits to museums or galleries should be prepared. The establishments should prepare a unique visit, putting the emphasis only on things or artefacts connected with their profession or interest. There are many options in the local gastronomy, which has to be truly local and not stereotypical as it can be in certain specialized restaurants in Ljubljana. Local gastronomy can offer excellent stories through the food and can introduce the way of life in a certain place, their everyday and their heritage. The catering can often be completely informal – such as when visiting the Ljubljana market or castle. The culinary house Jezeršek has excellent experience with both, since they are the first in Slovenia to start such activities. Other cultural areas and local creativities also provide alternative options. These are concerts of local children in schools, concerts in non-traditional environments (parks, botanic gardens), performances by kindergarten children, puppet shows about the theme of the congress, etc. The participants can receive small gifts from the area of local arts and crafts. The significance of such gifts is far greater if the guest can visit the workshops of local artists and get to know their work in a primary environment. The price of such a gift is completely irrelevant since the personal contact with its author, natural materials and the authenticity of the work place mean so much more. None of your participants will think the present was “made in China”. In all of the abovementioned cases we try to connect different content, offered by the local environment.

It’s never just a meal or just a concert – it has to be connected to at least one other speciality, which builds up a wholesome impression and the experience of the participant of a congress or meeting. This can eliminate the need to take longer congress trips, since we have no trouble of filling up the time with local programs. The latter is not only true for bigger cities but also for small towns with congress facilities. Meeting local personalities can be an interesting experience – for example, a visit to a known statue or monument and then visiting a local sculpture’s studio. Combine morning coffee with a visit of a local poet or author and have a reading. Try to find the time for a program outside the conference hall. Ljubljana and other Slovenian cities with congress facilities, and basically the whole of Slovenia (due to its geographical size) offer excellent possibilities for such programs.

From Cankarjev dom or any other congress venue in Ljubljana, there are only a few steps to a natural, green environment, where participants of a meeting can socialize in a much more relaxed and healthy way. Other activities with prizes can also be carried out – such as a treasure hunt for the international participants or other forms, which will enable the participants to experience the everyday life of locals in a non-artificial, non-automatic and non-congress manner.

51 Surveys

ICCA publishes a list of countries and cities by a number of meetings they hosted in 2009 ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) is the global community for the meetings industry, enabling its members to generate and maintain significant competitive advantage. ICCA was founded in 1963 by a group of travel agents. Their first and foremost aim was to evaluate practical ways to get the travel industry involved in the rapidly expanding market of international meetings and to exchange actual information related to their operations in this market. The initiative soon proved to have been taken at the right moment: the

meeting industry expanded even more rapidly than foreseen. As a result candidates from all over the world applied for ICCA membership – not only congress travel agents but representatives from all the various sectors of the meetings industry. Every year the ICCA publishes a survey which lists countries and cities by the number of international association meetings they have hosted.

World list (countries): Number of association meetings per year

European list (countries): Number of association meetings per year

European list (cities): Number of meetings per year

World list (cities): Number of association meetings per year

Results can be seen below.

USA

595

Vienna

160

Germany

458

Vienna

160

Germany

458

Barcelona

135

Spain

360

Barcelona

135

Spain

360

Paris

131

Italy

350

Paris

131

Italy

350

Berlin

129

United Kingdom

345

Berlin

129

United Kingdom

345

Singapore

119

France

341

Copenhagen

103

341

Copenhagen

103

Austria

236

Stockholm

102

Stockholm

102

Netherlands

236

Amsterdam

Switzerland

214

Lisbon

Sweden

184

Budapest

Madrid

France

Brasil

293

Japan

257

China

245

Austria

236

Beijing

Portugal

168

Netherlands

236

Buenos Aires

Denmark

151

Prague

Seoul

Belgium

130

London

Budapest

Greece

128

Istanbul

Madrid

Finland

124

Athens

Prague

Norway

120

Brussels

London

Turkey

118

Rome

Istanbul

Hungary

112

Zürich

Sao Paulo

Czech Republic

104

Helsinki

Bangkok

Poland

103

Dublin

Athens

Ireland

Oslo

Brussels

Russia

Edinburg

Kuala Lumpur

Estonia

Munich

Rome

Slovenia

Milano

Hong Kong

Croatia

Geneva

Taipei

Lithuania

Tallinn

Rio de Janeiro

Romania

Göteborg

Sydney

Iceland

Glasgow

Shanghai

Serbia

Warsaw

Tokyo

Malta

Hamburg

Montreal

Cyprus

Krakow

Zürich

Bulgaria

Valencia

Ljubljana

Macedonia

Vilna

Beograd

Florence

Dubrovnik

Ljubljana

Bucharest

Beograd

153

Sofia

Dubrovnik

171

Zagreb

Sofia

260

Bled

Zagreb

288

Portorož

133

Bled

147

Portorož

12 13 14

Switzerland Canada Sweden

214 213 184

Republic of Korea

176

Australia

169

Portugal

168

18 19 20 21 22

Denmark Argentina Belgium Greece Finland

151 145 130 128 124

Norway

120

Singapore

119

Turkey

118

26 27 28 29

Hungary Mexico Czech Republic Poland Thailand

112 107 104 103 103

Slovenia

Croatia

Serbia

70 87

Bulgaria Macedonia

14 6

52 Surveys

Cautious Optimism Returns as Hotel Operators Feel the Worst is over 2010 will be the beginning of the long road to recovery

Sanja Čižmar

Results from the latest edition of the Global Hotel Market Sentiment Survey show that hotel operators believe that the worst of the crisis is behind them and that 2010 will be the beginning of the long road to recovery. The survey, carried out every six months by Horwath HTL, the world’s foremost firm of hospitality consultants, concentrates on four key questions to gauge the level of industry feeling in the short term, and the key indicators driving the sentiment. Robert Hecker who heads up Horwath HTL in Asia said “It is too early to say if this feeling will translate into tangible results this year, but if the market feels we are at the bottom and the only way is up, that can only have a positive effect on the industry” The figures show a change in perception, reversing the trend of last year which showed that six months ago, the majority of respondents thought that conditions would get worse than they had at the beginning of the year. Not surprisingly, the regions that displayed most resilience to the global crisis have come back the strongest. Asia and the Oceania moved from scores of -41 and -48 six months ago, to +47 and +42 now. Europe, which was the most pessimistic region at the time of the last survey, is now, just, in positive territory and feels that 2010 will probably be the same as last year, but not worse. Hoteliers in America, which has been possibly the hardest hit region in the world over the last 18 months, now feel more positive about the coming year than they did in the middle of last year. Perhaps another sign of confidence creeping back, most of the respondents thought that their local markets would stay the same, or slightly improve over the coming year in average room rate and occupancy, and that their own hotel would outperform the

market. Most of the participants see average room rates remaining more or less the same in 2010, with weak corporate and leisure group business demand, but expect a slight improvement in occupancy, driven by the Leisure FIT business. About The Survey Horwath HTL has created an index to formulate an overall average sentiment score from all the survey scores. Points are assigned to each response and compounded accordingly. The index uses a scale of negative 150 to positive 150, where negative 150 indicates a state of absolute pessimism, zero indicates unchanged expectations and plus 150 indicates a very optimistic outlook. The survey focuses on four questions, the performance of your local market, the performance of your own property, the effect of various macro-economic drivers and the effect on four key market segments. Results of the Survey in South East Europe SEE Hotel Market Sentiment Survey has been designed to provide the hotel industry in this region a quick assessment of the market outlook for the coming 12 months. It summarizes the results of the survey gathered from 140 respondents in 7 countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia and Serbia. Having been through one of the worst years in recent history, it is not surprising to find most markets across the world have a vastly improved outlook for 2010. However, the average outlook among the hoteliers of South East Europe gives less optimism. SEE Survey reveals that the average regional level of expectations went up from negative 43 on negative 2.9 giving the general regional opinion of 2010 performance just a little bit

53 Surveys

lower than in 2009. The regional score (-2.9) is much lower than European average score (9) and world-wide average (27). Since this is the third Sentiment Survey by Horwath HTL, the trend of sentiment scores per countries in this region is presented below. South East Europe Sentiment February 2009

July 2009

February 2010

Slovenia

-40

-67

Serbia

-21

-16

Montenegro

-40

-59

Croatia

-24

-47

-6

-3

-4

-6

Bulgaria

-32

-74

-6

Romania

-25

-46

-10

Macedonia

A majority of 65 percent of respondents in SEE felt that global economic growth trends would have a positive impact on performance.

As per individual countries of SEE, the only positive average score for all listed factors came from Slovenian respondents. The hoteliers from all other countries were more pessimistic about the impact of listed factors since their average scores were all negative. The majority of hoteliers does not expect significant changes in the primary demand segments. Leisure segments (FIT and groups) yielded better than the other segments (corporate and MICE). Hoteliers in SEE believe the MICE segment will do much worse than

the others. The most positive opinion about the future performance of primary segments' demand came from Slovenian respondents (score of 22.5). In general, hoteliers from SEE recorded significant improvement in their sentiment towards the market outlook since July 2009. The most optimistic were Slovenians while Romanians were more on the pessimistic side. Looking to the hotel categories, the respondents from 3-star hotels were more pessimistic than others.

2010 market outlook What is your assessment of the hotel market for 2010. vs. 2009.?

Market segment performance How are each of th major demand segments expected to perform in 2010. vs. 2009.?

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

Factors Affecting Performance Ranking 1. Global Economic Growth

30%

2. Local Tourism Trends

20%

10%

-3

3. Local Economic Growth 4. Local / Global Stock Market 5. New Competitive Supply

-12

6. Global Oil Prices

-32

7. Currency Exchange Rates

50%

40%

-35

40% 30% 20% 10% 0% OCC (%)

ARR *

Rev

-37

Leisure FIT

much better

better

same

worse

8. H1N1

Corporate

much worse

worse *ARR = Average room rate

much worse

Leisure group

MICE

54 Surveys

Results MICE market monitor 2010 – IMEX presentation

tmf’s annual survey on the German-speaking MICE market: Current market development, destination trends and marketing requirements

Johanna Fischer, Managing Director, tmf GmbH

The 2010 mmm focuses on: - General business development within the German-speaking MICE market; - Impact of the financial crisis; - Request for European and overseas destinations; - Destination rankings – past and current; - Outbound budgets; - Sources of information to select a destination; - Top and flop for successful fam trips; - Performance measurement of events; - Restrictions and legal issues.

benefit of reliable data about this important market segment is obvious for all involved in the planning and supplying for the MICE market. On the other hand, planners will also benefit from improved service, tailored information and support through suppliers if better knowledge about their working patterns, needs and requests are known.

The approx. 440 participants in the survey are all known to carry out international MICE events and are planners from MICE agencies/ intermediaries and from corporations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As this year’s mmm is a total population survey with a total response rate of 6%, results can be regarded as statistically representative for the German-speaking outbound MICE market. The

Understanding the situation and the mind of meetings’ organisers in one of the most important markets – the 2010 mmm keeps track of the German, Austrian and Swiss outbound meetings’ market. tmf GmbH is a specialist in dialogue marketing for global MICE markets and offers assistance in market research, branding, successful strategies and all communication (sales, marketing and PR). tmf’s delivery of all aspects of dialogue marketing is built on substantial market expertise paired with excellent databanks. Since 2004 tmf GmbH carries out the mmm – MICE market monitor, a now well established study offering representative data and professional insights into the most important developments of the Germanspeaking outbound market. With the findings of the mmm 2010 international tourist boards, convention bureaus, venues, hotels and other suppliers of MICE related products get the right information for amending their marketing strategies.

Has the crisis been overcome? Due to the financial crisis in 2009 the MICE business experienced a serious setback in overall development. However, in 2010 a recovery to the level of before the crisis can be observed. Incentive travel still is affected the most, but not as strong as in 2009 and also on the way back to “normal”. The bottom of the valley was reached in spring 2009, where nearly half of the buyers had claimed a negative impact of the financial crisis on their MICE business. Now a third of the buyers sees their situation as rather positive and unaffected by the crisis.

Current Business Development How will the order situation this year develop (MICE agencies)/ What is your status of plans this year (corporate planners) in comparison to last year? 5 4 3 2

positive business development (max 10)

1 0 -1 -2 -3

negative business development (min -10)

-4 -5

2004 Germany

2005

2006 Austrija/Switzerland

2007

2008

MICE agencies

2009

2010

Corporate planners (2010: n=436; 2009: n=438; 2008: n=529)

55 Surveys

Demand for European destinations - current year How strong is the demand for European destinations in this year?â&#x20AC;? (In comparison to the last year? 30%

13%

56%

2010

15%

67%

2009

21%

33%

60%

more enquiries

neither, nor

2008

less enquiries (2010: n=434; 2009: n=435; 2008: n=529)

European destinations remain popular The overall market recovery of the MICE industry becomes apparent by looking at the demand for European destinations increasing again this year and almost reaching the pre-crisis level of 2008. In accordance with general market trends to shorter distances and less time for events, the demand for long haul

destinations is still not at the level as before 2009 but has also caught up compared to the previous year 2009. Preferred destinations: some top players and some catching up The top destinations for the German speaking outbound MICE market are again Spain,

Ranking of favourite destinations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; past 3 years In which countries did your events take place in the last 3 years?

1. (1.) Spain

47%

2. (2.) Italy

44%

3. (3.) France

36%

4. (4.) United Kingdom

26% 27%

5. (4.) USA

25%

6. (7.) Netherland

19%

22%

25% 25% 26%

7. (6.) Portugal 8. (9.) UA Emirates

17% 16%

8. (9.) Belgium

13%

17%

21%

19% 15% 17%

10. (15.) Sweden

2010; N=437

26%

2009; N=441

2008; N=534

30% 31%

31%

43% 43%

51% 53%

47% 49%

Italy and France. About half of the MICE organisers have carried out events in these three countries within the last three years. Other strong destinations for the market are Great Britain, the USA, the Netherlands and Portugal. Especially the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium and Sweden record a growth of some percentage points in popularity. All of them with the exception of the UAE are not far from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and profit from the direct and/or short travel connections. Both, a good accessibility and a short travel time, count a lot in the present MICE business. The market shares of about 50 outbound destinations, selected by German-speaking planners in 2010 - are shown in the report. Conclusions The outbound German-speaking MICE market is shifting back to its pre-crisis volume and meaning for international suppliers and destinations. A truly global scenario of the marketplace with regards to the origin of clients and business handled by German speaking organizers requires high focus and updated skills of suppliers. For the marketing of destinations it is essential to know how to reach out and identify those target groups and event categories that are established in the marketing strategies. Competition among suppliers in the German-speaking market continues to increase â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the market itself gets more complex and challenging to work with. If a product presented to this market wants to be successful and goal-driven in sales, marketing and PR, a very considered and professional approach is needed. tmf GmbH is encouraging all leading destinations and suppliers to engage themselves in this research by becoming sponsors of the project and advisors in our discussions, so we jointly will be able to get the full picture of new aspects and future tasks to comply with in this challenging marketplace. The unique expertise of this research will help in achieving your goals.

56 In focus

Kongres magazine survey 95% prefer an exhibition with pre-scheduled. Conventa places at the top of exhibitions with pre-scheduled meetings.

The editorial board of Kongres magazine decided do a survey among the members of the Slovenia Convention Bureau. Results are as follows: 1. Question: Which do you prefer? - Exhibition with pre-scheduled meetings: 95 % - Classic fair: 5 %

2. Question: Which exhibition is most efficient - Conventa: 35 % - EIBTM: 17 % - IMEX: 13% - SIW: 8% - Other: 27 %

Which do you prefer? 95%

Exhibition with pre-scheduled meetings Classic fair

Which exhibition is most efficient? 35%

CONVENTA EIBTM

17%

IMEX SIW

13% 8%

Other

27%

3. Question: Why do you prefer an exhibition with pre-scheduled meetings? (some statements): - When meetings are pre-scheduled the exhibitor and participant can agree on their meeting in advance and plan it according to their preferences. The participant can schedule meetings with providers of services he is interested in and has a chance to gather information about the provider through his website and come to the meeting better prepared. Also, with pre-scheduled the time economy is much better. - Effective preparation is possible. On the basis of the catalogue of buyers certain pre marketing activities can be carried out, clients can also be segmented. Buyers who respond to a meeting invitation or ask for one themselves have more potential for becoming clients. Fairs are usually of a more promotional nature, while exhibitions are focused on business and sales. - A classic fair is aimed at a larger segment of visitors, while an exhibition with pre-

scheduled meetings aims at specific ones, who are looking to make a deal with suppliers. Since meetings are pre-scheduled you are able to prepare for them and the possible partners and get better result in negotiations. - An exhibition with pre-scheduled meetings is more goal oriented. Potential buyers have clear ideas and are focused on concrete transactions. You are able to prepare for a meeting (as an exhibitor) and offer better services the buyer is looking for. The expectations of the buyer and provider can get closer, which is important in a meeting. - People are acting more and more rational. Every input requires a result. These are the expectations we have in our sales activities.

So preparations for these activities are crucial. Pre-scheduled meetings enable quality preparations, since we are familiar with the profile of our partners and can be more goal oriented.

57 Agency presents

Presenting Dariva agency

All of the activities are carried out by a highly professional team of guides, who guarantee not only quality and safety, but also fun and relaxation from every day’s stress and routine. For those who like to experience something different but not to active, we offer: cooking lessons or competitions for teams, visits of the historical towns guided by licensed guides in historical costumes or costumes of famous personalities, photo safaris,…

Dariva’s offices are located in the heart of Opatija the cradle of tourism in Croatia, on the main street Maršala Tita, a few minutes of walk from all the main hotels and venues. Established in 1996, Dariva started developing its programme in the MICE industry and also in other upcoming departments, as well as a large excursions programme. Tailor made programmes and tours, active programmes, special events, theme evenings, gala evenings are Dariva’s speciality. For example: Roman ruins on the Brioni Islands provide the atmosphere, we think of the rest – the best catering included. Or perhaps a gala dinner or party in romantic traditional venues in Opatija, villas from the Austrian times, historical dancing halls – of course with music and entertainment. We also provide beach parties, boat parties, bbq parties or picnics on the special locations which are a nice way to relax after an active day or a log day in a convention hall. For those who like it active and for all who spend long hours in the office, in front of the computer: - Abseil, free climbing, caving, biking, kayaking, flying, trekking, quading in the pure nature, off road jeep safaris, paintball, rafting and canoeing, paragliding, sailing; - Orientation games, old traditional games which we all remember from our childhood, games on the water… and other teambuilding programmes and competitions.

Dariva‘s own vehicles (high quality busses and minibuses) and a team of drivers and guides, available throughout the whole year, assure punctuality and safety in organizing any kind of transport: from airport transfers to tours and excursions. Therefore, we offer a large choice of: - tailor made private tours for small groups accompanied by drivers/guides, designated for those who want to experience something different or simply for pre and post stays before/after a convention or a meeting; - daily tours for accompanying persons made just for the event or out of the regular programme which is available from early April till the end October; - Gastronomic tours integrating wine tasting, homemade ham and cheese tasting, visits to small farms in the hidden parts of Istria, truffle searching…. Vast experience in organizing small and larger meetings and conventions, as well as good contacts with the hotels all over Croatia and all the technical support needed events, contribute to the company s ability to provide a complete service at compatible rates. The well-trained Dariva’s travel team and carefully chosen co-workers most certainly guarantees the quality and safety of all provided services. To choose genuine spots of nature for the active part of our programmes and authentic places with the best food for the gastronomic part is always our aim. Therefore we invest a lot in travelling and finding new places, new

possibilities, new ideas and new solutions. All of that gave us a respectable number of clients: organizers of events and conventions, but also partners as agents from other countries, who simply need a reliable partner at the destination. A large number of clients who work with us already for more than 10 years and keep on asking our advice and services make us very proud, since it is easier to find a new client, then to keep the same one for years. Dariva simply offers infinity of solutions. www.da-riva.hr

We combine professionalism, creativity and fun. Join us. Incentive programmes, Corporate entertainment events, Team building programmes, Organisation of congress activities

www.events-teambuilding.com info@maya.si +386 (0)5 380 05 30

Incentive locations

Congress locations

Contractor: Maya Team Location: Tolmin with surrounding

Briefly describe the location. What is special about it? Why have chosen it as a venue for your team building program? The two day event held near Tolmin combines motivation and team work with important destination natural and cultural landmarks. It includes activities within the Triglav natural park, church of the Holy Spirit on Javorca, certified as European cultural heritage, and Tolmin canyon with Dante’s cavern. We must not forget to mention the emerald river of Soča and its mysterious rapids. Along with natural and cultural heritage, local gastronomy plays an important part in the program. Combined with the story of the Isonzo (Soška) front and a glance in the life of locals in the past, we have included some gastronomic additions to the program. When participants arrive we prepare a tasting of local homemade cheeses and meats, made on the local farms. We offer a taste of the spirit Bear’s Blood, made only by the farm of Valter Čujec in Poljubinj. In the Polog valley, which used to be the hiding place of the Austro-Hungarian army and has in the present maintained the tradition of herding, local cheese makers prepare a tasting of Tolminec, Polog cottage cheese and “abriblni” – leftover pieces of cheese in the models. This is a very interesting experience, as the pieces make weird noises when chewed. The participants are then asked to cook their own ‘tminska frika’ by following the simple recipe. Traditional food from the area reflects the fact that these villages mostly lived in poverty, which is evident from the local cuisine. The meals were simple but tasteful. The choice of materials was modest, especially in the hills, so local housewives used some creativity and “frika” was born. It used to be a typical food for “glocarji” – forest workers and shepherds and for the entire family. We cannot forget the typical Soča trout, served with

potatoes and mangold at one of the two picnics. Since we respect the protection of the trout we only use the ones from local fish farms, and not from the natural environment, which are also very tasty. Short description of the team building program The First World War between 1915 and 1917 deeply affected the area of Posočje and marks a huge historical turning point. Polog is a hidden valley, unnoticeable to the enemy, yet very close to the battle stations in the nearby mountains. This was a meeting point for the soldiers, a resting place for the wounded and sick, and a place to make new strategies. On the other hand the valley with its fertile soil fed the hungry soldiers and provided fresh water with the clear spring of Tolminka. All of the relics of the era have made it possible to compose a unique program, which educates and motivates and carries two other important messages. The first tells us how important team work, trust, defence strategies and communication among the soldiers were for their success. There is also team and individual motivation and mostly perseverance, compliance and appropriate reactions in unknown situations. All of these vital team elements and virtues which decorated the soldiers, their commanders and generals, can be transformed into a modern working environment. In this environment “wars” can also be waged, the “enemy” is the competition trying to outperform us on the market. It’s a “war” on the market where companies try to survive and sustain as little damage as possible. And it is by solving team tasks and problems connected with these historical events we can make the participants see the power of “win-win” situations. It’s not about conquering territory, but about positive success and future of the company. The other message reminds us of the uselessness of playing

dirty and of bloodshed. Countries which were at war back then now cooperate hand in hand. It’s about taking responsibility, valuing differing opinions and respecting property and views of others. The virtues can be easily used in the workplace. General information - Suitable date: 15. 3.–1. 11. - Recommended number of participants: 10–20 - Target group: IT departments, management, smaller business groups, development divisions, marketing departments, sales departments, associations. Which goals do you wish to achieve with this program – which results would you like to achieve with the client? - elasticity and flexibility of the team and individuals, - the link between satisfaction at work and motivation for work, - maintaining team motivation, - effective communication, - avoiding conflict situations, - allocation and adaptation of team roles, - trust and supervision of the individual and the group, - assuming responsibility.

60 Congress locations

Contractor: LIFETREK Events Location: Trenta

Briefly describe the location. What is special about it? Why have chosen it as a venue for your team building program? After developing incentive and team building products for many years and on many different sites, we concluded Trenta and the area around Soča offer a unique experience and special emotions. The location enables a dynamic program to be created and offers many natural forms and wonders. We carry out our programs in over forty locations in Slovenia, yet only Trenta enables the unique and effective training TrentaActive. Short description of the team building program The training method TrentaActive is the product of our development and is based on a situational approach. The participants of the training assume complete control over the strategy and of creating solutions. Assignments can be complex,are dynamic and based on new situations in an environment, which is challenging and demands orientation. The method is easy to adapt to the size and goals of the group. The participants face many options, possible solutions, numerous props and stay active throughout the exercise. They are challenged by different manoeuvre and tasks, similar to those in an adrenalin park, just that the tasks are real and take place in an inspiring natural environment. General information - Suitable date: April to November - Recommended number of participants: 10–80 - Target group: employees, management, teams, development teams, sales divisions Which goals do you wish to achieve with this program – which results would you like to achieve with the client? “What makes us special?” If you find the answer to this question you have found the answer to all others. TrentaActive is a unique training in group dynamics, braking with routine, encouraging strategic thinking and developing creativity. The program aims to achieve the following goals: encourage the employees’ wishes and desires, lift motivation, development, finding new potentials, developing personal and team visions, developing team spirit and creativity.

61 Congress locations

Contractor: KOREN SPORTS d.o.o. – Humanfish Holidays Location: Krvavec

Briefly describe the location. What is special about it? Why have chosen it as a venue for your team building program? The Eskimo village on Krvavec has received many awards at home and abroad, due to its uniqueness and innovativeness. The Eskimo Hotel with the amazing Igloo Restaurant, Ice Bar and Igloo Wellness enables memorable winter team buildings and incentive programs. Within the Krvavec skiing area we have excellent possibilities for carrying out programs for skiing enthusiasts as well as those who want to use snow to express their creativity. The vicinity of Ljubljana and the international airport ensures a quick transport from the office to complete wilderness.

Short description of the team building program Within the Eskimo Village Krvavec a few team

programs can be carried out, such as – Winter treasure hunt, Olympic Games of unusual sports, Snow Challenge, Winter Golf, Ice sculpture making All of the programs are not too physically demanding and can be adapted to the client’s needs. General information - Suitable date: December to April - Recommended number of participants: 10–500 Which goals do you wish to achieve with this program – which results would you like to achieve with the client? Forming an informal bond between co-workers and business partners with the help of unusual and unique experience.

62 Congress locations

Contractor: Rina Travel & Events Location: Dalmacija

Briefly describe the location. What is special about it? Why have chosen it as a venue for your team building program? It is not easy to choose just one location in Croatia, for all the regions have some special charms and specificities. Here we chose Dalmatia as a good example of what can be done in Croatia. Sailing around Kornati, swimming at the hidden beaches of Elafiti islands off the coast of Dubrovnik, discovering traditional seafood specialties, getting to know Croatia through its tastes and aromas, authentic Dalmatian delicacies and excellent wines – these are all special advantages for incentive groups travelling to Croatia. Apart from outstanding natural beauty, Dalmatia boasts several UNESCO World heritage sites, the most famous being Dubrovnik - the best known symbol of the Adriatic. There is also 1700 year old but forever young - Split, a relaxed island destination for luxury yachts and the city of fun – Hvar, the sunniest spot in Europe, Brač with its famous amazing beach in Bol. Once you are here it is a must to visit Zadar, whose promenade is famous for its amazing sunsets and modern architectural designs, such as the Sea Organ and Greeting to the Sun, unique installations in the world. Hard to miss Šibenik, surrounded by beautiful natural and National parks, and all the other places of Dalmatian archipelago, destination of stunning beauty, specific indented coastline scattered with bays and little islands and covered in lush vegetation ranging from fir and macchia forests to fields of medicinal herbs and aromatic flowers. A calm atmosphere, lush vegetation, clear blue sea and beautiful beaches will surely bring you back for another visit. All these riches have made Dalmatia the ideal place for enjoying a wealth of different experiences and excitement, at the same time offering much needed tranquillity in a quiet surrounding with a mild Mediterranean climate and beautiful seaside landscape. Short description of the team building program Whether we choose to take sailing boats and include a corporate regatta in the program, or we take an adrenalin ride with speedboats to make an adventurous treasure hunt visiting the islands, fun and joyful moments are guaranteed. While the wind blows in the sails, and the sail boat cuts the waves, enjoy the relaxing sound of the sea and changing views of sunbathed land through your sun glasses. With the help of experienced skippers discover the best kept secrets of the Adriatic, find the finest Dalmatian tavern, swim

in the hidden sand coves and master the rudder, sails and tying of knots. The teams can test their acquired skills in a regatta with sailboats of firstrate performance. Sailing can be organized as a day activity, but if you want to experience life at sea to the fullest, do not miss the opportunity to sleep on sailboats to the lull and sound of the sea. Speedboat excursion is an ideal combination of a cruise and an adrenaline rush - a fast and exciting adventure on the sea. Bounce across the waves, feel the sea splashing in your face, steer your speedboat in all directions, stop directly below the cliffs and cast anchor in a turquoise sand cove. See Kornati islands in one day, have breakfast on one of the islands, lunch on another, and coffee on the third. A treasure hunt combines perfectly with this program! It is important to mention that the Croatian sea is very clean, safe, warm and friendly. General information - Suitable date – from 1st of April to 1st of November - Recommended number of participants: team

building or incentive groups of up to 40 pax are easiest to handle, but we accept up to 300 pax for such programs. - target group - everyone who wants to combine top class incentive with building team spirit among the employees Which goals do you wish to achieve with this program – which results would you like to achieve with the client? We want the client to experience something new and fantastic, to have fun and learn about the destination along the way.

Congress Ljubljana

The skyscraper – Ljubljana’s phoenix The Ljubljana skyscraper, built in 1933 by the architect V. Šubica, held the record of Europe’s tallest apartment building for a long time. Mostly it has been known as a space for the people of Ljubljana to socialize by coffee, dancing and on different holidays and also enjoy a magnificent view of Ljubljana. After remaining closed for many years and after two years of renovation, the Skyscraper will open its doors in the end of June 2010. In different floors connected with the original spiral staircases a restaurant for 80 people, a night club, a café and a VIP Lounge will find residence. Look for more information on the opening in the next issue of Kongres magazine.

species live here, a large share of Ljubljansko barje is protected by the Natura2000 project. The highlight of the tour features the canyon of the Iška River: absorbing its pristine nature that surrounds the fresh and clear waters adds a touch of relaxation to the experience. It is also an ideal place for a picnic, which can be organised on request. This half-day tour can be run in all seasons, except for winter, for groups from 6 to 50 people.

Congress locations

life as it once was and admire the traditional wooden cottages. The plateau, which reaches the maximum height of 1,660 metres, is a part of the Kamnik – Savinja Alps that spread across nearly 900 sq km. Not far from the lower cable car station, which serves as the main access route to Velika Planina, the clear Kamniška Bistrica river and the glacial valley bearing the same name are popular spots for outdoor activities or relaxation amidst unspoilt nature. Once reaching the top cable car station, the trekking tour that features the most panoramic spots and gives a taste of the genuine herdsmen's life, can start. Late spring to early autumn months are especially recommended (the cattle returns into the valleys by midSeptember) for this full day tour, which can be organised for 6 to 50 participants.

Geocaching Adventure

The Mysterious Ljubljana Moor and the Iški Vintgar Gorge Trekking on the Velika planina Plateau At the outskirts of Ljubljana lies a unique and special area, the Ljubljana Moor (Ljubljansko barje). The best way to explore its natural and cultural diversity is by bike. The macadam and field roads go through a mosaic of meadows, fields and irrigation ditches, which offer refuge to a variety of animal and plant species. As many of Europe’s most endangered wildlife

Just 30 kilometres from Ljubljana lies the picturesque Velika Planina plateau, known for the authentic architecture of its herdsmen’s settlement, which comes back to life every summer. During this time, visitors can taste the fresh dairy products, experience the mountain

Geocaching is a fun “high-tech” adventure based on the use of hand-held GPS devices. Participants are split up into groups and are given coordinates, which they must locate with the help of the GPS. Target locations can be found high up in the trees, on a window shelf, in a crack in the ground or even under water! When a team finds the coordinates, they receive instructions on how to reach the spot where a next assignment is waiting for them. The treasure hunt continues according to this pattern. Geocaching can be carried out throughout the year and the level of difficulty and duration (2 to 5 hours) is adapted to the client's requirement. This active and fun incentive programme can be organised for groups from 10 to 40 people both in Ljubljana and in other locations. Among the natural settings close to the capital, an ideal one for Geocaching is the Kamniška Bistrica valley, mentioned in the Velika Planina trekking programme. However, this fun & high-tech experience can be organised at various different locations across Slovenia www.nomad2000.com

Garten party in the heart of the park The hosts of the evening – Tourism Ljubljana, cooperated with society Osum and Director

64 Congress locations

Matej Filipič to create the concept of the evening, which aimed to give the guest a relaxing latespring experience in the lovely surroundings of the park. Even the way to the venue of Tivoly castle was spectacular, since many visitors stopped to admire the exhibition on caving along the Jakopič promenade – a popular open air gallery. The location at the foot of the Tivoli castle was not chosen coincidentally – the building itself along with its terrace and staircase forms a powerful stage for the performers. The scenery with the antique artefacts on the lawn, flower petals in the fountain and soft lighting connected the visual elements in to a magical whole. Despite the unfriendly weather and the occasional light rain the 250 guests were not disturbed in enjoying the cultural program. The performance of the opera singer and a champion dance couple was followed by animation from young ballerinas and catering accompanied by the performance of renowned pianist Lucienne Lončina. Park Tivoli hides many special locations for smaller events: the National Museum of Contemporary History with a beautiful latebaroque Knights hall, the aforementioned Tivoli Castle with its panoramic terrace (the seat of the International graphics centre, where graphic workshops can be held and also the café by the lake near the beautiful rose garden. The natural beauty of this area, just a few steps from the city centre, can easily be transformed in a magical venue for gatherings and events.

www.kmetija-fornazaric.com e-mail: ivan.fornazaric@siol.net GSM: +386 41 383 879

65 Congress travelogue

BELGRADE

Congress impressions from Belgrade

I’ve had the chance to visit Belgrade many times in the last ten years, mostly for meetings purposes. My first association with this city is the rich nightlife and a bit of chaos all around. Lonely Planet placed it on the top of its list of party cities. I usually arrive into the city on the Motorway of Fraternity and Unity, which crosses the Croatian – Serbian border in a pretty poor condition. Most congress guests arrive through the Surčin Airport, which is pretty well connected with the main airline hubs, yet is in dire need of low budget airlines to seriously boost its congress tourism. There is no point in wasting words on the residential area of New Belgrade. The destruction at the end of the nineties led to chaotic urbanisation. Breaking norms seems to be a national sport. Apartment buildings mixed with colossus of socialist architecture are a reflection of the architectural philosophy. In this area, completed with super-modern shopping centres, the Sava centre – a former pride of Yugoslavian congress tourism, is located. The functionality of the centre, which dedicated a part of its facilities to trade, never seizes to amaze me. As does the pretty well preserved interior, which seems to be retro and hasn’t changed since its beginning. The centre is far from being easy to manage and is in need of renovation, yet it is still one of the largest centres in the region and helps Belgrade secure large international conventions. If the hotels in the vicinity, such as the golden Continental, which seems to have lost a part of its name on the way (Inter) and the Kempinski hotel will get renovated, this will definitely become the driving force of Belgrade’s meetings industry. The same area boosts some newly built hotels with conference capacities, which see the meetings industry merely as a supplementary activity (Holliday Inn and Hotel In). The Sava Island boasts the Belgrade fair, from the times of Yugoslavia, which is over dimensioned, yet very proactive and host to many interesting events. After weaving through traffic and over the Sava bridges a completely different and my favourite side of Belgrade is revealed. Here you can find some of the most friendly congress

locations with spirit. Belgrade has around 1.700 hotel rooms appropriate for conference guests in 4 and 5 star hotels. Considering its potential, the number is very low. More than with hotels, Belgrade surprises you with numerous venues for receptions and different events. Many distinctive buildings show that it used to be the capital of our common state. This is where Belgrade’s soul is revealed and the participants get many opportunities to spend their free time in Kalemegdan, the Belgrade fort or in one of the many parks. The size of the city needs to be taken into account and time for leisure activities should be carefully measured. What never seizes to amaze me about Belgrade is the friendliness of the hosts. This city is the way it is because of its people who are very open and hospitable. In my opinion this is the city’s biggest competitive advantage at the moment. Meeting planners will find professional and accurate information on congress tourism on the website of the Belgrade Congress Bureau (www.tob. co.rs). This offers a comprehensive overview of congress products, needed by meeting planners. What I miss is an overview of incentive programs offers, which exist but are defused and hard to follow. If we consider Belgrade in the context of meetings infrastructure, we realize investments are necessary so it will be able to compete with leading European destinations. Most congress facilities need renovation to get rid of the prevailing retro look from the beginning of the seventies. As the informal centre of the meeting industry in Belgrade, the area around the Sava Centre, has enormous potential which is not yet utilized due to inappropriate hotel capacities. The difference between the expectations of the planners and the reality of what you find is simply too great. A large issue of the city is its traffic, which works in a way, while the city authorities are trying to improve it. This has to be carefully considered while planning meetings. In addition the understanding of the European customs of pricing can a bit specific

sometimes, so it is worth to check twice. With little luck you will find the right partners for your event in Belgrade in the area of agencies, which will inspire you with their passion, commitment and innovative suggestions for your event. The divide between the current state of infrastructure and actual potential of the city – with its unique cultural and historical position in the region, is the biggest challenge for meeting planners in Belgrade. Comparison with the region: Belgrade bases its congress story on it rich culture, a central position in SE Europe and lively social life. Considering the size and potential of the city it is comparable with Bucharest and Sofia, which have a completely different spirit. I see Belgrade as a diamante in the rough, which has enormous development potential and can be geo-strategically placed side by side with world’s congress capitals – if it improves its infrastructure and puts in order the entire chain of meeting organizing. Info: www.tob.co.rs Gorazd Čad

Destination grade

*** Marks ***** **** *** ** *

excellent convention destination quality convention destination recommendable convention destination average convention destination passable

66 Congress personality

Enfant terrible Tone Matjašič

1. Could you introduce yourself in two sentences – one describing you as a private and other as a public person? An eternal optimist who likes to surround himself with positive people, a typical Sagittarius, sometimes to quick, always believing good deeds get rewarded. Tourism is an important part of my life. I’m a proud member of the PANORAMIC team – they are responsible young people, which is exactly what I wanted to create. When you reach a certain age you feel important functions keep flying your way – yet I approach them with a great level of social

responsibility. Other than the function of president of ZTAS, I’m also in the council of STB and until recently was a member of the committee of Tourist chamber of commerce.

plush rabbit with a pink bow. And then there was also the concert of the group Hazard (Hala Tivoli) for nostalgics, and “Sister Act” in London.

2. Which are your favourite magazines from the area of tourism? Turizem, Kongres, TTA, Travel Daily International online, I get daily information from ECTAA (European Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association), concerning the European tourist legislature. I often seek out articles about tourism from daily news papers – right now my desk is full of articles on tourism in the United Arab Emirates from Dubai News and the latest study of the German tourist board on outbound markets. Interesting reading, which reaffirms our orientation to new markets.

5. Which was the last movie you saw? Every Saturday morning I watch a western on Croatian TV. Last one was the classic “High Noon”.

3. Which was the last book you read and which book would you recommend to our readers? The books on my nightstand are arranged in this way: Funky Business, Karaoke Capitalism (Swedish authors, renowned economists Kjell A. Nordström in Jonas Ridderstråle), The Lincoln Lawyer, Our Glacier is Melting …I never fall asleep before reading at least one chapter of the book I’m reading. The book I would recommend is Swim with the Sharks (Without Being Eaten Alive) by Harvey Mackay. Very informative. 4. Which was the last event you attended? As a participant in the Arabian Travel Market we were invited to attend a party at the golf course of the Intercontinental hotel in Dubai: good food, DJ, performers, everything was in white. And in the end a gift – a giant white

6. How many foreign languages do you speak? Unfortunately not one from the countries where our company is most present (Japan, China, Taiwan, Israel). Of course my colleges “cover” these languages, I communicate in English. 7. Who were your idols growing up and who are they today? I don’t have typical role models – but I do often remember my grandmother, a simple cleaning lady who had so much life energy that our Sundays would never pass without going to the cinema, or without a summer trip to Fiesa. I’m talking of course about the times when this was still a luxury. 8. Which were your first and your current job? My first job was with KOMPAS HERTZ Rent a car, the largest HERZ franchise in the world. They had over 3.000 cars in Yugoslavia. In 1990 I founded the third private tourist agency in the country and ran it for 18 years. Now I run PANORAMIC TRAVEL a young, dynamic company dealing with “incoming” tourism from mainly Israel, Asia, and India. We’re a bit different from most Slovenian tourist agencies.

67 Congress personality

9. What is the first thing you do when you come to work? I greet the team, because I enjoy every day at work. Then I flip through Finance and have a cup of tea with my co-workers – during the summer we enjoy the air and sun on our terrace. 10. What influenced your life the most? Was it a person or an event? I have been influenced by both. One of those events was deciding to leave what I created and ran for 18 years of my business life. At that time someone told me “When a door closes, a window opens”. It turned out to be true. 11. What are you most proud of? My family, the team of PANORAMIC TRAVEL GROUP and the hockey team Koseze. 12. Who were the most positive and negative people to influence Slovenian tourism? What I miss in Slovenian tourism today is a person like Egon Conrad, former director of Komaps, who had a lot of charisma, and was most of all human with a capital H. Nowadays people on leading positions in tourism deal mostly with finance, they lack in emotional intelligence and a sense for their co-workers. We used to say tourism is people, and that is still true. 13. Which success story from the area of tourism would you mention? Tourism is mostly hard work in the long run and this is a success story we never recorded in Slovenian tourism. I always feel we’re writing more of a story about desires, rather than results. In our company I’m most proud

of our ventures on new markets and broad thinking and operations. 14. Which marketing idea sticks out the most in the area of tourism? No single idea convinced me or thrilled me and has proven to be unique in the world. I would however return the question – which are in fact those ideas in Slovenia and how many are there? I have witnessed a broad spectre of marketing ideas around the world, especially in Asia and the Arab world. 15 What do you miss most in Slovenian and SE Europe’s meeting industry? We have just finished working on the organization of the Autoimmunity congress in Ljubljana. We cooperated with the world’s largest meeting planer KENES. I’m not familiar with the European circumstances, but I do miss a level of professionalism on all levels, demanding customers (everything seems to be good enough) and a larger number of events, which would enrich what we have to offer the participants. 16. Would you share your favourite places to visit in spring, summer, fall and winter? Considering the fact I find it hard to find the time to visit my favourite places, I’ll tell you instead where I’ve been and where I will be. In February during a cold winter in Slovenia I was in Israel attending IMTM, where we had a pleasant 30 degrees. In the spring I attended ATM in Dubai. In the summer I will spend a few days in Hvar – as a proper tourist, with a chair and newspaper in hand, hop into the sea, and back in the shade. In the fall I’m planning a trip to India, where I will be a delegate at the visit of the Slovenian

government, and maybe in Tokyo attending JATA. In between I’ll stop by Split, Belgrade and Skopje where our company’s offices are located. 17. What do you do in your free time? I have a great group of friends which have been my friends for over 25 years. We play football every Monday, every winter we play in the NHL (Nightly Hockey League) in Tivoli. Our team attended four recreational hockey world championships in Canada and two tournaments in Daytona, Florida. Sports, where you compete against yourself or are divided from your opponent by a net, do not attract me as much. 18. What is your message to the readers? I see a lot of excellent tourist workers in Slovenia, born between the year 1970 and 1980 (give or take). I sincerely hope they will get the opportunity to prove themselves, since I see they have a lot of drive and really feel tourism. 19. Your life’s motto? I don’t have one I stick too. Lately I like this one: It’s not what you feel or think, it’s what you do.

New, contemporary and unique Congress Centre Wellness Park Laško OrgANiSE buSiNESS Or SOCiAL mEETiNgS iN THE PiCTurESquE HEArT Of SLOvENiA The Congress Centre has been provided with the ability for the halls to be adjusted for various formats, the Centre is provided with modern decorated communal spaces and a reception area, where guests can meet as well as enjoy refreshments, receptions or other events, it can also be used for art exhibitions. The Congress Centre completely meets the standards of a hotel with conference facilities provided with the areas designed according to international criteria set by the institution - Congress Tourist Office

Opening August 2010

Equipment: Presentation equipment, audio system, video conferencing facilities, even direct television transmission, plus an inductive loop system for the hearing impaired, integrated control system for complete multi-media facilities. Information system showing event data.

5 sparkling reasons to organise your event in the Congress Centre Wellness Park Laško, with accommodation for up to 1,1000 participants • Over 3,700 square metres you can choose from 8 contemporarily decorated congress halls and three meeting rooms. The largest hall can accommodate up to 490 people.

Slovenia on the banks of the river Savinja • Large number of exterior parking spaces right outside the hotel as well as underground parking with direct access.

• The Congress Centre is connected to a contemporary hotel where we will spoil you in an environment that houses a thermal centre enclosed in a glass dome and includes a wellness spa centre.

• Halls decorated in the most modern contemporary style. The built in audio and video systems will ensure a fully professionally presented event. All halls have good natural light as well as the ability to produce total darkness. Wireless internet is available without extra charge.

• Exceptional location in the very heart of

Capacity: • 1 multi purpose hall (up to 490 people) • 1 formal hall (up to 120 people) • 5 seminar halls (from 30 to 200 people) • 3 meeting rooms from (from 14 to 28 people) • Day and night bar available

Information and reservation: +386 (0) 3 734 89 70 kongres@thermana.si www.thermana.si

70 Examples & advice

Good practise examples

Piran pearls UniCredit Champions League Client: The Netherlands Embassy Ljubljana Contractor: Maya team, Borut Nikolaš s.p. Date: 26. 5. 2010

Client: UniCredit Bank Slovenia d.d. Contractor: OKEJ team Date: 18. 8. 2009

UniCredit Bank Slovenia d.d. as sponsor of the UEFA Champions League wanted to hold an event with a football theme without scaring off the female employees. They entrusted the organization of the event to OKEJ team, which has original and unusual ideas for events. They turned a classic men’s game into a program which put women in a frenzy as well. The football theme started in the parking lot where two animators – dressed as football referees directed traffic and gave out joke yellow and red cards. The participants were then greeted by the Chairman of the Board, but they had to pass a test first – they had to score a goal. Interestingly quite a few men had trouble with this task. The football tournament was set in a very unusual and attractive way. In the qualifications the teams had to try out in the so called “UniCredit square” – where four teams played at the same time with 4 goals and three balls. You better believe it was fun for the participants and audience. In the semi-finals teams played “knights football” where they had to stuff a ball made of fabric into a hole in the middle of the field. The final game was decided by women – teams were formed to include at least one woman in each team. They then competed in “Ladies football” where only the woman was allowed to score a goal with a giant ball. To complete the football story the winners received the “UniCredit Golden Cleats”. This was another case of an event where a sport can be moulded into a fantastic business event. www.okej.si

Wonderful weather, hidden places of Slovenian coast and the memorable city of Piran enabled us to create a professional team building program for the embassy of Netherlands in Ljubljana. The program was custom made for the client, as many times before, it included a mixture of teambuilding and incentive programme. This time with a Mediterranean flavour and adapted to the client’s needs, since goals needed to be reached and team relations refreshed. During the program the participants were kept tense since they didn’t know when and where a new task will arise. They were actively encouraged to use new communication and organization skills. For successfully solving the team tasks the participants gained a prize in the form of a boat trip and a fish picnic in the hidden part of the Piran Soline. After carrying out the analysis of the program (using the “practise to practise” model) we agreed the program exceeded expectations. The biggest realization was finding that trust within the team is in fact the biggest advantage of winning teams. www.team-building.si

71 Examples & advice

Order of St. Jurij, Ljubljana through time

Cullinary Bazaar Client: Johnson&Johnson Slovenia Contractor: Lifetrek Events d.o.o. Date: 16. 3. 2010.

Client: Faculty of electrical engineering Contractor: TBA d.o.o. Datum: 10. 6. 2010.

Ljubljana got a new modern, technological and fun program of active uncovering of its story with significant team spirit. The trainers of the Teambuilding Academy (www.tba.si) in cooperation with the Ljubljana City Museum prepared and carried out an innovative program for the Faculty of electrical engineering. Two teams of candidates of ascending the Order of Saint Jurij gathered in the City Museum and travelled back in time to make sure significant events of the city’s history take place as they should. The knights fired up their time machine and the game was on. Which team would be best and fastest at overcoming obstacles scattered from Križanke to the Castle Hill? Each team received two time crystals – modern mobile phones (Nokia N97 in HTC Desire), which helped them – through a special technological mobile platform, to communicate with the base (trainers) and access all the important instructions – from the historical background to the tasks and trivia about the location. The team members not interested in technologies got to participate in defending Ljubljana from a Turkish attack, helped Robba move the obelisk for the fountain or solve tasks on the way. Both teams did really well and returned to the present successfully. They have been admitted to the Order of Saint Jurij, the winners of the challenge were knighted. The program tuned the afternoon into a magical experience in Ljubljana and will certainly thrill many congress guests, trying to spend a fun and modern afternoon in our capital. www.tba.si

At the annual regional “kick-off” event Johnson&Johnson employees were invited to a Culinary Bazaar in the Vila Prešeren in Bled, which was transformed for the event. The word Bazaar stems from Persian and means the centre of trade, business and social events. So a March trip to a sleepy Bled was livened up with smells, colours and life. 170 participants attended the bazaar; their job was to make 16 different meals devised into 4 different themes. Fresh recipes and a thrilling environment made sure the participants prepared the food with much creativity and zeal. The bazaar was of course also a place of trade, negotiation and degustation. In the end we found a winning team, which created a wonderful culinary experience and was also efficient in sales. The Culinary bazaar turned out to be an excellent, useful and fun business event with a lot of positive energy and team synergy. The event continued by the sounds of music under the shiny tent till late in the night. www.zmagovalec.si

72 Examples & advice

Rowing with sea kayaks in Venice Client: Tenira d.o.o. Contractor: Buy The Sea Datum: 22. 5. 2010.

Rowing sea kayaks on the sea, lakes and even calm rivers is a sport growing in popularity. The reasons are numerous, but the main one has to be that everyone can row, the sport is not too demanding and can be suitable for anyone. Also the trend of moving away from noise and everyday tempo brought forth the search for peace and quiet of nature, which can easily be found among the waves with a paddle in your hands. A sea kayak can do many things. Combined with a suitable program it can become very attractive. No wonder incentive programs which include rowing on calm or wavy seas have increased their popularity. The company Buy The Sea offers one-day rowing programs along the Slovenian or Croatian coasts as well as rowing on canals in Venice. The company Tenira d.o.o. chose to discover Venice in a unique way â&#x20AC;&#x201C; by rowing with kayaks instead of gondolas. Would you be interested in organizing a similar incentive program? For more infroamtion visit www.buythesea.si.

Gadgets

fastest and most powerful macBook to date Do you want it?

Examples & advice

do you want to use highly efficient and environmentally friendly computers? Discover Green IT

The new MacBook Pro with a LED screen of 33 cm (13’’), 38,1 cm (15’’) or 43,2 cm (17’’), represents a borderline in performance for all Mac laptops. The MacBook Pro laptops with screen sizes 38, 1 and 43, 2 cm have Intel Core i5 in Core i7 processors which boost efficiency up to 50%. The newest graphics technology NVIDIA ensures high quality of all applications – from 3D games, photos to videos. The battery can manage up to 10 hours of functioning. A Multi-Touch surface enables moving, squeezing, spinning, dragging, moving with three or four fingers and double clicks. The lighted keyboard of a regular size includes a sensor for external light and adopts the lighting of the keyboard and screen. http://store.apcom.si!

Fujitsu has introduced the first eco-keyboard, made from recycled materials. Fujitsu which has been developing products, technology and processes in accordance with Green IT principles for over 20 years, replaced 45% of plastic components of the keyboard with biodegradable materials. With the use of recycled materials Fujitsu decreases CO2 emissions and will save over 60.000 kilograms of plastic a year. Other than ecology the functions and price of the keyboard remain comparable with its predecessor. The new eco-keyboard is part of Fujitsu’s selection of eco products proGREEN, which are of high quality, reliability and energy efficiency in decreasing the influence on the environment. The selection includes personal computers ESPRIMO, work stations CELSIUS and laptops LIFEBOOK with newest, high energy efficient Intel® processors. Fujitsu Company is a member of The Green Grid and Climate Savers Computing and carries out a wholesome program of environment protection. www.ts.fujitsu.com

THE

L AND

NEW

IDEAS

Discover the land’s secret paths, get to know the breathtaking beauty of the countryside underneath the Karavanke Mountains and experience how rich cultural past and present interweave with one another. NEW CONFERENCE HOTEL, BLED, SLOvENIA The4* Drnca Conference Hotel and Manor situated close to Lake Bled has opened. With 34 high quality bedrooms and conference facilities for up to 100 this new addition to the meetings business has a substantial range of facilities. In addition to four main meeting rooms, the hotel offers a wellness centre and pool, an outstanding restaurant and the function facilities of the fully renovated manor House. Situated in beautiful countryside and within 10 minutes of Bled, 20 minutes to the airport and just 30 minutes to Ljubljana the hotel superbly located. Available also on an exclusive basis the Drnca provides a first class setting for meetings, seminars and incentives Surpassing expectations.

ADvANTAGES AND SPECIFICITIES: Unspoiled nature and invaluable tranquillity Top quality of services, friendly staff, pleasant atmosphere Rich culinary offer with selected wines Located in the heart of natural and cultural heritage Renting options for private parties International airport proximity A wide variety and adaptability of the offer variety of excellent incentive programs Free transport to Casino Tivoli – 3km and free entry

INFO: 4 star Hotel and convention centre 34 rooms with 80 beds 4 conference rooms (10-100 persons) equipped with state-of-the art technical equipment Hotel in dvorec Drnča Dvorska vas 37a SI-4275 Begunje na Gorenjskem, Slovenija

Restaurant, cafe with confectionery, summer terrace with the view to Triglav

T: 00 386 (0) 8 200 5000

100 parking lots

www.hotel-drnca.si

Business & relax – all under one roof

Club premises Wellness and medical centre

Gadgets

fashionable and useful James Bond’s congress accessory

Examples & advice

parthen introduces new congress bag 2010–2011 useful and environmentally friendly

Fashionable and useful! We were thrilled by the elegant combination of notebook and pen, suitable for any business man or woman. The notebook is 60 pages long, which is enough for the most eager note taker. It is accompanied by a pen with blue filling. The notebook has a spring cover with room for business cards. Polished metal covers can be shut with the pen. We recommend a laser engraving of your message for the front side. More interesting promotional gift ideas and products to liven up your event can be found here: www.sparkpromotions.si.

Parthen is the leading maker of bags and badges. They are constantly searching for new materials and fresh design all over the world. The innovativeness of Parthen stems from turning actual needs into concrete new products. This year they are introducing the new congress bag 2010–2011. www.parthen.nl Official representative for SouthEast Europe: GO.MICE, www.go-mice.eu

KOMPAS DESIGN

CHOOSING THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS IS HALF THE SUCCESS For this reason, we pay most attention to business management, accommodation, gastronomy and relaxation, which we combine with logistics, good organisation and the ability to meet the expectations of our guests, thus making an overall, good-quality offer which guarantees success for business events.

The HABAKUK, BELLEVUE and PIRAMIDA hotels • The large congress hall, which seats 500 people, fitted with the most up-to-date audio and visual equipment, a number of smaller halls fitted with up-to-date technical equipment, private lounges … • Wellness centres, swimming pools with thermal water etc. • Coordination of special events, social gatherings, and outdoor events

Terme Maribor. A natural environment for business events. www.termemb.si

Hotel Habakuk Pohorska ulica 59 2000 Maribor Tel.: +386 02 30 08 100 habakuk@termemb.si

Hotel Bellevue Na Slemenu 35 2208 Pohorje Tel.: +386 02 60 75 100 bellevue@termemb.si

Hotel Piramida Ulica heroja Šlandra 10 2000 Maribor Tel.: +386 02 23 44 400 piramida@termemb.si

KOMPAS − DESTINATION MANAGEMENT COMPANY Pražakova 4, 1514 Ljubljana, Slovenia www.kompas-online.net

Contact: Barbara Kladnik T: +386 1 2006 174 E: mice@kompas.si

)F ONLY WEÖD GONE

78 PR

Column by AIPC President, Edgar Hirt How Convention Centres Finance Business and Investment Development Programs with Other People’s Money

Edgar Hirt is the President of the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC); and Managing Director of CCH, Congress Center Hamburg

AIPC is the pre-eminent international association of convention centres, with a mission of encouraging, supporting and recognizing excellence in centre management. Its programs are directed toward enhancing the profile and performance of its members, who are purpose built facilities whose primary purpose is to accommodate and service meetings, conventions, congresses and exhibitions. The AIPC is a global network of over 165 leading centres in 53 countries, with the active involvement of more than 650 centre management professionals.

At first glance, the economics of a convention centre can look a little odd. Few ever recover their capital cost. Many lose money on the bottom line and need to be subsidized. And those that do make an operating profit may do so at the expense of the broader economic benefit they might otherwise generate. This is all simply the result of a market that understands only too well the value they bring

to a host city or region. The overall economic benefit generated by conferences, conventions and related exhibitions far exceeds any potential bottom line profit by the centre itself – and governments, who are typically the owner, are in the best possible position to capture a portion of that resulting benefit via incremental tax revenues. Clients know that, and negotiate accordingly. That’s why those who generate the largest economic benefits get the best rates – and why local events or others that generate relatively small amounts of nonresident spending pay higher rentals. But what is likely the biggest benefit of all is seldom even understood, let alone calculated – and that is the role that a centre and the kinds of events it hosts play in generating new business and investment. When viewed in that light, the modest subsidy that some owners have to pay in operating a centre pales in comparison with the much larger proportion that is paid for by the very planners and delegates whose presence provides what is typically the most effective business and investment promotion a destination can have. Most cities or regions that are serious about attracting new business and investment to their communities organize programs to promote what makes them a good place to locate and invest, and then work hard at getting this message out to decision makers. A key part of any such promotion is encouraging potential investors to come and experience that city, and to see firsthand what makes it an attractive location. The big problem is how to get busy professionals and executives to find the time for a visit – and how to create a positive impression of the destination in the first place. But that’s exactly what convention centres do – and typically they pay for the vast majority of the process with the revenues generated from the audience themselves! Here’s how it works: convention delegates are generally a very different kind of visitor from most others. They are much likely to be senior professionals and business people, particularly when the event they are attending is a national or international corporate or association gathering. They are primarily there to attend

the event, which means that very often they are people who would not otherwise have had any reason to visit at all. And once they are there, their event program is typically designed in a way that will expose them to many of the attributes and opportunities of the destination over a period of several days. This is precisely what you’d want for an effective business and investment development program – and ironically, it’s paid for almost entirely by the delegates themselves. Why this factor has never figured more prominently in the thinking of centre owners is a bit of a mystery, until you realize that it has one problem: it doesn’t lend itself to direct measurement. As a result, it’s often simply ignored. The value of something as obvious as the role that major events play in building destination profile, to the longer term benefit of a city, seems to be well understood when it comes to a single, high profile event like the Olympics or a World Exposition – but seldom recognized in connection with the activities of a convention centre, who unlike a single event, are doing the same job, year after year, and typically with a much more important audience. In practice, most centres manage a balance of business activities that combine good revenue generators with those that create greater economic benefit, and manage to achieve both an acceptable operating bottom line and the broader economic generation that is often the more important objective. However, managers are still regularly faced with the question “Why can’t you people make more money?” from those who don’t understand the full range of potential benefits that are available from different strategies for centre operation. Few would question the wisdom of committing money to a program to attract new business and investment to a destination. It’s about time we recognized how convention centres do exactly that, often far more effectively than other kinds of investment promotional activities, and figured that into their financial equation. Edgar Hirt www.aipr.org

BTC Rimini – Trade Shows and Exhibitions in Rimini

Gabriella Ghigi, director of BTC

From 30th June to 2nd July Rimini played host to Italy’s only meeting industry trade show BTC. Representatives of Kongres magazine also took part, since the magazine was one of the media partners of the event. We were very curious, since the event took place in Rimini for the first time. Our doubts soon withered away, since the organization was flawless from the start. On the first evening the organizers took us to the city state of San Marino where we got to know the local culinary specialities and wines. On July 1st the doors of the trade show BTC opened its doors. The show began. After browsing through the exhibitors we were a little disappointed to find only one representative from SE Europe – the Serbia Convention Bureau, but we believe this will change in the future. Connections between Italy and SE Europe in the meeting industry are inevitable. The organizers impressed us with the side programme since they brought many prominent names from the meeting industry such as Paul Kennedy, Roger Kellerman, Rob Davidson…who prepared very interesting and educational lectures. Every event need some entertainment as well, so the organizers invited us to a beach party where the entertained us in their own unique way – with loads of animation full of positive energy. The next day the event continued as planned and ended towards the evening. You can find out a bit more about BTC from the interview with its director Gabriella Ghigi in this issue.

Can you briefly introduce BTC to our readers? BTC is the only Italian trade show for the meeting industry, this year already in its 26th edition. This is the first year it is taking place in Rimini: previously, it was held in Florence for 22 years and in Rome for 3 years. So it has a new host city and a new date – it used to take place in autumn. The decision to bring BTC to Rimini and to have it in July was based on the market demands. Autumn is a very busy time and it comes too late for corporate organizations and budgeting, so we decided to move it a little bit earlier so that people in the meeting industry would have more time to come to the show, since it is off season for the events and also because it is the time when corporate organizations haven’t planed the events for the autumn jet. So July is the perfect time to come to the show and see the suppliers. Why Rimini? Rimini is one of Italy’s leading conference destinations. It has good facilities, a very well organized network for the meeting industry and in September it will gain a new congress centre. It also has a convention bureau that works very well and supports BTC in all the activities. What about the novelties of BTC? BTC started in a new direction this year. The show is “the” marketplace in Italy for B2B in the meetings industry, and is first and foremost focused on business, but we wanted to take it also beyond the exhibition floor so that participants’ professional skills and relations between people can be strengthened through education and networking. We have a programme of 27 educational events, a pre-show networking workshop and two networking evening events. One more innovation is that we included in the show many elements to make it more experiential, and worked with some exhibitors giving them advice on how to make their stand less traditional and more innovative, stimulating them to make buyers “live” their product or service, rather than just giving tham a brochure. We are designing a new model to meet and do business in the meetings industry. What about the future? Do you see more exhibitors from SEE? Absolutely, the SEE is a growing market for Italy as well. We are definitely looking for new opportunities in that market. For the first time

the Serbian Convention Bureau is attending BTC. SEE market is definitely a market that we would like to take part in the show. We would like to make connections with local associations How about a little bit of statistics? This year we have 320 exhibitors and over 300 buyers from 19 countries. That makes the show compact, traditional size, with a forecast to get bigger as the market gets stronger in general after the crisis in 2009 and also with the strengthening of the Italian market due to new congress facilities that are in construction in Rimini, Rome, Milano and the Italian Convention Bureau whose establishment, as announced here by the Minister for Tourism, is under way. With those facilities we will have new and modern infrastructure to host biggest congresses. BTC is a reflection of the market, and we forecast that the show will grow together with the Italian meetings industry. Where are the buyers from? The most buyers are from Italy then Germany, UK, France and Russia but also from all of East and West European countries and also some from the USA, yet for now BTC is more on a European scale. In the future, maybe we will bring them from Asia as well, if there is an interest in Italy as a destination for their events. Special massage to the readers of Kongres magazine? Come to BTC next year. Come and see Rimini, come and see the show, it will be a great experience.

82 PR

Kompas Novo mesto offers attractive tourist programmes for groups

Offer your guests three inventive and attractive tourist programmes for groups: - rafting on Krka river arround the old part of Novo mesto with a rich animation program - experience the story of cviček wine at Matjaž's homestead - panoramic tour of the capital city Ljubljana by the first panoramic bus in Slovenia

KOMPAS NOVO MESTO Tel.:+386 7 39 31 520, fax.: +386 7 39 31 539 kompas.nm@siol.net www.kompas-nm.si

oglas_splosni_171x126_ENG.pdf 1 11.5.2010 13:44:27

Bohinj Park Hotel, d. o. o. • Triglavska cesta 17, SI-4264 Bohinjska Bistrica • t +386 (0)8 200 4000 • f +386 (0)8 200 4200 • booking@phb.si • www.phb.si

CMY

Converting business events into unforgetable creative experiences? Consider alpine glacial valley: A unique ecological Hotel provides inventive teambuildings, advanced techology, top-ranked facilities ...

TERME ČATEŽ – Where you can be a pirate, castle dweller, Indian, wellness guest… in one day

rooms designed for royalty ensure comfort, peace and creativity. The Golf course near the castle walls adds to the magical experience. Right near the castle you have a great view of the pools – the summer and winter Thermal Riviera. The women on the team disappeared into the many massage pools; others competed in riding down water slides and riding waves in the wave pool. No wonder the Terme attract people of all ages and nationalities.

The editorial board of Kongres magazine received and interesting invitation to the opening of Pirate Bay. Not in the Caribbean but in the middle of Slovenia’s largest spa – Terme Čatež. Professional and private curiosity lead us there immediately. Terme Čatež are one of the fastest growing and developing tourist facilities in Slovenia. Even in 2009 when many were concerned by numbers and profit, Čatež marked a successful season making 3,5% more overnight stays than in 2008, and over a million visits to the pools. Terme Čateže realize over 8,4% of all overnight stays in Slovenia and 25% of all stays in spa resorts. Trends from 2009 continue in 2010 since the first trimester has seen another 1,5% of growth comparing to the same time last year. So where is the key to their success? The answer lies in the facilities of the Terme. In their ideas, business incentives and a good sales team – which has apparently not yet run out of ideas. This is the combination which developed the spa into different directions and attracts a broad scope of visitors. Near Gorjanci lies the Hotel Golf Castle Mokrice****, aimed at high demanding guests. Secret castle halls, mighty towers,

And the pirate bay? After all of the adventures of the day we nearly forgot the purpose of our visit. Was it a joke? A marketing trick? We haven’t run into any pirates and Pirate bay seemed to be a word no one had taken seriously. Boy, were we wrong. On the lake of Terme Čatež we were surprised to see floating wooden houses, covered with straw and connected with floating bridges. In the background of the bay the Indian village with its tents is visible. A backdrop which looks funny in the middle of Slovenia. Another set of ideas carried out in Čatež. The houses can hold up to 100 people and so can the Indian village. Along with the well equipped camp (one of the best according to the ADAC guide), the entire hotel (2 hotels with 4, and 1 with 3 stars) and apartment complex – the area can host up to 1.500 guests. The numbers from the beginning of the article are probably starting to make sense now. So how did the Tereme impress our team, which views every tourist facility with professionally distorted views of the meeting industry? The Terme offer infinite possibilities of incentive programs. These are supported by a congress centre and a large sports facility. On our way home we kept competing in new ideas of how to design an interesting, fun three day team building in Terme Čatež. Here is our suggestion: Friday: - 18.00 do 20.00: reception of the participants in Golf Hotel Mokrice, followed by a dinner in the Castle restaurant. - 20.00 do 21.00: cultural program at the castle courtyard, where participants can relax and feel the spirit of the castle. - 21.00 do 22.00 night school of golf for sports enthusiasts, wine tasting in the castle’s wine

cellar for the others. - 22.00 do 24.00: socializing in the club house restaurant. - Sleeping in castle rooms. Saturday: - 8.00 do 9.00: breakfast in the English park outside the castle - 9.00 do 12.00: part one of the team building program, where the participants look for legends of Mokrice. - 12.00 do 14.00: we move to Čatež ob Savi and have lunch at the hotel Terme. - 14.00 do 18.00: workshop held in one of the congress halls of the business centre. - 18.00 do 21.00: part two of the team building exercises where the participants are divided into 5 groups and compete in culinary workshops. - 21.00 do 22.00: accommodation in the Pirate Bay - 22.00 do 24.00: summary of workshops and team building while enjoying a glass of wine. Sunday: - Enjoying the wellness centres, where the participants can choose a hot stone massage, aromasoul or Thai massage...or can relax in the many pools of the Thermal Riviera and an adrenaline ride down the water slide. They can stop in the Urška confectionery and enjoy a cake. In the evening we return home full of new impressions. This is just one of the ideas of our team. Maybe you can carry it out during your next event.

Asiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s must-attend MICE & Corporate Travel event of the year is back in Bangkok IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2010

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BANGKOK, IT&CMA 2010 sees returning exhibitors pledging substantial increase in their participation. National Convention and Exhibition Bureaus such as Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Seoul and Korea have committed to larger floor spaces of 20% to 50%. “The increased participation affirms AsiaPacific’s desire to further expand the MICE industry in Asia. Choosing IT&CMA is testimony of their confidence that the event can deliver superior business prospects.” acknowledges Mr Darren Ng, Managing Director of TTG Asia Media, organizer of IT&CMA and CTW 2010. With some 5 months to the event in October 5th to 7th, IT&CMA 2010 has sold more than 90% of its’ exhibition space. Confidence in the show remains buoyant despite the recent challenges in Bangkok. “The safety and welfare of our delegates are our utmost priority. As normalcy returns to Thailand we are confident that the event will be staged with minimal disruption.” assures Mr. Darren Ng. Long-standing partner Thailand Convention and Exhibitions Bureau (TCEB) has also re-affirmed its support and commitment to making IT&CMA and CTW 2010 a success. The team remains positive that industry demand will spur IT&CMA and CTW 2010 to outperform last year’s sales and delegate numbers. In addition to exhibitor bookings, the organizers have received more than 500 applications from interested buyers, corporate travel managers and media to date. These numbers are set to increase as marketing efforts heighten in the run-up to the event. Registrations for IT&CMA and CTW 2010 can be made at www.itcma.com or www. corporatetravelworld.com respectively. About IT&CMA and CTW 2010 Asia’s only double bill event in MICE and Corporate Travel will be held from 5th to 7th October 2010 at Bangkok Convention Center, CentralWorld, Bangkok. Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) will bring together MICE suppliers and buyers in a 3-day exhibition showcase coupled with intensive business appointments. Exhibition features include products, services and solutions relating to meetings, incentives, conventions and events. The Corporate Travel World (CTW) Asia Pacific is a conference driven by Corporate Travel & Entertainment

(T&E) content. Influencers, planners and decision-makers of Corporate Travel functions in their organisation attend the annual conference to keep themselves abreast of the latest trends and knowledge that can enable them to get the most out of their (T&E) decisions. Sessions are led by prolific industry veterans. This 2010 will see the 18th and 13th instalment of IT&CMA and CTW respectively. Media Contact Cheryl Tan (Ms.) Marketing Manager TTG Asia Media Pte Ltd 1 Science Park Road, #04-07, The Capricorn Singapore Science Park II, Singapore 117528 Tel: (65) 6395 7575 Fax: (65) 6536 0896 Email: cheryl.tan@ttgasia.com Organiser Website: www.ttgasiamedia.com Event URL: www.itcma.com; www.corporatetravelworld.com

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The last word

Matej Mejovšek, LIFETREK Events

The ways and means of a successful incentive event Incentive which makes you smile

have frequently wondered and still do today what an incentive actually is. What does this magic word in the meeting industry imply, to make it so popular and praiseworthy? The more I think, assess, and guess, I keep getting to the same definition: it means encouraging people to act in a certain way, following a predesigned program. This is what achieves stimulation, enthusiasm, happiness and a change in motivation.

the buyer to spend and satisfy needs to make him happy, in incentives pleasantness and motivation is the key goal.

I am actually pretty lucky in understanding incentives and their consequences, since I come from a marketing background. I’ve learned the craft of advertising from smaller and also some of the largest Slovenian agencies while working with different marketing gurus’. I took the role of designer, creative leader, creative director – and thus developed ideas, scenarios, images, events, fair settings and marketing-sales strategies. I’m lucky to recognize the incentive programs environment is similar to marketing. The only difference is that in marketing you try to sway

The following adds to the mix of the process of managing, project management and directing of a dynamically structured team. Somewhere on the frontline there’s the project manager who creates a scenario along with the team, outlines the events, creates ideas and designs them. The same team then carries out the ideas – takes care of the reservations, studies the location, analyses the group and carries out processes in the field. All in all its comprehensive work, which requires a broad spectre of knowledge and people with different educational backgrounds.

The means of achieving this goal are similar in marketing campaigns and incentive programs.

A good incentive company is a mixture of a tourist, marketing and ad agency.

My first incentive happened by coincidence at the beginning of this century when I organized an event, while still full of marketing knowledge and enthusiasm, where we directed people according to strictly set goals. We worked hard for two days, performed experiments, did some improvising and mostly learned a lot. I learned a lot (luckily) while travelling through USA – where I learned it’s okay to start a project when you have acquired around 30% of the knowledge, you learn the res as you go along. It has to be said that the level of knowledge we had before staring a project here, was just little more encouraging. I later recognized incentives are like a bag – empty and boring if you do not fill it with something. I realized incentive events need to be “spiced” to a make sure they taste good. This is how we launched ourselves on to the business meetings market. We invested a lot in human resources and product development and also on training, promotion and marketing. All was well until we organized our largest and most comprehensive event to

date, for clients from Belgium. The budget was overwhelming; our knowledge was at a level of at least 70 %, even so we uncovered some new revolutionary approaches, convinced our surroundings certain thing are just impossible, worked nights for months.

scenarios, stories... I’m talking about the time when I wrote over 3000 pages of projects, offers, concepts and briefs. This was definitely a time of company and personal growth.

Sometime later the recession hit. Its main We mostly learned you characteristic was having need to persevere, be to work twice as hard for accurate, adapt to change, the same results – in sales which might be simple and in carrying out events. for the clients but can severely change your The crisis is ongoing and will go on for some system. All this and much time. And since the truth is never sexy enough you have to show that much more will, skill, more is typical for the ingenuity, calculating, costs management and incentive environment. negotiating skills to ensure a proper incentive event. In time we reached a prosperous era and the golden age of the company’s growth. Our basic vision was and is to offer creative scenarios and unforgettable stories. It’s hard to forget the time of developing wonders of

Organizing incentive events is similar to being told – no matter if you can’t fly, you can read. Basically, it requires a lot of daring thinking and will and also moderation and

being grounded. A really good story and great execution won’t thrill if the topic is not well chosen. A modest event will not excuse the low costs if there will be no effect and smiles. An expensive event won’t meet expectations if it isn’t carried out in moderation. Incentive, which should be strictly separated from team building, is its own dynamic of different processes, emotions and presentations. It’s good to know the only borders are in our heads, so incentive enables a broad spectre of expressions, ideas and effects. What counts most are of course the smiles!

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Meeting services spot

CVB (National, Regional or Local CVB (CVB - Convention and Visitors Bureau)

slovenian touRist BoaRd Dimičeva 13 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 1 5898 550 info@slovenia.info www.slovenia.info

BelgRade convention BuReau Masarikova 5/IX 11000 Belgrade Serbia +381 11 3061-400 office@tob.co.rs www.tob.co.rs www.belgradetourism.org.rs

duBRovnik & neRetva countRy touRist BoaRd 20 000 Dubrovnik Croatia +385 20 324 999 www.visitdubrovnik.hr info@visitdubrovnik.hr

montenegRo convention BuReau Rimski trg 47 81000 Podgorica Montenegro +382 (0) 20 235 157 mice@montenegro.travel www.montenegro.travel

ljuBljana touRism / convention BuReau Krekov trg 10 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 306 45 94 convention@visitljubljana.si www.visitljubljana.si/meetings

opatija convention & incentive BuReau HR-51410 Opatija, V. Nazora 3 Croatia +385 51 271 710 convention.bureau@opatija-tourism.hr www.opatija-tourism.hr

slovenian convention BuReau Dunajska 156 1000 Ljubljana +386 (0)1 569 1260 info@slovenia-convention.com www.slovenia-convention.com

Rijeka convention BuReau Užarska 14, 51000 Rijeka Croatia +385 51 315 716 convention@tz-rijeka.hr www.tz-rijeka.hr

maRiBoR touRist BoaRd Partizanska 47 2000 Maribor Slovenia +386 2 234 66 08 www. Maribor.travel www.maribor-pohorje.si zzt@maribor.si

seRBia convention BuReau Čika Ljubina 8 11000 Belgrade Serbia +381 (11) 655 7 102 scb@serbia.travel www.scb.travel zagReB touRist BoaRd and convention BuReau Kaptol 5 10 000 Zagreb Croatia T: +385 1 48 98 555 www.zagreb-convention.hr info@zagreb-convention.hr

PCO (Professional Congress Organiser)

go®mice d.o.o. Štihova ulica 4 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 430 51 03 info@go-mice.eu www.go-mice.eu

Go smart. Go creative. Go mice.

www.go-mice.eu

Meeting services spot

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Kongresno-turistični servis Albatros �2�5 Ribenska cesta 2 4260 Bled �5 Slovenia �0 +386 (0) 45 780 350 Info@albatros-bled.com www.albatros-bled.com �B�a�n�e�r

DMC (Destination management company �9�.��a�p�r�i�l��2�0�1�0��1�1�:�4�6�:�2�8

DUBROVNIK TRAVEL Obala S. Radica 25 20 000 Dubrovnik Croatia +385 20 313 555 Croatia@DubrovnikTravel.com www.DubrovnikTravel.com

It’s a beautiful world!

Destination Destination: estination:: EARTH

Earth.indd 2

8.4.2010 10:25:56

KOMPAS Destination Management Company Pražakova 4 1514 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 2006 324 mice@kompas.si www.kompas-online.net LIBERTY INCENTIVES & CONGRESSES SLOVENIA Robbova 2 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 1 232 11 71 info@liberty-slovenia.com www.liberty-incentive.net INTOURS DMC Demaco d.o.o. Dalmatinova 3 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 1 430 3550 www.intours-dmc.si info@intours-dmc.si

Event agency

Creative, Effective, Innovative in Harmony with nature

Congress centre Olimia

• 8 halls with possibility of different chair and table arrangements • Congress Hall Primula up to 350 seats (possibility of separation into two smaller facilities) • Angelica & Erica with 84 seats (possibility of separation into two smaller facilities) • The halls are equipped with the latest audiovideo technique Accomodation in Wellness hotel Sotelia, Hotel Breza with a special pampering in Wellness Orhidelia and Spa Armonia. Surrounding of Terme Olimia ensures successful and efficient corporate and social events and meetings.

Terme Olimia d.d. Zdraviliška cesta 24, SI – 3254 Podčetrtek, Slovenia T 00386 (0)3 829 70 00 info@terme-olimia.com, www.terme-olimia.com

Meeting services spot

Event agency

Congress & Exhitbition Centre

MAYA TEAM Padlih borcev 1 5220 Tolmin Slovenia +386 (0)5 380 05 30 info@maya.si www.events-teambuilding.com

Cankarjev dom, Cultural and Congress Centre Ljubljana Presernova cesta 10 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 2417 122 congress@cd-cc.si www.cd-cc.si/congress

Unique Slovenia Rakovnik 132 1215 Medvode Slovenia +386 (0)1 361 62 44 www.unique-slovenia.si miha.rott@unique-slovenia.si

Gospodarsko razstaviĹĄÄ?e - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre Dunajska cesta 18 1001 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1300 26 00 info@gr-sejem.si www.ljubljanafair.com

Meeting services spot

Congress Hotel

GRAND HOTEL UNION Miklošičeva 1 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 308 12 70 hotel.union@gh-union.si www.gh-union.si BernardiN GROUP Obala 2 6320 Portorož-Portorose Slovenia +386 (0)5 690 70 00 booking@h–bernardin.si www.bernardingroup.si

Terme Maribor d.d. Ulica heroja Šlandra 10 2000 Maribor Slovenia +386 (0)2 234 43 20 marketing@termemb.si www.termemb.si/EN Monsadria d.o.o. Pot za Brdom 4 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 47 02 745 www.hotel.mons.si info@hotel.mons.si

Hotel with conference facilities

Meeting services spot

Hotel with conference facilities

hotel dRnča Dvorska vas 37a 4275 Begunje na Gorenjskem Slovenia + 386 08 200 5000 info@hotel-drnca.si www.hotel-drnca.si

Bohinj paRk eko hotel Triglavska cesta 17 4264 Bohinjska Bistrica Slovenia www.phb.si info@phb.si +386 (0)8 200 4000

hotel lev Vošnjakova ulica 1 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia T: +386 (0)1 231 77 97 E: Info@hotel-lev.si www.hotel-lev.si

falkensteineR cluB funimation BoRik Ulica Majstora Radovana 7 23000 Zadar Croatia +385 (0)23 206 630 ana.belamaric@falkensteiner.com www.borik.falkensteiner.com

maistRa Obala Vladimira Nazora 6. GRAD HR-52210 Rovinj Croatia +385 52 800 250 info@maistra.hr www.maistra.com

WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET HERE?

LAKE BLED,

One of the most attractive incentive destinations in SE Europe that you just need to try out! A prime location at the edge of Julian Alps and just a short drive from the capital city Ljubljana 6 hotels with over 660 hotel rooms and 21 meeting rooms of different size Membership of the five star Grand Hotel Toplice in the prestigious‚ Small Luxury Hotels of the World‘ In 2009 Bled Golf Course was ranked 54th among 100 Top European golf courses by Golf World magazine Incentive programmes, excursions, cultural events, entertainment, modern wellness facilities and diverse culinary offer High–quality conference services and equipment All-round support in the organisation of an event HUNGARY

More information: Sava Hoteli Bled, d.d., Cankarjeva 6 SI-4260 Bled, Slovenia Tel.: +386 (0)4 579 16 00 info@hotelibled.com

AUSTRIA

Graz

Klagenfurt

Bled

Brnik

Ljubljana Zagreb Venice

ITALY

MICE 210 x 148.indd 1

CROATIA

23.6.2010 8:47:22

Meeting services spot

Perla, Casinò & Hotel Kidričeva 7 5000 Nova Gorica Slovenia +386 (0)5 336 36 66 conference.perla@hit.si www.hit.si

Terme Olimia d.d. Zdraviliška cesta 24 3254 Podčetrtek Slovenia +386 (0)38297848 alenka.brglez@terme-olimia.com www.terme-olimia.com/si

Sava Hoteli Bled, d.d. Cakarjeva 6 4260 Bled Slovenia +386 (0)4 579 16 07 info@hotelibled.com www.hotelibled.com

TERME ČATEŽ d.d. Topliška cesta 35 8251 Čatež ob Savi Slovenia +386 (0)749 36 700 www.terme-catez.si info@terme-catez.si

Sport Centre Pohorje Mladinska ulica 29 2000 Maribor Slovenia +386 (0)2 614 0950 tea.kozar@sc-pohorje.si www.pohorje.org

Hotel with conference facilities

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Meeting services spot

Hotel with conference facilities

theRmana d.d., hotels and ResoRts Zdraviliška c. 6 3270 Laško Slovenia +386 (0)3423 20 00 info@thermana.si www.thermana.si

dnevnik d.d. Kopitarjeva 2 in 4 1510 Ljubljana Slovenia pr@dnevnik.si www.dnevnik.si +386 (0)13082150

HI[A KULINARIKE

Other venues

hiša kulinaRike jezeRšek Jezeršek gostinstvo d.o.o. Sora 1a 1215 Medvode Slovenia www.jezersek.com info@jezersek.si +386 (0)1 361 94 21 klaRo d.o.o. Peruzzijeva 84b 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia www.klaro.si info@klaro.si +386 (0)1 280 7770

adRia aiRways Kuzmičeva 7 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)4 259 4555 events@adria.si www.adria-airways.com

meetings:review Hammer Hill Studios Stanbrook CM6 2NH Thaxted United Kingdom +44 1371 831555 www.meetingsreview.com

alkimist, pRevajalska agencija Obirska ulica 4 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia info@alkemist.si www.alkemist.si +386 (0)59073273

paRthen of meeting essentials Stroombaan 4 1181 VX Amstelveen The Netherlands +31 (0)20 572 73 74 info@parthen.nl www.parthen.nl

PMS 281 C PMS 131 C PMS 2603 C PMS 542 C PMS 315 C

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Meeting services spot

Restaurant & catering Borbona Verovškova 55 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 620 77 15 info@borbona.si www.borbona.si

IMEX The Agora, 1st Floor Ellen Street Hove East Sussex England BN3 3LN +44 1273 227311 www.imex-frankfurt.com/

Turizem KRAS destinacijski management d.d. Jamska cesta 30 6230 Postojna Slovenia +386 (0)5 7000 100 info@turizem-kras.si www.turizem-kras.si

Sejmi,borze in dogodki Legend

CVB (National, Regional or Local CVB (CVB - Convention and Visitors Bureau)

30 November - 2 December 2010

EIBTM Gateway House 28, The Quadrant Richmond Surrey TW9 1DN United Kingdom +44 (0) 20 8271 2127 eibtm.helpline@reedexpo.co.uk www.eibtm.com GO®MICE d.o.o (Conventa) Štihova ulica 4 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 430 51 03 info@go-mice.eu www.conventa.si

PCO (Professional Congress Organiser)

DMC (Destination management company

Event agency

Congress & Exhitbition Centre

Congress Hotel

Hotel with conference facilities

Other venues

The 24th 28 August - 1 September 2010 TAMPERE, FINLAND

Grab your last chance to sign up for this year’s ECM Summer School and… …strengthen your position! Economic situation being one of the major influences in the development of the tourism and meetings industry, we need to focus our effort on educating ourselves. Meeting professionals from different countries all over Europe means getting more information, more experience, learning about different approaches and therefore puts you in a stronger position to approach an economically difficult situation.

…learn first-hand about environmentally friendly events! An important development was implemented last year for the first time - the concept of green meetings and green venues. This innovation received extremely positive feedback and therefore, in 2010 and for the future, the topic of green events will be part of the educational programme of ECM Summer School.

…get answers! All the Summer School speakers are highly acknowledged professionals in the meetings industry and have rich experience in this domain. The ECM Summer School is a rare occasion to share in their knowledge and experience and to get answers to various questions you may have.

…build up your professional network! Summer School speakers are not the only ones who can bring the right knowledge to you. Summer School students come from different sectors of the meetings industry all over Europe and that makes the Summer School even more effective. Every business is about contacts and knowing the people you work with and Summer School is a perfect opportunity to start meeting people from the same professional area.

ECM Summer School 2009

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Distribution points of Kongres magazine

The editorial board of Kongres magazine is in agreement with a few congress centres, hotels and airline Adria Airways to distribute the Kongres magazine in their facilities. The points of distribution are:

Cankarjev dom, Cultural and Congress Centre Ljubljana Presernova cesta 10 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 2417 122 congress@cd-cc.si www.cd-cc.si/congress

Terme Krka, d.o.o. Ljubljanska c. 26 8501 Novo mesto Slovenia +386 7 373 19 15 E: booking.hotel.krka@terme-krka.si www.terme-krka.si

GRAND HOTEL UNION Miklošičeva 1 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 308 12 70 hotel.union@gh-union.si www.gh-union.si

Sava Hoteli Bled, d.d. Cakarjeva 6 4260 Bled Slovenia +386 (0)4 579 16 07 info@hotelibled.com www.hotelibled.com

TERME ČATEŽ d.d. Topliška cesta 35 8251 Čatež ob Savi Slovenia +386 (0)749 36 700 www.terme-catez.si info@terme-catez.si

Terme Maribor d.d. Ulica heroja Šlandra 10 2000 Maribor Slovenia +386 (0)2 234 43 20 marketing@termemb.si www.termemb.si/EN

Hotel Lev Vošnjakova ulica 1 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia T: +386 (0)1 231 77 97 E: Info@hotel-lev.si www.hotel-lev.si

Terme Olimia d.d. Zdraviliška cesta 24 3254 Podčetrtek Slovenia +386 (0)38297848 alenka.brglez@terme-olimia.com www.terme-olimia.com/si

Best Western Premier Hotel Slon Slovenska cesta 34 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0) 1 470 11 00 E: recepcija@hotelslon.com www.hotelslon.com

Adria Airways Kuzmičeva 7 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)4 259 4555 events@adria.si www.adria-airways.com

Monsadria d.o.o. Pot za Brdom 4 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 47 02 745 www.hotel.mons.si info@hotel.mons.si

If your hotel, agency ore congress centre would like to become one of the distributers of Kongres magazine email us at jan.klavora@go-mice.eu.

Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Dubrovnik Sun Gardens, Dubrovnik Croatia

MEET IN DUBROVNIK

Radisson Blu Resort & Spa Dubrovnik Sun Gardens Na Moru 1, 20234 Orašac Dubrovnik, Croatia Tel: +385 20 361 500, Fax: +385 20 361 501 info.dubrovnik@radissonblu.com www.radissonblu.com/resort-dubrovnik

Meet in SEE je prvi katalog ponudnikov kongresnih produktov in storitev JV Evrope.

Meet in Southeast Europe Southeast Europe Meeting Guide 2010/2011

SLOVENIA MEETINGS Feel the people. Taste fresh ideas.

www.slovenia.info

www.slovenia-convention.com

SLOVENIA FOR YOU Feel the presence of nature. Taste the harmony of diversity.

Come and take a closer look: The Koritnica Valley.

www.slovenia.info

www.visitljubljana.si

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