Kongres November 2010 Eng

6 The role of Convention Bureaus in the region of SE Europe

25 Luca Favetta, senior director Global Events EMEA + India at SAP AG

Commitment is key and professionalism has to follow

Sapphire Now is defining a new way to organizing an event

27 Dan Rivlin, managing director of Kenes Those who will not evolve, will not survive

Christian Mutschlechner

www.slovenia.info

SOUTHEAST EUROPE MEETINGS INDUSTRY MAGAZINE, VOLUME IV, ISSUE 5, NOVEMBER 2010 www.kongres-magazine.eu OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE SLOVENIAN CONVENTION BUREAU

Gospodarsko razstaviπËe d.o.o., Dunajska cesta 18, 1000 Ljubljana

Is yours the same old story?

Why not try something different?

GR − Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre Slovenia Discover our secrets.

Contents

Our selection

5 6 8 9

A word from the editor Column: Christian Mutschlechner Column: Paul Kennedy Column: Amy Spatrisano

Page 6 Column:

12 13 15 17 18

News: News from Slovenia News from Europe Conventa News Photo session - Academy Conventa Other news

25 27 31

34 36 38

42

44 46 48

49

50 52 54

Interview: Luca Favetta Dan Rivlin Andrej Prebil In focus: Elling Hamso Caroline Mackenzie Statements & opinions Gastronomy: Prof. Janez Bogataj Surveys: Maruša Rosulnik Ljubica Knežević Cvelbar INCON Agency presents: Dubrovnik Travel Slovenian Convention Bureau presents: News from Slovenian Convention Bureau List of members of Slovenian Convention Bureau CVB in event agencies

56

58

59

Congress travelogue: Sofia Congress locations: Congress Ljubljana Congress personality: Jasna Dimitrijević

60 63

Examples & advice: Good practise examples Gadgets

70 72

PR: AIPC Borut Nikolaš

74

The last word

77 78 80 82 84 85 87

Congress Addendum FAIRS Editorial IMEX GR Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre Pomurje Fair Primorje Fair Celje Fair STO

92

Meeting 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; Proofreading: Metka Golčman; Printing: Kerschoffset Zagreb d.o.o.; Circulation: 3000 copies; ISSN Number: 1855-8615 The Kongres magazine is entered into the media register under sequence number 1423.

Magazine issued in: January; April; July; October; December

The role of Convention Bureaus in the region of SE Europe Commitment is key and professionalism has to follow Christian Mutschlechner

Page 25 Interview:

Luca Favetta, senior director Global Events EMEA + India at SAP AG Sapphire Now is defining a new way to organizing an event Page 27: Interview:

Dan Rivlin, managing director of Kenes Those who will not evolve, will not survive Page 34 In focus:

Why everything will change The old need to learn from the young Dr. Elling Hamso

Page 77 Fairs:

Changes at GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and convention centre When will we finally see the "controversial" million of visitors per year?

Aleš Rastko

Publisher, Production and Marketing: GO®MICE d.o.o., Štihova 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, T: +386 (0)1 430 51 03 , F: +386 (0)1 430 51 04, E: kongres@go-mice.eu; Issue date: Novembar 2010; Price: 6,70 EUR/Slovenia; 18,00 EUR/Other Countries For the content reproduction it is required to get the written editorial consigment.

On the basis of the Value Added Tax Act, VAT is levied at a 8.5 per cent rate for the magazine.

The magazine is free-of-charge for qualified event organizers.

3

Go smart. Go creative. Go mice.

conGress and

marketinG aGency

www.go-mice.eu

5

A word from the editor

Gorazd Čad

What will congress agencies of the future look like?

PCO – Professional congress organizer, logistics or communications integrator

’ve spent almost my entire congress career, with a short exception, as a PCO. In the early years of my career my view of the field was distinctively logistical. As professional congress organizer in those days I worked mostly within the logistics logic, I dealt with directing processes from congress service providers and partners to the end consumers – congress participants. The aim was to ensure quality of services in the allotted time.

In those pioneer times the price was not always the most important. We were keener on multiplicative results and satisfaction of participants and clients. We developed sub systems for registration, technical support, accompanying programme and hotel management. In the same period I introduced elements of project management to my work, which enabled a more efficient start up of congress projects and management of more projects at the same time. It is interesting to note logistics and project management originate from military doctrines. Though these are far more stiff and rigid, they form the basis for every economic activity. They are to be used in the right measure and should be combined with skills of creative industries, which nowadays represent the hearth of the meetings industry.

I

In the last few years you can count the number of active PCOs in the region on the fingers of two hands. The survivors are publicly owned, financially invulnerable and those who are extremely adaptable to change in the market.

New technology made basic logistics extremely cheap which changed the entire industry. This is part of the reason why logistics is mostly carried out by global or local DMC-agencies, which function on the principle of size and cost reduction for suppliers. PCOs which still follow the old principles will have to find costumers in less developed markets.

Congress agencies are becoming the meeting point of different creative service providers from culture and arts to technology and science. The basic added value of PCOs today is in ensuring integrated marketing communications by combining all communication tools needed for a congress or event. Such agencies will be the driving

force of one of the fastest growing segments of tourism in the world. So where do congress agencies come in? By the nature of the work they are more in more the creative area.

The winners will be the agencies able to integrate communication consistently, efficiently and measurably. Also, they should be able to measure the indicators of efficiency and success of a congress at any moment.

A part of the ROI concept will be measuring communications within the framework of a congress, which is the strongest marketing tool there is. The whole package will have to be spiced by some honest socially responsible actions. PCO agencies have to become different and stand out from the crowd. And this is driven by innovation.

Only PCO agencies of this kind will be able to stay on top of the “food” chain of the meetings industry. Yet we must not forget about the opportunities presented by digitalisation.

To conclude I will borrow a statement of marketing guru sir John Hegarty, that “marketing is on the verge of a golden age", which sounds like blasphemy in the depths of a recession. Why should the same not be true for the meetings industry? The people we talked to in the last issue of Kongres magazine this year, confirm this idea.

6

Column

The role of Convention Bureaus in the region of SE Europe Commitment is key and professionalism has to follow Christian Mutschlechner

Today’s role of a Convention Bureau for a city or a region is quite different to previous times.

And this difference reflects the changes on a global level. Today Convention Bureaus are part of the Meetings Industry, in a larger sense belonging to the Knowledge Industry.

Convention Bureaus have to be today and in the future the turning point for the customer, the client, the meeting planner and have to make sure that the suppliers of the city or region are behind the Convention Bureau.

It is clear that the one-stop solution for a destination can only be the Convention Bureau, under the condition that the Bureau is working professionally, is accepted by the suppliers and official institutions and is focussing primarily on the client needs. The problem arises quite often for Bureaus with membership, as there is a conflict per se between the focus on the client needs and to serve the members.

However the key target for a Convention Bureau has to be to bring business to the destination.

Not to forget that from the touristic point of view the destination needs to have good branding, even though nowadays touristic aspects are less and less important for delegates.

Convention Bureaus help promote universities, research and support international networks

representatives from universities, research institutes etc. and help them build up new networks and that should also be the case in SE Europe.

Knowledge created in a destination and/or region is also an export item and export happens quite often within meetings and congresses.

Convention Bureaus have to be aware of this aspect and should try to convince local representatives to maximize the knowledge gained and the research done. Meetings and Congresses are an excellent platform to liaise on a regional, European and international level and by that advance global research and knowledge.

Convention Bureaus have to perform quite extensive basic research and have to find out who are the individuals at universities, at local national associations with international connections. Those people have to be identified as potential hosts for European or international meetings. Once identified, it is the role of the Convention Bureau to convince those people to move into a bidding process, assuming that the infrastructure in the respective destination is adequate for the meeting. The guidance and the help to these people is a key factor for success, sometimes it takes 10–12 years from the first contact until the final win of such a bid. And the Convention Bureau has to accompany this individual over the period.

This brings in another aspect of the work of a Convention Bureau: stability and continuity.

Still, looking around Europe, there are not many Bureaus where the key staff is with the Bureau for more than ten years. But for the

success of a Bureau and for the destination representation by the Convention Bureau, it is absolutely imperative that the work environment for the staff allows longstanding staff members. It is not just an appropriate salary. It’s more the environment policies, which should enable the Convention Bureau and its staff to work independently and focus on the one and only target a Bureau has to have: bringing business – meetings, conferences – to the destination. To the client destination relationship is key for the success and this relationship cannot be built on a staff, changing every three years. That is probably the key reason making the difference between very successful Convention Bureaus in Europe and the others.

In SE Europe there’s sometimes only one person at a destination responsible for the Meeting Industry, but just this one person, with a clear focus and a clear responsibility, can be beneficial to a destination (as long as the infrastructure works).

There is a clear opportunity for the whole region to become more known in the world of government and association meetings but the service level and the infrastructure must be adequate.

And never forget: not every destination has to be a meetings destination, there is only one option, if you move into the meetings industry, the support from all levels within a destination must be evident – on the other hand if that is not given, better to abstain from this market segment as half hearted solutions are neither good for the destination or off course for the potential clients.

Commitment is key and professionalism has to follow.

7

Column

‘Getting out there and getting the Business’ It’s up to you to get your product and service messages to the market

Paul Kennedy

The Conventa Academy gathering in Portorož in mid November did in my opinion convey very clear messages and at the same time prompted many positive responses to facing up to the challenges of winning new and increased business.

One of my friends in the global meetings industry Linda Periera delivered an energetic, passionate and serious message to the Slovenian Meetings Industry.

The message was simple – it’s up to you to get your product and service messages to the market.

This was perhaps perfectly highlighted by the fact that only one of the delegates who attending the C level presentation had even googled Linda or her hugely successful company. Over the next two hours only one other delegate talked to her about their product. Linda is recognised as one of the Top 100 PCOs in the world who had largely negative or at best neutral perception about what Slovenia has to offer the meetings industry. Her experiences over the four days she spent in Slovenia, during which time she visited Ljubljana, Bled, Piran and Portorož and paid a truly memorable visit to the Lipizzaner Stud Farm, has apparently changed her perception greatly.

In addition the issues of quality standards and consistent attention to detail were shown to be of paramount importance.

A key message from both Linda and me is to understand what makes meeting planners choose destinations BEFORE they even consider issues such as gastronomy, culture, landscape and the weather and this last function is not that important at all.

There needs to be a systematic approach to business development preferably adopting a partnership approach to clients needs rather than a commodity sell.

The need for clear policies and practices in the area of mark ups, commissions and fees needs urgent attention and the stories of the levels of some mark ups on hotel rates were truly worrying.

There is a lot to do but the very positive and determined response Linda and me experienced, suggests an improved market position for Slovenia.

The Slovenian meetings supply chain needs to act as a single entity. Let’s start The challenge of the doing this as the norm and industry is now to make ensure we get the other Slovenia not only the top 99 international PCOs 84th country to host her company’s events but also to bring their events to to do so on a regular basis. Slovenia as well.

8

Column

Are Green Meetings the Future of Meetings?

Green meetings reinforce a corporation’s reputation Amy Spatrisano

I’d love to think so! Our journey as an industry to green our meetings has only begun in earnest the last few years and I see loads of examples that our industry is headed in that direction. Before I get too far though, it’s important to define green meetings so we’re all on the same page. The Green Meeting Industry Council’s definition is

Mitigating risk can ensure that you stay competitive. For example, implementing green meetings can illustrate a planner’s ability to perform state-of-the-art meeting practices while reducing costs. Supporting corporate image greatly increases a planner’s marketability. Some suppliers that provide green meeting services have reported increased market share.

Risk can also be associated with protecting your corporate image. If your CEO has made a public corporate announcement committing to carbon reduction at an annual event and the event did not implement any carbon reduction strategies, the corporation can quickly lose credibility.

“a green meeting or event incorporates environmental considerations throughout all stages of the meeting in order to minimize the negative impact on the Green meetings reinforce environment.” a corporation’s reputation by illustrating that the I suggest an expanded definition to include corporation is “walking the economic and social considerations as well. While some would rather refer to green the talk” of sustainability. meetings as sustainable meetings, for me, so long as you define what it means to you, the term you use is less important.

The reasons organizations adopt green meeting practices may vary. However, there is a basic driver for green meetings – they actually make good business sense. They are by design a more efficient, cost effective way to do business.

Green meetings can help organizations mitigate risk, enhance corporate reputations, increase stakeholder satisfaction and provide proactive approaches to coming regulations.

Take the same example, except add to the CEO’s announcement of carbon reductions, citing specific examples of the steps taken to reduce their meeting’s carbon footprint. The corporation’s reputation would be enhanced, not compromised.

Gone are the days when organizations funded staff to attend annual meetings just because they’ve always sent someone. Continued budget constraints and the assessment of each meeting’s value will continue to influence how our industry defines meetings. Green meeting practices support delegate satisfaction by offering added value to the meeting through virtual experiences, more convenience when travel distance is taken into consideration and the meeting is held closer to the majority of attendees resulting in less travel. Traditionally, green meetings also contribute to the health

and wellness of the attendee with the offering of organic, local, healthy food. Many attendees surveyed say they appreciate the efforts of a green meeting as the experience aligns with their own values around sustainability.

The continual innovation around meeting technologies has created “hybrid” meetings that integrate virtual meetings with face-toface experiences. Hybrid meetings reduce the need to travel and allow more options for people to engage in meetings, thereby reducing the carbon emissions of travel, yet providing a variety of ways for attendees to connect to other attendees and access the meeting content, all important aspects of green meetings.

In order to mitigate climate change, local, regional, national and international regulations will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. In the meetings industry there are three key projects underway globally that will influence our approach to green meetings and what practices and policies are adopted. The first project is one I’ve been involved in for three years and is near and dear to my heart, the APEX/ASTM Environmentally Responsible Meeting Standards. The standards were inspired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Green Meeting Industry Council, culminating in a collaborative partnership with the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) initiative and the international standards development body, ASTM. When finalized in early 2011, these international standards will be specific, measurable, performance based criteria standards – similar to a checklist.

The standards will cover nine meeting categories: Accommodations, Audio/Visual and Production, Communication, Destinations, Exhibits, Food & Beverage, Meeting Venue, OnSite Offices and Transportation.

These standards were designed to

9

accommodate the levels of engagement currently in the market place as well as provide for improved performance using a Level 1-4 hierarchy. The beauty of these standards is that they will also serve as a useful checklist and guidance document for others to follow. Two other unique quality of these standards is that they hold both the supplier and planner accountable for performance and will be a touchstone for the industry about what practices must be implemented to consider your meeting sustainable.

The second project is the transformation of the British Standard 8901(BS 8901) into ISO 20121.

BS8901 was launched in 2007 and crafted as a sustainable event management process and system and is currently working through the International Standards Organization (ISO) as ISO 20121. While the APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting standard focuses on specific, key performance indicators, the ISO 20121 standard will be designed to address how sustainable meetings are managed. They are complimentary standards that also work independently of each other.

The third project is the work being done by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) around the reporting on sustainable event activities.

GRI is the international reporting protocol used by corporations globally to report on the sustainable practices and processes.

All of these projects are slated to be completed within the next 4 to 18 months, are voluntary and share the following characteristics: volunteer consensus based processes, international input, non-industry stakeholder engagement and feedback. While their development is driven by industry sector demand, how and to what extent they will be adopted remains to be seen.

Given green meetings make for smart business

practices and the impending standards and reporting protocol which will help define them, green meeting likely will be the future of meetings. I sincerely hope there will come a day where we no longer have to isolate the practices of green meetings, giving them a special name. It will just be how meetings are executed.

Vsak dan vam prinaša

kakovostne informacije v prispevkih aktualnega politično-gospodarskega dogajanja in z vseh drugih področij, kot so zdravje, zaposlitev, šport…, ki temeljijo na zanesljivih in kredibilnih virih.

Za vas smo pripravili

zakladnica nasvetov za začetnike in izkušene mojstre

Revija za lažje življenje brez stresa

za d v m nja es sob ec ot u a

Lifestyle mesečnik za zahtevnejšega bralca/-ko

Za 14-dnevno prejemanje brezplačnega oglednega izvoda pokličite 080 2007 ali nam pišite na narocnina@dnevnik.si. Življenje ima besedo.

www.dnevnik.si

priloga za sodoben življenjski slog

dr u v mga es sobo ec ta u

k rte ič ru g ak d vs

ak d

ru g

ič

et

rte et

o sr ed ak o skrivnost ženskega sveta

vs

priloga za zdravo in kakovostno življenje

vs

vs

ak

dr ug

it or ek

k

tudi številne priloge:

12 News

News from Slovenia

WORLD CHAMPION'S CATERING Jezeršek Catering is discovering new dimensions of catering with Esimit Europa 2 – the best maxi class yacht in the world. The world's sailing elite gathered in Trieste to meet the Esimit Europa’s crew formed by the world’s best professional sailors. For this special occasion Jezeršek Catering launched a new product »Catering Deluxe«, developed especially for this event. Oysters, truffles, foie-gras... accompanied by sparkling wines Medot – the official sponsor of Esimit Europa 2. Best of the best, for the best! www.jezersek.com Naslov: New look after a century of tradition in service and quality In the heart of the very centre of Ljubljana, the Grand Hotel Union is continuing its centennial tradition of quality and perfection by receiving the 2009 Superbrands Award. In the newly refurbished part Grand Hotel Union – Business presented its completely new image with a combination of modern and elegant design with superlative comfort. Grand Hotel Union Executive also unveiled 96 refurbished rooms in the historical part. The improved wellness area provides the business traveller with a variety of options for relaxation. www.gh-union.si

tourist offers to many potential business partners from abroad. Thus at the trade show in Maribor, among other things, there was a presentation of the international project Hiking & Biking, Recreation in Nature – hiking and biking without borders, which includes the area of north-eastern Slovenia and Austria’s region Styria. www.maribor-pohorje.si

1st International conference of Beekeepers Associations

The NATOUR trade show is a business tourism event for active holidays in Slovenia, at which registered travel companies can, present their

www.hotel-lev.si

The Convention centre of Thermana in Laško hosted the 1st International conference of Beekeepers Associations, with the topic of introducing the beekeepers associations and the problems of beekeeping in different countries.

The conference was hosted by The Slovenian Beekeeper’s Association, Public consultancy office in Beekeeping. Representatives of foreign beekeepers associations from over 16 countries attended the conference. www.thermana.si

The NATOUR trade show, an international travel and trade show for active holidays was held in Bovec and Maribor

Bled opened its doors last year and filled a hole in Bled’s tourist offer. A unique location, old-fashioned furniture, excellent cooking with vegetables and spices from the home garden, cooking school, a pleasant wellness, hospitality and the motto “Here you don’t need a watch”, attract guests from Slovenia and abroad.

They prepared new programmes for the fall and winter in line with the company’s long-term goal – to lift the levels of culinary and drinking culture. www.hoteltriglavbled.si Naslov: Andrej Prebil, director of Hotel Lev d.d. wins Best Manager in Tourism 2010 Ministry of the Economy and Slovenian Tourist Board gave out the award for Best Manager in Tourism for the 4th year in a row. The tourism workers picked the winner from the nominees by voting via email, the decision was then backed by the professional jury. The award for Best Manager in Tourism 2010 went to Andrej Prebil, director of Hotel Lev d.d.

Hotel Triglav Bled and Restaurant 1906 Bled Hotel Triglav with an A la carte restaurant 1906

Sixt offers reservation of vehicles on the Apple iPad The company Sixt AG, leading international chain for vehicle rental prepared a mobile application Sixt HD in cooperation with Apple.

The application enables easy reservation and rental of vehicles over the tablet computer Apple iPad. The application uses an intuitive user interface and quickly provides all the details and information about renting vehicles online. www.e-sixt.si

13

News from Europe

Manchester United accepted into congress Premier League It's official: Man Utd is now a member of ICCA, the International Congress & Convention Association, the 77th new member organisation from 35 countries to join the association this year. The move illustrates the football club's ambitions to build up its reputation as one of the UK's top meetings venues, capitalising on the instant recognition of their global brand and the top quality conference facilities and service standards they've developed at the Old Trafford stadium. The Old Trafford stadium has got 24 suites, enough outside space to cater for almost all occasions and 160 meeting rooms that can be used for breakout space.

News

EVENT ROI INSTITUTE LAUNCHES ROI METHODOLOGY FOUNDATION CERTIFICATE The Event ROI Institute is introducing a new professional qualification, the ROI Methodology Foundation Certificate. The programme involves an initial 2-day course, a period of coaching during practical application and the completion of a meeting effectiveness evaluation report.

To learn more about the ROI Foundation Programme, have a look at the free webinar

by Dr. Elling Hamso. You can also find more information and the registration page on www.eventroi.org.

Yet another award for Christian Mutschlechner: This time it’s the I.M. Austria Award This has been a truly rewarding year for Christian Mutschlechner, Director of the Vienna Tourist Board’s Vienna Convention Bureau and President of the Austrian Convention Bureau. Last May he received the Unity Award of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), the umbrella organization of leading international conference industry associations, and has now also been awarded the I.M. Austria Award by the special interest group of trade fair and live marketing specialists in Austria. www.vienna.convention.at

www.manutd.com

Iceland receives ICCA Best Marketing Award BlackBerry Apps Now Available at MeetingApps.com MeetingApps.com is pleased to announce the inclusion of BlackBerry apps onto the World’s First Portal for Meeting Apps. Global planners and hospitality partners can now immediately locate BlackBerry apps to help operate their meetings and conferences. The smartphone app directory also includes apps to help planners achieve their Corporate Social Responsibility Program (CSR) targets during the meeting planning process. New BlackBerry meeting apps will be continuously added to MeetingApps. com, keeping planners up to date with the latest developments. www.blackberry.meetingapps.com

The Inspired by Iceland campaign and the Iceland Convention & Incentive Bureau (ICIB) are presented with the ICCA Best Marketing Award in Hyderabad, India on 27th October 2010.

The aftermath of the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier and the ash clouds that followed are well known in the Meeting industry.

But with a wave of cancellations across all sectors and what looked to be a catastrophic summer for tourism in Iceland, the real threat that emerged became the potential long-term consequences for the country’s tourism industry as a whole. www.inspiredbyiceland.com.

Radisson Blue Resort reopens in Split After a substantial reconstruction and renovation the formerly legendary Hotel Split, Radisson Blu Resort Split, is opening its doors again.

The hotel is managed by Rezidor Hotel Group.

The comprehensive process of hiring is finished.

The general manager of the hotel is Maik Schaefer, hotelier with international experience.

His staff is comprised of 120 employees, who are locals from Split and its surroundings, which makes Radisson Blu Resort Split one of the largest and most important employers in Split. www.radissonblu.com/resort-split

14 News

News from Europe

WORLDHOTELS welcomes Palace Hotel Zagreb

New hotel in Novi Sad

Zagreb’s Landmark property, Hotel Palace Zagreb has selected WORLDHOTELS as its strategic partner for global marketing, sales and distribution by joining the group’s portfolio of 450 hotels. The Palace Hotel Zagreb has opened its doors in 1907 and is the most historic hotel in the city. Located only 5 minutes walk from the historic centre and Main Square it’s the ideal place for both business and leisure travellers.

The hotel “Centar” is Novi Sad’s brand new 4* hotel situated in the heart of the downtown area, near the central pedestrian zone and most of the city sights. The hotel contains 49 modern equipped rooms, 2 de luxe rooms and one dividable conference hall for up to 100 people.

Designed by one of Serbia most respected architects prof. Brana Mitrovic the interior of the hotel is modern, with simple lines and warm colours, which make guests feel very welcome.

www.palace.hr

www.hotel-centar.rs

The first Italian representative in the Board of Directors of the International Congress and Convention Association ICCA

first prize in the category of tourist spot, at the just completed 46th International tourism film festival in the Italian city of Lecce, in the Puglia province. 60 countries competed, with 300 films from all continents, in 10 categories.

Zagreb Tourist Board is pleased with the success achieved, which shows that the profession recognizes and appreciates the hard professional work in the promotion of Zagreb as a tourist and congress destination. www.zagreb-convention.hr

BTC WORKS ON THE 2011 SHOW

Francesca Manzani, Marketing & Sales Manager of Newtours S.p.A. part of the ARI Group, has been elected in the ICCA Board of Directors, the International Congress & Convention Association which counts more than 950 members all over the world. Italy, one of the founding fathers of ICCA, had never had a representative in the Board before. Elections took place on October 24th during the 49th ICCA General Assembly and Congress held in Hyderabad, India.

With the summer date (30th of June – 1st of July) and the venue of the Fiera di Rimini exhibition centre confirmed for next year on the back of positive feedback from the market, BTC is working on the 2011 show, which looks set to register sound growth compared to the previous year. The strategic development plan will focus on three areas: business, professional education and networking. www.btc.it

www.iccaworld.com

The promotional film of the Zagreb Tourist Board got an award at the 46th International tourism film festival The promotional film of the Zagreb Tourist Board “Advent in Zagreb” was awarded the

15

Conventa News

News

Prestigious Academy Conventa Award

Conventa wild card programme

Are you a meetings industry professional with a bold inventive project? If yes, we invite you to apply for the leading meeting industry award in the region of South East Europe – the Academy Conventa Award.

The Academy Conventa Award recognizes outstanding innovations in the area of meetings industry that constitute a strategy of stimulating progress in the industry. The Award is thus searching for an answer to: “Which is the most successful solution, exceptional concept or creative idea developed in the meetings industry of South-East Europe in 2010?”

The competition is divided into subcategories so as to grant meetings industry organizations equal opportunities in presenting their innovations. The subcategories are 1. Innovation in promoting destination 2. Innovation in promoting convention venue 3. Innovation in the area of congress services

The Conventa wild card programme offers meetings industry providers who are exhibiting at the Conventa trade show for the first time and come from a South East European country, with lower trade per capita, the opportunity to apply for a free exhibition place at Conventa 2011 plus marketing and PR support.

This is an extremely valuable chance for ambitious destinations, convention and conference centres & hotels, professional congress organisers, destination management companies, event agencies and other meeting industry providers from selected destinations to showcase their offer to an audience of global buyers.

Winning a place on the Conventa wild card programme brings an opportunity to learn about the global meetings market and to introduce a destination’s offer. At the same time it is a chance to build important contacts and potential partnerships for the future.

There are two Conventa wild card places to be awarded. Each winning exhibitor will receive the Black Sea exhibition package including exhibition stand, an online profile enabling prescheduling of one-on-one meetings between exhibitors and buyers and entry into the show

The Academy Conventa thus invites meetings industry professionals from the region of South East Europe to present their innovations and apply for the prestigious award by 13 December 2010.

catalogue. The winners will also benefit from marketing support to assist them in presenting their offer to the audience of international buyers before and at the show.

Application is open to any meetings industry provider that has never previously exhibited at Conventa and comes from a South East European country with lower trade per capita by which we mean Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia. The entrants have to demonstrate they have the commitment and capacity to handle new business and that their destination has the infrastructure to support the demands of the meetings and incentive travel market.

To apply visit http://www.conventa.si/exhibitors and submit the application form by December 1st, 2010.

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

17

Photo session - Academy Conventa

News

18 News

News EIAT EIAT 2010

EIAT – Education and industry advancing together

Belgrade’s hotel In hosted the Third international tourist conference EIAT from 24th to 26th of September 2010. The goal of the conference was to create a platform for top-most young leaders from tourism and hotel industry. 220 participants gathered in one place, including the top students from universities from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as 14 renowned lecturers and numerous professionals from around the globe.

The opening ceremony of the conference took place at Yugoslav drama theatre, where Third international tourist conference EIAT 2010 was opened with an attractive programme.

The conference was sponsored by HRH Crown Prince Alexander II, the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development and the city of Belgrade.

The business aspect of the conference was divided into three parallel sessions, including the Future Leaders Forum. EIAT has been organizing it since 2009 in cooperation with the world’s largest meetings industry trade show – IMEX and in cooperation with the association MPI. The lectures included some of the most renowned names in the meetings industry – professor Kaye Chon of Faculty of tourist and hotel management in Hong Kong, Dejan Đorđević, CEO of Alatau Hospitality from Russia, Rick Taylor, CEO of The Business Tourism Company Sandton, South Africa, Mady Keup, SKEMA Business School Sophia Antipolis from Nice, Rob Davidson, Senior Lecturer in Business Travel and Tourism at University of Westminster, professor Zoran Klarić, dean of School of management in Zagreb and a number of other experts from the industry.

The topics discussed at lectures were brand development, sales techniques for luxurious hotel brands and the importance of leadership and mentorship in the tourist industry. Examples from practise were demonstrated and each lecture was followed by a public debate. All the lectures ware held on a very high level, which reaffirms EIAT’s position as the strongest regional conference on education in tourism.

On the last day the participants attended the EIAT Networking Serbian Dinner at the restaurant "Dva Jelena" in the bohemian Skadarlija quarter.

The main organizer of the congress was the Centre for Tourism Research and Studies from Novi Sad and its director Milan Čulić.

19

News

News

17th Golden Drum in the sign of reconstruction

The Golden Drum is the first advertising festival of the New Europe and one of two largest European advertising festivals. It’s also one of the few Slovenian trademarks recognized in Europe.

Since advertising is one of the accelerators of economy, the mission of the Golden Drum is increasing its creative potential even in less privileged environments. It’s the only Eastern European festival considered in the Gunn Report, the white paper of advertising, which calculates the point of the best advertisements and ad agencies which created them.

At the end of summer the people working in advertising and PR begin to look forward to an event bringing together the professionals from Portorož to Vladivostok, from Helsinki to Tel Aviv. This year the last sunny week of the Indian summer belonged to the international advertising festival and media meeting, which brought together over one thousand people from more than 30 countries for 6 days.

They came to find out what kind of reconstruction is planned for marketing communications. They were drawn to the festival by our star speaker, Sir John Hegarty, the founder of BBH agency: “The future of advertising has been questioned. Regardless what these cynics say, our industry is about to enter a golden age."

He didn’t disappoint with his lecture and even less with his friendliness and frankness. He fell in love with the spirit of Bernardin along with its left and right neighbours, Portorož and Piran.

The Genius loci was one of the topics of an open call for applications, which was answered by over five hundred participants. They were asked to visually capture the spirit of this place and introduce it in the form of a poster or a booklet.

The winner was a Ukrainian – Slovenian tandem.

The students were challenged to think about innovative ways of marketing green tourism.

Numerous creative ideas prepared for specific Slovenian companies from the field of tourism filled the conference hall to the last seat.

The hall was overflowing as well, when successful Slovenian businesses introduced their marketing stories from their beginnings, the Davids, beating the Goliaths in their field on the international market: Pipistrel, Studio Moderna, Fonda, Seaway and Laibach. We were proud to show our foreign colleagues we know how to make planes and boats, how to brand fish and music and reach many individuals by using direct marketing.

The band Laibach didn’t only stick to words.

The educational part on the stage of the festival was followed by a musical performance in the Auditorium. After 30 years of existence, they sure know how to make a party and a spectacular performance. Their show was probably the peak of the festival. The other parties held during the Golden Drum festival, known for its parties as well, were pretty good. The national parties always draw national advertising chambers into a competition, to see who will be the most hospitable, so they secretly count the number of people stopping by their pavilion.

The gala closing event is of course a chapter by itself. After busy days and nights, after two award ceremonies, tears of losers and laughter of the winners, it’s nice to just hold a glass of champagne and watch the fireworks coming from the sea. Many people have secretly been licking their wounds or complaining about the overly strict, stupid, bribed... jury, yet at the same time promised they will try to do better next time and get their fifteen minutes of fame.

35 members of the jury from 20 countries were looking only for superlatives, relevant at the global level.

The 12 most visible men and women from the 17 years of the festival are already famous. That is why they were inducted into the Hall of Fame of the New Europe. Their names will forever remain on the marble wall of the Drum’s host, GH Bernardin: Adrian Botan, Ivan Čimburov,

Michael Conrad, Jan Mariusz Demner, Jiri Mikeš, Milka Pogliani, Daniel Ružička, Dragan Sakan, Juraj Vaculik, Vital Verlič, Darek Zatorski and Jarek Ziebinski.

The Golden Drum is a phenomenon. In a state with an advertising budget (let's face it, in the end it comes down to money) of a drop in the ocean, we managed to establish one of the most renowned advertising festivals. Just a quick glance at the programme ensures us we are attending a top notch communications event, where we will be able to see, hear and meet the icons of world’s advertising. Many are wondering what good is meeting someone like Sir John Hegarty, in the age of easy interment education and information, yet the answer is simple. Can you imagine listening to a private concert of U2 or Mich Jagger, instead of the artificial sound of a CD or an mp3? Which would impress you more? Well, that is our Drum.

Janez Rakušček, creative director of ad agency Luna from Slovenia

20 News

News BUSINESS MEETING OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN SPAS

SPA-CE 2nd exhibition of spa and wellness tourism in central Europe

On the initiative of the Slovenian Spa’s Association and wellness centres, Ljubljana and different Slovenian spas hosted the first Exhibition of Spa and Wellness Tourism in Central Europe in 2009. In addition to Slovenian providers of spa and wellness services, the organisers also invited representatives of Italian, Austrian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian and Montenegrin thermal spas. The Central European pool is rich in thermal water and spa tourism and a joint presentation of the region’s representatives is more than sensible.

For the first time, this event combined what the region has to offer in one place, presenting a unified offer of spa and wellness tourism. This presentation enabled hosted representatives of DMCs, travel and incentive trips organisers and representatives of insurance houses and healthcare institutions to get acquainted with the offer of this broader destination all in one place.

In year 2010 SPA-CE took place in Ljubljana for the second time from 7th to 10th of October.

The interest for presentation of spa and health centres from invited countries was even bigger.

As this is a B2B event, exhibitors and visitors were again able to arrange meetings up to a month before the actual event by using an appropriate online application that increased the success of their presence at the exhibition even more.

Visitors also had the possibility of making their visit more effective by participating in study trips, which provided even more insight into the offer of the region's spa tourism. The rich programme accompanying the exhibition included presentations of the region’s spa tourism, good practice examples and an active exchange of experiences, trends and visions.

The exhibition again took place in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, which is located at the heart of Central Europe, thus representing an ideal meeting and starting point. At the time of the SPA-CE Exhibition and in the same facility, Ljubljana also hosted the international Nature and Health fair, showcasing the offer of spa tourism and wellness services providers to the professional and general public.

The organisers of the SPA-CE Trade show are pleased with the initial response from all interested parties and their applications. Even though this is a new business and sales event, the interest from exhibitors and hosted buyers surpassed the organisers’ initial expectations. This

clearly indicates that the idea of combining the specialised offer of Central European destinations was the right one.

www.spa-ce.si

MEE TiNGS WiTH A viEW

ONE Of THE MOST ATTRACTivE MEETiNGS AND iNCENTivES DESTiNATiONS iN SOuTH EAST EuROpE THAT yOu JuST NEED TO TRy OuT! 6 hotels with over 660 hotel rooms at the best locations of Lake Bled • Total capacity of over 1700 seats in 21 modernly equipped meeting rooms, of which the largest is for 350 delegates • incentive programs to remember • Excellent wellness and golf facilities • Restaurants, special venues and entertainment programs Experience a perfect balance between work and pleasure.

Sava Hoteli Bled, d.d., Cankarjeva 6, 4260 Bled Tel: 04 579 16 07, E-mail: conference@hotelibled.com www.hotelibled.com, www.sava-hotels-resorts.com

oglas slo_nov.indd 3

22.11.2010 15:39:41

22 News

News 2nd NATOUR – second travel and trade show of active holidays

NATOUR – a space filled with numerous ideas for spending leisure time in nature.

The NATOUR trade show is an international travel and trade show for active holidays in a natural environment. It’s Slovenia’s largest business and tourism event for active holidays, allowing registered tourism companies to present their offer to numerous potential partners from abroad in one place.

This year’s event was second in a row; its participating exhibitors have conducted over 800 meetings with 39 agency representatives from 19 countries, which only proves the show’s success.

Satisfying results of this year's trade show, the trend of healthy living and natural heritage of Slovenia provide the opportunity to plan already plan for next year – NATOUR 2011.

The goal of the organizers is to make sure NATOUR is a place for meetings, ideas and new cooperation among the participants.

The advantages of the trade show: - the largest offer of possibilities for active leisure time outdoors, - establishing new business connections with the help of meetings planed in advance, - networking with active holidays service providers, - education and good practise examples from Slovenia and abroad, - getting to know the trends of active holidays in the natural environment.

Advantages of the event: The trade show is closed for the public and is of a business nature, since the point of the event are meetings agreed in advance between: - service providers in the area of sports tourism and active holiday programmes, accommodation providers, mountain and skiing centres, ecotourism service providers, equipment for outdoor activities providers and - representatives of tourist agencies, travel organizers, potential investors, representatives of associations from Slovenia and abroad.

Exhibitors The participants were able to see 59 exhibitors from Slovenia. They were divided into two groups, depending on the geographical position

in Eastern or Western Slovenia. Exhibitors from the western region introduced themselves in Bovec, those from the East in Maribor. The hosted buyers chose service providers they wanted to meet and talk to over the “one2one” system as did the exhibitors.

In the future we wish to upgrade the event with educational content and attract more service providers from neighbouring countries and SE European countries, who recognize this window of opportunity.

Hosted buyers The trade show hosted 39 foreign hosted buyers from 19 countries, who came to Slovenia to get to know and explore the offer of sports tourism and active holidays all in one place.

The local host LTO Bovec and Zavod za turizem Maribor prepared excursions for the participants, where they could actively participate in the presentation of sports tourism and active outdoor holidays. info@natour.si www.natour.si

25

Interview with Luca Favetta, Senior Director Global Events EMEA + India at SAP AG

Interview

Sapphire Now is defining a new way to organizing an event

Luca Favetta is a Senior Director Global Events EMEA + India at SAP AG and in this role he oversees the Global Events marketing strategy and implementation for SAP EMEA + India Region. His previous position was as European Executive Events Manager for Hewlett Packard Europe. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Relations from Milan Modern Languages University and since 1996 he’s based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2006 Luca Favetta received the JMIC (Joint Meeting Industry Council) Unity Award. He has been volunteering within the Meetings Industry, having contributed to numerous conferences, industry associations and papers. He was a member of the International Board of Directors of MPI (Meeting Professionals International) Association with a 3 years mandate (2008– 2010) and now seats on the MPI Executive Advisory Council. In addition he has been responsible for many different published articles on various dimensions and issues within the meetings industry.

Can you please introduce your position at SAP? I am the Senior Director of global events for Europe, the Middle East and Africa + India at SAP AG and within this role I am responsible for the strategic event planning and for implementation of all regional events. This means I am responsible for the planning, event strategies and executing events, in line with our business objectives and the company’s strategy.

How many events do you organize per year?

My team is responsible for 100 to 120 events per year. The size of the events varies – from small ones for 20 people to large ones for up to 1,000, 4,000, 6,000 or even more.

Who are the clients? Who are the attendees of your events?

We are responsible for SAP events. We have work with different departments of the company – sales, marketing, project development and business development. All these are our stake holders; we define the strategy and the content of events for them.

We provide services to the company, so we have different solution areas. Each has a proper marketing plan and an own event plan – my team helps them execute their events.

Can you please briefly introduce the event Sapphire you organize?

Sapphire is a flagship event of the SAP Corporation. It is an event targeting all the different audiences of the company, so it’s aimed at customers, prospects, partners, analysts, press, bloggers and even the internal audience. The event has been in existence for almost 20 years. It has always been regional – one event was held in the USA and one at a different time of the year in Europe. We also held one in the Asia-Pacific region a few years ago. It is an event that always attracts a few thousand attendees. In 2008 it was held in Berlin for around 10,000 people and in Orlando for 15,000. In 2009 we made a shift in our strategy and decided to run it only in

the USA and to have a different approach. We held more local events for the near region, organizing smaller, local events for the local audiences, to bring the message of SAP to the countries, to the costumers, instead of asking them to move to the large international events.

The event evolved though the years to the concept of Sapphire now – it’s something completely new and different, still keeping the infrastructure of the previous Sapphire events but evolving into something new at the same time.

Can you explain the main differences between Sapphire and Sapphire now?

Sapphire now started with the idea of giving a different image to the company. We decided that we want to listen to our customers more.

The first and the biggest change is that event takes place at the same time in Frankfurt and Orlando. So, instead of having two separate events at two separate times, we decided to have a connected event between two continents with quite a lot of elements shared between the two venues. We had shared keynotes, two broadcasting studios where we were running a kind of TV live programs that were broadcasted from one venue to the other.

We also had different live streams coming from the show floor directly and seen from both venues as well as broadcasted online to sapphirenow.com. This was the mutual part of the event where we had another 30,000 people managing the content of the event. So, use of technology was really massive. The event itself was a merger of the classic traditional physical event merged with technology, social media and mutual components. This concept is really brand new. We opened discussion with our customers allowing them to directly submit the content and to become the protagonists of the event. We reduced the length of presentations from 45 minutes to 20 minutes in order to get straight to the point and give more time to one on one discussion.

Do you believe you are creating the future of events?

I wouldn’t dare to say that we are creating the future of events but I can definitely say

26 Interview

reasons. And the final criterion is the personal experience or the personal experience of someone I know. Networking is important in our small industry. The word of mouth is really important since it provides good references. All the references that I have from networking will support my decision.

Do you also organize events in Southeast Europe? What do you think about this destination? that this is the evolution of events. I think the concept of a hybrid event where we are integrating virtual components with physical ones is definitely something that I believe will develop in the future. This year’s Sapphire now was really successful, next year’s is already being planned with the knowledge gained from this one. But definitely with Sapphire now SAP is defining a new approach to organizing events.

How will congresses, events look like in 10 years? What is the future of the meeting industry?

Technology will play a more important role.

I believe virtual components will become a normal part, fully integrated into the event itself. I see social media playing a major role and becoming more and more important. So, definitely an increase in use of technology and integration of virtual parts in order to extend the length of the event pre- and post- and open it to a wider audience.

What are the basic criteria when you are choosing a destination where you will organize the next event, congress, team building?

There are three different criteria. These are: logistic, business and personal. The logistic criteria are really important, especially when considering larger events like (Sapphire now) – logistic infrastructure, hotel capacity, accessibility of the venue, transport – these are the classic logistics criteria. Business reasons analyse where we want to attract a specific market, have interest in the region or have a special reasons for bringing focus and attention to this region for business

We don’t hold large events in this region, so I don’t do a lot of business there. We are more focused on this area on a local level, since we organize events through our country representatives.. I believe that SE Europe is an attractive area from a business perspective, but I think infrastructure for big events is not there yet. I consider these countries for middle size events, for larger events I look to more mature countries.

27

Interview with Dan Rivlin, Managing Director of Kenes

Interview

Those who will not evolve, will not survive

What is your opinion on scientific congresses for next year?

There are a few things that I see – one of them is anticipating pressure, because there is an inflation of the number of meetings.

More and more companies are looking to cut their costs and this is one way of doing it. I foresee an increased economic pressure on most of the associations, which will force them to become more efficient from the economical point of view. I see a bright future for some of them – those who will be serious on the content and those who will evolve in innovating. Those who will stick to tradition and still insist on performing expensive services like printing books and expensive social events are going to be challenged.

In your opinion, are there new or preferred criteria to choosing a location / destination for a congress?

I don’t think we’ve established something new here, but I think a transition to secondtier cities is going to happen. Less expensive cities are going to be preferred. And again, this is not a market transition – I am talking about average-sized meetings of 800 to 2,000 people. These will start looking for less expensive venues. They will start looking for smaller cities which weren’t a part of their agenda before. Secondly, people will be looking more and more for what I call nonleisure destinations. All the so called sea side destinations are going to be challenged.

Do you think South-Eastern Europe offers good and suitable locations according to the abovementioned criteria?

The answer is yes. We can find countries which are not too expensive and where the medical community is very strong. As it has always been those who are more active will have more chance to fit into what associations are looking for. One of the first criteria are facilities. Some of the countries in SE Europe have proper facilities and others don’t. I’ve had the chance to visit some of them – last year we held a meeting in Belgrade, in Croatia and so on. Accessibility

is also very important and some countries certainly meet this criterion. Then there are the costs – it helps if a country is inexpensive.

The countries also need to have active doctors, when associations visit a city they want to see who is in the local committee – who is behind the event. I think SE Europe has quite a few locations that fit the international criteria of location selection. Some of them just need more time.

International surveys show a decrease in the number of participants and days for each event, even though the number of events organized per year remains quite stable.

What’s your interpretation of this?

I’ll go back to my first point here is economic pressure. The lesser the budgets, the stricter the criteria for attendance. Fewer doctors will be attending more meetings. So, by a stable number of meetings we will see less participants and less sponsorship. Some of the meetings will die out. I am not sure about the duration, but it is now more common to do small topical meetings or short meetings over the weekend. People are busy, they want to come, get the knowledge, the networking and go. Meetings will therefore be shorter; there will be fewer participants due to the pressure.

Some meetings will have more participants, but on average fewer participants will attend.

Could this mean that in 2011 smaller and more targeted events will be the new trend?

Yes, I assume so. Companies and participants will focus on fewer meetings. They will focus on meetings that seem to have a stronger brand and bring them stronger value as appose to attending twenty average meetings.

This has been true for a while, not just for 2011.

Which are the services a PCO can carry out for and on behalf of the client, as opposed to a DMC agency? What’s the difference between the two?

In my opinion the PCO is dead already, because it should be an educational facilitator, which is far more than just providing

28 Interview

the logistics. A DMC would usually be a company that knows how to work the ground arrangements at a specific destination or destinations. On the other hand, a PCO would be a company that knows how to do logistics required for the meeting. These are two different tasks. It’s not rocket science, so DMCs can do some of the things a PCO would ordinarily do. A classic PCO only needed to have the right software for registration and an understanding of crowd control. Yet, a modern PCO has huge abilities which a DMC will never have. For example, raising funds for a meeting, attracting participants and doing the marketing. The DMC’s and regular PCO’s are not capable of that. At Kenes I have 20 people working in Kenes media, which is a specialized marketing company. DMCs don’t usually deal with things like reaching a social network, researching mailing lists and also, changing the format of the meetings. PCOs will need to do more and more in the areas which attract more funds and participants, or they won’t survive How does a PCO agency manage personal relations with their suppliers and ensures the quality of their services?

Personal relationships are very important and so is trust. This is one of the three ways in which we measure our suppliers: relationship, results (reports at the end of the meeting) and processes. We like to incorporate suppliers into the process of organizing a meeting to make sure they have all the information they need for their preparation, and we have all the information to supervise. It’s as simple as that. We value the inputs of our partners and consider them a part of the team. The more they know about the meeting, the better the chances to succeed. So, it’s about the relationship and about the processes as well as the results and how we measure them.

Who are the main players in the global PCO market and in Central and SE Europe?

On the global level there are Kenes, MCI and Congrex which are probably the three largest players in the market. These are the three major ones. Then there’s a second level of

PCOs. In SE Europe there are no really big players, there are more local PCOs. What's the key to a PCO agencies’ success and recognisability nowadays?

To measure success you have to set up a so called KPI (key performance indicator).

Success means delivering the promised results.

We want to show our clients value. It is not the question of costs but of value. Value means more than being just a trusted provider to your client, you need to collaborate with them on their future development. Make sure they are familiar with future trends, so they don’t work in the same way over and over.

Clients who look to the future are usually more successful. Successful PCO’s should develop abilities to support their solutions; that’s why I mentioned Kenes media. They need to bring people to the meetings – in the past people used to come to meetings, you just sat down and mailed the invitations.

Nowadays that’s not enough. PCOs have to work much harder to bring people to the meetings, do much more research to get the funding and change the format of the meeting to make things happen differently. This is what makes them successful. The clients need to feel that even if they pay more they get added value for their money.

What is the biggest challenge for PCOs these days? How to overcome these challenges?

The biggest challenge is the competition and economic pressure on the clients so they in turn pressure the PCO. The clients are expecting to get more services but they cannot afford to pay more. PCOs should expand and look to other services based on PCO services, such as e-learning, which is a new way to generate funding.

Do you have a final message for our readers?

Those who will not evolve will not survive.

It’s time we look at our profession with pride and take a step forward as partners instead of just suppliers to our clients.

Official rent a car provider

Excitement starts on the road

AVIS Slovenia "We try harder" is one of ten world's best slogans of all time, but for us it is not just a slogan, it is a vision that keeps us improving. We are a proud and important part of the ever growing family called Avis Europe. Avis rent a car in Slovenia offers short-term and long-term car rental, chauffeur drive service as well as cargo van rentals in our locations in Ljubljana, Portoroz, Celje, Maribor, Airport Ljubljana Joze Pucnik, Airport Maribor Edvard Rusjan and other key cities.

Reservations: Tel.: +386 1 583 87 72 Free call: 080 22 33 E-mail: rez.center@avis.si www.avis.si

Photo: Aleš Beno/Finance

30

Interview

31

Interview with Best manager in tourism 2010

Interview

We want to be trendsetters

Andrej Prebil assumed the challenge of managing Hotel Lev d.d. at the end of 2004.

One of his first tasks was drawing up a financial and operational restructuring programme for the company. Under his guidance, the hotel has made great strides: it is in better financial shape, quality of service is up, extensive investments have been made and new offerings have been rolled out. A year ago Hotel Lev also adopted a new strategy focusing on environmentally-friendly operations. This way the hotel has shown that apart from high quality of services it also wants to develop social responsibility.

Mr. Andrej Prebil, could you first introduce yourself and the hotel you are managing?

How many of these goals do you think you've achieved so far?

I’ve been working in tourism for 10 years, my first experience in the field was during my student years, when I interned at Grand hotel Union. Since I always like a challenge, strive for excellence and don't like monotony, working in the field of tourism was perfect for me. I'm known for being persistent, never giving up and always offering a second chance.

I started managing Hotel Lev in 2004, while in an unenviable financial position. I set a goal to stabilize finance and to elevate the service of the hotel to the highest level. Through the years I’ve overseen general renovations, development of new products and opening of new sales channels. Through it all I aimed at increasing quality and investing in human resources, since the saying "tourism is people” appears to be quite true.

To date we have realized most of the set goals, which we upgrade with new, higher ones each year. The guests are becoming more and more demanding and informed; the market is becoming more transparent. To fully satisfy our guests we are constantly challenged to offer a higher quality of service, introduce new products and open up new sales and marketing channels.

What convinced your colleagues from the field of tourism and the jury to award you the title Best manager in tourism 2010, in your opinion?

One of the main goals for the future of tourism is doing business with eco-activities in mind. Are you working on becoming a socially responsible company? What does this mean for your hotel? What will you change?

I think they both recognized the performance of Hotel Lev, which is the result of long years of effort and commitment. This was boasted by my 10-years presence in the field of tourism and my recognisability among the tourism workers.

What were your aims and wishes in 2004, when you started running Hotel Lev? When I started running Hotel Lev my first goals were financial stabilization and improving profits, after that I set myself the task of raising the standard of services and restoring the image of the hotel to its former glory of the late 80's. This was the time Hotel Lev was known as the “Star of Ljubljana” and personified splendour and the highest standards. It was the meeting point of townspeople and VIP’s and was frequently talked and written about.

What are your goals for the future?

We mostly try to maintain the position of Hotel Lev in Slovenia and increase recognisability on the international market. We would like to become a trendsetter, introduce high levels of quality and also contribute to the development of Slovenian tourism and Ljubljana as a tourist destination.

About a year ago we set Hotel Lev a new direction, which includes eco-activities and a new goal – to not only increase the quality of services, but to develop into a socially responsible company. This goal demands gradual changes in processes and activities and a lot of training and educating our personnel as well as our guest. We have optimized energy consumption, we mostly use eco-promotional materials, and we follow eco trends in gastronomy.

What is your message to readers of Kongres magazine?

I would like to take this opportunity to call on all working in the field of tourism to unite and make sure Slovenia takes its place among the most know tourist and convention destinations, and to support the efforts of the organizations as Slovenian Tourist Board and the Convention Bureau.

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

V novi številki revije GT med drugim preberite:

Letnik XVI • 2010 • št 80

Zasavje VSE TEČE V TRI KRASNE Drago Medved o šampanjcu NAJBOLJ ZNANO VINO NA SVETU Predstavljamo vinarja PRIMOŽ LAVRENČIČ IN ALBERTO RUGGERI Chef Joël Robuchon v Murski Soboti Z NAVDUŠENJEM OKUŠAL SLOVENIJO

www.revija-gt.si Želite prejemati svoj BREZPLAČNI izvod revije GT ali se v njej predstaviti? Pišite nam na info@revija-gt.si

Pod okriljem revije GT deluje Fundacija GT, največja zasebna fundacija v Sloveniji. Od leta 1997 smo s štipendijami pomagali več kot tristotim dijakom in študentom gostinsko – turističnih usmeritev, ki prihajajo iz socialno šibkega družinskega okolja. Bi jim želeli pomagati tudi vi? www.fundacija-gt.si

34 In focus

Why everything will Change The old need to learn from the young

It has been said that unless you change ten percent every year, you will have to change hundred percent every ten years. Meetings have been the same for a hundred years – we are heading for a total makeover.

The New Paradigm Why do we attend meetings? Whenever the question is put to a group of conference participants, the answer is around fifty-fifty, ’education’ and ’networking’. Learning today means Google and Wikipedia, networking means Facebook, Linkedin, Xing and a few dozen others. The Internet is challenging our traditional meetings head on.

We all use Google and the fastest growing age group on Facebook is 35+, but to the older generations, these tools are supplements to the traditional methods of learning and building relationships.

Dr. Elling Hamso is a Meeting Management Consultant and Managing Partner of Event ROI Institute. He writes and speaks frequently on subjects like ROI, Meeting Architecture, Supply Chain Management, Risk Management, and Meeting with the Millennium generation. You may write to him on elling.hamso@eventroi.org or visit stand E210 at EIBTM. Dr. Elling Hamso, Managing Partner, Event ROI Institute, www.eventroi.org

To Generation Y, the Digital Natives, those who don’t know a life without the Internet, learning and networking is a new paradigm.

The biggest generation gap in history We are facing the biggest generation gap in the history of mankind. Imagine being a teenager during the past decade, having to teach your parents and your teachers, and later your employers, how to do something really important in adult life, how to find information and communicate via the Internet.

As a young boy or girl (but mostly boys, unfortunately) you have to teach those that should be teaching you. No wonder GenY is sometimes referred to as the confident generation.

A young student of event management asked me for some advice on her dissertation about the future of events. I suggested a book which would be excellent background information. I can’t afford books, she answered, but I could try to find the library... A while later I asked if she had found the library, no, she said, but she had done some googling and read some summaries and discussions. I put some

questions to the author on his blog, she said, and now he has answered and I am interested to hear what you think about his answers. In the time it would take to buy or borrow the book and maybe read the first chapter, she is discussing it with the author instead.

The GenY’s don’t learn from books, what a waste of time, they don’t learn from teachers, their knowledge is ancient, they don’t learn from conference speakers, that is expensive, time consuming, boring and out of date, they find out what they know for themselves, when they need to know it!

They are experts at finding and verifying information and they have all the tools they need to do it.

My son as a young student got himself a summer job in a factory. After a few days I asked him if he enjoyed it. Yes, he said, and what I like is that they tell me what to do and then they leave it to me to find out how to do it. I don’t know if this company had a poor training programme or a good understanding of how young people learn – probably the former, but it worked.

Think outside the room I listened to Didier Scaillet, MPI’s Director of Business Development, speak on meeting industry trends at World Travel Market in London a short while ago. Think outside the room, was his main message – that is where meetings will grow, in the virtual space.

Look at Cisco and SAP organising huge virtual and hybrid meetings, saving millions and increasing attendance by thousands.

Have a look at Sam Smith’s blog discussing this message from MPI: http://interactivemeetingtechnology.com/ I recently spoke at a hybrid meeting, EventCamp Twin Cities, which happened simultaneously in Minneapolis, Dallas and Basel, Switzerland, where I was. I thought

35 In focus

at first that it would have been better to be in Minneapolis, which was the main event, but for time and cost reasons, that was out of the question. But I soon discovered that the Basel ’pod’ was better, it was smaller, I met Europeans that I wanted to meet, potentially useful business contacts, and we designed our event just as it suited us, taking part in the main event and interacting with the online community of participants when we were not just discussing the topics face to face in our own group.

Virtual or real?

Please, dear reader, don’t tell me that faceto-face meetings are better and will never be replaced by technology. This is not the issue. Of course real meetings are better, they are so good that they shouldn’t be wasted on what could have been done online. Why should you listen to long presentations when you could have read an article or a blogpost instead? You meet to meet, not to listen. You need to interact in order to learn. Speakers not followed by discussion and interaction are in any case a complete waste of time. And remember, the new generation doesn’t believe in speakers anyway, they prefer to find out things for themselves. They google and discuss with others, online and face-to-face.

The real meeting will always be the pearl, the precious diamond; because time, money and our concern for the environment mean that we can only attend a few. The physical meeting must be reserved for what makes the physical meeting unique; the rich and personal discourse and sharing of experiences that has no match in the virtual space. Other meeting content may be shared before and after in online groups, webcasts, webinars and other means of virtual interaction, but future conference participants will not allow their precious personal interaction time to be contaminated by anything that does not uniquely belong in the physical meeting.

What to do now Meetings are already under pressure from demands for greater cost effectiveness and our concern for the environment. Generation Y is still at university, some may just be joining the workforce in junior positions. It

will be another 5–10 years until they are our mainstream conference goers, demanding something entirely different from what we deliver today.

There are examples of tomorrow’s conferences today, typically in the young IT communities or conferences that appeal to the Gen Y’s for other reasons. I recently registered for the Lift conference in Geneva in February; check it out on www.liftconference.com, maybe you should go there. Use my viral ticket code '0DDZWKGK' for a 25% discount, then contact me and we will meet up there.

But it is not as if one generation retires one day and the next walk in the day after. The real challenge is to accommodate two or even three generations at the same time.

In the old days, the old were wiser, and the young had to fit in. What we are facing now is upside down, the old need to learn from the young, simply because their way of learning and networking is so much smarter and in line with the digital world around us.

36 In focus

The Role of PCO What is a PCO?

PCO is the commonly used acronym for the term Professional Conference Organiser. The term PCO doesn’t mean that other organisations who are involved in organising events and are not PCO’s are not “professional” e.g. event departments within PR and ad agencies, publishing companies, travel agencies or other organisations.

What differentiates a company as a PCO is that a PCO is a company which specialises in the planning, of congresses, conferences and events. Conference and event management is their core business activity rather than a secondary service. A PCO is not a Destination Management Company (DMC), though many PCO’s will offer some DMC services as part of their overall service.

Caroline Mackenzie, Regional Business Development Director, Congrex UK and Benelux Caroline Mackenzie has over 20 years of experience in the meetings and events industry, beginning her career in hotel management with a boutique country house chain in the UK. Since then she has worked within various sectors of the meeting and events industry including international meeting and event management within the medical communications sector providing meeting and event management support to major pharmaceutical and healthcare clients.

She has also spent a significant time working within the Professional Conference Organiser agency environment providing logistics management support to predominantly national and international associations in the UK and internationally. She has managed a vast range of meetings worldwide, across a variety of topics and professions, ranging from 10 – 8,000 delegates. Caroline has worked for Congrex for 8 years and is currently Regional Business Development Director for the UK and Benelux region.

If you would like any assistance with bidding or organising a future conference and would like to know how Congrex may assist you, please contact: Caroline Mackenzie, Regional Director Business Development, Congrex UK and Benelux E: caroline.mackenzie@congrex.com

Why Appoint a PCO? Many professionals, who take on the responsibility of hosting and planning a congress, do so over and above their “day job” as an academic, medic, or professional in their field. Therefore, there may be a knowledge gap, manpower or time shortage, or a combination of all of these factors. This is where a PCO can help. Most PCO’s will offer a wide range of service and skill support and will offer these as a complete service, if this is the level of support required, or alternatively, offer their services individually to manage specific aspects of the event that the committee or association headquarters’ team wish to outsource. Most PCO’s will be happy to manage as much or as little of the event that the client requires.

It’s important to remember that the organising committee or the headquarters’ team will ultimately retain control of the event and have the final decision making say. The PCO will provide consultancy, expertise and advice to their clients as well as manage and co-ordinate operational delivery, but the ultimate decision making generally is retained by the committee or headquarters team, unless they wish otherwise.

What Services can a PCO Provide?

This can vary depending on the level of experience, size of organisation and global coverage that a PCO has to offer.

In general most PCO’s will offer: - Venue research and evaluation; - Venue negotiation management; - Supplier contract negotiation; - Event consultancy and business planning; - Timeline management; - 3rd party supplier sourcing and management; - Scientific Programme support and coordination; - Financial management – inc. budgeting, bank account reconciliation, taxation guidance, book keeping; - Marketing and promotion – inc. e-tools e.g. social media and internet resources; - Consultancy and advice on structure of the event; - Registration handling; - Accommodation sourcing, negotiating and contracting; - Accommodation management; - Abstract submission and review management; - Website design and maintenance; - Print and e-marketing design, production and distribution; - Exhibition and Sponsorship management; - Exhibition and Sponsorship sales; - Speaker liaison and management; - Secretariat function for committees – meeting coordination, minute taking and general admin; - Poster Session design and management; - Social Event planning and management; - VIP handling; - Audio visual and production coordination; - Session room coordination inc staging and décor; - On-site staffing; - Accompanying persons programme planning and management; - Optional Tour programme planning and management; - Event evaluation and delegate surveying inc. accreditation administration for CPD /CME (if required); - Transportation management.

However, some PCO’s can also provide additional extended and specialised services.

Congrex PCOs, for example, have dedicated experts that provide association management consultancy and strategic planning

37 In focus

services, as well as association membership administration. Congrex are also one of very few PCOs with an IATA accredited travel company as part of their group, meaning that delegates, speakers and committees can be offered an online flight ticketing service as part of the overall service.

You may find certain PCO’s have gathered, through previous events managed, a higher degree of expertise working in specific venues, destinations or in specific subject matter. This you may find is an additional asset that a client can gain added value from.

When to Appoint a PCO? You can really decide to appoint a PCO at any stage during the planning process, it really will depend on the type of support or services you feel you need from a PCO. If for example you simply want a PCO to assist with management of abstracts and delegate registrations then you may feel that bringing a PCO on board part way through planning is suitable.

It may have been your intention to manage all aspects of planning yourself within the committee or academic establishment using fellow colleagues and support staff but after embarking on the planning process, the scale of what is required has exceeded the resources you have available or the event scope has changed and grown. Most PCOs will be happy to become involved part way through the planning process.

However, Congrex would advise those considering embarking on a bid and hosting a congress to engage with a PCO right at the very outset of planning, before you have even perhaps considered a venue or location to hold your event.

Why? At the very earliest stages of planning the PCO, with their extensive experience, can offer advice, help and expertise in many areas including destination pros and cons, venue feasibility, as well as advising on financial aspects relating to the proposed event. The PCO can also assist with reviewing and interpreting a bid tender and make recommendations. It might be helpful for the PCO to carry out a “needs analysis” of what might be beneficial to include within the bid

materials.

Bidding for events can be a complicated and daunting task for subject specialists to take on and bidding to host congresses is getting an ever competing market with new destinations and emerging markets eager to host their association’s flagship event. In Congrex’s experience the most successful bids have been those where there has been close interaction at the outset from the bidding hosts, destination representatives (CVB), the venue and the PCO. How do PCO’s Charge for their Services?

Their generally isn’t one fixed model and will often depend on the level of service support that the organising committee require the PCO to provide. Commonly used pricing structures include: A fixed management fee; A management fee per delegate; A management fee per abstract / paper handled; A management fee (fixed or percentage) per square metre of exhibition space sold; A management fee (fixed or percentage) for sponsorship sold; A percentage of the budget; Profit sharing.

Often it is a combination of more than one of these pricing structures and it is recommended that you discuss and establish what structure best meets your needs. Most PCO’s will be flexible in adjusting their pricing model to reflect the needs of each specific event and reflect the services the PCO is being asked to manage.

Some services such as bid support, initial needs analysis consultancy, a PCO will offer free of charge as part of their willingness to “share the risk” with the other parties who are also giving their time as part of the bid team.

Other services such as accommodation management, social and tour programme planning, PCOs will support at no cost to the budget as their administration costs are covered either in commission revenue from the supplier or built into the ticket price being sold to the delegate.

It is our advice to talk to the PCO and have open dialogue to ensure both parties have a clear understanding of each other’s needs

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION

NATIONAL / LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE

PCO

3rd PARTY SUPPLIERS

SUB COMMITTEES: Scientific – Finance – Social Marketing - Others

so the most appropriate transparent pricing structure can be established.

In Summary A PCO is an organisation whose core business is providing congress consultancy and management services.

They provide expert knowledge, experience and operational resources to plan and deliver successful events of vastly varying sizes, geographical locations and subject matter.

They can be a valuable resource to organising committees who do not have the time or other resources to take on the hosting of a major event without external support.

The PCO should very much act as the “glue” that brings all the many parties involved in creating a successful congress together and ensures clear dialogue across these groups.

38 In focus

Statements & opinions

We asked some of the largest PCOs in Slovenia two questions and got these interesting answers Question one: “How do you get the most out of your congress?”

presenting them. Other than the professional part, the social part is equally important, so the participants can explore new places, countries and mostly the local culture. The positive effect of the second part is difficult to be financially assessed, yet is important for the future of PCOs since it’s a reference for getting new clients, a reference for the organizer and mostly the destination as well as the country, which benefits from a positive image and better recognisability. www.albatros-bled.com

Albatros Bled, Boris Ljubič The answer is more complex than it seems, since we need to consider both parties: A PCO agency as technical organizer and the commissioner or the professional organizer of the meeting. From the view point of the PCO it’s always important to be the “guardian” of the organizers interest considering the financial effects and results (the technical organisations success is equal to the financial balance of the company). At the beginning consulting and financial management are most important when setting the budget for a congress (taxes, fees, sponsors and other possible revenue), later monitoring, to make sure everything is executed as planned, and the organizer of the event “doesn’t get a headache”. The other important element is participant satisfaction and achieved goals in the non-financial sense. Despite modern technology and globalisation, which is especially true for professional congresses, we mostly deal with, congresses are still very important since personal contact is irreplaceable. The participants of professional congresses are leading experts in their filed and wish to personally discuss their paper with other participants, instead of just

Cankarjev dom, Maja Vidergar This question is quite difficulty since the answer depends on the viewpoint. I presume it should be understood in the direction of a PCO working to gain the most for their client.

From a financial point of view we fight for the best possible conditions – the best quality for the best price. In the area of quality we try to ensure immaculate logistics and execution and an impression of a pleasant experience of the destination. www.cd-cc.si

professional organizer. Each of them has their goals, which need to be established at the beginning. Their common goal is mostly the satisfaction of the participants and importantly, positive financial benefits of the congress. The aim of the professional organizer is mostly the programme and gaining active participants, who will contribute with their papers and lectures. A thoroughly planned programme enhances the reputation of the organizers in international professional circles and is at the same time a promotion for the entire country. Professional organizers have the opportunity to include a number of local experts into the program and contribute to their international recognition.

The goal of the technical congress organizer is mostly in ensuring the optimal working conditions for the organizers, invited guests and participants. Our success is measured by client and participant satisfaction. Our goal is to form a long-term partnership with the client and maybe become their core-PCO. Experience shows we get the most clients through recommendations, so it's very important to keep up the good work. Each contribution to a professional and friendly relationship with the client and participants pays of and shows to be positive in the long term. Each congress provides new experience, new knowledge and new acquaintances.

As a “young” agency we have to work harder to gain new clients and to earn their long-term respect. This is the most we can gain from a congress! www.go-mice.eu

Go.Mice d.o.o., Natalija Bah Čad Organizing a convention is always a partnership between the technical and

39 In focus

Question two: “Which is your favourite or best congress location?”

past with infrastructure and professional staff.

In the end there’s also value for money and the services we get for the offered price. Our favourite congress location is the one where we feel welcome (both organizers and the participants). The location is made special by the people working there. A friendly and fair relationship can sometimes make up for small deficiencies.

Albatros Bled, Boris Ljubič Choosing or emphasize the “best location” is always tough for a real PCO. We could say every location is the best location, providing it meets the requirements for organizing a congress. The basic infrastructure for organizing an international event is an obvious predisposition (quality hotels of different categories, congress halls and technical support, gastronomic and cultural offer, natural beauties or other specifics). Nowadays we don’t need to think about minimum or basic technical requirements, like we used to not so long ago. After all a standardization has been carried out by the Convention Bureau, yet unfortunately not finished, in the area of institutionalization – such as concessions for handing out certificates. Its aim was to ensure the facilities meet certain criteria comparable to European and international standards. If we follow logic, the adjective “best” is of a subjective nature and is a matter of personal preference of the organizers or clients, among the locations which meet the criteria and their needs (size, number of participants, accessibility etc.). A PCO should guide the client to the right location. Along with the mentioned technical elements we can’t forget the human factor (knowledge and cooperation of the people managing certain destinations). www.albatros-bled.com

www.go-mice.eu

Cankarjev dom, Maja Vidergar The congress location of our PCO is definitely our convention centre Cankarjev dom, where our work is carried out as planned. We know the size of our budget and personnel. I can also claim we are able to carry out congresses at other locations as well – we fully adapt to the wishes of our client. www.cd-cc.si

Go.Mice d.o.o., Natalija Bah Čad A diplomatic answer would be that professional congress organizers should remain neutral to all congress facilities and in practice we cooperate with those which meet certain requirements and the wishes of the client. Of course we prefer locations where we’ve had positive experience in the

40 In focus

Statements & opinions

We asked a few “congress ambassadors” the question: “How to make your congress as good as possible?

Professor Vida Demarin, MD, PhD Go for Interesting and Up-to-Date Topics The organizers of a congress should offer a range of topics which are relevant, interesting and in demand. It is also important to present all the aspects and different opinions regarding the topics of the conference.

Choose a Target Audience The organizers need to identify an audience who will be interested in the discussion, figure out their preferences and expectations and then inform participants about the event.

Select International Experts as Invited Speakers When choosing the speakers, the organizers should take into account their status, authority and experience. The speakers should be known to the circle of experts on whom the event is focused, practice in that field and are good orators.

Establish Professional Congress Organizing Committee Professional attitude is of fundamental

importance when planning a conference.

Congress organizing committee is responsible for all the logistics of the conference, such as developing a program for the conference, inviting speakers, hiring a venue, providing accommodation for participants, transfers, meals and a cultural programme. It is important to have a responsible team of trustworthy colleagues who are willing to help and can coordinate the work of all necessary services in a good manner.

Pick an Attractive Congress Venue The location of the conference plays a very important role in the process – not only the choice of venue, but also the geographical location. Everything is important: a comprehensive package for participants and quick registration for the event, the arrangement of the furniture, presentation equipment in the room, preliminary testing of all the systems. It is also effective to combine joint, productive work with leisure time.

Write a Clear and Interesting Congress Invitation and Distribute it Early On It is necessary to prepare materials on the conference for the media and participants, including information on the speakers’ speeches and additional information about congress as early as possible. Try to deliver information about congress via internet access.

It is plausible to arrange unique congress web site. Print program leaflets and book of abstract or deliver the contents on digital devices.

What to Avoid Avoid clashing with competing events regarding the terms and location!

Avoid holding conferences just for the sake of it. Pro-forma conferences are dull and uninteresting!

Prof. Dr. Emil Erjavec The effects of a congress are always multilayered.

The main goal is achieving recognition. The primary goal of a meeting is positioning local organizers in the context of a global network of experts. This can work on two levels – be it in hospitality or in presenting the knowledge of local experts and institutions in the international context. For researchers this should be the key motivation and achievement of organizing a congress: To be placed on the list of key groups in the world and Europe. A congress can advance that greatly. For the country as a whole it’s a great achievement if the worlds intellectual elite in a certain field, discovers its “beauties and advantages”. Besides sports, congresses and other forms of meetings of social elites are the most important for building the international reputation of Slovenia. The economic benefits might be the least important in this context, yet in the micro-cosmos of companies from this industry they are very important. Each group which gains and successfully carries out a larger congress should be individually commended.

Delicious autumn flavours

Enjoy the autumn experience in restaurant Borbona & excellence of seductive Borbona catering.

Executive chef Branko Podmenik with cuisine Jure Kapelar and Dejan Mastnak are expecting you.

Verovťkova 55, 1000 Ljubljana Phone: 00386 1 5802912, fax: 00386 1 5802659 info@borbona.si – www.borbona.si

42 Gastronomy

Big chef visits Prekmurje Joël Robuchon, guest of Proconi from Murska Sobota

Prof. Janez Bogataj, PhD

At the top of the world’s gastronomy and culinary art, there is room for only a few.

Joël Robuchon from France is certainly one of them. Considering his travels to all the restaurants he manages and directs, we should call his home the world. Meeting him is a unique experience of modesty, almost humility on one hand and on the other, amazing consideration in sharing opinions and views on gastronomy. This is the only way to understand how he manages to steer among the multitude of his restaurants and maintain exceptional quality of them all. These restaurants can be found in Monaco, London, Paris, New York, Las Vegas, Taipei, Nagoya, Tokyo and Hong Kong and are recognizable by the red-black interior and mostly by the quality. It is therefore no surprise, he is the recipient of 26 Michelin stars (!), which is something no other great chef has achieved before. He personally supervises the work of all the restaurants and prepares new meals for each season. He travels between the restaurants for ten months each year. His kitchen is not very complicated; it’s simple, “readable”. It’s based on top notch ingredients.

served in his restaurant L’Atelier at the Four Seasons on 57th street in New York, three Slovenian representatives can be found – Adelaida (Tilia), Grand Cuvée (Santomas) and Pinela (Guerila). The credit for this goes to the amazing promoter and distributer of Slovenian wines in the USA – Emil Gaspari. The wine advisor at New York’s L’Atelier certainly recognized the quality of the mentioned wines, their success forecasts an increase of Slovenian wines on the wine lists around the world.

During his visit to Murska Sobota, more specifically on the first days “picnic” in Jeruzalem Vineyards (on September 21st), Robuchon was very pleased with Styer’s Ranina, Vaneja, Steyer mark Cuvée (red, 2004) and Muscat Blanc from Verus. He ordered all these wines and intends to assess them thoroughly with his colleagues...

Yet the purpose of Robuchon’s visit was not the wine. The main reason was the invitation of the company Proconi Murska Sobora, It might be a good idea for from which makes quality presome hotel restaurants prepared meals under the around here to browse “Pogrej in pojej” through one of Robuchon’s trademark (or “Heat and eat”) and is books and discover the partner of the French trends of today’s cooking. the company “Fleury Michon”.

It’s not lofty philosophy Robuchon has been advising the French on plates or playing the company for over twenty years and developed tired tune of slow food some dishes for them as well. Robuchon was and other novelties, which extremely interested in Proconi’s preparation are certainly useful for of quality potato puree. This is a huge culinary development, yet recognition for the company, since potato puree is one of Robuchon’s most known have their expiry date. masterpieces, which I was fortunate to Here we are mostly infected by lateness, if we even glance into the world we realize the cooking profession is one of the few where learning and improving never ends. The most obvious example of this negative influence is the fact that even some agritourism farms are trying to decorate their dishes in the style of a kind of slow food.

But let’s get back to Robuchon. If we’re on the subject of his restaurants around the world, let’s mention that among the many wines

experience a few years ago in his 2 Michelin stars restaurant in hotel Metropole in Monaco.

During his two day visit to Murska Sobota he visited the Proconi factory, Jeruzalem Vineyards and took part in a special lunch in the yard of the Murska Sobota castle. On the first day a palette of goods from Prekmurje was prepared by restaurant Rajh from Bakovci.

The feedback from the usually serious and reserved Robuchon was extremely honest and full of investigative enthusiasm. It’s a pity the meeting wasn’t properly documented on film.

43 Gastronomy

Not only for the sake of documentation, but mostly as an opportunity to show something real from the area of gastronomy on the TV screenj instead of just cooking shows.

Even more so: The responses of Robuchon to our food and wines could present an excellent lesson to everybody (unfortunately also cooks), who tries to devalue the importance of our local and regional specialities in achieving international recognition and success of Slovenian gastronomy.

Robuchon’s enthusiasm about the newly discovered culinary gems of Slovenia was evident to all of us invited by the company Proconi to the lunch at the aforementioned castle in Murska Sobota. We were placed in a special tent, since Murska Sobota does not have a proper location for such an event.

Restaurant Rajh (Tanja Pintarič) prepared buckwheat bread with pumpkin butter and cracklings served on “Mura” stones. Robuchon was so thrilled by the snack and the way it was served he ordered of the 40 stones from river Mura. The next course was a smoked trout with a baked pear, horse radish and trout caviar, prepared by Jure Tomič, the young chef from Debeluh in Brežice. Tomaž Kavčič from Zemono Manor prepared a “vipavska šelinka”, a stew from celery; Janez Bratovž from JB in Ljubljana made an excellent sweetbread with porcinis in a pork net. When putting together the menu we did not forget the “kranjska klobasa”, made by Luka Jezeršek from Dvor Jezeršek 1768 from Zgornji Brnik, prepared as a roasted slice on “loška medla” (thick larded hot pot with vegetables). Robuchon requested some millet kasha and two “kranjska klobasa” from Arvaj and took them back to France.

I’m not sure any of the present tourist workers thought this could be a souvenir from Slovenia. The main course was prepared by the graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and chef at hotel Livada in Moravske Toplice – Bine Volčič. This was his interpretation

of “prekmurkse koline” (sausages from pig slaughter). For dessert Damir Pintarič from restaurant Rajh made an amazing pumpkin cake which really impressed the famous chef.

The plates were accompanied by selected wines, Radgona Gold sparkling wine (1998), Šipon from Verus (2009), Sauvignonasse Blažič (2006), Stara brajda Ščurek (2007, magnum), Grand Couvée Santomas (2005), Chardonnay Breg, Marof (2008) and Traminec Steyer (2009). Even “digestivos” were selected from Pannonian, Alp and Mediterranean parts of Slovenia, they were Prekmurje spirit, Gentian spirit, Walnut Schnapps, Terrano Liquor and Karst Gin.

Chef Robuchon told in his speech he got a lot of fresh ideas from the visit to Slovenia. This was yet another lesson aimed at all who are a part of developing the image of our gastronomy.

Mostly this is true of our underdeveloped education system in the area of culinary art.

The title of the event and lunch held for Joëla Robuchon, his associates, representatives of Fleury Michon and Slovenian guests, was the slogan of our culinary and gastronomic promotion “Taste Slovenia”. The decision for this title was perfect. Yet we must not forget the basis for our successful presentation and introduction of our culinary art, was the decision of company Proconi to invite the big chef to Slovenia and to seek professional assistance in preparing the project. This enabled Robuchon to really taste Slovenia and designate it as his new culinary discovery.

To all of those who turned their backs to our culinary art and are trying to copy foreign culinary achievements should see how much chef Robuchon enjoyed our “Prekmurje Bograč”, warm cracklings, “Vrtanek” (ritual bread), pig’s feet...

44 Surveys

What motivates conference attendees?

Education, networking and professional leadership are the three most important motivators

The success of a meeting depends also on the volume of conference delegates who in turn make the economic, social and environmental impact on the destination. So as to increase the attendance level and in turn assure the successful and lucrative running of the meeting, it is of key importance to understand what motivates an individual to attend a meeting. In particular what drives an individual to participate in an association meeting?

The association meetings attendees have the “freedom of choice” whether to attend the conference or not. And the association market is a very competitive market due to the increasing number of associations vying for members and attendees, reduced or tightened expense funding for travel by many organizations and the dependence of associations on profits from conventions.

The participation decision-making process in association market is very similar to the general tourism destination selection process. Several “push” and “pull” factors are involved as well as barriers and intervening opportunities. This means that behaviour of association meetings attendees is significantly similar to the behaviour of leisure tourists deciding to go on holiday.

The travel patterns and buying behaviour of participants of association meetings are potentially influenced by their perception of the destination, conference organizers, their own needs and desires as well as financial and other factors.

The following table presents motivating factors from the perspective of the potential attendees as examined by Price (1993), Opperman and Chon (1997), Rittichainuwat, Beck and Lalopa (2001) as well as Zhang, Leung and Qu (2007).

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.

Author

Attendee motivation factors

Opperman and Chon (1997)

Personal/business factors Association/conference factors Location factors Intervening opportunities

Price & Murrmann (2000)

Profession-based values (education) Competency-based values (education) People-based values (networking) Association-based values (involvement) Civic-based values (leadership)

Rittichainuwat, Beck and Lalopa (2001)

Education (conference programs) Networking Career enhancement Travelling to desirable place Leadership enhancement Association related activities Business activities Self-esteem enhancement Sightseeing

Zhang, Leung and Qu (2007)

Association/conference factors Personal/business factors Location factors Total cost factors

45 Surveys

association conference delegate decisionmaking process were found to be the possibility of networking and of professional education and training. Hence the top scoring motivators for attending a conference in Ljubljana are related to the association/ conference factors. The third most important factor was security, followed by various location factors.

In sum, education, networking and professional leadership are the three most important motivators influencing association members’ meeting participation decision.

In November 2008, a research was carried out to examine main decision variables for attending a meeting in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. The underlying dimensions of the

Networking

Professional education and training

Security

Recommenditions

Quality and price of accommodation

Accessibility

Destination's additional offer

Destination's novelty value

Amount of travel time 0%

20% Very important Important Somewhat important Not important Not at all important

40%

60%

80%

100%

Since the attendees have a large selection of meetings, conventions and trade shows to choose from, it is more important than ever to have a better understanding of the decisionmaking process of conference attendees.

Their attendance is in turn a major factor in the economic fortunes of the convention destinations.

46 Surveys

Trends Underpinning Tourism Management: Implications for Slovenian Tourism The most important issues for Slovenian tourism stakeholders were those related to sustainable development

Ljubica KneŞević Cvelbar (PhD University of Ljubljana) is an assistant professor in tourism at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana. She has been involved in numerous research projects in the field of tourism and enterprise restructuring and has published a number of papers in journals in the field of tourism, management and economics.

Significant change is taking place globally that influences the types of experiences the tourists seek now and in the future. Political, economic, social, technological, demographic and environmental drivers are the changing realities that make up the strategic context within which long-term tourism industry policies, planning and development are made.

The key element of a successful destination or company development becomes the ability to recognize and deal with change across a wide range of key trends and the way these trends interact. Achieving competitive advantage for any destination or firm in times of rapid change requires tourism stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the direction of change and its implications for business or destination management (Dwyer and Edwards 2009). Unfortunately in many cases managers are fully dedicated to everyday business operations and in some they overlook the trends chaining the industry globally. Failing to address the forces in the external environment leads in a temporary or even permanent competitive disadvantage.

In previous research among the Australian tourism stakeholders Dwyer et al (2009) reported several areas for reducing the risk of failure, and preparing firms to meet global trends. These areas include: 1) sustainable tourism development 2) climate change 3) target marketing 4) risk management 5) product innovation and 6) education. For each of those strategy areas we defined a set of actions addressing destination or firm agenda to achieve competitive advantage (in total 49 attributes were selected). Slovene tourism stakeholders evaluated how important

these actions are to the industry’s future development and their performance in respect of these actions.

The results of our studies led to some interesting conclusions. It shows that respondents consistently rated importance higher than performance for items in each area of the strategy. Figure 1 shows, that the most important issues for Slovenian tourism stakeholders, were those related to sustainable development, followed by those related to climate change, education, marketing and product innovation. Issues involving risk management were considered to be relatively less important. The largest gap between importance and performance was identified as relating to tourism/hospitality education.

If we look closely at the sustainable tourism area Slovenian tourism stakeholders identify a need to improve their performance in forming strategic alliances. Networking to undertake destination marketing, product development and better communication along value chains are identified as areas in which the Slovenian tourism industry needs to improve its performance as well. Forming strategic alliances can assist Slovenian tourism industry to market consistent messages, develop complementary products, develop economies of scale, improve market intelligence and improve quality control and cooperation along value chains.

Slovenian tourism industry generally performed well in the area of marketing.

The most important challenge identified was introducing a successful branding policy that would increase international recognition of

47 Surveys

Slovenia and position it on the global tourism market. In respect to product development respondents felt that Slovenian tourism should concentrate efforts on creating niche products based on the strengths of local assets that can be used by local communities as well as visitors.

Interestingly, crisis management was not seen as an important strategy area among Slovenian stakeholders. The term crisis management is not related only to the firm’s ability to cope with a crisis but also the ability to address global changes. Major challenges will require not only the development of risk management

strategies that will prepare a firm to deal with the changes coming from the external environment, but also the implementation of these strategies, including staff education and training.

Issues related to climate change are seen as important, however Slovenian tourism stakeholders consider climate change mitigation to be an international problem and there is a degree of scepticism towards the efficacy of actions on the country level, particularly for a very small country such as Slovenia.

Education was evaluated as a highly

Figure 1: Means of Importance and Performance for Set of Attributes

2,8

Risk management

4,0 3,2

Innovation and product development

4,4 3,2

Marketing

4,4 2,7

Tourism/Hospitality education

4,4 3,2

Climate change

4,5 3,1

Sustainable development

4,5

Performance

Importance

neglected area of tourism development in Slovenia. Stakeholders pointed out the need for development and implementation of community education and training programs to support the tourism industry. So far there were no actions taken in this direction by governmental or non-governmental bodies.

Strategies for an aging population such as encouraging volunteering in the industry, reskilling the aging population for employment in the industry and lifelong learning, were seen as low priority for respondents, however should be address in the future.

Presented results provide strong empirical support which can be used as a foundation for the development of long term tourism policies. At the same time the study alerts the industry to closely monitor and address global trends. In this way, tourism stakeholders can act strategically as ‘future makers’ rather than ‘future takers’.

48 Surveys

The Second Annual INCON Survey of the Global Association Conference Market Indicators predict better times

INCON is a dynamic partnership of leading companies providing consistency and continuity in conference and event management by combining global presence and local know how. INCON Partners operate from 75 destinations in 36 countries employing over 2000 staff, annually organising over 6600 conferences and events, serving 650,000 delegates, procuring 2,850,000 hotel bed nights and managing budgets in excess of half a billion euro.

The key trend identified in this year’s survey of the largest global conference organisers, the Second Annual INCON Survey of the Global Association Conference Market, shows that things are moving on encouragingly so from this time last year, when we were in the deepest darkest depths of a global recession, almost everyone is identifying the first signs of green shoots, albeit green shoots with a light, delicate dusting of volcano ash.

The strong negative impact on business in 2009 as a result of the recession appears to be abating somewhat in 2010 with a majority of leading PCOs reporting that 2010 sees an improvement in their business compared to 2009. Another key trend emerging is that conference organisers are, increasingly, moving up the supply chain and acting as “partners” or “consultants” to their customers rather than mere transactional suppliers. This extended service provision is indeed very good

news for PCOs who more and more, will be valued for their IP rather than their IT. Online delegate registration capabilities, once the hallowed reserve of the PCO, are now easily and readily available, sometimes for free.

The PCO is now building a value proposition around industry legacy, in-depth knowledge of the association world and the ability to market and sell a conference in a given destination: in short, intellectual property. This newly emerging trend towards “consultancy” is nicely counter-balanced, in the survey results, by a reported desire, on the part of the customer, for transparency. And it’s much easier to be transparent when contracts are fee- based, secured on the basis of an input of time and professional expertise.

Some key highlights emerging from the results of the survey include: - 60% of survey takers state that their business is faring better in 2010 than the previous year; - 50% of partners expect an increase in attendance figures at 2010 events as compared to 2009 events; - 63% of survey takers expect to offer a broader range of services in 2011; - 47% of partners state that their business is more profitable in 2010 than 2009; - 33% of survey takers have higher employment figures in their PCO departments in 2010 than in 2009.

Good news also comes in the form of delegate numbers, a key performance indicator for the meetings industry. These numbers appear more stable or better in 2010 than in 2009, pointing to a positive shift in the market with delegates more willing and able to attend conferences. Revenue generated by Exhibitions remains stable and Sponsorship is also expected to remain stable throughout 2010.

Revenue from housing is expected to increase in 2010.

Client side, Healthcare continues to reign as the primary industry sector. Other sectors in which INCON members are particularly active in 2010 include Corporate, Science and Engineering, and Academic. Business from the governmental sector has decreased

by 13% since 2009. Corporate business has however increased on 2009 figures and business from the Academic sector remains stable. In terms of procurement, clients are demanding more value, visibility and control over any profit margins. PCOs are providing an increasing amount of marcom services and digital marcom services. CSR/green concerns and strong green policies are becoming increasingly important, but value for money is seen as one of the key concerns in 2010.

On the Supplier side – rates for venue hire remain stable. Housing rates have improved since last year while rates and prices for catering remain stable. Employment is predicted to rise in the PCO sector and profitability has increased. There appears to have been very little change in the competitive landscape in 2010 compared to 2009 with the number of local PCOs competing for business remaining steady. The number of core PCOs in the market remains steady, as does the number of in house providers of PCO services.

Encouragingly, it appears that PCOs are handling an increasing number of projects this year as compared to 2009 and they expect to handle even more in 2011. Service levels are predicted to increase in tandem with the trend towards increased service provision from PCOs which includes consultancy-based services.

The Second Annual INCON Survey of the Global Association Conference Market carried out in March 2010 shows that despite the many complications encountered, things are looking up. We’ve had, and continue to have security obstacles to overcome. We’ve had, and continue to have pandemics and global health complications. We’ve had earthquakes, tsunami and hurricanes that have caused devastation and tragic loss of life. This year, we experienced a global recession and on top of that a volcano spewing potentially harmful dust up into the atmosphere and grounding planes all over Northern Europe and affecting travellers across the globe. Next year, I predict, it’ll be a plague of locusts...

www.incon-pco.com

49

Presentation of agency Dubrovnik Travel

rich Dubrovnik maritime history by taking clients out for day and night cruises and for occasional special events.

The reconstruction of the MB Sea Star was a challenge. Much information was gathered from assorted descriptions and pictures found in Belgium with the former owner.

Dubrovnik Travel (DT) today is in many situations the confirmed leading Destination Management Company providing top services, assistance and support to demanding exclusive groups in Croatia. The owners have been in the MICE & Group travel industry since the early 80's. DT is specialized for a high level international meetings, incentives and conferences taking place in Croatia. DT also provides tailor made shore programs for exclusive groups of cruise passengers in all ports on this sunny side of the Adriatic Sea (SLO, CRO, BiH, Montenegro & Albania).

To recreate the proper feeling, attention was given to every possible detail in the reconstruction process. At the same time, many aspects of the ship have been adjusted to modern cruise standards.

The crème de la crème of the ship is its sundeck one of the ships most beautiful asset that spans over 150 sq meters to let our guests enjoy the breathtaking views of the famous Croatian Riviera and Islands. This ship is intended to be used for all types of events, congresses as well as special events such as shows, concerts, PR, promotional events as well as dinner cruises and sunset cruises.

Dubrovnik Travel recently became the coowner of the first modern event ship in the Adriatic Sea. The boat is registered with a capacity for 400 passengers and is planned to operate only on an ad hoc basis for top exclusive day and night cruises along the Dubrovnik, Montenegro & Croatia Riviera.

The MB Sea Star has 2 open air sundecks and inside facilities such as three air conditioned salons for up to 400 passengers to enjoy dining and dancing together. MB Sea Star is the biggest multi-functional boat of this type in the Adriatic Sea, and it is equipped with all modern navigational instruments.

Technical details: - Dimensions: Loa 45.25 m - Beam: 10.5 m - Tonnage: 887.00 GT - Material: Steel - Main engine: 2 x 953 BHP at 1900 rpm Cummins V-Type RSD 401 Diesel - Speed: Service speed: 13 knots - Maximum speed: 15 knots - Heating & Air Conditioning: Central - Capacity: 400 day pax - Sundeck: Huge sundeck above main saloon, aft- and foredeck - Safety: Fitted out with complete safety equipment

To broaden day cruise and event possibilities today and to illuminate the maritime history of Dubrovnik , the DMC “Dubrovnik Travel“ and the partner GV Line have undertaken the complex task of rebuilding and market launching an event ship, a very important passenger vessel for many kinds of events or transport only. The new Sea Star will sail in and around the Croatian waters, evoking the

Two years ago Croatia was lacking interesting venues for groups and at the same time the offer of boats in the Adriatic to sail all year round was equal to zero. Our vision was to please all business groups with a venue that they can use whatever the weather and also at the same time enjoy the sea even if coming in the winter or early spring. The solution was really an event ship like the Sea Star. Today we

Agency presents

are challenged to fulfil all modern standards in the event industry and to make the Sea Star competitive! www.dubrovniktravel.com/seastar

50

News from Slovenian Convention Bureau

Destination management in the meetings industry The Convention Bureau began preparing a series of public meetings on the topic of meetings industry at destination level. The aim of these meetings is to elevate the recognition of the meetings industry and to encourage cooperation on the destination level – all with the goal to make the destination more successful in gaining national and international clients. The meetings will be co-organized with local tourist boards and with cooperation of Convention Bureau members and other actors from the meetings industry.

Portorož hosted the Academy Conventa and the Council of Experts of the Slovenian Convention Bureau on November 11th and 12th. Portorož has taken some significant steps towards forming connections at the destination level in the meetings industry. The programme of Tourist Board Portorož includes the establishment of a local Convention Bureau and strategic alliances at the destination level, for a successful development of convention products and Portorož as a convention destination.

Meeting of the Council of Experts of the Slovenian Convention Bureau Slovenian Convention Bureau organized its annual Meeting of the Council of Experts, traditionally held in autumn. In comparison with other countries, Slovenia is running behind in the area of destination cooperation and development of convention products at the destination level. The activities of the Bureau in the area of destination cooperation confirmed this fact as did the recently held Destination Module of Academy Conventa.

Portorož recognised the advantages of cooperation and decided to host the meeting of the Council with the topic Destination – the hearth of a convention product. The Council invited prominent guest from abroad – Linda Pereira from Portugal and Paul Kennedy from the United Kingdom, who also gave lectures at Executive Module of Academy Conventa. They took advantage of their visit in Portorož and connected with them interactively. One of the more important goals of this year’s Council was

electing a new president. The new presedent is Zmago Skobir. After the official part Portorož organized a Pre-New Year’s party for the members of the Convention Bureau.

region of South-Eastern Europe to make sure it reaches international success.

Photo: Tadej Bernik

Slovenian Convention Bureau presents

Conventa trade show exceeds goals Three months before the beginning of the largest trade show of the meetings industry in South-Easterm Europe, Conventa is already exceeding its goals. The B2B trade show is attracting more exhibitors and invited guests than ever before. At the moment around 70 to 100 exhibitors are expected, among them a seventh of convention service providers, which haven’t attended Conventa before. This proves the trade show has established its position as the most important convention trade show in the region. Conventa is expecting national and local tourist and convention bureaus (from Slovenia, Ljubljana, Maribor, Croatia, Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Opatija, Belgrade), the largest conference and exhibition centres, congress hotels (international hotel chains, such as Radisson, Kempinski, Best Western Hotels, national hotel chains like Bernardin Group Resorts & Hotels, Valamar Hotels & Resorts, Istraturist Umag and numerous independent hotels), as well as PCO- and DMCagencies and catering agencies etc.

The exhibitors mostly choose Conventa because “it’s an efficient trade show, which enables us to form new business contacts,” stated Miha Rott, director of the agency Unique Slovenia.

Vesna Lešnik of Hotel Mons adds “Conventa is an excellent opportunity to share information, forecast market trends and check out the competition and of course, gain new clients.”

Radisson Blu Grand Hotel Sofia decided to participate since “Conventa is an ideal opportunity for the convention service providers to meet and get to know their public.” Their focus group are meetings organizers from Europe, interested in organizing meetings, conferences, incentives and other events in South-Eastern Europe. The interest in this emerging region in the international meetings market is growing each year so the organizers of Conventa carefully select meeting organizers they will invite as hosted buyers. A number of international partners from the meetings industry cooperate in promoting the Conventa trade show and the

The autumn part of Academy Conventa seminars “New knowledge, new contacts, new ideas” are the most common responses of the participants at Academy Conventa. Proof that employees in the field of the meetings industry wish for more of such events and experiences. The seminars of Academy Conventa represent the largest and best education in the area of meetings industry in Slovenia. The seminars are structured with the aim of teaching the participants practical skills which they can use to further the development of their company or destination. They are based on long-term experience and knowledge of experts, willing to share them with new members of the meetings industry. In May the Basic Module of Academy Conventa was carried out, lead by experienced professional Srečo Peterlič.

In October the Destination module led by Miha Kovačič, director of Slovenian Convention Bureau, took place. The lecturers introduced the mechanism of developing a destination.

Marketing module led by Gorazd Čad, director of congress and marketing agency Go.Mice, took place on 11th and 12th of November. The Marketing module enlightened the participants in the newest concepts of marketing in organizing meetings and events. Gorazd Čad,

51 Slovenian Convention Bureau presents

the centre of Brussels the Bruxelles Info Place at Place Royale. Slovenian gastronomy was provided by Culinary house Jezeršek, the evening was accompanied by pleasant music. All the participants received promotional materials.

The event was organized in cooperation with Rok Klančnik, representative of STB in Brussels and hosted three prominent guests European Parliament MP’s Tanja Fajon and Zoran Thaler as well as Rok Zagorski, the first councillor of the Slovenian Embassy.

Photo: Laurent Louis

director of Go.Mice along with other Slovenian experts in the area shared their experience.

At the same time the Executive module led

by Paul Kennedy of Kennedy Consulting took place. Kennedy introduced different strategies of business development and global marketing in the meetings industry along with guest lecturer Linda Pereira. The module of strategic communication will be another great challenge for the participants of Academy Conventa, since it will uncover what goes on in the background of the international tourist market and the meetings industry. The Communications Module, led by Rok Klančnik, the representative of Slovenian Tourist Board in Brussels, took place on November 25th and 26th, the participants learned about the tools forming successful communication. Considering the response of the Academy Conventa participants and their desire for additional training, new programmes for next year are already in preparation. For more information visit: www.academyconventa.com

Slovenia to participate at EIBTM in Barcelona From November 30th to December 2nd the Convention Bureau in cooperation with STB and fourteen other Slovenian companies, will take part at the traditional EIBTM in Barcelona. During the event the Slovenian Convention Bureau and Slovenian Tourist Board will select foreign meetings organizers and introduce Slovenia as an attractive meetings destination by organizing a dinner at renowned El Principal del Tragaluz restaurant in the centre of Barcelona. www. eibtm.com

PUSH UP 3.0

A workshop in Brussels On 15th of September Slovenian Convention Bureau and Slovenian Tourist Board held a workshop for fifty prominent Belgian clients.

The marketing agency Allied Consultants helped in selecting them. The workshop took place in

Slovenian Convention Bureau has applied to a tender of the Ministry for the Economy to further develop the promotion of theme tourist products in 2010 and 2011, which would enable the acquisition of grants for promoting the meetings industry of 150,000 Euros. This is the continuation of last year’s additional promotion called “Push up Slovenia”. The innovative promotional campaign with the working title “Push up Slovenia 3.0” foresees the combination

of different marketing tools to reach all segments of the clients. The campaign targets the buyers of meetings services on our primary foreign markets (Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium, France and Italy) and the inside market of international meetings organizers. The focus group will be contacted by using different marketing tools and in consecutive intervals through 2010 and 2011. The campaign “Push up Slovenia 3.0” is the largest campaign to date, with which we are trying to reach a real increase of recognisability and competitiveness of Slovenia’s meetings industry and incentive products and increase profitability. The marketing tools for the campaign include personal sales, direct marketing, sale promotions, PR and advertising.

These marketing tools ensure a wide reach of the campaign through printed and digital media and form a direct contact with our focus groups.

The marketing tools are a part of the development of the brand Slovenia Green Meetings, which follows the current trend of sustainability and the increased demand for such products and services. The marketing campaign is based on the story of the Slovenian bee, which communicates the story of green tourism in Slovenia in a unique and innovative way. The message of the bees is very interesting and offers many positive stories. These are based on the idea that the bees form an indicator of successful protection of the environment, which is the basis for developing green tourism. Members of the Convention Bureau can participate in the aforementioned activities as partners.

More information is available at the seat of the Convention Bureau.

New members of the Convention Bureau – in the accession phase - Hotel Triglav, Bled; Standard G: Hotel with conference facilities http://www.hoteltriglavbled.net/ - Event agencija Profit, Ljubljana; Standard D: Event agency - Turizem Bohinj, Bohinj; Standard A: Local, regional and national convention bureau www.bohinj.si - S5 KONGRES, Srečo Peterlič s.p: Standard H; other congress services www.s5kongres.si

52 Slovenian Convention Bureau presents

List of members of Slovenian Convention Bureau We would like to introduce all the members of the Slovenian Convention Bureau along with their acquired standards and contacts.

You can find more information on the Convention Bureau at the website www.slovenia-convention.com.

Name of Slovenian Convention Bureau member

Name of contact person

E-mail

Website

Standard

ABC rent a car, EUROPCAR Slovenija

Mitja Karun

mitja.karun@europcar.si

www.europcar.si

H

Adria Airways

Alen Mlekuž

alen.mlekuz@adria.si

www.adria-airways.com

H

Airport Ljubljana

Janez Krašnja

janez.krasnja@lju-airport.si

www.lju-airport.si

Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana

Jernej Osterman

jernej.osterman@austria-trend.at

www.austria-trend.at

Cankarjev dom

Dušica Todorovič

dusica.todorovic@cd-cc.si

www.cd-cc.si/congress

Intours

Tomaž Krušič

tomaz.krusic@intours.si

www.intours.si

C

The Slovenia Times

Brane Krajnik

brane.krajnik@sloveniatimes.com

www.sloveniatimes.com

H

Festival Ljubljana

Maja Pangršič

maja.pangrsic@ljubljanafestival.si

www.festival-lj.si

I

M-Tours Bled

Miro Mulej

mtours@mtours.net

www.mtours.net

C

Hotel Paka

Stanko Brunšek

stanko.brunsek@hotelpaka.com

www.hotelpaka.com

G

Go-Mice

Gorazd Čad

gorazd.cad@go-mice.eu

www.go-mice.eu

H,B

GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre

Špela Terpin

spela.terpin@gr-sejem.si

www.gr-sejem.si

E,H

Grand hotel Union

Renata Balažic

renata.balazic@gh-union.si

www.gh-union.si

F,G

Catering Jezeršek

Jure Jezeršek

jure@jezersek.si

www.jezersek.com

H

HIT Holidays Kranjska Gora

Polonca Bačnar

polonca.bacnar@hitholidays-kg.si

www.hitholidays-kg.si

G

HIT Nova Gorica

Nelida Nemec

nelida.nemec@hit.si

www.hit.si

G

Hotel Lek

Sandra Fiorelli

sandra.fiorelli@hotel-lek.si

www.hotel-lek.si

G

Hotel Lev

Saša Špolar

sasa.spolar@hotel-lev.si

www.hotel-lev.si

G

Rogaška Hotels & Lotus Terme

Damijan Merc

damijan@hotel-sava-rogaska.si

www.rogaska.si

G

Best Western Premier Hotel Slon

Nataša Keršič

natasa.kersic@hotelslon.com

www.hotelslon.com

G

St. Bernardin, Adriatic Resort & Convention Center

Mojca Gobina

mojca.gobina@h-bernardin.si

www.h-bernardin.si

F

LifeClass Hotels & Spa Portorož

Marko Lenček

marko.lencek@lifeclass.net

www.lifeclass.net

F,G

Kobilarna Lipica

Bogdan Capuder

bogdan.capuder@lipica.org

www.lipica.org

G,I

Kompas

Tina Možina

tina.mozina@kompas.si

www.kompas.si

C

Koren Sports

Matija Koren

matija@humanfish.com

www.humanfish.com

D

City hotel

Erika Bokal

erika.bokal@cityhotel.si

www.cityhotel.si

G

Lifetrek

Matej Mejovšek

matej@lifetrek.si

www.lifetrek.si

D

Hotel Mons - Hotel & Congress Centre Vesna Lešnik in Ljubljana

vesna.lesnik@hotel.mons.si

www.hotel.mons.si

F

Alkemist - European translation agency

Saša Gorše

sasa.gorse@alkemist.si

www.alkemist.si

Health resort Radenci

Miha Veberič

miha.veberic@zdravilisce-radenci.si

www.radenska-zdravilisce.si

G

Robotrade

Robert Omovšek

robert@robotrade.si

www.robotrade.si

H

H,J G B,E

53 Slovenian Convention Bureau presents

Name of Slovenian Convention Bureau member

Name of contact person

E-mail

Website

Klaro d.o.o.

Uroš Čimžar

uros@klaro.si

www.rs-klan.com

H

Sava Hotels and Resorts Bled

Elvira Krupić

elvira.krupic@hotelibled.com

www.sava-hotels-resorts.com

G

Slovenian Tourist Board

Karmen Novarlič

karmen.novarlic@slovenia.info

www.slovenia.info

Terme Čatež

Marjanka Bužančič

marjanka.buzancic@terme-catez.si

www.terme–catez.si

G

Terme Krka

Renata Zorman

renata.zorman@terme-krka.si

www.terme-krka.si

G

Terme Maribor

Darja Slivnjak

darja.slivnjak@termemb.si

www.termemb.si

Terme Olimia

Alenka Brglez

alenka.brglez@terme-olimia.com

www.terme-olimia.com

G

Terme Ptuj

Tanja Božič

tanja.bozic@terme-ptuj.si

www.terme-ptuj.si

G

Terme Spa Rogaška

Katarina Abraham

katarina.abraham@terme-rogaska.si

www.terme-rogaska.si

G

Liberty Incentives & Congresses Slovenia

Boštjan Horjak

bostjan@liberty-slovenia.com

www.liberty-slovenia.com

C

Tourism Kras

Katja Dolenc Batagelj

info@batagel.com

www.postojnska-jama.si

Turistica - College of Tourism Portorož, University of Primorska

Marjan Tkalčič

marjan.tkalcic@turistica.si

www.turistica.si

H

Hotel Astoria Bled

Alisa Cerič

alisa.ceric@vgs-bled.si

www.hotelastoria-bled.com

G

Vivo Catering

Jerneja Kamnikar

jerneja.kamnikar@vivo.si

www.vivo.si

H

Bled Culture Institute

Matjaž Završnik

matjaz.zavrsnik@zkbled.si

www.zavod-za-kulturo-bled.si

J,I

Ljubljana Tourist Board

Tatjana Radovič

tatjana.radovic@visitljubljana.si

www.visitljubljana.si

A

Maya Team

Borut Nikolaš

borut@maya.si

www.maya.si

D

Maribor tourist board

Bernarda Karo

bernarda.karo@maribor.si

www.maribor-pohorje.si

A

Vila Bled

Petra Čuk

petra.cuk@sportina-turizem.si

www.vila-bled.si

TBA - Teambuilding Academy

Gregor Levič

gregor@tba.si

www.tba.si

D

Bohinj Park Hotel

Nataša Andlovec

natasa.andlovec@phb.si

www.bohinj-park-hotel.si

G

Hotel Drnča

Helena Vokič

helena.vokic@hotel-drnca.si

www.hotel-drnca.com

G

Hotel Plesnik

Marjana Cvetko

marjana.cvetko@plesnik.si

www.plesnik.si

G

Kempinski Palace Portorož

Marcos Torres Mueller

marcos.torres@kempinski.com

www.kempinski-portoroz.com

G

Sport centre Pohorje

Iris Kociper

iris.kociper@sc-pohorje.si

www.pohorje.org

G

Terme Unior Zreče

Breda Einfalt

breda.einfalt@unitur.eu

www.unitur.eu

G

Thermana Laško

Daniela Likar

daniela.likar@thermana.si

www.thermana.si

F

Hotel Triglav Bled

Marcela Klofutar

marcela@hoteltriglavbled.si

www.hoteltriglavbled.si

G

Event agencija Profit

Uroš Zajec

uros.zajec@profit.si

Tourism Bohinj

Klemen Langus

klemen.langus@bohinj.si

www.bohinj.si

*

S5 KONGRES

Srečo Peterlič

sreco.peterlic@s5kongres.si

www.s5kongres.si

*

Tourist Board Portorož

Jadran Furlan

jadran@portoroz.si

www.portoroz.si

*

Antique hotel

Katie Smirnina

katie@antiqhotel.si

www.antiqhotel.si

*

* in the process of standardization

Standard

F,G

H,I

I

*

54 Slovenian Convention Bureau presents

Introduction of the standard A of the Slovenian Convention Bureau

The Slovenian Convention Bureau has prepared a standardisation for its members, based upon the existing standards and recommendations in the field of business tourism. The bureau sees standardization as a strategic tool in raising quality and recognisability of the Slovenian meetings industry. Slovenia is amongst the first countries in the world to introduce wholesome standards in the field of the meetings industry.

The certificates of a certain standard confirm the service provider fulfils strict criteria in its category and is a reliable and trustworthy partner in the opinion of Slovenian Convention Bureau.

The certificates are valid for three years so the fulfilment of criteria is constantly monitored.

What does standard A really mean?

Standard A, in English CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) can function at a local, regional and national level. The bureau can be a legal person or exist within an existing tourist office. Its main role is promoting convention facilities and connecting service provider at a local/regional/ national level.

Introduction of Slovenian Convention Bureau members who achieved A standard.

Slovenian Convention Bureau Miha Kovačič Dunajska cesta 156 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 569 12 60 miha.kovacic@slovenia-convention.com www.slovenia-convention.com Ljubljana Tourism Tatjana Radovič Krekov trg 10 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 306 45 84 tatjana.radovic@visitljubljana.si www.visitljubljana.si/en Maribor Tourist Board Bernarda Karo Partizanska cesta 47 2000 Maribor Slovenia +386 (0)2 234 66 00 bernarda.karo@maribor.si www.maribor-pohorje.si Tourism Bohinj Klemen Langus Triglavska cesta 30 4264 Boh. Bistrica Slovenia +386 (0)4 57 47 590 klemen.langus@bohinj.si. www.bohinj.si/en Tourist Board Portorož Jadran Furlan Obala 16 6320 Portorož Slovenia +386 (0) 5 674 82 60 jadran@portoroz.si www.portoroz.si

55

SLOVENIA MEETINGS

Slovenian Convention Bureau presents

Feel the people.

Taste fresh ideas.

www.slovenia.info

www.slovenia-convention.com

56 Congress travelogue

SOFIA

Congress impressions from Sofia

I mostly arrive to Sofia through the supermodern airport renovated in 2006, or by road through Serbia passing the border crossing Dimitrovgrad. Even though Bulgaria is a member of the European Union the crossing doesn’t look very European. I often find myself reminiscing about the long gone days of waiting at the border in the times of socialism. The biggest issue of travelling on the roads are potholes and different “exotic” vehicles and horse drawn carriages, so you have to be really careful not to wreck your car.

The traffic near the city can get pretty dense so a lot of patience is required to enter the city of wisdom, which is the Greek meaning of Sofia, one of the oldest cities in Europe.

The first impressions are connected with the mighty Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the Orthodox Church in a neo-byzantine style, which can hold over 7,000 people and is a testament to the rich history of this area. The second impression, which I always get, is excellent food and hospitality of the people, who you can easily understand with a bit of an ear for Southern Slavic languages. The third impression is connected with conventions, since the centre of the city is dominated by the Palace of Culture, a sort of larger and over dimensional Cankarjev dom from Ljubljana or Sava Centre from Belgrade. Locals call it by the abbreviation NDK. This centre seems a bit grey, gloomy, depressive and tired, like

a socialist convention dinosaur. The Palace is the largest regional convention centre with the area of around 123,000 m2. It was opened in 1981 and is in need of a thorough renovation, since it no longer meets the spatial and sustainability standards of today’s meeting industry. Especially interesting are the giant frescos from the era of real-socialism.

Nowadays Sofia with over a million inhabitants is a vibrant and colourful European metropolis. The city has developed a lot through the last decade. At one time common pickpockets of Roma descent have practically disappeared from the city centre.

Bulgaria is a member of the EU since 2007, behind it is a long and arduous transition, crippled by corruption and mafia show-downs.

It’s a sort of meeting point between east and west, which is evident at every step. I’m sure most congress organizers connect this part of the world with notions such as real-socialism, corruption, poverty and bureaucracy. These are still present, yet the truth is somewhere in between. This kind of image is not the best for the development of the meetings industry, since Sofia is at the same time full of cultural and historical monuments and unspoilt nature just a stone’s throw from the city centre. You can take a city bus to the 1,800m high Vitosha Mountain and you find yourself at a wonderful incentive location.

During transition many hotels of famous hotel chains sprang up in the city. The first one was Kempinski, followed by Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson and others. The city’s flagship is certainly the Grand Hotel Sofia, a wonderful hotel in the city centre. Today Sofia boasts around 20 hotels with good congress capabilities and a number of agencies connected by the Sofia Convention Bureau and the energetic Mr. Christo Drumev, known as one of the most renowned people of Bulgarian meetings industry. Mr. Drumev is also a long time director of the National Palace of Culture.

Restaurants and entertainment are abundant

57 Congress travelogue

in Sofia. The culture and concert scene is thriving. You will have no trouble organizing accompanying events and tours. The ratio of hotel rooms and congress facilities is adequate.

Considering the large natural potentials, incentives might be the weakest link in the city services.

Sofia is technically as well equipped as any great city. Organizing a convention in Sofia should be no trouble. It's missing the factor x.

It lacks the concise and consistent branding, which would position the city among other tourist sites in Bulgaria. The entire communications story of Sofia seems tired and reminiscent of the olden days. The sense of security in the city is not always absolute. You can quickly have a little mishap with currency exchange. The agencies are doing everything to survive, so a true specialisation hasn’t taken place yet. As a consequence Sofia is not yet on the top of regional convention destinations, where it should be considering its capacities.

It’s behind all the important cities by ICCA statistics, which means the potential of the destination is enormous.

What is extraordinary about it, are the individuals. Among them the legendary professor Stella Filipova and her young team, who raise hope and optimism about the future of the meetings industry in Sofia and Bulgaria.

Comparison with the Region Sofia is a typical transition convention destination, which needs some more quality of services and a connection of the meetings industry with creative industries. As a destination to discover Bulgaria Sofia has a lot to offer, yet it will have to internationalize its meetings industry and strengthen marketing.

The biggest opportunity is in the added value of the destination unknown to the rest of congress Europe. Sofia needs to get rid of the image of a cheap congress destination of a lesser quality and become an internationally recognized congress brand. Sofia is a congress sleeping beauty caught between east and west.

For more information visit: www.sofiacb.com Gorazd ÄŒad

Destination grade

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

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

58 Congress locations

Congress Ljubljana

Bijou & boutique – the Antiq Palace Hotel The Antiq Palace is a delightful novelty in Ljubljana’s hotel portfolio. The owners of the first “hotel de charme” in the Old Town – the Antiq, have created a second stylish property, uniting modern amenities with a distinct historic flair.

The hotel’s unique central location, at the edge of the ancient wall once surrounding the Roman city of Emona, is complemented by the building’s history, going back to the early 1500’s when it was first mentioned in written records. As a past residence of several noble families, it is an indelible part of Ljubljana’s cultural heritage. The continuous alterations and metamorphosis, from baroque to classicistic style, are still reflected in its architectural traits. The ideas and inspiration for the renovation of the Antiq Palace were taken from the building’s original features, such as the walls, staircases, windows and frescoes, which also became the centrepieces for the interior design. The use of natural materials, including stone, wood and lime, allows the walls to breathe, thus stimulating the natural air circulation and pleasant air temperatures.

The Antiq Palace offers 13 boutique suites and exclusive residential apartments, each equipped with a master bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining area and a spacious bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. It also features a number of facilities that are available for the guests’ convenience, such as 24-hour concierge service, luxury spa, leisure facilities with 3 different kinds of sauna, dedicated executive business centre, several reading and relaxation areas and three lounge bars.

The property avails elegant space for a variety of meeting and event solutions: a conference suite, which can welcome up to 80 guests in theatre-style seating is complemented by two board rooms for up to 15 guests, all with natural daylight. The salon with a fireplace and the lobby bar can be used as extra private break-out areas.

The conference suite is connected with two private courtyards, providing an intimate and picturesque setting for cocktail receptions and other social functions in the warmer months.

The Antiq Palace has joined the renowned

collection of the Historic Hotels of Europe and the Castle & Mansion Hotels (Schlosshotels & Herrenhauser), and its authentic design has been captured in the upcoming issue of the »500 Very Special Hotels of the World«. www.antiqpalace.com

A business-oriented aparthotel The recently opened 3-star Birokrat Aparthotel, mostly intended for the business traveller, offers a total of 6 elegantly appointed rooms and 12 suites. It boasts a convenient location just a short way from the Ljubljana ring road, the new Stadium and multipurpose arena as well as Dunajska cesta Street, one of the main thoroughfares leading to the city centre, which is 4 km away. The property also provides attractive offers for those planning a longer business stay in Ljubljana, with packages including the use of lecture / seminar rooms and even tax consultancy services, on top of business facilitation and secretarial support.

Being close to the Laguna Resort, which also features a recreational and sports centre, the Birokrat Aparthotel offers its guests negotiated rates for relaxation in the sauna, fitness, swimming pool and other sports activities within the complex. www.birokrathotel.si

59

Enfant terrible

Congress personality

Jasna Dimitrijević

Belgrade University. And the event – European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Annual Meeting, which was held in Belgrade Sava Centre in 2005.

Could you highlight your best and worse life experience?

The best was definitely my work at the Sava Centre, Belgrade congress and conference centre, where I was general manager form 2003–2007.

What are you most proud of?

My family, my husband and my kids – we have three kids from 6 to 18 years.

Could you introduce yourself in two words – one describing you as a private and other as a public person?

Open and clear.

Which are your favourite magazines from the area of tourism?

I prefer specialized business magazines from the meetings industry – SEEbtm – business travel and meetings magazine, Kongres from Slovenia, BTEC Travel and Tourism (UK edition) and Putovanja, Belgrade edition.

Which was the last book you read and which book would you recommend to our readers?

Doris Lessing, “The Golden Notebook”.

Which was the last event you attended?

The Belgrade Book Fair.

Which was the last movie you saw?

“Eat, pray, love”.

How many foreign languages do you speak?

Mostly English, I try to speak French and want to learn Spanish. Right now I mostly wish I spoke German.

Who were your idols growing up and who are they today?

In my youth, Sasa Vučinić, who was a journalist and the editor of a youth magazine, now he is on the top in the media world, as well as Senad Hadžifejzović, a journalist from Sarajevo. Today it’s mostly, Crister Carlson, PCO from Stockholm, who worked as Chief of the organizing Committee of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Annual Meeting.

Which were your first and your current job?

My first job was with the Belgrade Youth Cultural Centre. Now I am the director of “Ilija M. Kolarac Foundation”, which manages a concert hall, holds lectures and literary evenings in our several smaller halls and includes a school of languages, an art gallery, a bookshop and a few studios.

Which success story from the area of tourism would you mention?

Firstly, the initiative for Belgrade Greeters – a volunteer service of the Tourist organization of Belgrade.

And the second, the story of the first Conventa trade show, everything including the concepts, light, design and food at the opening ceremony, cultural events and other activities during the trade show.

Which marketing idea sticks out the most in the area of tourism?

The slogans “I feel Slovenia” and “Belgrade – Because I love it”. Poland’s marketing idea around the anniversary of Chopin’s birth and all marketing ideas concerning green meetings.

What do you miss most in Serbian and SE Europe’s meeting industry?

Networking and cooperation.

Would you share your favourite places to visit in spring, summer, fall and winter?

In spring – Amsterdam, in the summer – Slovenia, in fall and winter – Stockholm and Lisbon.

What is the first thing you do when you come to work?

I check my schedule for the day.

What do you do in your free time?

I like to go to the theatre and visit live music events.

What influenced your life the most? Was it a person or an event?

The person who influenced me the most was prof. dr Milene Dragićević – Šešić from

Your life’s motto?

“Little is very important, since we’re always missing a little”

60

Good practise examples

Rovinj and Maistra Host Croatian Tourism Days 2010 Client: The Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Croatian Radio-Television Contractor: Maistra Date: From 20.11. to 22.11.2010 Croatian Tourism Days were held in Rovinj from 20th till 22nd of October this year. The most important tourism event of the year took place in a unique corporate and congress venue of Maistra, a former tobacco factory conveniently located in the town centre.

The Ministry of Tourism, the Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Croatian Radio-Television organized the first Croatian Tourism Days in 2008, a unique event attracting a turnout of about 1,500 participants from the tourism sector each year. This was the biggest meeting of Croatian tourism employees this year, providing a platform to all industry members for analyzing the effects of this year’s tourism season and announcing their activity plans for 2011.

During the event a variety of forums, round tables and meetings was held gathering leaders, decision makers and employees in the tourism industry.

The awards ceremony culminated the Croatian Tourism Days, where awards were presented to company representatives, tourist destinations and individuals in the 2010 Blue Flower, Green Flower, CNTB Employee of the Year and Tourism Flower – Quality for Croatia categories. www.maistra.com

Ambient Ljubljana – furniture fair at GR Client: GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre Contractor: Quadrat Design d.o.o.

Date: 9.–14. 11. 2010

This year’s Ambient held under the slogan A new breeze in your home, brought together over 300 exhibitors from 25 states. The accompanying programme featured a new exhibition of design – Top ideas. 40 young designers and architects took part with their products. Among them was Dejan Kos, student of industrial design at Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana: “I applied to the exhibition of design with the aim to introduce my ideas and get feedback, which will help me further develop my career.

I hope the exhibition will continue and the ideas we presented will find clients among the furniture manufacturers.”

Top ideas – 1st Exhibition of design attracted the attention of visitors and exhibitors. The creative leader of the exhibition professor Vladimir Pezdirc from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design told us about its importance: “Quality, value and innovativeness of the introduced ideas during the Ambient Ljubljana was proven by their buyers. These are manufacturers, individual businesses partners, industries and stores along with the designers, selling their ideas. The initiative of the Exhibition Centre to organize the first exhibition of design in Slovenia is definitely important.

The exhibition enables the designers to present their work to the public, creates a necessary dialogue between the professionals, Slovenian industry and the end consumer.”

Ambient Ljubljana – furniture fair is the new name for one of the largest fairs in Slovenia in the area of interior design, which attracts tens of thousands visitors each year. The event celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Its organizer the Exhibition Centre gives out TOP TEN awards to the participating products each year. This year’s winner is the sofa Orca from TOM, tovarna opreme d.d., designed by Ernest Nograšek. www.ljubljanaconventioncentre.com Photo: Blaž Zupančić

Examples & advice

61 Examples & advice

Slovenian book fair Organizers: Publishers association at the Chamber of commerce and Cankarjev dom Date: 1.– 5. 12. 2010

At the end of the year Cankarjev dom hosts the largest book-related event in Slovenia. Slovenian book fair has been held at the central cultural – convention centre in the country for many years now, which is a rare case of continuity.

Being a guest at such a renowned cultural institution gives credibility to the accompanying programme on open stages placed between exhibition grounds. At the Debate Café the guest from everywhere can discuss books, reading and life. Expert discussions on current topics in publishing and book trade are held at the Publishers academy. The forum for visitors hosts interesting guest and musicians as well as readings and book introductions. The stage named “Taste the word” is managed by the Association of Slovenian writers and hosts excellent Slovenian authors. Cankarjev dom also carries out a programme of cultural education for school children, which takes place in the convention halls. Schools can also use the school “knjigosled”, which guides through the fair and towards interesting authors and encourages reading culture in Slovenia.

Each visitor can be a part of these events without leaving the fair. Numbers confirm that this practice is successful: in 2009 Slovenia Book Fair hosted 50,000 visitors, which is a record for our small state. Every year the number of exhibitors grows and demands a lot of flexibility from the organization board. The exhibitors have to be considerably sorted in a planned manner.

A special event is the opening of the fair at Linhart hall, where the Publishers association at the Chamber of commerce gives out the Schwentner award for lifetime achievements, the award for the best literary debut and for the best Slovenian book, as well as the Winged Lion award and the Slovenian Book of the Year.

The key actors in the realization of the event are the sponsors. They are the ones who made this event possible. The visitors can enjoy all the events and the entrance to the fair free of charge.

www.knjiznisejem.si

63

Gadgets

Edox times the winners

Are you a racer or would like to become one?

The Swiss company Edox has been measuring time since 1884 when they were established.

In the last few years they are mostly devoted to sports. They were named the official timer of the world championship of Class-1 power boats, also known as Formula 1 on water, as well as the official timer of the Sea Dubai team in sailboats category RC44. A few excellent sports collections arose from this partnership: Class-1, Classe Royale, Royal Lady and Grand Ocean. Last year they ventured into the world of motoring and became the official timer of the world rally championship FIA. The product of this cooperation is the watch Chronorally WRC. It’s shortly described as a watch for racing drivers.

Its face is available in black and white and is certainly similar to a speedometer in a car. It can display minutes, hours as well as the time of different stages of a race. Rally and motorsports fans will be thrilled since it sets new standards in the world of racing. www.slowatch.si

Examples & advice

65

Gadgets

Examples & advice

Would you like to dress your computer or phone in sexy outfits?

Pimp your computer, mobile phone now!

At a meeting, a trade show, an airport or a conference; with a customer or at a coffee shop – gadgets travel with us everywhere!

Considering this fact, Slovenian ProtecTech discovered a fantastic way to get a brand message right in front of the customers. Using ProtecTech’s innovative product, custom vinylcovers, companies or individuals can easily personalize the look of their gadgets. Regardless of the location, dressed into a unique design, your computer communicates with potential customers and takes care of corporate branding!

Besides that, ProtecTech skins have a practical value as well; with free advertising on-the-go, they also protect devices against scratches.

The skins are removable and can be changed anytime. Made of high-quality vinyl foil with patented micro-structure, they guarantee a simple installation with no glue-residue if removed. This means the look of the device can be changed whenever the customer wishes to, fitting the occasion and addressing the potential costumer. You can also order one to more thousand pieces for a wide range of devices. The company has announced that they are working on skins for devices like mobile phones, MP3/ MP4 players, gaming consoles and similar, which makes them a unique present to your employees or customers. www.protectech.si

67

Gadgets

Examples & advice

A new generation of MacBook notebooks

New Moon

The most transportable notebook

The designers of the new collection of Longines watches, exclusively for women, found their inspiration in the beauty of the moon, which watches over us with her thousand faces. They were thrilled by its grace, they wanted to capture its soft silhouette in the shape of the face and its silvery glow is represented by the circumference of sparkling diamonds. The charming beauty of PrimaLuna will win the hearts of women, who value modern, sophisticated and timeless elegance. The face of PrimaLuna can be white, silver or pearl, with Arab or Roman numerals and has a date window by the number three.

The most glamorous version contains eleven diamonds instead of numbers. The models can be made of steel, pink or yellow gold and in the combination of steel and pink gold.

Apple introduced a new MacBook Air, the first of a new generation of notebooks, which will replace hard drives and optic drivers with web services and flash storage without moving parts. The new MacBook Air is available with 28-centimeter (11-inch) and 33-centimeter (13-inch) display and weighing around one kilogram, which makes it the lightest and most transportable Mac in every aspect. The notebook features flash storage, a Multi-Touch pad, a powerful battery, high resolution screen, Intel Core 2 Duo processor and NVIDIA graphics. All of the above is combined in one piece casing, thin and though enough to withstand the stress of your day to day tasks and much more – whether you’re sitting in an armchair, in class or at a conference. This is mobility at its best. www.store.apcom.si

A watch for sophisticated women

www.slowatch.si

IF THE “ROUTE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DESTINATION”, THAN THE RIDE IN COMFORTABLE BUSES IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE JOURNEY.

Following this philosophy Avrigotours constantly expands the number of its buses, being aware of the latest technological and travel trends. In this way we are able to satisfy the needs and expectations of the most demanding custumers. Avrigotours is also specialized in group travel packages. Our highly trained and expert staff is ready to prepare for you all kinds of land based bus travel packages, or intercontinental air travelling journeys. Our tourist buses vary from small 29 seats to large 57 seats. For those who expect only the best we offer the luxury of Setra bus.

Avrigo d.d. Nova Gorica Tel.: +386(0)5/330 3120 Fax: +386(0)5/330 3126 e-mail: avrigotours.gorica@avrigo.si internet: www.avrigo.si

Since 1952

THE OFFICIAL COACH CARRIER AT SLOVENIAN INCOMING WORKSHOP

Družba za avtobusni promet in turizem, d.d.

Kidrièeva 20, 5000 Nova Gorica, www.avrigo.si

70 PR

Column by AIPC President, Edgar Hirt Meetings Technology – an Opportunity and a Challenge!

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.

It’s global network of over 165 leading centres in 53 countries, combined with the active involvement of more than 650 centre management professionals ensures a broad and diversified level of industry knowledge and expertise, while its wide variety of program activities supports members in developing and enhancing their skills in the areas of operations, finance, technology, staff development, marketing, client relations and sustainability.

For as long as modern meetings and conventions have existed, there has been a debate around whether or not face to face meetings would be eliminated by evolving communications technology. On the one hand, critics pointed to the cost savings and travel inconvenience that could be achieved by having participants on either end of a phone or a video link; on the other were those who said such an arrangement could never replicate the benefits of actual personal interaction.

The debate raged on year after year, punctuated by rising levels of panic every time

an economic recession or travel challenges such as those that arose from SARS or the trauma of 9/11 captured everyone's attention.

In the end, it seemed, the personal element won out and the conclusion was that for the vast majority of people, nothing could replicate the benefits of "face-to-face" interactions.

But throughout this period, two things were quietly happening – and together, they may be shifting the odds in a new direction.

First, the technology was getting better. Tiny, fuzzy images with startling lag times gave way to crisper, larger ones with real time interaction, leading to a much greater sense or reality. Costs became more manageable with web-based options replacing the more costly dedicated links and specialized equipment that characterized earlier versions. The remote alternative not only became of a higher quality but also more cost-effective and readily available.

And the fact is, this trend will only continue.

Most observers feel that communications technology is poised on the brink of quantum leaps forward, propelled by greater storage and transmission capacities and better software to facilitate the whole thing. What has now gone from barely tolerable to useable may now be headed for the downright remarkable.

Secondly, concerns around sustainability intensified – and in particular, the carbon impacts of the long distance travel required of delegates to actually attend their meetings.

This issue has gone to the point of creating calls by many governments, NGO's and international organizations for new limits on business travel, and is unlikely to subside anytime soon. And while convention centres and other industry suppliers have made huge efforts to reduce the impacts of the meetings themselves, there's not much they or anyone else can do on the travel side.

In practice, it is the combination of several factors that poses the greatest risk.

The synergy amongst corporations and governments eager to achieve cost savings and the ability of the same groups to reference environmental responsibility as the reasoning behind their decisions is irresistible.

At the same time, there are many well placed influencers in the technology areas that would benefit from a move toward remote meetings who will inevitably be only too happy to encourage a move in this direction.

What to do? I think we have to look at three areas; First, we need to actually document the benefits we have been claiming for faceto-face meetings rather than relying on old adages which are getting tired in the face of new technical advances. It won't be easy, but anything that is real – as we claim the benefits of personal interactions to be – lends itself to some form of measurement and it's just a matter of figuring out how this can best be done.

Secondly, we need to organize our counter arguments about why collective meetings are more efficient – things like the alternative they offer to many more individual meetings, for example, or how the advances they precipitate in the end have much greater overall value than any sustainability costs they may incur.

Again, we have taken all this for granted for so long that little work has been done to actually identify and organize the positive points, and this isn't enough at a time when we will need much more persuasive arguments.

Finally, we need to make sure that we are doing our best to incorporate the new technologies into existing meeting formats to make them even more effective than they would otherwise be. The new technologies aren't going away – the challenge is to make them work for us instead of seeing them as a threat. If we can harness their power to make face –to-face meetings more powerful and broadly useful they will become more of a force for meetings than a threat – and delegates will get even more benefits than they would have without them. In some cases, this means that there will in fact be remote components to organized events – this is already happening now – but if that enhances rather than detracts from personal participation then the net effect will remain positive.

For many years we've got by with saying that nothing can replace personal interaction – and so far that has usually been enough. However, we're now facing a future where we're going to have to do a lot better than that in the face of better technology and stronger counter arguments.

Edgar Hirt www.aipc.org

With more than 20 years of experience

organizing meetings, events and conferences.

events

PENTA is one of the leading PCO agencies in Croatia.

congresses

incentive

Penta PCO - A. Hebranga 20, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia Tel.: +385 1 45 53 290 Fax.: +385 1 45 53 284 e-mail: penta@penta-zagreb.hr www.penta-zagreb.hr

72 PR

Interview with Borut Nikolaš, director of Maya team If we would stick to our home turf, we would lose over half of our business

1. Mr. Nikolaš, could you briefly introduce your company?

Maya team specializes in carrying out professional and entertaining team building and incentive programmes. We are aware the basis for the success of the project lays in meeting the client’s needs. We differ from the competition by not forcing our programmes on the clients, yet listen to their needs. All projects and programmes are agreed and coordinated in advance. The satisfaction of the client is always first, since we are aware this is the only measure of our success. Therefore I can say the loyalty of our clients strengthens every year and is our biggest advantage.

2. Who are you programmes aimed at and when do you carry them out?

Borut Nikolaš is one of Slovenia’s leading experts in organizing and carrying out team building programmes. He supports the programmes which ensure measurable results and don’t leave anything to coincidence. He has been upgrading his experience since 1998 by carrying out events in Slovenia and abroad.

He’s favourite topics are team development and team communications.

They are aimed at larger and smaller companies, associations, corporations, who have long term goals and realize their human resources are their future. It doesn’t help to spend money for marketing and other promotions if your employees work at 30% of their potential. Investment in human resources definitely pays off. The idea of team building and incentive programmes is namely exclusively in educating and motivating employees. We carry the programmes out at different locations in Slovenia and abroad – depending on the client’s wishes and the necessary infrastructure. The programmes are adjusted to seasons, so they take place the whole year through.

3. You divide team building to social and professional. What’s the difference?

Professional team building is in educating the employees, where different team work tasks and interactive workshops aim to improve trust, communication, organisation and motivation. This means analysis and assessments of the individuals and the team are carried out. We also discuss team roles, since an individual positioned at the right job position is much more efficient. We divide our team building to one-day and several-days and repeat them periodically to reach the desired

goals, as well as measure them. The social or fun team building is mostly a one-day event where the goal is to reward the employees for their performance and ensure their motivation for reaching newly set goals.

4. The seat of your company is in Tolmin.

Does this mean you carry out all your programmes locally – in Posočje?

No, absolutely not. We have unfortunately had this reputation for a long time. The Soča valley does offer numerous possibilities to carry out excellent programmes where we join sports activities with home-made gastronomy and rich cultural heritage. If we would stick to our home turf, we would lose over half of our business. That is why we decided to broaden our services to the entire Slovenia, as well as Croatia and Serbia. When choosing a location the client is always right we just need to consider the infrastructure.

5. The meeting industry is based on cooperation and forging partnerships. Where do you see the advantages and possible traps?

We are well aware of the need to form partnerships and connections in this industry, more than in any other. When we try to prepare our “Best” event we always cooperate with partners who understand the importance of our clients’ wishes. Good connections lead to sharing knowledge and experiences, which can be a huge advantage in many cases. The traps lay mostly in cooperating with partners and locations, which are not up to the challenge of organizing events on our level. To avoid this we are very careful and check out the less known partners and service providers.

6. Today many agencies offer team building and incentive products. Why would the clients choose your services?

Firstly, we are certified by the Slovenian Convention Bureau as event and team building organizer. This certificate ensures we are qualified to achieve the highest European standards when carrying out a programme or

73 PR

project. We are the only Slovenian member of the International Association of Teamwork Facilitators. We regularly carry out employee trainings abroad and follow the newest trends in education techniques. We have also received an award for best team building programme in Slovenia for our programme “Along the trails of the Isonzo Front” at the conference Event Manager 2010 this January.

We combine professionalism, creativity and entertainment.

7. We are nearing the beginning of a new year when a lot of companies choose to organize social and business events. Do you have any experience in this area?

Of course. Pre-New Year's parties are a part of our offer. We offer different locations and programmes, which make a regular dinner an event you’ll never forget. Our clients often want a combination of different social activities combined with good food and music at a magical location. If nature helps us out a little and offers a snowflake or two, the event will no doubt be memorable.

8. Do you have a message for the readers of Kongres magazine?

Since you’ve mentioned New Year’s which is right around the corner, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the readers of Kongres a happy and successful new year. To the team of Kongres – many more good ideas and new subscribers. And we all shouldn’t forget: Luck is hidden within ourselves.

74

The last word

Majda Zidanski , founder of Albatros

Meetings industry is getting more recognizable in Slovenia Our main goal should be winning more associations meetings he meetings industry is an “aristocratic” kind of tourism.

Despite the delay, it is getting more and more recognizable in our country as well, due to its multiple effects.

As is the custom in our area, the industry is accepted in a modified form and understood in different ways – as anyone sees fit. I’ve been working in the field of the meetings industry throughout my entire professional career and I'm certain, this industry contains certain axioms (claims, which are considered self-evident and need no proof), which cannot be changed even by modern creators, businessmen and “inventors”. One of these areas is terminology which is commonly used incorrectly. The first example is the basic word congress. To name a certain event a congress it must meet at least these three conditions: It needs to last at least two days with at least one night’s accommodation and it has to host at least 300 participants from at least three countries. The term congress is used widely; some people use the word “event” instead, which makes it even worse. An event can be anything from a wedding, to a birthday party or a banquet dinner during an international congress. So called “government events” contain very different kinds of meetings and events. Mostly, these are international conferences, which are managed and organized by the state or individual ministries

T

in its stead. Mostly, these are professional meetings where individuals from universities, institutes and professional associations take part as well. Such international conferences are very useful and attract the professional public and affect the promotion and recognisability of a destination or country.

The error of the state when organizing such conferences and congresses, is not realizing the importance of such events and the importance of involvement in the process from the very beginning. We need to realize most renowned international congresses and conferences in Slovenia are held here due to individuals, experts, who work on the projects on a voluntary basis and are themselves aware of the importance of such meetings. Such experts are highly recognized in international circles, which enables them to be chosen as organizers in the international competition. This is where the support of the state is key: during the candidature, by presenting a destination or country, and also later, when the congress or conferences is already secured. We have tried to gain their cooperation through the Convention Bureau, yet the responsible ministry was not very understanding. The Convention Bureau itself does not have enough power or influence to make suitable and key substantial shifts.

Classic political meetings, such as the presidency of the EU Council, can bring certain short term benefits to the individuals involved in the process, yet don’t have the same effect as professional meetings.

They can even cause negative effects. The abovementioned example was very successful for some business actors (hotels, restaurants, agencies) in the first half of 2008, yet later these same actors noticed negative trends, which have not turned positive even two years after. At the same time this affected the price policies, which were misguided due to overly optimistic expectations and have not yet been settled. This poses a big problem to all subjects in the meetings industry with long term plans, especially in the face of the economic crisis, which will take a lot of time and energy to resolve and resume normal business.

Political meetings can be an addition to the aforementioned professional meetings and are necessary, yet our main goal should be winning more international professionals meetings or associations meetings with the help of the state.

Atrij Hotel

Congress Addendum

FAIRS

Contents 77 78 80 82 84 85 87

Editorial: Rastko Aleš IMEX America, Nalan Yilmez GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, Iztok Bricl Pomurje Fair, Miran Mate Primorje Fair Celje Fair, Nataša Vodušek Fras STO, “Slovenia goes green”

77

Editorial

Changes at GR Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre

Congress Addendum Fairs

When will we finally see the "controversial" million of visitors per year?

Aleš Rastko, graduate of organisation and telecommunications engineer, started as a liaison officer, later specialized as an engineer in the area of microelectronic in the USA, then spent a few years at Adria Airways. In the last seventeen years he held different functions at GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre: He was a technical director, commercial director, project manager. At Ljubljana fair d.d. he was head of the commercial division, assistant manager, after that he returned to the Exhibition centre where he was head of sales, assistant director of sales and project manager etc. Today he works at the Exhibition Centre, is a member of the editorial board of Inženir magazine and a guest writer for Potepanja.

s a child I spent my summer vacations on Korčula where I often wondered of to the birth place of the great traveller Marco Polo. They say he was born right in that house, yet the historians disagree with the Croatian Tourist Board and all the inhabitants of Korčula. Be that as it may. We can claim with less doubt that the Venetian spent twenty-four years in Asia, which resulted in his book Il Milione, which introduced Asia to the educated reader.

A

Seven hundred years later the entire modern world introduced itself in the Asian metropolis Shanghai at the world expo, which ended recently, on 31st of October (on Halloween) with the speech of the Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao.

The organizers of the world expo broke all records. When I was gathering the data on the number of countries present (the website says 246, which is interesting since there are only

192 countries in the UN – without Vatican and Kosovo, or 194 with them), the area used (5.28 km2) how much money was spent on the expo (4.3 billion US$), how many people worked on it (20,000), which infrastructure was renovated or built (roads, railways, airports...), I was surprised by the fact that many sources mentioned a very different number of visitors. I got the feeling it doesn't really matter if there were 72 or 73 million visitors. A million give or take. And when will we finally see the "controversial" million of visitors per year in Slovenia: all the fairs at all three Slovenian fairgrounds in all available congress halls?

This almost absurd comparison does not aim to diminish the importance of fairs and expos in Slovenia and it doesn’t aim to lessen the efforts of our meetings industry. On the contrary. Since there are less of us we have to work more and harder to attract visitors to our fairs and events.

Every single person is very important to us and it's not easy to convince him or her to become our visitor. We are too caring and hard working, we always want more – we would like to put all the events in a bag and carry them from city to city. We want to point out that it’s not the same if a fancy car saloon takes place in the capital or at the site of general partying and drinking at the same location as the event called “69” – fair of Erotica in Celje. It’s not the same if we bring stud bulls to the capital or show them of in Gornja Radgona. It’s also not the same if tipsy people roll around in mud at Dolenjska “Cvičkarija” or at festival Rock Otočec. It’s not the same if we put toys for big boys on display in the otherwise lovely atrium of the castle, with mulled wine and roasted chestnuts, or display them in the elegant spaces and halls at GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, where by the way, the largest medical convention (Autoimmunity) in Slovenia took place. The proof of our success is written praise from esteemed names such as PD Dr. A. Kromming, Prof. Dr. Annegret Kuhn and Prof.

Prakash Pispati.

The Municipality of Ljubljana and the newold mayor showed they care about fairs and expos with a certain glamour and that the Exhibition centre takes on a new, leading role among exhibitors in the broader, international region. A new wind has blown through our house ...was the motto of this year’s furniture exhibition, renamed Ambient Ljubljana. Like the authors of this motto knew before all others, the wind blew from Tromostovje towards Bežigrad and brought a new director to the Exhibition Centre. And behind him, changes we have been expecting for a long time. The symbol of Ljubljana, the dragon watching over the city and occasionally sweeping with its tail is now joined by the fire of profitability, economy and productivity.

The energies the new director embodies will, hopefully, find a balance between integrity and the argument of power on one side and creativity and innovativeness, to step beneath the boundaries, on the other. All these elements are important for a successful realisation of a fair.

The World Expo will stay in the East for a few more years and come to our neighbours in Milan in five years. If the event in Shanghai was held in the spirit of “Better City, Better Life”, the Milan edition will be called “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, I begin to wonder why I didn’t start this editorial by naming the events held this year in Ljubljana as World Book Capital. Because, I like to leave the best for last.

An to end with a thought from poet Župančič and the slogan of Ljubljana World Book Capital, which really says it all: “Book at hand; handed down devotedly time and time again...could it be handled any better?”

78 Congress Addendum Fairs

How Exhibitions can help you make your destination known 4 steps to improve your exhibition space

An exhibition is the only medium that brings qualified buyers straight to your company for face-to-face interactions. Spending a little time and thought planning before an exhibition will pay big dividends when show time comes.

A simple 4 step plan will guide you in your exhibition preparations: The 4 Step plan to Exhibiting 1. Set your objectives Set specific goals. Do you want to generate 100 sales leads? Launch a new product to customers?

The tighter the goals, the better your chances of achieving them. Establishing specific, measurable goals is probably the single most important thing you can do before every exhibition.

Nalan Yilmaz (Organising Director) has been involved in the exhibition industry for 15 years. Nalan began her career in 1995 as Project Manager for a trade show and special events company based in Munich, Germany.

During her six years with the company she planned, organized and supervised trade shows in various German cities. In April 2001 Nalan started working for Hall-Erickson, Inc. in Chicago, USA helping to organize The Motivation Show, the world's largest incentive merchandise and travel show. When she returned to Germany Nalan became a freelance event organiser based in Munich organising events in Germany. She joined IMEX – the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events early in 2002 and was promoted to her current position of Organising Director after IMEX 2004.

2. Preparing for an exhibition Plan the stand to meet the goals. Your stand location, design and activities should reflect what you hope to achieve. Even if you have a company exhibition stand in storage, think about how you can tailor it to a specific audience.

Make the most of pre-show PR and advertising.

There is so much more you can get out of an exhibition by doing your pre-show marketing.

Contact the Show Organiser for comprehensive marketing back-up e.g. update your virtual exhibition webpage and your online diary, request visitor invitations, download the preand post-show guide to buyers and prepare a targeted mailing campaign.

Recent research has shown that 83% of the most successful companies at a range of exhibitions (in terms of business generated and leads collected)

79 Congress Addendum Fairs

were the ones that took the trouble to mail to their prospects and customers before the show (source: CEIR/AEO).

Remember to personalize your e-mails according to the potential customer’s needs. Personal e-mails are much more effective than sending out mass e-mails.

3. Optimise your presence at the Exhibition The people on your stand make the difference between a good event and a great event. Daily staff briefings are a must. Remind everyone of your goals, key messages and the role of each team member. Keep your staff motivated & highlight progress made.

Your staff needs to be friendly and approachable yet business-like. Try to avoid sitting, reading or standing with your arms crossed at your stand.

Do not hand out brochures until you have qualified the lead and they have expressed an interest. But as potential clients are constantly walking past, step out of your stand and meet them at the aisle! Body ‘talk’ accounts for 55% of your body language!

Invite key journalists to visit your stand – or visit theirs. Keep a good supply of bright, wellpresented literature in the Press Office.

Differentiate on the show floor and Stand Out from the crowd Create an experience embracing all five senses with a strong graphical message using eye catching features. The idea is to make being on your stand not just a neutral, but an extraordinary and stimulating experience for visitors. Your exhibition stand will act as a shop window for your organisation, giving messages about the type of company you are, the type of products you are offering and the type of audience you are trying to attract.

1) Determine your objectives – creating the perfect layout. Accessibility and attracting buyers to your stand is key.

2) Bring your Product or Service to life – Create an experience using demonstrations and interactivity. Movement is an excellent way to attract the eye at an exhibition.

3) Create a strong graphical message – you have just 3 seconds to attract attention! So your graphic message should be clear and bold.

4) Use your height – Ensure your stand is clearly visible. For example a 6 meter stand will tower above a standard shell scheme stand and draw crowds from across the hall.

5) Use effective lighting – to create an impact and draw people to your stand. Coloured lighting will maximize your presence with minimum investment.

4. Reap the Rewards The show is only the beginning of the sales process. On return from the show you need to de-brief the team, measure your results and track ALL the leads. Many companies do written lead tracking reports three, six and even nine months after a major exhibition. Only then can you truly determine the value of the exhibition for your company. Following up all contacts and sending mailing to targeted buyers is key. Additionally you need to follow through on all press releases and if you’ve met or exceeded your goals, now is the time to reserve your stand for next year.

Exhibitions can be one of the most effective forms of marketing with no other medium allowing you to build those vital personal relationships. They are a big investment in time and money but with the right planning you can prepare for success, set goals and reap the rewards.

80 Congress Addendum Fairs

Interview with Iztok Bricl, MSc, director of GR Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre

Are you happy with the results of your company this year and what do you predict for the future?

I assumed my position as director of the Exhibition Centre on November 2nd 2010, so I am still getting acquainted with the work of the company. The fact is the Exhibition Centre has had negative business results in the past few years. The main goal is to make those results positive. In the future the Exhibition Centre needs to increase the number of exhibitors and visitors at fairs, congresses and other events and increase the recognition of the Exhibition Centre brand.

What kind of business challenges did you face in the past and what kind do you face now?

Iztok Bricl, MSc, born in 1967, director of GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre since November 2010. He finished his master in marketing at Ljubljana Faculty of Economics in 2006. He has long time experience in working on important positions in companies as Žito and Kolinska. He has often been entrusted the role of member or president of supervisory boards of different companies and institutions.

I come from the enterprise sector. Companies have different goals, opportunities and face different obstacles, but they have one thing in common – to achieve positive results they need a properly motivated team. This is extremely important for the industry the exhibition centre is in, maybe even more than for others.

An important factor in the success of a fair is in growth and development of the offer.

How are you upgrading your fair?

In the current economic environment we are mostly trying to upgrade the existing fairs and give them more content, activities and make them more lucrative for the exhibitors and visitors. Of course, we are constantly searching for new ideas, new projects and plan to realize them at the opportune moment.

Which industries in Slovenia are most interested in trade fairs?

If we assess the activities at the Exhibition Centre these are mostly products and services from the areas of construction and interior design. Slovenia has a strong industry in these areas and it seems Slovenians are very attached to the spaces we live and function in, namely our homes. It is no coincidence Ambient Ljubljana – furniture fair and Dom (Home) are our largest and most visited events. In the recent years demand increased for products and serviced in the area of ecoawareness, healthy living and sustainable development, topics showcased at the Nature–Health fair held at the Exhibition Centre. There's another fair on the rise: this is a fair featuring holidays and leisure time, the tourism fair. This event has been placed in a broader international context – the region Alps–Adriatic, its offer has been segmented by product to make the presentation of exhibitors more efficient and recognizable by the visitors.

In what way do you try to make the fair attractive to a younger public?

The fair Nature-Health is endorsed by the Ministry of Education and Sport, so many primary and high schools choose it as a field day. This fair has the most educational contents, from alternative admission fees, encouraging the collecting of old batteries and mobile phones, to interdisciplinary computer games, eco-themed movies and lectures on healthy living. This is the first year the furniture fair Ambient Ljubljana contained a workshop entitled Playful architecture and held by renowned architects.

81 Congress Addendum Fairs

The workshop aims to increase the living culture in Slovenia, which is overlooked by educational programmes. The contents of the furniture and construction fair attract a professional public of young students of architecture and industrial design and high school students from the area of wood economy, construction and geodesy. At the furniture fair a competition and display titled Top ideas – 1st exhibition of design, 40 young architects and designers with their ideas took part. At Alpe–Adria fair: Tourism and leisure show we always consider topics aimed at the younger generation. They will probably most identify with the offer for active visitors, where adrenalin sports, mountain biking, snowboarding, surfing, kiting, etc. will be introduced. We wish to introduce educational trails along the region of Alps–Adriatic and attract the interest of schools. In other instances the Exhibition Centre is known to the young for events such as the Graduation parade, freshmen party and a growing number of electronic music concerts.

What do you think about cooperation and connection of European fair destinations?

Cooperation in this area is always useful and means sharing experience, information, knowledge as well as multiculturalism and with it a better understanding of each other.

It’s about being present in the international context and following current trends. And presence always leads to new business opportunities.

The Exhibition Centre as the largest convention centre in Slovenia is promoted

by Tourism Ljubljana and the Slovenian Convention Bureau. We are the only convention centre in Slovenia, besides

Cankarjev dom, with the certificate E, awarded by the Convention Bureau. As co-organizer of the Conventa trade show, held each year in January at the Exhibition Centre, we encourage the flow of information between supply and demand in this part of Europe.

By being a member of the Convention bureau we take part at world’s largest trade shows like EIBTM in Barcelona and IMEX in Frankfurt.

This is where we introduce our congress capacities.

The Exhibition Centre is also a member of the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), the international association of congress organizers and ITTFA, International Tourism Trade Fair Association, which always seeks new way to encourage and promote travel and tourism industry. Through these world networks and its members we promote our event Alpe–Adria: Tourism and leisure show.

What is the role of national tourist organisations in promoting fairs and what is the role of the private sector?

I’ll list concrete examples: At Alpe–Adria: Tourism and leisure show we cooperate with the national tourist organisation (STB), take advantage of their means of promotion, look for common ground, synergy, rely on the knowledge of the STB. Undoubtedly fairs with a regional or international attendance have a broader significance, since they attract desirable business guest from abroad, who then use hotel facilities, shopping centres, restaurants etc.

What do you miss most in tourist capacities and infrastructure in this region?

If I star at our doorstep – since the Exhibition Centre is a part of Ljubljana's infrastructure – we are missing space. We have 13,139 square meters of covered area, which is not enough for a capital city. We often have to put up temporary halls, which cannot be a long term solution.

We would prefer better accessibility to our centre. We already have an excellent position in the centre of the city, near the railway and bus station and right next to a local bus stop.

The Jože Pučnik Airport is also only half an hour away, yet it has a limited number of international connections. Hotel facilities are limited in Ljubljana, especially when we’re looking for a larger number of rooms in a similar category.

What is crucial to ensure a good turnout at a fair?

It’s very important to maintain the level of quality and offer attractive contents, which the visitors find interesting. This is the most important tool to making a successful event.

Of course, a well planed marketing campaign, which generates interest in the event, is also very important.

82 Congress Addendum Fairs

Interview with Janez Erjavec, director of Pomurje Fair

Janez Erjavec, director of Pomurski sejem d.d. is an construction engineer who’s been working in the area of fairs for thirty years. In this time he helped organize over 100 successful fairs in Gornja Radgona. He is a huge fan of nature and an advocate for preserving the environment, cultural heritage, eco-building and sustainable development.

Are you happy with the results of your company this year and what do you predict for the future?

We are pretty happy with the results of the company in 2010, despite the economic situation in Slovenia and Europe. We organized 4 fairs and 7 professional quality assessments.

At the end of March the international fair of the building industry MEGRA introduced 410 exhibitors from 15 countries on 18,000m2, and attracted almost 19,500 visitors.

The international agriculture fair AGRA and accompanying fair of packaging, packing techniques, logistics, trade and marketing INAPAK bosted1,690 exhibitors from 25 countries on 66,500m2, and attracted 120,000 visitors. The quality assessments held during the AGRA fair hosted 363 companies with 1,304 specimen. The fair was accompanied by 65 expert meetings and round tables dealing with current issues. Before INPAK a biannual expert assessment or the 33rd Slovenian Oscar for packaging was held, with 34 products from 21 contestants.

In September and international fair of knowledge, technology and means of defence,

civil protection and fire fighting SOBRA brought together 120 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors on 40,000m2.

The fairs will stay interesting in the future – for both exhibitors and visitors, mostly the innovative ones and those with interesting content and accompanying events. A fair is one of the most important means of promoting and the only business and professional meeting incorporating all segments of communication. In comparison with other promotion abilities it meets the needs of live contact with the products. It’s the only one offering a chance of personal contact of supply and demand and different representatives of business, professional and broader public. As a business event it’s a source of information for the public which multiplies its promotional effects. It also enables the business subjects and institutions to practice the most goal oriented promotion and marketing activities.

The fairs can be chosen by their specialization, regional reach and organisation to make sure they reach the most of their target audience in the shortest time with the lowest expenses.

What kind of business challenges did you face in the past and what kind do you face now?

In the past most business challenges could be answered with hard work and success was ensured. Nowadays the challenges are profiled and structured; we are facing a globalization of the economy. Nowadys only the best companies with the best products are able to remain competitive.

Today’s challenges are adapting to market trends, cooperating in creating new ones.

Field specialisation on one and hand and expansion of service on the other, developing infrastructure, adapting to specific content, different focus groups and visitors.

Specialisation of exhibitors means we organizers have to adapt our way of working, improve our knowledge of world technology trends, strengthen our cooperation with expert, government and business institutions.

The way we attract our visitors has also changed. A good fair organizer doesn’t just

know the exhibitors, but also the visitors by name – communicates with them with direct mail and specialized media, even in person.

Other than an interesting trade show we have to offer our focus groups additional events, expert meetings as well as business and social gatherings.

An important factor in the success of a fair is in growth and development of the offer.

How are you upgrading your fair?

We offer 90,000 m2 of covered and outside exhibition surfaces, stables for animal exhibitions, area for sample plantations, a large manage, place for building and farming mechanisation, adaptable exhibition spaces and modern conference halls for expert meetings. We are the only fair in this part of Europe which can offer the exhibitors large areas for sample plantations for the AGRA fair and at the same time prepare a large military polygon to present the equipment and skills of the armed forces at the SOBRA fair.

In this region a lot of attention is paid to the accompanying programme. Along with fairs we organize expert meetings, business and trade meetings, press conferences, competitions and social gatherings which speak to specialized professional groups as well as the broader public. The fairgrounds contain 5 halls for business and professional meetings, which can seat from 60 to 220 participants or 640 all together.

The fairs AGRA and MEGRA are members of the international fair union UFI, which ensures the quality of both events and the validity the data on the exhibitors and visitors as well as reaffirms the quality and development of our services.

Which industries in Slovenia are most interested in trade fairs?

Slovenia as a small market has a few industries large enough to develop real competition. Still, there are plenty of possibilities for the promotion of foods, farming equipment and construction, energetic, furniture and cars.

83 Congress Addendum Fairs

In what way do you try to make the fair attractive to a younger public?

In the long run the success of a fair is in attracting a younger public, which is an investment in the future. Use of the right media is very important to reach the younger generation as is the content which speaks to them. We consider different age groups and profiles at every fair. The international agriculture fair AGRA introduced the entire spectrum of agricultural education aimed at future high school students. Another group was attracted with the events organized by the Association of the countryside youth of Slovenia. Students and young intellectuals are attracted by expert meetings and specific educational and entertaining events. The youngest visitors are thrilled to see theme kindergartens and workshops organized with the help of several partners.

Similarly the construction fair MEGRA is accompanied by a competition of young builders, a presentation of construction schools. The fair SOBRA organized educational, cultural and musical numbers as well as presentations of the work of soldiers and policemen.

The fair LOV cooperated with scouts and other professionals which presented career opportunities for the young.

We make sure we provide a relaxed and constructive environment for the young and for intergenerational cooperation.

What do you think about cooperation and connection of European fair destinations?

The idea of connecting European convention and fair destinations is good in general. I’m afraid it would mostly benefit the larger fairgrounds in more established European capitals, then us little ones at the periphery.

We are less prepared for such a cooperation and can therefore gain less from it.

All in all we can see this as an opportunity.

Those who are innovative enough will be able to invest in it even though the result won't be visible immediately.

What is the role of national tourist organisations in promoting fairs and what is the role of the private sector?

National tourist organisations should play a more prominent role in promoting trade fairs. This is especially true in Slovenia with relatively fragmented tourist products and smaller companies without stronger ties.

The private sector is not yet aware the promotion of a fair is at the same time a promotion of them. Certain segments of the economy have more possibilities to present themselves at home and abroad through the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Craft and Small Businesses.

What do you miss most in tourist capacities and infrastructure in this region?

There is a lot to be done in the area of infrastructure and tourist capacities in Slovenia as well as the Pomurje region. Tourism is the highest form of economy and it takes more than just a hotel and a swimming pool. If we want a region to be successful in tourism we need to develop transportation and food services along with all other economical activates and their appearance: from farming, landscaping, industry, politics, education to ethnology, gastronomy, sports, recreation and culture.

What is crucial to ensure a good turnout at a fair?

There are many contributing factors.

Excellent content, a large number of quality exhibitioners, flawless organization, additional business, professional and social events, spatial efficiency, friendly staff, updated and correct information. Of course, tradition and a good promotion are also very important.

84 Congress Addendum Fairs

Interview with Matjaž Turk, director of Primorje Fair Are you happy with the results of your company this year and what do you predict for the future?

I’m pleased with the results, despite the recession we managed to introduce a new specialized fair to Slovenia – the GASTexpo & Ice-cream & Wine, we also upgraded the regional Primorje Fair with accompanying events and an increase in quality.

To foretell the future in this “turbo” unstable times is almost impossible, but we would like to think it’s going to be bright, despite the constant changes in the market and the need to adapt. We are convinced a properly organized trade fair is an efficient instrument in battling the recession.

Matjaž Turk, born and raised in Koper, encountered logistics at his first steps in the business world and is now using it to organize fairs and trade shows. Today he successfully manages international fairs, such as GASTexpo & Ice-cream & Wine and Primorje Fair.

What kind of business challenges did you face in the past and what kind do you face now?

The organization of a fair is a challenge both in the past and present. Today, in the times of recession our biggest challenge is to keep the levels of quality of the fair, to animate the exhibitors and visitors and maybe even upgrade the fair or establish a new one.

An important factor in the success of a fair is in growth and development of the offer.

How are you upgrading your fair?

As I said, nowadays we consider maintaining quality on the same levels a success, managing to upgrade the event is an even bigger one.

Despite the recession we organizers have to try to provide something new every year or the event becomes stale.

Our house tries really hard to improve our events each year, especially concentrating on visitors and adapting the event to market conditions. So far we’re doing a good job and we hope to continue so in the future.

Which industries in Slovenia are most interested in trade fairs?

Mostly those, where companies are small or medium-sized, since they are the driving force of economic development and the fair industry. This is evident in the growing number of specialized or professionals fair, which are usually scarce in Slovenia.

In what way do you try to make the fair attractive to a younger public?

The term “younger” is relative. If you’re

thinking about high school youth, the fairs are aimed at them as well. This group is usually attracted by an accompanying programme where they can gain useful information for their future careers.

What do you think about the cooperation and connection of European fair destinations?

It’s a positive way of thinking since cooperation brings synergy and multiplicative effects to all involved subjects.

What is the role of national tourist organisations in promoting fairs and what is the role of the private sector?

They both play an important role. NTOs have more possibilities and duties, since they are public establishments; one of their tasks is also the promotion of fairs. The fairs we organize rely heavily on the private sector – these are exhibitors, who promote the fair and themselves by appearing at an exhibition, providing their exhibit is on a high level.

What do you miss most in tourist capacities and infrastructure in this region?

Fair organizers and tourist capacities providers have to follow the same rules – we have to adapt to economic and social changes and conduct our services accordingly. As fair organizers we use what they have to offer.

Only a happy fair attendee can spread the word.

What is crucial to ensure a good turnout at a fair?

Quality and goal oriented promotion, where the visitor gets useful information on the fair in advance. A good turnout is also prompted by the exhibitors and accompanying events.

The visitor has to leave the fair pleased!

85

Interview with Breda Obrez Preskar, executive director of Celje Fair Are you happy with the results of your company this year and what do you predict for the future?

Breda Obrez Preskar holds a degree in economics. She graduated at Faculty of Economics and Business in Maribor. She found her first business opportunity at Celjski sejem company, where she started working in 1992.

Since 1999 she was involved in running the company and holds the 4 –year executive director mandate since January 2010. Her biggest challenge is coordinating MOS – the largest fair project in this part of Europe.

The results of the company Celjski sejem d.d. are in line with expectations. Economic circumstances are also evident in our industry.

It’s worth mentioning the effect of the crisis doesn't manifest itself in a decreased number of exhibitors or visitors, but in rationality of exhibitors in planning their presence. The visitors also attend with clear goals and prepare in advance so they expect more from the exhibitors as well.

The business year 2010 will be a successful one for Celjski sejem d.d. due to the acquisition of three new projects we prepared this year. In January we co-organized the Education and employment festival, in February we hosted 2 new professional events – the Hairdressing show and Cosmetics fair, in May we brought back the Ecology fair – Eco. We successfully added new elements to the MOS fair, which only strengthens the role of the largest international trade fair in our region.

What kind of business challenges did you face in the past and what kind do you face now?

Congress Addendum Fairs

The organizers of fairs are often faced with the challenge to gather hundreds or a thousand exhibitors from Slovenia and abroad – the best of a certain industry. At the same time we need to ensure a proper number of the target audience to meet the expectations of the exhibitors. Both are challenges in the time of recession. Celjski sejem has been quite successful since our number of fairs is growing – in 2010 we added three new events and brought back another one – as is the number of exhibitors at our fairs. Success is a consequence of thorough planning and proper marketing to our exhibitors who are also invited to contribute to the programme.

This is what attracts the visitors for whom we try to provide as much information as possible before the beginning of the fair.

An important factor in the success of a fair is in growth and development of the offer.

How are you upgrading your fair?

At Celjski sejem we try to combine different segments and introduce current topics. With the help of current topics we highlight the opportunities as well as issues of an individual field and encourage dialogue between those who make the policies and those who follow them day to day. From a technical point of view the success and growth of a fair event

86 Congress Addendum Fairs

depends on constant care and improvement of infrastructure and development of human resources.

Which industries in Slovenia are most interested in trade fairs?

In Slovenia and in the world the fairs which stem from propulsive industries are the ones who survive. We have reached very good result with specialized fairs Energetics and Terotech – Maintenance. We’ve also had success with Forma Tool, a fair of tools, toolmaking and toolmaking machines; Plagkem – plastics, rubber and chemistry fair; Graf&Pack – graphic and packaging and the Foundry fair, which suffered the most damage from the 2009 crisis. The same is true for the Auto and maintenance fair, Moto boom, Exhibition of utility vehicles and Logotrans. In this company MOS is a sort of phenomenon since it covers a broad spectre of industries and attracts different segments of the public. Our palette of fairs is rounded up by the Wedding fair, which will see its tenth anniversary in 2011, as well as the fair on healthy living, alternative and herbal medicine, healthy nutrition, natural cosmetics and environment friendly dwelling – Altermed, which has a loyal ever-growing public. The fair Erotica 69 has been attracting more and more visitors and will close the fair season in Celje for the third time in a row.

In what way do you try to make the fair attractive to a younger public?

Current topics are a must for attracting the public as is proper marketing beforehand. To inform the younger public we use all kinds of new media channels like social networks, online video portals and interactive features.

We also try to listen to the younger generation and education institutions and prepare different demonstrations and competitions which attract the younger public. The topics of the fairs mostly have educational components so younger visitors can upgrade their knowledge.

What do you think about cooperation and connection of European fair destinations?

Formally quite a few associations exist. We are a part of some of those. Sadly, we often notice the promise of cooperation stays only on the declarative level instead of in practice.

Of course, we wish it wasn’t so. We value informal cooperation and partnership at home and abroad, where we have set and carried out numerous new projects with Slovenian and foreign partners and added value to the contents of the fairs. These forms of cooperation will be the focus of our future intentions as we are well aware of positive synergy.

What is the role of national tourist organisations in promoting fairs and what is the role of the private sector?

Due to the intensive internationalization of the fair industry we are facing projects where we will be able to assess the role of national organizations. Up until now we have mostly relied on our own investments into the promotion. We’re certain the country can benefit greatly by hosting and exhibiting at fairs in Slovenia and abroad, therefore we believe we will be able to get the proper support.

What do you miss most in tourist capacities and infrastructure in this region?

Due to the size of our country our tourist facilities should meet the requirements of the fair industry, yet the traffic infrastructure is usually the biggest hindrance. We are happy to see initiatives of business subjects which lead to the development of new facilities. Some are already our successful partners and will stay a part of our common promotion in the future.

What is crucial to ensure a good turnout at a fair?

For a good turnout the crucial thing is content and the way it’s presented to the public as well as informing the focus groups in advance to enable them to visit the fair prepared. At Celjski sejem we aim to listen to the needs of exhibitors and visitors and try to prepare interesting topics and content in cooperation.

Tradition also counts, since we are noticing more and more loyal visitors who regularly visit our fairs. Decisiveness and reliability as well as the reputation of the organizers are not to be overlooked, since they guarantee quality of the event to exhibitors as well as visitors.

87

“Slovenia goes green” – at international trade shows and fairs Tourist information through Bluetooth at tourist trade shows and fairs Tourist destinations and other actors are becoming more and more aware of the importance of acting responsible towards the environment and balanced use of natural resources, important for the long-term development of tourism. Environmental integrity, social responsibility and sustainable development are the pillars of responsible and sustainable tourism. Its “green” idea is contained in all strategic documents of the Slovenian Tourist Board. The aims are varied: from educating the public, recycling, reasonable use of water and energy sources, to encouraging the development and marketing of sustainable and environmental tourist products. The Slovenian Tourist Board is not only following these trends, but is actively shaping and encouraging them.

This manifests itself through the “green” way Slovenia promotes itself at international tourist trade shows and fairs, which means we see sustainable and green tourism as a development opportunity for Slovenia.

The trade show and its green philosophy The idea of presenting Slovenia in an innovative and environmentally friendly way is the logical successor to the effective marketing campaign, which the Slovenia Tourist Board carried out at Jože Pučnik Airport in cooperation with Aerodromom Ljubljana, d.d. and CreativInteraktiv, d.o.o. The passengers are able to receive all the necessary information for their stay in Slovenia to their mobile phones free of charge over Bluetooth. “Over 1,000 downloads of the tourist materials monthly, prove we have taken a step in the right, “green” direction” added Tina Sračnjek from the department for e-business at STO. A similar, yet a bit more sophisticated never before seen concept, was used for the purpose of trade show presentations. The visitors of our stand were able to use an interactive mobile application, which enables each visitor to download tourist catalogues adapted for the mobile phone.

An interactive introduction of Slovenia on a Bluetooth information terminal Since we are leaning more and more towards green tourism we decided to take a step forward and tried to use the paperless approach to marketing, by using modern and environmentally friendly technologies and thereby reducing the use of paper for printed catalogues. Modern travellers are very environmentally conscious and demand the same from the supply side in marketing tourist destinations. Choosing Bluetooth technology was a logical step since it’s a new, modern communication channel,

which poses an excellent tool for direct contact with the consumer or tourist. It enables us to reach our core group at a certain location and an attractive and free transfer of multimedia contents to the mobile phone, where the user can access it unlimitedly, even when the event has already ended. There is another key factor for choosing Bluetooth technology – it's green.

This technology can be used for the distribution of notifications, information and advertisements, without the use of print or any other harmful technology. Bluetooth marketing is done by using low radio frequencies with low energy consumption.

The multimedia brochure distributed through a universal and free Bluetooth connection offers an opportunity to promoters of tourist destinations to introduce their destination to potential guests in the form of an interactive mobile catalogue – directly to their phone. All the contents and mobile catalogues are translated into English and the language of the host country to reach the tourists from their region.

How does it work?

For an interactive presentation of Slovenia at tourist exhibitions we teamed up with the company CreativInteraktiv and created an out of the box modern and eco-friendly solution.

It consists of two parts: an interactive LCDterminal and a mobile Bluetooth interface for the download of tourist brochures. The user can easily browse through multimedia contents on the LCD terminal’s touchscreen.

LCD-terminal contents For the needs of individual trade shows we chose 5–6 most appropriate contents: General information on Slovenia, Skiing, Spa and wellness, Hiking, Historic towns, etc. The categories have been modified to fit the demand for specific products on the market where the trade show is being held. Each category includes text as well as pictures. For detailed information the users can browse through the brochure in PDF-format. Additionally the welcome screen displays other attractive and relevant contents (City of Ljubljana, Karst, the countryside). It also offers multimedia content in the form of photo galleries and movies.

Mobile contents The added value of this project lies in the mobile brochures, which enable access to tourist information through mobile phones. The users can choose the contents on the LCD-display and download them to their phone using Bluetooth,

Congress Addendum Fairs

so they can access them later – check the tourist information, reserve hotel rooms, check web site addresses or use GPS-coordinates to plan their trip to Slovenia.

For each category we prepared a mobile brochure with the same yet modified contents of printed brochures. Mobile brochures contain the texts and pictures along with contact information: Phone numbers with the option of direct calls, website addresses, e-mail addresses and GPS-coordinates. Additionally the users can access a mobile version of the multimedia content – short films and animated pictures of selected tourist destinations as well as cultural and natural sites in Slovenia.

The entire information terminal fits nicely with the overall image and theme of the stand. The visitors have commended the Bluetooth solution as innovative and eco friendly. The graphic image of LCD-contents was assessed as positive as well.

The content is in compliance with the image of the new website www.slovenia.info and is simple to use with step by step instructions.

Introduction of PCO, DMC in event agencies of the Slovenian Convention Bureau

The Kongres Magazine publishes a correction and a apology for an article on Slovenian PCOs, in which PCO Cankarjev dom, Cultural and Congress Centre had not been listed. The Kongres Magazine apologizes for an honest mistake and publishes the full list of Slovenian PCOs.

The Slovenian Convention Bureau has prepared a standardisation for its members, based upon the existing standards and recommendations in the field of business tourism. The bureau sees standardization as a strategic tool in raising quality and recognisability of the Slovenian meetings industry. Slovenia is amongst the first countries in the world to introduce wholesome standards in the field of the meetings industry.

The certificates of a certain standard confirm the service provider fulfils strict criteria in its category and is a reliable and trustworthy partner in the opinion of Slovenian Convention Bureau.

The certificates are valid for three years so the fulfilment of criteria is constantly monitored.

And what do the B, C and D standards mean?

Category B, in English PCO (Professional Congress Organiser), is the key element in organizing congresses and other types of meetings.

The organizers cover a broad area and offer wholesome technical assistance in carrying out even the most demanding events. From the point of view of the meetings industry service providers, this is the most demanding standard.

Category C, known in English as well as Slovenian as DMC (Destination management company), is a specialized tourist agency focused on the meetings industry. This agency is fully familiar with the meetings capacities of the destination they represent. It can help the client answer all the questions concerning the destination and the venue. This encompasses hotel accommodation for participants, to recommendation on food and reception locations. The client expects the DMC agency to be familiar with meetings industry principals.

Category D, event agency, is an agency specializing in organizing events. This category includes incentive and teambuilding programmes or other programmes aimed at improving team spirit. In most cases the commissioners of such events are companies trying to promote their events or to attach clients to their services. To clarify: A convention is made out of more events.

Introduction of Slovenian Convention Bureau members who achieved B, C and D standards.

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

Liberty Slovenia Boštjan Horjak Parmova 51 1000 Ljubljana +386 1/ 23 61 018 www.liberty-slovenia.com bostjan@liberty-slovenia.com Agencija Promo Marko Križnik Mesarska cesta 4d 1000 Ljubljana +386 1/ 43 82 470 www.promo-ag.si marko@promo-ag.si

Auditoria Boris Vrhovec Tržaška cesta 286d 1000 Ljubljana +386 1/ 24 45 670 www.auditoria.si boris.vrhovec@auditoria.si

Auditoria Boris Vrhovec Tržaška cesta 286d 1000 Ljubljana +386 1/ 24 45 670 www.auditoria.si boris.vrhovec@auditoria.si

Go.Mice Gorazd Čad Štihova ulica 4 1000 Ljubljana +386 1/ 43 05 103 www.go-mice.eu gorazd.cad@go-mice.eu

Koren Sports Matija Koren Pot na Bistriško planino 10 4290 Tržič +386 1/ 30 03 845 www.humanfish.com matija@humanfish.com

Intours Tomaž Krušič Dalmatinova ulica 3 1000 Ljubljana +386 1/ 43 03 550 www.intours.si tomaz.krusic@intours.si

Lifetrek Matej Mejovšek Partizanska cesta 18 4000 Kranj +386 4/ 20 14 875 www.lifetrek.si matej@lifetrek.si

M-Tours Bled Miro Mulej Prešernova cesta 3 4260 Bled +386 4/ 575 33 12 www.mtours.net mtours@mtours.net

Turistična agencija Maya Borut Nikolaš Padlih borcev 1, 5220 Tolmin +386 5/ 38 00 530 www.maya.si borut@maya.si

Kompas Tina Možina Pražakova 4 1514 Ljubljana +386 1/ 20 06 312 www.kompas.si tina.mozina@kompas.si

Teambuilding Akademija Gregor Levič Stegne 3 1000 Ljubljana +386 590 720 70 www.tba.si gregor@tba.si

Order form Please complete the following questions to order the Kongres Magazine.

Title & First name Last name Institution or Company Name Address City Post Code Country Phone Fax E-mail Company tax number

I would like to order Kongres Magazine for year 2010 at price 62,00 € (5 issues: special edition – Conventa 2010, spring 2010, summer 2010, autumn 2010, winter 2010):

I would like to order 1 issue at price 18,00 €.

Please write year and month of the issue: Date & Location

Stamp & Signature

Fulfill order form and send it to address bellow: GO®MICE d.o.o. , Štihova 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Invoice will be sent to the given address. After the payment has been done, Kongres Magazin will be sent to the given address. Postal costs and VAT are included in the price. You can also order your own magazine here: http://en.kongres-magazine.eu/order-kongres-magazine/order-form/ For more information you can contact Jan Klavora: M: +386 (0)40 598 005, T: + 386 (0)1 430 51 03, E: jan.klavora@go-mice.eu

Hotel Park Ljubljana & Restaurant Park

w t no

Righ

Business is Pleasure

I Excellent location I Hospitable staff I I Business services in one place I I Proximity to business centers I

Autumn papmering in Restaurant PARK

DAYS OF SLOVENIAN CUISINE

I Tabor Ljubljana d.d. I Tabor 9 I 1000 Ljubljana I T: +386 1 300 25 00 I E: info@hotelpark.si I www.hotelpark.si I

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

92

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

93

Meeting services spot

Cankarjev dom, Cultural and Congress Centre Ljubljana Presernova cesta 10 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 2417 122 �1�0�0 congress@cd-cc.si �9�5 www.cd-cc.si/congress �7�5 Kongresno-turistični servis Albatros Ribenska cesta 2 �2�5 4260 Bled �5 Slovenia �0 +386 (0) 45 780 350 Info@albatros-bled.com www.albatros-bled.com

DMC (Destination management company �B�a�n�e�r

�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

94

Meeting services spot

DMC (Destination management company

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

MAyA TEAM Padlih borcev 1 5220 Tolmin Slovenia +386 (0)5 380 05 30 info@maya.si www.events-teambuilding.com UNIQUE SLOvENIA Rakovnik 132 1215 Medvode Slovenia +386 (0)1 361 62 44 www.unique-slovenia.si miha.rott@unique-slovenia.si

Congress & Exhitbition Centre

TRADITION, EXPERTISE, PERSONAL APROACH TRY US!

Cankarjev dom Cultural and Congress Centre

Prešernova cesta 10, SI-1000 Ljubljana

+ 386 1 2417 122 F + 386 1 2417 296 congress@cd-cc.si W www.cd-cc.si/congress T E

MAR 2010ang.indd 1

kongres_og_171_82_angl.indd 1 g_171_82_angl.indd 1

3/12/10 3:41 PM

95

Meeting services spot

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 GR - LJUBLJANA ExHIBITION AND CONvENTION CENTRE Dunajska cesta 18 1001 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1300 26 00 info@gr-sejem.si www.ljubljanafair.com

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

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

96

Meeting services spot

Hotel with conference facilities

Hotel DrnÄ?a 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 VoĹĄnjakova 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

97

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

THERMANA d.d., HOTELS AND RESORTS Zdraviliška c. 6 3270 Laško Slovenia +386 (0)3423 20 00 info@thermana.si www.thermana.si

Termalni in kongresn i center pod eno s treho

Zaplavajte v Thermani...

Kongresni Center

Wellness Park Laško Na 3.700 m2 lahko izbirate med osmimi sodobno opremljenimi kongresnimi dvoranami in tremi sejnimi sobami.

Največja dvorana sprejme do 490 oseb.

...do poslovnega uspeha 080 81 19

www.kong

resi.eu

Kongresni Center

Wellness Park Laško www.kongresi.eu info@thermana.si 080 81 19

98

Meeting services spot

Other venues PMS 281 C PMS 131 C PMS 2603 C PMS 542 C

PARTHEN Of MEETING ESSENTIALS Stroombaan 4 1181 VX Amstelveen The Netherlands +31 (0)20 572 73 74 info@parthen.nl www.parthen.nl

PMS 315 C

ADRIA AIRWAyS Zgornji Brnik 130h 4210 Brnik Slovenia +386 (0)4 259 4555 events@adria.si www.adria-airways.com

RESTAURANT & CATERING BORBONA Verovškova 55 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1 620 77 15 info@borbona.si www.borbona.si

ALkIMIST, PREvAJALSkA AGENCIJA Obirska ulica 4 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia info@alkemist.si www.alkemist.si +386 (0)59073273

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

DNEvNIk d.d.

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

HI[A KULINARIKE

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

Fairs, trade shows and events

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

kLARO d.o.o.

Peruzzijeva 84b 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia www.klaro.si info@klaro.si +386 (0)1 280 7770

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

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

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

99

Meeting services spot

Legend

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

PCO (Professional Congress Organiser)

DMC (Destination management company

Event agency

Congress & Exhitbition Centre

Congress Hotel

Hotel with conference facilities

Other venues

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 00 386 (0)3 829 70 00 info@terme-olimia.com, www.terme-olimia.com

�0

�1�0�0 �9�5 �7�5

�2�5 �5 �0

�0

�1�0�0 �9�5 �7�5

�2�5 �5 �0

Organized, transparent, and reliable business management earns trust of the public and enhances business efficiency.

ISO 9001 ISO 14001

Let SIQ be your partner in environmental management systems certification and training.

ISO 14001 • Is a tool for achieving sustainable development; • Reduces environmental risks; • Contributes to cost reduction and business improvement; • Enhances the trust of customers, business partners, and the public at large.

EMAS EN 16001 BS OHSAS ISO/IEC 27001 ISO 22000 HACCP

Other environmental services: • EN 16001 – Energy Management Systems; • EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme); • Verification of greenhouse gas emission reports; • Verification of sustainability reports in line with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Guidelines.

ISO 13485 ISO/TS 16949 FSC IFS BRC KzP NGO

Information: SIQ, Management Systems Assessment Tel.: +386 1 4778 162 E-mail: urejenost@siq.si

101

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 Zgornji Brnik 130h 4210 Brnik 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

GR- LJUBLJANA ExHIBITION AND CONvENTION CENTRE Dunajska cesta 18 1001 Ljubljana Slovenia +386 (0)1300 26 00 info@gr-sejem.si www.ljubljanafair.com 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.

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

Meet in Southeast Europe Southeast Europe Meeting Guide 2010/2011

“Would you like to be a part of the new Meet in Southeast Europe catalogue? Visit www. meetinsee.com, register and you will be included automatically. The catalogue will be a direct copy of the meetinsee portal, which will be introduced in digital form at the EIBTM in Barcelona�

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

Global Meetings & Events Exhibition Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain

30 November – 2 December 2010 www.eibtm.com

Where The World Meets Best for Business, Education and Networking

Register now at www.eibtm.com/register

SLOVENIA FOR YOU

Logarska Valley

Feel the presence of nature.

Taste the harmony of diversity.

Postojna Cave

Ljubljana

Lipica Stud Farm

Come and take a closer look: Slovenia

www.slovenia.info

www.visitljubljana.si

fo

rg

ee tin

ol

co re at m

A

gs

ca

pi ta

l