THINK MICE APRIL - JUNE 2019

APRIL-JUNE 2019 ISSN 2543-4497

THINK MICE W W W. T H I N K M I C E . P L

KRAKOW – MEETING ALL REQUIREMENTS Rich history, varied cultural offer and food scene, first-rate infrastructure and, most of all, collaboration-friendly MICE industry. From the viewpoint of business tourists Krakow is one of Poland’s best-known and most oft-visited cities.

THINK EVENT CONSUMERS ARE THIRSTY FOR EXPERIENCES

PROFILE HELLO, IS THIS MICHIEL POOL OF ERICSSON?

INSPIRATIONS 2019 TRENDS OF THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY

INTE RN AT I O N AL M I C E M AG A ZI N E

EDITORIAL

WHEN WE MEET, WE CHANGE THE WORLD Professionals connected with the MICE industry often emphasise that nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting. A conversation, a handshake - in short, a direct contact. “When we meet, we change the world”, the slogan promoted by the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) association, can also confirm this assumption. It might have a very serious, almost pompous sound to it, but it really is hard not to get an impression that something about it rings true.

Miguel Neves, Chief Social Strategist at the miguelseven.com advisory and counselling company he founded, recently described this phenomenon in a blog post published in the Polish-language edition of THINK MICE. He referred to the results of research carried out by the Oxford Economics analytics company claiming that an one-hour face-to-face meeting is an equivalent of five video calls, ten phone conversations and as many as 20 e-mails! This is good news for organisers of events, conferences, and congresses, who do not have to feel threatened by the rapid growth rate of new technologies making it possible to arrange virtual meetings.

After all, from the business viewpoint they will not be as effective as their more traditional counterparts.

Obviously this does not mean that there is something wrong with advanced technologies. On the contrary, they can greatly complement the solutions applied so far - boost the engagement levels of participants (e.g. mobile applications), effectively improve attendance (hybrid events), enhance communication before and after an event, ensuring guests will remember it for a longer period of time or, finally, make the course of particular events more attractive.

The so-called engagement marketing provides a good example of this sort of rewarding “cooperation” between real-life meetings and the virtual world generated by new technologies. In this case, a direct and unforgettable offline experience becomes the main impulse that, in turn, generates attractive content, which marketing specialists can share with online audience (for example, by means of video streaming services and social media). Read the

“Consumers are thirsty for experiences” article available in this very issue of THINK MICE to learn more about how brands today, including market leaders, win the trust and loyalty of customers by engaging their recipients. This is recommended reading, especially as nowadays you simply have to stand out in order to be effective and many of us put the chance to experience thrilling sensations above material goods.

This year’s second international edition of our magazine also features many articles covering trade shows in which we participated in recent months.

It is worth learning more about their specific character as they might become an interesting proposal to launch your operations onto new markets.

This is particularly true as they take us back to the heart of the matter, face-to-face meetings. The good condition of industry trade shows and many networking events is the best proof possible of the effectiveness of direct contacts. The relations established in this way offer superior business opportunities to those based only on several phone calls and e-mails. It is highly probable that you are now holding our magazine at one of the discussed events, with THINK MICE acting as its media partner. In this case, there is nothing left for me to do but hope you will enjoy reading it and become involved in truly productive talks!

Michał Kalarus

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COVER PHOTO: KRAKÓW

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EDITOR Michał Kalarus michał.kalarus@thinkmice.pll EDITORIAL TEAM Ksenia Bednarek, Agnieszka Jurewicz, Magda Klimczyk, Maciej Kompała, Monika Kowalska, Łukasz Kuś, Tomasz Nowak

reklama@thinkmice.pl

DESIGN Iwona Borowska Roman Borowski studio@thinkmice.pl

THINK VENUE 19 Events by the Baltic Sea THINK DESTINATION 09 Pomorskie REGION – Polish window to the world 11 Wrocław – city of meetings 21 Krakow – meeting all requirements 24 Brands tempt tourists 28 Overtourism and the MICE industry

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PROFILE 32 Hello, is this Michiel Pool of Ericsson?

INSPIRATIONS 37 Is the meetings industry a she?

39 B2B influencer marketing – 5 steps to success

Photo: Fotolia

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THINK MICE is a magazine dedicated to the Polish and international meetings industry (MICE – meetings, incentives, conferences, events) and its scope encompasses all of the segments in question: meetings, incentive trips, congresses and conferences. By adopting an in-depth and multifaceted approach to all covered issues, we present the role and significance of the industry for, i.a. broadly defined marketing communication, employer branding and destination marketing.

Photo: SBE-Event Biznes ICU Images

PROJECT MANAGER Anna Łukasik think@thinkmice.pl

ISSN 2543-4497

NEED TO KNOW 06 “Poland - Smart Move” fam trip in Warsaw 06 Wrocław to host the AITO 2019 conference 08 European convention bureaux met in Vienna 08 Launch of the latest edition of ICCA Best Marketing Award 08 IFA European Region Conference 2019 to be held in Warsaw

THINK EVENT 14 Birthday party for… birthday specialists 16 Consumers are thirsty for experiences

SUBSCRIPTION prenumerata@thinkmice.pl

©COPYRIGHT BY MICE & MORE MEDIA GROUP

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FAIR 10 CONVENTA 2019 – intimate and professional 12 CONVENE – what makes a regional trade show stand out?

ADVERTISEMENT Aleksandra Lublińska aleksandra.lublinska@thinkmice.pl

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MICE & MORE MEDIA GROUP THINK MICE Business Link PGE Narodowy Al. Ks. J. Poniatowskiego 1, 03-901 Warszawa tel. +48 690 12 12 69 redakcja@thinkmice.pl www.thinkmice.pl www.facebook.com/thinkmice/

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REPORT 41 MICE on course

NEED TO KNOW

AIME 2019 – Asia-Pacific in a pill This year’s edition of the Asia Pacific Incentives Meetings Event (AIME), owned by Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) and managed by Talk2Media and Events, was once again staged in Melbourne on 18-20 February. The trade event was attended by several hundred spectators and several thousand visitors, including hosted buyers. Among the latter, a large group was composed of Australians interested in staging business trips to Southeast Asia and, vice versa, Asians interested in setting their events in Oceania. There were also buyers from other regions of the world, i.a.

South and North America, and several dozen guests from Europe. Michał Supieta, Incentive Manager at Travel Consulting, reports: “Destinations usually dominate AIME, with fewer DMCs or representatives of hotels chains. This year the Northern Territory, Melbourne, the state of Victoria and New Zealand were heavily promoted. Macau, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia reigned supreme among Asian destinations. The presence of e.g. Vancouver and Los Angeles was also noticeable”.

AIME features educational sessions and side events, including a number of networking meetings.

Each day cocktail parties and dinners are held in one-of-a-kind places - mainly post-industrial spaces and ports. There were also pre-tour trips intended to advertise the MICE offer in Melbourne and its nearest surroundings. Michał Supieta explains that “Melbourne is a tourist-friendly city. Staging MICE events is made easy by commonly accessible Wi-Fi, free public transportation in the city centre, numerous parks, first-rate nightclubs and restaurants plus excellent hotel-and-conference infrastructure”. In addition to Melbourne, hosted buyers also had an opportunity to sightsee, i.a the Yarra Valley region renowned for wineries and Warrandyte, the town where the Australian gold rush started in the nineteenth century. “The principle lesson I learned by participating in the AIME trade event involved becoming familiar with the Australian market. Even though not many representatives swof DMCs came to Melbourne, you could still establish relations with delegates of a wide range of destinations, hotel and conference venues, as well as local airlines. All of these relations are highly valuable”, sums up Michał Supieta. mk

WOJCIECH LISZKA and KRZYSZTOF CELUCH join international MPI structures In January Wojciech Liszka (Z-Factor) and Krzysztof Celuch (Celuch Consulting, Warsaw School of Tourism and Hospitality Management) were invited to co-create the European structures of Meeting Professionals International (MPI). As the only representatives of Poland, they will sit on the European Advisory Council, MPI’s consultancy unit in the European market.

Both Krzysztof Celuch and Wojciech Liszka have been contributing to the growth of MPI for many years now. The former is, i.a. the founder of MPI Poland Club, while the latter’s heretofore dedication to the association earned him the prestigious Rise Award Member of the Year title presented last year. “I am glad that that after years of engagement in MPI operations set in Poland I was invited to become involved in shaping the organisation’s European-level structures. I find this a great honour and also a challenge”, said Wojciech Liszka. An international organisation established in the US, MPI currently has 18,000 members. mk

EVENTEX AWARDS winners announced The most important award (Grand Prix Best Event) in this year’s edition of the Eventex Awards competition went to Italy. The Embassy - OIC agency was recognised for its “In Your Bones” social change event held in Rome on 5-8 July to demonstrate and call attention to the problem of child witnesses to violence. The Spanish “Cisco Live 2018” meeting developed by the George P. Johnson agency placed second, followed by last year’s C2 Montreal conference combined with exhibitions dedicated to innovations and experimental projects. The prestigious People’s Choice Event

award was presented to the sensational street puppet theatre show “Giant Spectacular: Liverpool’s Dream” developed upon the request of Liverpool city authorities. Last but not least, the list of winners also featured several Polish projects.

In the Brand Engagement Event category endorfina events was ranked second for its #HereToCreate project produced for the adidas Women brand. In the Gala category Allegro Agency secured third place for the 2017 Empik Bestsellers Gala. Finally, Mea Group’s Flesz Fashion Night 2018 received a nomination. mk

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NEED TO KNOW

“POLAND - SMART MOVE” fam trip in Warsaw Photo: THINK MICE (2)

Representatives of key companies from Scandinavia, the Benelux and the US stayed in Poland as part of a fam trip staged by Poland Convention Bureau POT on 20-23 March.

The programme kicked off with a study tour of the Westin Warsaw hotel. Next, guests toured the Warsaw Old Town and spent the afternoon taking part in an aroma workshop, while their evening was crowned by a dinner in the Stary Dom restaurant. On the second day of the fam trip, visitors took part in „Poland – Smart Move” workshops staged as part of Meetings Week Poland. The „Polish MICE Ap-

peal: Make a Smart Move” presentation was followed by B2B workshops and talks with Poland’s professional congress organisers. The planners also listened to presentations on the potential of particular cities and regions introduced by convention bureau delegates. On the very same day, the group visited several hotels in the capital and the Polish Vodka Museum. The third day of the fam trip was arranged by Warsaw Convention Bureau which invited its guests to the Łazienki Królewskie Park, the Museum of Frederic Chopin, the Palace of Culture and Science, as well as the PGE Narodowy Stadium.

The fam trip’s agenda generated highly positive feedback of meeting planners, who were looking for sites to host conferences and incentives for both small and larger groups ranging from 50 to 500 participants. mk

unique venue opening roof adaptable space of the main auditorium courtyard and terrace modern building rooted in XVIIth century PERFORMANCES / CONCERTS / CORPORATE GALAS / CONFERENCES / WORKSHOPS / EXHIBITIONS / GUIDED TOURS

Contact: wynajem@teatrszekspirowski.pl +48 535 696 787; +48 58 351 01 51

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WROCŁAW to host the AITO 2019 CONFERENCE This year’s conference of the Association of Independent Tour Operators AITO 2019 will be held in Wrocław on 21-24 November thanks to the efforts of Polish Tourism Organisation acting in cooperation with Convention Bureau Wrocław.

AITO is a British-based travel industry trade group representing tour operators specialising in thematic holiday packages matched to the needs and interests of customers. Considered to be the largest event of the U. K. tourism industry, the annual conference of AITO gathers not only the association’s delegates, but also a few dozen influential journalists, who participate in all meetings scheduled during the three-day event. The conference’s agenda will include, i. a. study tours of Wrocław and its region, industry meetings with local partners, workshops, as well as press briefings. mk

NEED TO KNOW

Launch of the latest edition of ICCA BEST MARKETING AWARD You can now submit projects for the latest edition of the ICCA Best Marketing Award (BMA) competition. The distinction in question is presented in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the field of city, region or product marketing. The closing date for entries is 13 September. The competition is dedicated to both entire marketing campaigns and single promotional actions or events related to the operations of international associations. The jury pays special attention to the innovative character of particular projects and a unique approach to business. Additional criteria of particular importance for the final evaluation involve creativity, return on investment and a degree to which assumed goals were accomplished. The selected three to four finalists are then registered free of charge for the ICCA congress, where they present their projects. The list of competition awards includes a marketing package (value of more than 11,000 Euro), a statuette, as well as a logo and an acknowledgment in the ICCA press release.

All members of the association can apply for ICCA Best Marketing Award by either individually or collectively submitting projects launched (at least partially) 18 months before this year’s congress, which will be held in the U.S. city of Houston on 27-30 October. There is no participation fee. Last year, ICCA BMA went to VisitScotland for its project “Scotland where ideas become legend”, which used a social media campaign to promote the country as an exceptional place for meetings of international associations. mk

EUROPEAN CONVENTION BUREAUX met in Vienna Participants of the twelfth assembly of European national convention bureaux associated as part of the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe met in Vienna to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and create a joint budget.

The Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe was established to intensify cooperation between European bureaux and, consequently, contribute to maintaining and solidifying the Old Continent’s strong position as an attractive destination for meetings staged by associations.

Members of the Alliance defined their main goals as the promotion of and support for the exchange of knowledge between members, simplifying and enhancing the approach to key markets, as well as comprehensive market research.

Cooperation between Alliance members has expanded considerably in recent years, as demonstrated by the Vienna signing of a Memorandum of

Understanding and creating a joint budget. In addition, the Alliance launched works on a research study dedicated to the analysis of Europe’s medium-- and long-term market potential as a destination for meetings and conferences. The project will pay particular attention to economic, political and social conditions plus current trends in the discussed areas. Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden will take part in the project.

The meeting of national convention bureaux was staged on 1 February and its successive edition is planned to take place in Saint Petersburg in autumn.

The current list of Alliance members includes Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Flanders, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, as well as Switzerland. mk

IFA European Region Conference 2019 to be held in WARSAW

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On 22-24 May Warsaw will host the first conference dedicated to current challenges to income and VAT taxation in Europe. IFA European Region Conference will be attended by more than 300 guests from all over the world.

International Fiscal Association (IFA) is the world’s largest non-governmental organisation involved in spreading knowledge and best practices in the field of the international fiscal law. Established back in 1983 and based in the Netherlands, IFA is the only non-governmental and non-sectorial international organisation dealing with fiscal matters. Today, IFA has more than 12,500 members from 116 countries. The Association is divided into branches set up by its members in 70 countries. The IFA European Region Conference in Warsaw is organised by the Polish branch of IFA (Międzynarodowe Stowarzyszenie Podatkowe w Polsce), opera-

ting for 22 years with headquarters in the capital. Dedicated to changes and trends in the international taxation of companies, the Warsaw conference will be divided into plenary sessions and seminars. The list of covered topics includes latest solutions in the field of taxation of digital economy, the future of tax collecting in a sharing economy, ensuring tax compliance in multinational companies, an evasion-proof VAT system in Europe, as well as an analysis of European experiences in the area of tax evasion. The meetings will involve Polish and foreign experts representing the European Commission, OECD, IBFD, as well as science and business. The conference will be held in the InterContinental Warszawa hotel. Visit the www.ifa2019warsaw.com website for more information, a detailed agenda and a registration form. mk

PROMOTION

POMORSKIE REGION – POLISH WINDOW TO THE WORLD

Photos: ISIT/pomorskie.travel

Pomorskie voivodeship is one of the most popular destinations among the organisers of conferences and business meetings in Poland. Visitors are drawn to the region by its numerous tourist highlights and remarkably well-developed infrastructure for the meetings industry.

The region of Pomorskie (Pomerania) for several hundred years played the role of a Polish “window to the world” and boasts a rich history of business contacts with numerous countries.

Located on the coast of Gdańska Bay, the Tri-City metropolitan area co-created by Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot plays the role of the regional centre. A modern trade, industrial, communication, administrative and academic hub, the Tri-City also features important sea ports and the Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, from which you can quickly and efficiently reach many European cities.

BUSTLING METROPOLIS There are many faces of Gdańsk, the capital of the voivodeship and a thousand-years-old city set by the Motława. A city of freedom, Solidarity and amber, but also the stage of numerous cultural and economic events. One of the trendiest resorts of Poland, Sopot brims with life throughout the year and features a diverse Spa & Wellness offer. In turn, the modern Gdynia represents the youngest link of the Tri-City agglomeration, an ambitious and energetic city with numerous preserved symbols of architectural modernism. In addition, the Tri-City is synonymous with attractive leisure spots, intriguing museums and a varied cultural life. No wonder that the agglomeration is a popular tourist choice, no matter the season.

However, Pomorskie also offers numerous highlights outside of the Tri-City. Suffice to mention Malbork, where you will find one of the largest mediaeval castles of Europe, the Bory Tucholskie forest, a charming region full of lakes and woodlands, as well as the Baltic Sea coast and numerous pleasant resorts. Furthermore, the voivodeship constitutes one of the most popular Polish destinations among organisers of conferences, trade shows and business meetings. The MICE industry is growing dynamically in virtually the entire region. In 2018 the number of business meetings and conferences hosted by the Tri-City grew by as many as 9.7% compared with the year before. There are many factors responsible for Pomorskie’s growing popularity. First, we need to mention its sheer tourism attractiveness and the broad cultural and culinary offer. Each year numerous intriguing cultural and sporting events are held in the region. Finally, transportation availability is also an important factor that includes convenient air, road and rail connections.

historical centre of Gdańsk. Business meetings and events will be staged in an area of more than 1,000 m2, which will include a ballroom, four function rooms, seven meeting rooms and a separate area to be applied as a foyer or additional function space. New space will be soon unveiled in the Olivia Business Centre office complex. In addition to a viewing terrace, Tri-City’s only one to offer a panorama of the whole agglomeration, it will feature an event room for 400 participants. In addition, the museums, hotels and cultural venues scattered across the whole region also offer many attractive and diverse event-friendly spaces. An intriguing example is provided by Notera Hotel Spa Bory Tucholskie that combines the option of staging conferences and meetings with recreation and active leisure in the outdoors. Seaside resorts also have well-developed MICE infrastructure at their disposal.

In this category, it is worth mentioning the soon-to-be-opened Hotel Gwiazda Morza in Władysławowo and its conference room for 250 participants.

Last but not least, Pomorskie is an important business centre. This is where you will find the headquarters of numerous companies, universities and innovation centres. All of this makes the voivodeship an excellent place to stage international business events. To learn more about the opportunities it offers, be sure to take part in the INcoming Poland Gdańsk & Pomorskie Region workshop, which will take place on 15 October. Event organisers looking for new and intriguing settings should definitely become interested in Pomorskie voivodeship. ŁK

DEVELOPED EVENT INFRASTRUCTURE The growth of the meetings industry is also made easier by extensive hotel accommodation and state-of-the-art conference and tradeshow venues. Among the latter mention is due to AMBEREXPO Exhibition and Convention Centre in Gdańsk (whose capacity is adjusted to both intimate and major events) and Sheraton Sopot Hotel located right next to the Sopot pier and featuring a Conference Centre with 14 rooms of combined area of more than 3,000 m2.

Spring 2019 will see the map of Tri-City’s conference venues joined by Radisson brand’s first hotel in Central-Eastern Europe - Radisson Gdańsk, which will offer event-friendly space in the

Photos: ISIT/pomorskie.travel

FAIR

CONVENTA 2019

– intimate and professional This year’s edition of the Slovenian trade show Conventa attracted 238 hosted buyers from 46 countries. The event can act as a role model showing how to promote destinations and create favourable conditions for effective business meetings.

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Launched 11 years ago in Ljubljana, Conventa is a trade show aimed at the meetings industry (mostly congresses and incentives) and distinguished by an intimate character.

Although the discussed edition drew 132 exhibitors from 15 countries, the vast majority hailed from Slovenia. This is because the main goal of Conventa is to promote its host destination and assist everyone interested in staging MICE events in Southeast Europe (with particular emphasis on the Balkans).

Karmen Novarlič, Head of Department Business Communication at Slovenian Tourist Board, explains: “The show is of great importance for the reputation of our country as a place where you can stage high-quality business events. Slovenia impresses foreign guests with its enthusiastic, flexible and hospitable approach. All of this contributes to creating the experience of a five-star destination”.

Marcin Lewandowski, Account Manager with Travel Bidder, explains that “If you are interested in this particular part of the world, then the Conventa trade show allows you to explore the details of the offer of local agencies and find out much more than during large international events showcasing destinations from basically all over the world. A focus on one region brings desired results. In addition, an unquestionable advantage of this approach involves the fact that hosted buyers who want to organise a trip to Slovenia and need to settle urgent related issues can effortlessly do it onsite at the show. I have in mind, i.a. booking the right hotel even when it is no longer possible through online reservation systems. All of this provides the trade show with a highly practical character. Plus, it really is attended by numerous exhibitors representing the region in question”.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET

THE WHOLE INDUSTRY IN ONE PLACE

More than 3,600 business meetings between MICE service suppliers and buyers were staged during the two-day trade show organised by Slovenian Convention Bureau and Toleranca Marketing in cooperation with Ljubljana Tourism and Slovenian Tourist Board. Hosted buyers participating in the event emphasise that its organisers once again created a highly favourable environment for talks. The latter certainly had an impact on the wide range of options of obtaining all essential information related to the arrangement of events, conferences or incentive trips to Slovenia and other countries of the region.

The Slovenian trade show is also a good example how companies and organisations operating in different MICE areas can successfully cooperate with each other. In addition to convention bureaus, Conventa attracted all other tourist organisations acting in Slovenia. There was also no shortage of representatives of bureaus and agencies, subcontractors and venues applied for events, as well as hotels aimed at providing services for MICE tourists. Marcin Lewandowski emphasises that “The fact that the trade show combines highly professional arrangement

with a casual, outright friendly atmosphere always makes a great impression. You can easily come to an understanding with both exhibitors and organisers, regardless of the matter at hand. For example, they are highly flexible in relation to the set up of meetings”.

FIRST-RATE LOGISTICS Conventa was hosted by the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, whose Marmorna Hall was selected for business meetings. The conveniently located venue is set in close proximity to the majority of most popular hotels in the capital, inspiring a lot of participants to visit them as part of staged fam trips (which were arranged highly flexibly, depending on the needs and time limitations of interested guests). In addition, the Conventa Ambassador title was once again presented to recognise institutions acting as long-term partners of the discussed event. This year the distinction went to International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) on whose behalf it was picked up by Elif Balci Fisunoglu, Regional Director Europe. In turn, the Conventa Hall of Fame titles were received by the event’s catering partners: Vivo Catering, Jezeršek Catering, Kaval Catering and Union Hotels.

The Conventa trade show was held on 23-24 January. THINK MICE acted as its media partner with an international edition of our magazine distributed in Ljubljana.

Next year, the event will take place in a similar term: on 22-23 January. Łukasz Kuś

PROMOTION

WROCŁAW – CITY OF MEETINGS IN THE CENTRE OF EUROPE

Wrocław is increasingly often picked as a setting of business events. The city attracts with an atmosphere of openness, splendid architecture and a highly diverse cultural offer.

With a population of almost 700,000 residents, Wrocław is located in south-west Poland.

In the last two decades the city was growing dynamically to ultimately become a major business centre. The local sector of modern business services and IT is of particular importance. In addition, Wrocław is a key centre of commerce, industry and higher education. Each year it draws crowds of tourists eager to explore its highlights. Last year the city received the title of European Best Destination 2018.

The list of Wrocław’s tourist favourites includes its charming city centre, where you can admire numerous examples of monumental historical architecture (Gothic cathedrals, Baroque town houses) and bustling squares, streets and riverside boulevards. There are many cultural and sports events staged throughout the year. All of this co-creates the exceptional ambience of Wrocław as a multicultural place open to all visitors. Not without reason is the capital of Dolny Śląsk (Lower Silesia) dubbed a “city of meetings” - it intertwined with the fate of people hailing from many countries, not only Central Europe but also other parts of the world.

When discussing Wrocław, it is nearly impossible to overlook its convenient setting and well-developed transportation infrastructure.

As a result, the city can be quickly and comfortably reached from numerous European metropolises. Wrocław is located less than 300 km from Prague and about 350 km from Berlin and Warsaw. In less than two hours a flight from the Mikołaj Kopernik Airport in Wrocław will get you to, i.a. Munich, London, Paris and Frankfurt.

Moreover, convenient rail connections and an effective road transport infrastructure are at the disposal of all visitors to the city.

Last but not least, Wrocław continuously builds its brand in the meetings industry. Strong points speaking in its favour include numerous available highlights, the developing accommodation and event infrastructure, as well as competitive prices. Last year saw Wrocław hosting many major events, such as the 14th International Congress of the European Association for Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, the 11th International Conference on Nanophotonics (ICNP2018) or the 18th Congress of the European Neuroendocrine Association. Among successive premium events coming to Wrocław this year we should mention the general conference of the European Consortium for Political Research and 32nd ECOS 2019 – International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems. In the years to come we will certainly be observing continued growth of Wrocław’s MICE industry, taking advantage of the enormous potential of the city. ŁK

GROWING POPULARITY Wrocław’s fast growth and tourism attractiveness make it increasingly often selected by MICE guests as a destination, in which they can effortlessly stage conferences, congresses, incentives and other business events. In 2018 the number of meetings and conferences hosted by the city grew by 10.4% compared to the year before. Among factors responsible for this state of things, mention is due to i.a. extensive accommodation - 1,564 beds in fivestar hotels and 2,978 in four-star venues is an excellent result indeed. In addition, Wrocław offers advanced and fully-equipped conference halls (in hotels, sports and cultural venues) additionally complemented by a wide range of original spaces fit for arranging both smallscale and major MICE events. Conference-congress centres and space available at Wrocław’s institutions of higher education also boast suitable infrastructure and constitute an important point on the city’s map. Participants of business events will certainly appreciate the impressive number of intriguing leisure time options, including the city’s noteworthy food scene. Let us just mention that the 2018 edition of the Gault & Millau guide distinguished a dozen or so Wrocław restaurants - while many of them are set in the historical downtown, the remaining parts of the city also have a lot to offer in this area.

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FAIR

CONVENE – what makes

a regional trade show stand out?

Photot: THINK MICE (3)

The seventh edition of the CONVENE trade show attracted hosted buyers from more than 30 countries.

Once again we had an opportunity to take a closer look at the event from an onsite perspective. We set out to Vilnius to explore the significance of local, intimate events for the growth of the regional MICE industry.

CONVENE is an annual event dedicated to the promotion of MICE offer in Northeast Europe (particular emphasis is placed on the Baltic States, but there are also exhibitors representing, i. a. Finland, Sweden and Poland).

This year the trade show was attended by 165 foreign hosted buyers, including a lot of visitors from the United Kingdom. According to organisers, this is a result of PLL LOT launching a direct flight between Vilnius and London and the ensuing growth of the number of business trips between the two cities.

Hosted buyers were involved in business talks with more than 80 exhibitors. The agenda also featured networking events, site inspections and an educational programme – speeches, workshops and lectures hosted by 19 speakers.

LOCAL CHARACTER

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Similarly to Ljubljana-based Conventa, CONVENE is an intimate event focused on the regional market. Participants emphasise that this fact impacts the character of held business talks. Marta Wiśniewska, Head Manager of the Lublin & Region Convention

Bureau: “I like the idea of this particular trade show, where we meet customers interested in our region. CONVENE guarantees a large number of meetings that offer a chance of evolving into a wider cooperation. On the other hand, I expect this sort of an event to feature more so-called end users. After all, when deciding if they should attend a given trade show, exhibitors mostly take into consideration what kind of hosted buyers will be present. It is the quality of meetings that counts instead of their number. Based on my experience learnt from this and similar events, national tourism organisations should be involved in the selection of hosted buyers. As a trade show organiser, I would get in touch with an institution of this sort or simply a convention bureau to be sure that the event I am working on is attended by the right sort of buyers, distinguished by precise expectations and ready to make business agreements”.

TALKS WITH NEIGHBOURS Presence at small-scale trade shows is also a fine way of promoting MICE companies hailing from adjacent regions. Michał Ziętek,

Sales Manager at ICE Kraków Congress Centre, explains that “When making a decision to set up a stand at a regional show, you should keep in mind that customers are looking for a suitable destination also in the area, among the closest neighbours of the host country. For example, at Conventa we received inquiries about offers of venues in Italy or Austria”. Naturally, when it comes to lesser-known destinations most talks are intended solely as a market reconnaissance and an introduction to their offer. Known as “site exploration”, this phenomenon is usually highly general in nature and might lead to wider cooperation but not necessarily immediately. Things are different in the case of already recognised destinations that acquired a particular reputation and can expect concrete inquiries. Too bad if hosted buyers are not fully aware whom they are meeting and holding talks with. Unfortunately, this is sometimes the case. Anna Niedziela, Sales Specialist with the Lublin Conference Centre: “At this year’s CONVENE I have noticed that some potential customers, looking for a destination to host the events they were working on, were

FAIR interested in our region and various available activities rather than the conference centre we were representing. As a result, some meetings were off the mark. In some instances people interested in organising an incentive or team-building trip were discussing the idea with conference centre representatives that, after all, are not involved in issues of this kind”

FAVOURABLE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT In spite of this, intimate trade shows offer a great opportunity to solidify and establish new business relationships. The example of CONVENE shows that an exceptional advantage of the discussed meetings involves the chance to become engaged in networking and integration of hosted buyers and exhibitors, not only in the exhibition hall at official meetings, but also after hours. Participants meet for lunches, cocktail parties and dinners, which make it possible to build good relationships in a less formal atmosphere. In addition, regional events might attract considerably fewer participants than their largest global counterparts, but these predominantly are select guests interested in the region in the centre of attention of a given trade show. Weronika Wirtel, Sales Manager with the ICE Kraków Congress

Centre, offers the following commentary: “We are seeing a growing demand for Kraków at CONVENE. Both the city and our venue are becoming increasingly recognised.

We were holding talks with hosted buyers interested in bringing their events to Kraków and received offer inquiries. We were surprised by the fact that meetings with hosted buyers at CONVENE were much more factual than in the case of IBTM World or IMEX. We talked with representatives of neighbouring countries, but also potential contracting parties from Israel, Spain, Turkey, Belgium and Germany”.

WELL-PREPARED EXHIBITORS Hosted buyers themselves, mostly first-time arrivals, also delivered highly positive feedback about the trade show. In particular they applauded the logistics of CONVENE and the exhibitors. Elwira Urbańczyk, owner of Make Break: “I hold the content-related preparation of the exhibitors and their approach to hosted buyers in high esteem. While CONVENE is by no means a major trade show, this actually makes it easier to reach exhibitors and have a moment to talk with them. It was possible to connect with people that later on will make it easier to organise events”.

GUESTS FROM FAR AWAY Finally, the seventh edition of CONVENE attracted several delegates from some very distant countries. Among them, mention is due to Bui Vo Anh Hoang, Deputy Director of Tay Ninh Corporation from Vietnam. “I came to CONVENE because this is my first time ever in the Baltic States which developed strong relations with Vietnam for historical reasons. As a result, I could explore a new market and establish interesting contacts. I found the event to be worthwhile and definitely recommended for professionals involved with the MICE industry. I believe superb logistics and the support of organisers to be among the event’s main high points. The intimate character of the show makes it easy to move around the exhibition area. I certainly recommend regional events of this kind to everyone on the lookout for new and noteworthy destinations”.

The CONVENE trade show was held at Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre (LITEXPO) on 13-14 February. THINK MICE acted as its media partner with an English-language edition of our magazine distributed in Vilnius. Łukasz Kuś

If you would like to receive our THINK MICE International Magazines REGULARLY and for FREE, please send an e-mail to think@thinkmice.pl

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THINK EVENT

BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR… BIRTHDAY SPECIALISTS The organisation of corporate anniversary events is the bread and butter of many agencies.

JOKE Event AG is a member of this group and each year produces a dozen or so events of the discussed kind. However, when it was time to prepare its own jubilee, a round anniversary to boot, it quickly became clear that it called for something truly exceptional. First of all, to ensure everyone has a great time, but also to show observers that customer trust and the company’s high ranking in a very competitive market are both well-earned. In other words, the party became an excellent opportunity to recount and illustrate the agency’s history and apply the leitmotif of the promo campaign “25 Years of JOKE Event AG – Now it’s our turn”, which was distinguished in the Use of Web & Social Media category of Bea World Best Event Award 2018. Moreover, the birthday event itself was among the finalists of the Eventex Awards 2019 competition in the Corporate Event category.

Photo: JOKE Event AG (3)

The German event-marketing agency JOKE Event AG staged more than 250 corporate anniversary parties for its customers. With the company celebrating its 25th anniversary last year, it was simply impossible to overlook such an important jubilee. What about this special event earned worldwide recognition?

HOW IT ALL STARTED The story of JOKE Event AG began in 1992 when two DJs from Bremen, Christian and Peter (known as Joke) bought a used Ford Transit, AV equipment and started their eventrelated journey in a small garage. At present their company employs more than 100 staff members and in addition to the Bremen headquarters also has units in five other major German cities. The 25th anniversary thus became a pretext to recall the beginnings and showcase what distinguishes the agency. In the words of JOKE Events AG - “How to differentiate yourself from the crowd? According to our approach, we are the difference.

We are a great and friendly team. We like to perform, we enjoy our work. We think in a non-standard and unconventional manner, not taking ourselves too seriously in the process.

We are our own brand”.

ADVENTURE WITH A VINTAGE FORD Agency employees decided to celebrate the birthday by presenting a special gift to company’s founders - the very same Ford Transit model that Christian and Peter started with. The car was transformed into a DJ’s mobile platform - a retractable hardtop was installed along with an audio system, the latest software regulating diesel engine emissions, as well as 100 mascots (naturally, bobble head dogs). After this evolution, the Ford took part in Carbage Run Deutschland, a rally aimed at vehicles whose value does not exceed 500 Euro. The event’s route led from Germany to Slovenia and the whole trip was filmed and shown in social media.

FIRST-RATE CUSTOMIZATION

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The modified Ford also became a highlight of successive birthday parties, including the most important event for the JOKE Events AG team held in August 2018. It featured a wide range of attractions, such as sports competitions and games whose participants were dressed as Baywatch lifeguards. In turn, the crucial party of the 25th anniversary celebrations was staged in the agency’s Bremen headquarters and aimed at employees and customers.

This is also when the Ford Transit was repainted and became an official mascot of the team.

The JOKE Events AG birthday party was a great example that you do not need to have a large budget at your disposal to hold a corporate event that will enthral the industry. In this case the key to success involved an honest message and event customisation. In addition, everyone involved in the project had a great time while working on its development. Łukasz Kuś

HEART OF LUBUSKIE

WINEMAKING BEATS IN ZABÓR Integration of the winemaking community, support of winemaking education, restoration of the tradition of grapevine growing in Lubuskie and promotion of local wineries among tourists. These are the key goals of the Lubuskie Winemaking Centre in Zabór, the beating heart of the revival of regional winemaking traditions.

The calling card of Lubuskie, it also serves tourist, recreational and museum functions, as well as acts as a first-rate research and educational centre.

Legend has it that Bacchus was defeated by the Titans and his blood fell on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, France, the area of the Rhine and the Moselle. Several stray drops also fell in the region of Western Poland, giving rise to splendid vineyards.

While this might be only a legend, it is a historical fact that grapevine was adorning the region of Środkowe Nadodrze already back in mid-twelfth century. Winemaking in the discussed area was made possible thanks to favourable climate and soil conditions. The weather throughout the year does not remain as mild as in Southern Europe, but appropriate land formations, especially elevations in the area of Zielona Góra, where you will find the majority of vineyards, guarantee that hillsides are well-exposed to sunlight

and thus contribute to good crops. The recent development of the local winemaking industry made it necessary to establish an institution that would act as the regional centre of everything wine-related. This function is now fulfilled by the Lubuskie Winemaking Centre, whose concept was devised and construction initiated by Elżbieta Anna Polak, Marshal of the Lubuskie Vovivodeship. Launched on 9 October 2015, the Centre focuses its operations on staging cultural events, open-air markets dedicated to local wine and other regional products, conferences and winemaking workshops, as well as providing services aimed at tourists, who visit Zabór almost every day.

The Lubuskie Winemaking Centre is set in a highly modern venue equipped with numerous multimedia resources and adapted to the needs of visitors with disabilities. The central section of the building features an information point where guests can learn more about the region’s tourist highlights. An adjoining conference room makes it possible to stage winemaking workshops and training meetings for several dozen participants. Running through the Centre’s interiors plus neighbouring areas, an educational trail is dedicated to the history of grapevine growing and winemaking, abounding in interesting information about enology and the region’s winemaking heritage. The presented exhibitions make it possible to understand the revival of the winemaking tradition, what is the output of local vintners, as well as to learn the essentials of running a vineyard and winemaking. In addition, the Centre makes it easier for everyone interested to directly contact regional vineyards plus provides all services for free. Its activity is not limited to introducing the wine-related history of Lubuskie and its other tourist highlights, such as the Route of Landscape Parks and the Lubuskie Route of Fortifications. It is also involved in educational initiatives carried out together with the University of Zielona Góra.

As a result, highly helpful information on how to establish vineyards, cultivate grapevine or make wine reach college students, winemakers, as well as people who never had anything in common with winemaking.

In several months the Lubuskie Centre of Winemaking will be celebrating its fourth anniversary. According to statistical data summing up its heretofore activity, it was so far visited by more than 50,000 guests.

Cyclic events staged by the Centre are especially popular, with particular emphasis on the September Grape Harvest in the Samorządowa Vineyard, accompanied by grape picking and tasting sessions, and the November Festival of Lubuskie Young Wine, which offers a chance to i.a. taste beverages from nearly all local vineyards. Do not hesitate and already now set aside some time to visit Lubuskie and participate in all the intriguing winemaking events.

Text: Marcin Nowak photo: archives of Marshal’s Office of the Lubuskie Voivodeship

LUBUSKIE CENTRUM WINIARSTWA 66-003 Zabór, ul. Winiarska 1 +48 68 320 01 12

zabor@lubuskie.pl

+48 693 40 12 42

www.centrumwiniarstwa.pl

Photo: Red Bull

CONSUMERS ARE THIRSTY FOR EXPERIENCES THE TWENTIETH-FIRST CENTURY IS AN ERA OF ENGAGEMENT MARKETING. WHILE IN THE INDUSTRY JARGON IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS “BRAND EXPERIENCE” OR “EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING”, THE MAIN PRINCIPLE OF ITS STRATEGY REMAINS THE SAME ALL OVER THE WORLD - IT IS AIMED AT ATTRACTING WITH A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE INSTEAD OF SHOUTING INTO SUBMISSION.

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We are living in a world of information overload, bombarded with marketing messages, somewhere between real life and virtual reality. Advertisements in mass media are losing their effectiveness, as tablets and smartphones are taking over the role of our AdBlock-enabled main devices. An aggressive form of advertisement, based on a one-sided model of communication, no longer impacts consumers of the current century.

How thus brands win the trust and commitment of consumers today? Direct and unforgettable offline experiences, so-called

engagement marketing, are becoming the main incentive.

TAILOR-MADE EXPERIENCE According to The 2017 Freeman Global Brand Experience Study, a report of one of key brand experience agencies, brand experience encompasses presentations of new products, hybrid events (a mix of offline and online content – Ed.), experiences connected with virtual and augmented reality, as well as temporary events of the pop-up kind. Their main component involves the construction

of a deliberate and long-term relationship with customers and engaging the latter into participating in the brand’s growth. Modernday consumers, and young generation in particular, rank the option of having an exciting experience higher than material goods. Entrepreneurs today are asked about the authenticity of a brand and the value it represents. Grzegorz Twaróg, Senior Event Manager with Horeca Group, explains that “When a consumer experiences activities created by a brand, he or she establishes a strong emotional relationship with it. This

THINK EVENT is common knowledge today that enables us to increasingly confidently attract the attention of potential customers. On the other hand, the experience of a brand producing sports clothes is entirely different from the experience of innovation or safety offered by a trusted bank. This is why our work on each project is distinguished by the tailor-made and efficiency-first approach”. One of the agency’s projects, matching the trend of perfectly-fitted engagement marketing, Reebok Fit Shop was awarded at Eventex 2018 in the category of Best Experiential Event.

ON THE EDGE OF GOOD TASTE AND RISK Red Bull is considered the unquestionable leader of the engagement marketing sector, for more than twenty years organising and supporting hundreds of events standing out due to an innovative and non-conformist character - from the breakthrough jump of skydiver Felix Baumgartner from a helium balloon in the stratosphere through the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Gdynia to Neymar Jr's Five football tournament staged in more than ten Polish cities. “The organisation of all types of sports and cultural events is among the key ingredients of our brand’s marketing DNA. Moreover, Red Bull supports initiatives that

it does not organise, but which are significant for a given crowd, e.g. Winter Sports Festival or the Spring Break music festival”, explains Olga Naparty-Małysz, Head of Red Bull Media Network. Red Bull surprises recipients by treading a fine line between risk and good taste. The campaign featuring Polish singer Dawid Podsiadło sitting with a kitten in the unique scenery of a bathtub and encouraging viewers to play a smartphone game can trigger both a sense of wonder and embarrassment. But it is also precisely the sort of daring and original message that draws the brand’s enthusiasts all over the world. “A well-matched strategy concerning production, communication and distribution makes it possible to reach recipients, offering what a given community or field needs most and simultaneously surprising them with a concept, communication, setting, quality and a sense of closeness”, adds Olga Naparty-Małysz.

VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE OF A BRAND A direct and offline experience of brand generates attractive content that marketing professionals can share with consumers via live streaming or social media. However, the Red Bull brand proves that event marketing does not constitute the only effective brand

experience tool. The discussed brand achieved its strong position thanks to content marketing operations conducted by means of diverse mass media available at the Red Bull Media House multi-platform media company. Content marketing consists of creating valuable messages that are matched to a defined target group and simultaneously are a part of a brand’s communication strategy. Modern technology is another tool intended to boost the engagement of consu-mers.

The increasingly popular augmented and virtual reality makes it possible to provide a product experience when the consumer stops being merely a recipient and instead becomes a protagonist of the story being told. Bartosz Bieszyński, Managing Director with Walk Events, explains that “Global brands such as Dentsu, Havas or Jack Morton create separate, mysteriously named ‘X’ units of their companies to combine event marketing with technology and media. The merging of these two worlds is where event marketing should seek advantage over other forms of communication, even influencers who seem to be popping up everywhere”.

EFFECTIVENESS CONFIRMED IN PRACTICE Authors of the The 2017 Freeman Global Brand Experience Study report heralding the

POSNANIA GRAND OPENING

Photo: /Walk Events

Event: Posnania Grand Opening, Date: 19-22 October 2016, Site: Poznań, Organiser: Walk Events, Customer: Apsys Group, Number of participants: More than 300,000 Posnania is a unique shopping mall and simultaneously the largest commercial investment in Central Europe. Boasting an area of 100,000 m2, its construction required a budget of 1.2 billion PLN. The aim of the event was to stand out from as many as five similar events staged in recent years in Poznań and to emphasise the scope and far-reaching character of Apsys Group’s investment.

Eva Longoria became the face of the complex and the pillar of activities conducted as part of the opening’s communication, providing them with an international character. Posnania Live, a TV channel launched specially for this occasion, featured the appearance of more than 20 Polish stage, film and online celebrities. On the day of the opening, the centre hosted a private event for more than 2,000 guests, two press conferences for almost 100 journalists and a separate launch event attended by more than 30,000 guests.

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THINK EVENT

Photo: Horeca Group (4)

REEBOK FIT SHOP

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Event: Reebok Fit Shop, Date: 30 June – 3 September 2017, Venue: Ethos, Plac Trzech Krzyży, Warsaw, Organiser: Horeca Group, Customer: Reebok, Number of participants: approx. 6,000 Reebok Fit Shop is a combination of a store with Reebok products, a café, a gym room, a chillout zone and an arena of sports contests, all of this on 600 m2. The intermingling elements were intended to create a world, in which the customer became immersed in the widest possible range of brand experiences. Visitors tested Reebok products during free-of-charge trainings hosted by the brand’s ambassadors and participated in special events, such as the nationwide crossfit competition Yoga Glow and Reebok Campus training sessions. In two months there were eight thematic events, 10 specialist trainings and 40 workout sessions attended by more than 6,000 participants. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were achieved at the level of 200%. “The goal of the Reebok Fit Shop was to introduce consumers to a broad offer of Reebok’s exercise and fitness products and to let them experience the brand on three levels: physical, psychic and social. The project was a resounding success both as regards attendance and sales. However, I am also convinced that it made it possible to establish a strong emotional relationship with fitness enthusiasts visiting us”, sums up Piotr Błaszczyk, Reebok Fitness Marketing Manager CEE.

emergence of a new era in the history of marketing also confirm the effectiveness of brand experience, According to data discussed by the document, in the next three years more than half of all surveyed Chief Marketing Offices (CMOs) will spend from 20% to even 50% of their budget on engagement marketing. While focused on Asia, the US and Western Europe, the research results are not surprising for Polish professionals. “According to the Jack Morton Experience Brand Index 2018 report by one of the world’s largest agencies operating in the category in question, brands boost their Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 200% and their customer loyalty by 25% when applying not only traditional marketing tools”, explains Bartosz Bieszyński. In Poland brand experience is becoming an increasingly popular trend and, consequently, a key method of differentiating a given brand from the competition. Why then are customers resistant to the unavoidable changes? The issue of available funds invariably continues to be highly problematic. “Let us be honest - event marketing is among the most expensive communication tools, particularly when converted into the cost of reaching one recipient. Recently, at a meeting with a consumer I was informed that the 800,000 PLN required for producing an event would

cover the costs of developing a digital campaign whose scope would encompass half of Europe. This is true, but will half of all Old Continent residents even notice our banner among thousand similar ones present in social media?”, wonders Bartosz Bieszyński.

WANTING SOMETHING MORE DESPITE SUCCESS Unlimited budget is not always decisive about the success of a given event. It is even more important to thoroughly get to know the consumer and create an unconventional activity that would match the needs of your target group. A good example is provided by the effectiveness of the promotional campaign of Tchibo Black-N-White, which came as a positive surprise even for the authors of the ambient zone at Open’er Festival 2018. Using high-tech solutions, Horeca Group’s event managers created selfieccino, a cappuccino with customers’ self-portraits reproduced on the froth.

Organisers claim that the campaign reached 1.37 million recipients and its Cost per Thousand (CPM) did not exceed 3 Euro.

In addition, a brand’s presence at major music festivals is already a popular tool used for building long-lasting relationships with consumers. Despite many successful campaigns based on engagement marketing,

meeting planners continue to feel that there is something missing from their cooperation with customers. Grzegorz Twaróg believes that “In Poland there is still not enough courage and open dialogue with an agency, which would make it possible to properly start cooperation already at the stage of creating a marketing strategy. Customers usually come to us with strictly defined expectations and there is no space to enrich these concepts with strategic operations.

After all, we can create much more effective experiences by combining storytelling, design and event technologies with the functionalities available for free from social media and the enormous potential of cooperation with influencers”.

Engagement marketing remains one of the most powerful marketing strategies aimed at winning the hearts of consumers and maintaining the longest possible partnership with them. James Morgan, founder of Event Tech Lab, sums up that “We ought to strive towards combining communication activities (before, during and after an event) with ambient operations improving a product’s value. In this way, meeting organisers can expect customer satisfaction, while entrepreneurs should generate an adequate return on investment”.

Magda Klimczyk

PROMOTION

EVENTS BY THE BALTIC SEA Business meetings have an enormous potential for the hotel industry. At the same time, the European MICE market is distinguished by intense competition. Venue representatives are perfectly aware of the latter and thus not only offer functional conference spaces and excellent food service and accommodation facilities, but also something more, a bonus added value. Excellent and unique setting and breathtaking views are the most frequent solutions.

Each year Poland is hosting more and more events of the business variety. According to Poland Meetings and Events Industry Report, an annual publication of Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna - POT), hotels accounted for as many as 62% of all venues hosting congresses and conferences in 2018. While the capital obviously reigns supreme as regards the number of events, organisers are increasingly often looking for new and unexplored sites featuring a comprehensive conference offer, a wide range of additional services and professional staff. This is why they shift their attention to smaller towns capable of offering something novel and surprising.

The hotel industry of the region of Pomorze Zachodnie (Western Pomerania) recognises this potential. This is where event organisers will find several comfortable and perfectly-equipped venues, which boast an unique setting to boot - only several steps away from sandy Baltic beaches.

Naturally we are talking about hotels of the Zdrojowa chain, located in the most beautiful Polish resorts. Visiting event organisers can count not only on remarkable views and facilities making it possible to arrange both a congress lasting several days and an intimate meeting, but also a diverse sports-and-leisure offer and a wide range of conveniences and free time options.

CONFERENCE RIGHT NEXT TO THE BEACH The Zdrojowa chain consists of eleven venues that awe guests with their splendid architecture and superb facilities. Most of them are available for staging business events. Featuring Pomerania, the largest conference hall in a five-star hotel by the Baltic Sea, Radisson Blu Resort, Świnoujście is located in the highly advanced hotel and entertainment Baltic Park Molo complex, which comprises not only hotel infrastructure, but also a zone dedicated to services, leisure and sports. The space surrounding the promenade is now the very heart of the city and attracts crowds of guests. The Pomerania conference hall (area of 1,000 m2) combined with a foyer (400 m2) makes it possible to stage events for even 1,000 guests. In addition, its space can be easily divided into 12 smaller rooms, enabling the arrangement of a congress for several hundred participants, an exhibition, a sumptuous gala, as well as more intimate business meetings.

The Zdrojowa chain hotels located in Kołobrzeg also offer relaxation, recreation and business options in exceptional scenery. Diune Hotel***** & Resort boasts a simply unrivalled setting only 20 m from a sandy beach in the surrounding of a seaside park. An essential asset of the venue involves its state-of-the-art conference infrastructure available in unlimited arrangements. The Elegance room offers 640 m2 of event-friendly space. Marine Hotel***** & Ultra Marine in

Magdalena Rybicka, Sales Director, m.rybicka@zdrojowahotels.pl, tel. +48 91 40 40 449 Hotels belonging to the Zdrojowa chain are located in Poland’s most magnificent tourist resorts and make it possible to set business events in modern and perfectly-equipped rooms located right next to Baltic beaches. In addition to highly functional conference spaces, we provide our guests with the support of a well-tuned team: professional assistance, precise offer development and perfect customer service. Add top-shelf audio-visual equipment and what you get is a picture of ideal business meeting conditions. Event organisers staying in the comfortable rooms of our hotels can expect not only magnificent views, but also an unmatched sports-and-leisure offer and a wide range of conveniences and leisure time options, such as relaxation in unique SPA & Wellness facilities. The exquisite dishes served by our restaurants also offer a feast for the body and soul. Come visit us and choose a truly exceptional setting for your event!

Kołobrzeg, also part of the Zdrojowa chain, is a five-star venue with a wide range of additional services and, most of all, a conference space that can be freely adapted to all types of meetings. There are five rooms of different sizes at the disposal of event organisers. The largest Grand Orkan has an area of 270 m2 and is a great match for conferences.

ALL-ENCOMPASSING OFFER A crucial advantage of the Zdrojowa chain hotels involves spacious and air-conditioned rooms that stand out due to their stylishly elegant and advanced character combined with regional details. Moreover, an indispensable component of each business event involves an attractive selection of food and beverages. In Zdrojowa restaurants meals are prepared on the basis of carefully selected seasonal and local products.

Leisure and entertainment options also influence the selection of a given venue for hosting an event. Zdrojowa representatives know this and provide conference organisers and participants with diverse choices, aimed both at enthusiasts of active leisure and delegates who would rather follow a busy day with SPA & Wellness relaxation. The recreational space of Radisson Blu Resort, Świnoujście also encompasses a water park with Poland’s very first artificial windsurfing waves plus an additional highlight in the form of Sky Molo - a glass skyward terrace set 50 metres above sea level. AJ

RADISSON BLU RESORT, ŚWINOUJŚCIE al. Baltic Park Molo 2, 72-600 Świnoujście tel. +48 91 40 40 449, e-mail: events.swinoujscie@radissonblu.com DIUNE HOTEL***** & RESORT ul. Sułkowskiego 4, 78-100 Kołobrzeg tel. +48 94 35 34 574, e-mail: biznes@diunehotel.pl MARINE HOTEL***** & ULTRA MARINE ul. Sułkowskiego 9, 78-100 Kołobrzeg tel. +48 94 35 34 574, e-mail: biznes@marinehotel.pl SAND HOTEL**** ul. Zdrojowa 3, 78-100 Kołobrzeg tel. +48 94 35 34 574, e-mail: biznes@sandhotel.pl

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THINK DESTINATION – PROMOTION

KRAKOW – MEETING ALL REQUIREMENTS Rich history, varied cultural offer and food scene, first-rate infrastructure and, most of all, collaboration-friendly MICE industry. From the viewpoint of business tourists Krakow is one of Poland’s best-known and most oft-visited cities.

According to research conducted by Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna – POT), Krakow is the most recognisable Polish city brand in the world. Last year the city was visited by almost 13 million tourists, including numerous participants of business events. In 2017 Krakow hosted more than 6,000 events, among which 4,392 were congresses and conferences. The meetings industry generated close to 2.2 billion PLN GDP, which accounted for 3.38% of GDP of Krakow’s overall economy. This is the outcome of the second edition of research commissioned by the Municipality of Krakow and carried out by Małopolska Tourist Organisation in cooperation with a team of experts specialising in Krakow’s tourism. The first edition was staged in 2013 as part of the trailblazing Kraków Impact project. What is important is that the number of guests travelling to Krakow is systematically rising. Most of them – as many as 70% – stay in the capital of Małopolska for more than one day and take advantage of the continuously expanding local accommodation infrastructure. Among conference-ready facilities, mention is due to DoubleTree by Hilton Kraków Hotel & Convention Center, officially opened in 2015, and Metropolo by Golden Tulip launched this year. MICE guests currently have at their disposal 11 five-star hotels (2,152 beds) and as many as four-star venues (6,911 beds).

THE BIG THREE While Krakow’s offer in the field of hotels has always represented a high level (a natural consequence of the city’s tourism attractiveness), until recently business customers did not have much to choose from when staging

conferences or congresses. This fact proved highly problematic especially in the case of truly large events. Fortunately, it was recognised on time and solved by infrastructure investments. Three major venues constructed five years ago are capable of meeting requirements related to the arrangement of even the largest and most challenging events.

The list includes the ICE Kraków Congress Centre, the entertainment-and-sports TAURON Arena Kraków, and the International Exhibition and Convention Centre EXPO Kraków. As a result, Krakow today is among the cities boasting the very best conference-related infrastructure in the country. In addition, the network of flights with the capital of Małopolska is continuously expanded; at present you can fly from Krakow to 78 destinations worldwide.

KRAKOW SUPPORTS MICE Unfortunately nowadays even a fairly attractive tourist offer and satisfying infrastructure might not be enough to attract a reasonable number of business tourists.

However, this is a task that Kraków Convention Bureau has been successfully coping with for 15 years. In addition to the promotional operations it conducts, the Bureau is also a partner for all planners wishing to stage their events in Krakow (searching for information about venues, companies to cooperate with, etc.). In addition, the city offers its support to all MICE organisers by i.a. arranging fam trips, promoting events, supplying promotional materials and welcome packages, staging sightseeing tours or providing the option of so-called conference tickets, which entitle participants to public transport discounts. It is also worth mentioning here the Kraków Network initiative launched by the Krakow Festival Office, operator of ICE Kraków, and an influential business group representing various sectors of the tourism industry. Its operations influence the growing number of events held in Krakow. By the end of 2014 approx. 30 organisations were invited to join the enterprise, which today associates almost 200 companies.

Michał Kalarus

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THINK DESTINATION – PROMOTION

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF EXPO KRAKÓW May will mark the fifth anniversary of the launch of EXPO Kraków. “We have been dreaming about a new venue for a long time, spent a lot of time planning and searching for the right setting. Relocating our headquarters and organisational office to EXPO proved to be an authentic milestone in the company’s history. A more comfortable work environment, improved conditions for exhibitors and visitors – simply put, a quick promotion to a higher league. We saw brand-new potential and growth opportunities”, recalls Grażyna Grabowska, President of Targi w Krakowie.

The decision about constructing EXPO Kraków received a lot of publicity from the business community closely monitoring new investments. Furthermore, the venue’s emergence to a large degree contributed to the development of the Krakow district of Czyżyny. Only a few years ago it was simply known as the residential area of Nowa Huta. Today the district entirely changed its character and became a bustling and significant point on the city’s map. It is visited not only by residents, but also by foreign investors.

“Perhaps not many people remember that six years ago ruins of the former PREFABET construction factory, despite its central setting probably the most run-down part of Krakow, used to be located in exactly the same place where the EXPO building now stands. Today a new housing estate is being constructed next to our venue, an office block was recently built. Successive developers are getting ready for investments and the neighbourhood is changing increasingly faster”, explains Paweł Nikliński, Vice President of Targi w Krakowie.

While developing EXPO Kraków an emphasis was placed on its mixed-use character and the effortlessness of staging all types of events. In five years it has already hosted close to 300 events of various subject matter plus several dozen congresses, conferences, concerts, and other meetings. The largest production held so far in the discussed venue, the 28th Conference of the European Wound Management Association EWMA (9-11 May 2018) encompassed a grand exhibition of producers and suppliers of medical equipment and wound care and healing products (almost 120 booths). The event was staged in nine conference rooms, two of which were built especially for this purpose. The Conference was attended by approx. 3,500 specialists from all over the world. The fact that talks about a venue that would meet the high expectations of the organisers have continued since 2014 shows that the selection of appropriate space was deemed exceptionally important. “The opening of EXPO Kraków provided us with a dose of new energy and motivation to work. We could start working on ideas, whose implementation was earlier simply impossible. Consequently, we have recorded a considerable growth of the number of foreign customers and international events”, sums up Ewa Woch, Vice President of Targi w Krakowie. In addition, the emergence of EXPO Kraków and the ensuing increasingly demanding projects also resulted in Targi w Krakowie maturing as a team that today has more than 70 members and established new business relations. A few years ago its employees were walking into new office rooms bringing not only large boxes in their hands, but also heads filled with ideas of new events. They were entering a whole new world of previously unattainable ideas, which they wanted to take full advantage of. Did they succeed? The answer is a resounding yes.

ICE KRAKÓW – DESIGN AND FUNCTIONALITY

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Setting is what makes ICE Kraków stand out from many other conference centres. The venue was erected not on the outskirts, but virtually in the very centre of the city. Besides the obvious advantages stemming from this location, an additional asset involves the near-by hotel infrastructure. In addition, setting in the heart of Krakow influenced another crucial element - the building’s appearance or, to be precise, its intriguing and compelling architecture. ICE Kraków demonstrates that a major congress centre can be both highly useful and visually attractive. The reason for this state of things is quite prosaic - the newly established complex simply had to be designed and built in such a way as to avoid “downgrading” the neighbourhood. Instead, it was assumed that it should be a good match for its surroundings - after all, you can admire the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill from its foyer. Architects from the Ingarden & Ewý atelier, renowned for innovative projects of public utility venues, are responsible for the building’s look, while the designing process involved Arata Isozaki himself, this year’s winner of the “Nobel Prize of architecture”.

The outcome of their work is a modern and visually attractive building that takes full advantage of its setting (view of Wawel Hill and Kazimierz district) and is remarkably functional to boot. As a result, ICE Kraków is available for a wide gamut of events - from congresses, conferences, symposia and forums through concerts and theatre shows to multimedia shows and events tackling social issues.

Since ICE Kraków inaugurated its activity in October 2014 it was visited by more than a million guests

THINK DESTINATION – PROMOTION participating in close to 800 events. Only last year about 200 events attracted more than 255,000 attendees. Among the events in question, mention is due to conferences and congresses, such as i.a.

DIOXIN 2018 (International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants & 10th International PCB Workshop), a prestigious international event dealing with environmental pollution, 23rd WONCA Europe Conference 2018, an European conference of family physicians that brought close to 3,000 specialists to Krakow, the World Foundry Congress, the European Corrosion Congress Eurocorr, as well as the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases.

This obviously is but a small fraction of numerous events of this kind. Some events have actually moved into ICE Kraków for good, i.a. Impact dedicated to digital economy, the Open Eyes Economy Summit, the European Cybersecurity Forum Cybersec or the highly prestigious Frontiers in Interventional Cardiology. The list also includes Digital Dragons, the largest video game event in this part of Europe, the annual conference of the ASPIRE Association, as well as European Congress of Local Governments.

Besides conferences ICE Kraków also regularly hosts grand jubilees (i.a. 200th anniversary of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, the 70th anniversary of the Polish Radio Choir) and seminal concerts of world-famous acts. Last year during the Film Music Festival the Auditorium Hall of the congress centre gained an eminent patron - renowned composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki. In late February representatives of ICE Kraków announced close to 50 successive business events that the venue will host in the months to come. Naturally, there will certainly be new additions to this list.

TAURON ARENA KRAKÓW – POLAND’S LARGEST ENTERTAINMENT-AND-SPORTS ARENA TAURON Arena Kraków is a venue entirely different from traditional event settings, such as congress centres or rooms in premium hotels. Poland’s largest entertainment-and-sports arena (and one of the largest venues of this kind in Europe) is distinguished by a mixed-use character, diversified space and functionality. The arena is available for sports competitions in 18 disciplines of world championships rank, concerts, festivals, theatre plays and shows, conferences, congresses, trade shows and exhibitions, corporate meetings, business meetings, as well as a shooting location for TV productions, feature films and advertisements.

The Main Arena, which houses events for even a dozen or so thousand participants, the Small Arena (capacity: 1,300), conference halls (capacity: 200), a VIP zone with 28 lounges, restaurants with a view of the arena’s main pitch and an extensive area surrounding the venue can all be adapted for the purposes of the MICE industry. In the case of renting conference halls, the package also includes 200 parking places.

In addition, organisers can take advantage of the offer of displaying promotional materials on electronic devices - both outside and inside the arena, including Europe’s largest LED installed on its elevation (more than 0.5 km-long!). “Capacity is a distinguishing feature of our venue, which can accommodate 22,000 guests. There are 15,000 seats in the stands, while the Main Arena has additional standing capacity of 9,300. Event organisers can freely configure the stands, with comfortable facilities for athletes and performers at their disposal along with advanced multimedia and stage systems. The venue boasts great acoustics, which impact the number of concerts it hosts. Finally, the multi-purpose character of the arena makes it possible to hold events of diverse character and scope”, explains Małgorzata Marcińska, President of the Management Board of the Municipal Development Agency in Krakow (operator of TAURON Arena Kraków).

Indeed, TAURON Arena Kraków is located only 4 km from the Main Market Square and has already hosted more than 700 events of all types, which in total were attended by more than 3 million guests. Only last year the venue accommodated approx. 630,000 visitors - participants of 165 events. Among the latter there was no shortage of concerts (i.a. of Metallica, Paul McCartney, Iron Maiden, Depeche Mode, Deep Purple, Lenny Kravitz), sporting events (i.a. SuperEnduro World Championship, Diverse Night of the Jumps, FIVB Volleyball Nations League), conferences and congresses (i.a. Lyconet Elite Seminar, Career and Entrepreneurship Expo, events of Shell, Motorola, Coca Cola, Diagnostyka) or events for local residents. High attendance figures were also recorded at Cirque du Soleil, Disney on Ice and Film Music Festival. This year TAURON Arena Kraków hosted already more than 30 events, 50 successive ones have been announced and its calendar is becoming increasingly packed with brand-new events (also for the years to come). The World Youth Day Krakow 2016, which was attended by more than 75,000 visitors, is an example of a project that fully showcased the advantages of the venue in question, its mixeduse character and the option of simultaneously applying all available spaces.

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THINK DESTINATION

BRANDS TEMPT TOURISTS

Photo: THINK MICE (2)

For each destination, building an appropriate brand is a crucial element making it possible to stand out against the competition and attract new travellers. A large section of the educational programme accompanying this year’s edition of the ACE of M.I.C.E. Exhibition in Istanbul was dedicated to issues related to this process.

After all, this particular event from the very beginning followed the superior goal of solidifying the position of Istanbul and Turkey on the map of MICE destinations. How does it all look in practice?

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The fact that today most decisions related to travelling to a given destination are based on associations and recommendations, both in the context of leisure and business tourism, has been emphasised many times at the latest edition of the Ace of M.I.C.E. Exhibition.

Safety concerns, the growing number of tourists in the world’s most attractive places and resulting tiresome restrictions, political determinants or, finally, the available infrastructure are only some of the numerous factors taken into consideration by organisers of MICE events. This explains why a trustworthy opinion of other market players became so essential. Çidem Cengiz, Head of Marketing and Communications at the Turkey Office of the Amadeus IT Group, claims that “Recommendations are estimated as the basis of even nine out of ten decisions made about selecting a destination. This concerns both direct opinions and those found online – through social media, in discussion groups, etc.”.

SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING A strong brand of a destination (a city, a country or a region) inspiring unanimously positive associations is a component that boosts the quality of recommendations and makes it easier to win the trust of potential customers. In addition, it is one of the most crucial elements making it possible to gain advantage in the highly competitive tourism market. Ömer Şengüler, owner and CEO of Global Magic Brands, explains that “If after 15 minutes you decide that you want to visit a given place, then this means that its brand gets the job done and attracts guests. While the setting itself certainly has an impact, mention is also due to available highlights, infrastructure, food and beverages, as well as culture. Take a look at popular destinations such as Dubai or Las Vegas, which were built in the desert, literally in the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless, they are now one of the most often visited places in the world

thanks to enormous investments in the infrastructure, the development of truly spectacular tourist highlights and, most of all, appropriate marketing operations intended to promote them and build a strong and desirable brand. It is also worth recalling the intriguing idea used by Scandinavian destinations - Sweden, Norway and Finland - which in wintertime attract crowds of tourists, also of the business variety, with their renowned ice hotels”.

EXCLUSIVE EVENTS Another effective way of building a brand and becoming recognised by customers of industry meetings involves the development of exclusive events intended to promote a given region or city. In most cases, these are events of highly informative character and frequently also trade shows. This is an efficient method making it possible to attract the attention of an audience that, while

smaller, has larger budgets at its disposal.

The discussed group includes business tourists and people travelling for business (participants of conferences, congresses, incentive trips, etc.). Igor Kovacevic, CEO of Serbia Convention Bureau, suggests that “We should keep in mind that many destinations worldwide are actually quite alike. They feature similar hotels and conference centres. This is why it is so important to have a distinguishing feature that you can build your brand around. The right research facilities and events work well in this context”. Six years ago Istanbul came to a similar conclusion. The city has been a perennial favourite of tourists, also of the business kind. While terrorist attacks were a temporary obstacle, the number of arrivals started growing again two years ago and the situation seems to be coming back to normal.

Bahadir Yaşik, board member of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, notes: “In 2017 we were visited by 11 million tourists and a year later their number already grew to 14.5 million. All signs are pointing to continued growth in 2019. In the future we would like to become one of the top five most popular destinations in the world. Recent trends show that this plan is becoming increasingly feasible”.

GOOD STATISTICS According to data submitted by Istanbul authorities, MICE guests account for about 30% of all tourists visiting the city. Hamdi Usta, deputy mayor of Istanbul believes that “This is a good result. Let us also keep in mind that during their stay the guests in question spend about five times more than leisure travellers. They constitute an exceptionally important group for us and we continue to compete for new events, improve the infrastructure and invest in services”.

The ACE of M.I.C.E. Exhibition is among the tools intended to support an even better promotion of both Istanbul and Turkey as a whole. According to its organisers, ever since the exhibition’s launch more than five years

ago it was attended by close to 94,000 guests and approx. 1,500 exhibitors (also foreign ones) who took part in 37,000 business meetings with more than 1,000 hosted buyers from 41 countries all over the world. Volkan Ataman, President of Tourism Media Group, the company in charge of organising the ACE of M.I.C.E. Exhibition: “This year we were visited by approx. 240 foreign hosted buyers. The fact that 75% came to Turkey for the very first time is of exceptional importance for spreading knowledge about our country and its offer. Most of them arrived from Europe, but there was also no shortage of representatives of companies from other parts of the world. In addition to business meetings, we focused on education as usual. This year, the exhibition’s leitmotifs involved experience design, the promotion of destinations and advanced technologies. The programme was composed of 28 lectures and discussions attended by 50 speakers”.

IRRITATING BLUNDERS While organisers and representatives of national and municipal authorities assure that the ACE of M.I.C.E. Exhibition is a great example of thriving public-private partnership (the event’s arrangement involves both state-owned units and private entrepreneurs), its latest edition featured the resurfacing of certain problems related to organisation and logistics. Unlabelled stands proved to be the greatest malady for guests visiting the exhibition, with hosted buyers also complaining about the insufficient number of transfers between hotels and the conference centre hosting the event. Other shortcomings included a dysfunctional online booking system (which we also struggled with as an organiser of a group of hosted buyers) and setting up meetings with exhibitors, as well as problems with communication in English. It is worth mentioning that these errors did not drastically reduce the overall quality of the exhibition and could have been easily avoided. Nevertheless, they became irri-

Photo: THINK MICE

THINK DESTINATION

tating to such a degree that the majority of invited guests will definitely remember them. They should not have happened at an event whose superior goal is to build the best possible image of hosting country and city. We can only hope that the obstacles in question will be eliminated next year, especially as the ACE of M.I.C. E. Exhibition boasts a huge potential and is attractive not only for everyone staging trips to Turkey but also for people interested in securing local customers.

Staged on 20-22 February, this year’s ACE of M.I.C.E. Exhibition was attended by, i.a. representatives of event and incentive agencies, associations, DMCs and PCOs, hotel venues, conference centres and subcontractors. THINK MICE was the event’s media partner and also organised a group of hosted buyers. On the day before the exhibition’s opening, the THINK MICE group and other hosted buyers from Poland had an opportunity to learn more about Istanbul by participating in a study tour staged by MEP Destination Business Solutions. The English-language edition of our magazine was also distributed onsite for the duration of the exhibition.

Michał Kalarus

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THINK DESTINATION

OVERTOURISM AND THE MICE INDUSTRY FOR MANY YEARS TOURISM WAS PROMOTED AS ONE OF THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CITIES. HOWEVER, IN THE LAST DECADE EUROPE’S MOST POPULAR DESTINATIONS BECAME A VICTIM OF THEIR OWN SUCCESS - THE EXCESSIVE NUMBER OF TOURISTS IN THE HIGH SEASON BEGINS TO HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF LOCAL RESIDENTS. THE PHENOMENON OF OVERTOURISM ALSO AFFECTS THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY. AT THE SAME TIME, EXPERTS NOTE THAT FOR MANY CITIES THE MICE SECTOR CONSTITUTES A METHOD OF DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM.

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Historical centres of European cities becoming swarmed with tourists in the peak season are nothing new. On the other hand, the so-called overtourism - the negative influence of exorbitant incoming tourism on a given destination - came to prominence several years ago. It particularly affects the most popular and crowded locations, such as Venice, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and Prague, where the number of tourists, predominantly of the leisure variety, intensified as a consequence of the growth of budget airlines and the launch of web portals offering short-term rental of apartments. As a result, tourists stay in “ordinary” residential buildings, which tends to be cumbersome for local denizens.

In addition, the growth of the market of short-term rentals contributes to increasing prices of flats and business premises (plus the costs of their rental) that, in turn, have a negative impact on many economy sectors. The domination of tourists in urban space also influences the response to and perception of a given place. Bartłomiej Walas, Strategic Project Coordinator at the Department of Promotion and Tourism of Kraków Municipality explains that “Cities complain about tourism gentrification, the

ousting of local residents, which alters the character and ambience of urban destinations. This phenomenon also has a direct impact on their attractiveness. We should remember that many tourists travel to concrete destinations because of their atmosphere, which is changed by overtourism.

On the other hand, it should be stressed that this problem mostly concerns small historical quarters in city centres. This is why a method of preventing the discussed phenomenon involves encouraging tourists to visit also other districts. A good example is

provided by Kraków, which recommends tourists its Nowa Huta district”.

ANALYSIS OF INCOMING TOURISM For many decades cities have been promoting themselves as tourist destinations. This was a highly profitable solution as this particular industry’s growth generates jobs and contributes to the development of numerous other sectors. However, specialists draw attention to the fact that tourism often creates low-paid jobs and the HORECA

THINK DESTINATION sector has been recently reporting issues with finding employees. This is why it became necessary to analyse the economic contribution of tourism, particularly in relation to labour and housing market. Dr Miroslav Rončák of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the Czech Palacký University Olomouc notes that “The analysis of available data covering the impact of tourism on the quality of life of residents is no longer a luxury of any kind.

Instead, it became a thing that destinations simply must do to avoid the phenomenon of overtourism and achieve long-term and sustainable growth of tourism. It is the appropriate management of incoming tourism in destinations in question that is the main problem here rather than overtourism as such. It seems that too much time was spent on promotion and attracting a greater number of tourists. On the other hand, cities did not realistically estimate their potential and were not ready for such huge numbers of guests. In addition, adequate legal regulations were not prepared”.

HOTELS IN A LOSING POSITION The issue of legal regulations is of particular importance for the hotel industry that draws attention to the fact that owners of apartments rented through websites benefit from tourism, but are not burdened

by the same regulations, taxes and charges as standard hotels and hostels. Hoteliers in Prague blame last year’s dropping occupancy rates on the Airbnb boom.

Another consequence of the popularity of Airbnb, Booking.com and similar services involves growing prices of real estate and the costs of living and running business in the capital of the Czech Republic. Municipal and state authorities are trying to counteract the negative effects of this situation.

The proposed solutions include, i. a. introduction of fees for tourists renting apartments and a limit of the number of days when owners are allowed to rent their apartments to 90 a year. Last year similar regulations came to life in Berlin. Polish cities also recognise the discussed issue and wish to implement appropriate measures, but so far the Polish law does not include solutions that would make it possible.

Bartłomiej Walas notes that „Kraków is among the 14 cities in talks with the European Commission on minor legal changes that would require the registration of short-term apartment rental. The Polish law differentiates hospitality operations from short-term rental that does not need to be registered as a business activity. The Ministry of Sport and Tourism is currently working on regulating this matter. The European Commission wants to oblige

websites such as Airbnb to offer apartments only from registered owners holding an identification number issued by local authorities. The discussed issue also affects real estate tax. In some cities that charge tourism tax Airbnb was already obliged to collect such fees and pay them on behalf of their customers”.

EVENTS IN CROWDED DESTINATIONS The phenomenon of overtourism also impacts the MICE industry. Participants of incentive travels, conferences, congresses, trade shows and other business events looking for accommodation, wishing to sightsee a city or planning additional activities complain about overcrowded top destinations. Hana Krejbichová, Marketing and PR Manager at Prague Convention Bureau, comments that “The growing number of visitors in Prague generates certain difficulties, especially in the high season, when accommodation in the entire city is close to being booked up. In addition, the city centre can be perceived as crowded”. Liwiusz Misiaczek, Marketing Manager at Air Tours Club and a representative of the sector of Destination Management Companies is of a similar opinion and notices that overtourism has a decisively negative impact on the incentive industry and discourages

Dr Miroslav Rončák, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Czech Palacký University Olomouc The potential impact of overtourism can be alleviated by wise management and appropriate regulations.

At present, Prague’s number one problem is not the total number of tourists visiting the city, but rather their concentration in narrow streets, on a relatively small space, in defined times of the day.

This can be a problem for participants of incentives and people taking part in other business events wishing to enjoy their leisure time. My recommended solution would be to visit the most popular highlights, such as the Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle in the morning or late afternoon. The situation is then different and with fewer leisure travellers you can truly enjoy the genius loci of these unique attractions.

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THINK DESTINATION customers from staging this type of events in the most overused places: “In the case of incentive destinations, the introduction of flights handled by budget airlines is the key factor reducing the attractiveness of a given place. As soon as low-cost carriers start flying to a given city, they automatically boost its availability, making it possible for everyone to reach it. This is the moment when such destination stops being attractive for organisers of incentive events – it becomes accessible to such a degree that it is hard to implement an attractive and memorable programme”.

HOTELS LOWER PRICES

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Nevertheless, from the viewpoint of the MICE sector overtourism does not necessarily have to signify an unfortunate turn of events. The recent growth of the short-term apartment rental market frequently makes hotel venues less booked (with the exception of the peak season mentioned above).

As a result, they are trying to be more competitive price-wise, especially since they wish to secure MICE customers who, first, spend much more than standard leisure guests (and frequently apply a number of additional services, including i.a. rental of conference rooms, event organisation and catering) and, second, usually constitute numerous groups of more than ten or even several dozen participants. Liwiusz Misiaczek comments that: „We are seeing increased activity of hotels in the field of promotions and an openness to MICE groups. Still, it is hard to declare for sure if there really are too many tourists in a city such as Kraków. For many years enormous sums were spent on the growth of this industry and promotion of tourist-friendly destinations. After all these efforts, everyone is now expecting to see a return on the investments. In addition, improved transportation availability and expanded tourist facilities might be seen as favourable assets for the event and conference industry as they contribute to providing more oppor-

tunities to apply all types of onsite highlights, in this case targeted at event or incentive participants. If a given city hosts a wide range of cultural or entertainment events, it becomes more attractive for business customers and makes it possible to develop more interesting agendas”.

MICE IMPROVES THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOMING TOURISM Paradoxically, for cities struggling with overtourism investments in the development of the MICE industry can act as a method of alleviating the negative impact of the discussed phenomenon. This is a consequence of several factors. First, participants of business events stay in hotels and not budget apartments. Second, incentives, events, congresses and trade shows are usually staged outside of the holiday season. As a result, their participants are not as burdensome for local residents and also effectively fill the financial niche caused by a lack of leisure travellers, thus generating profits for the industry. Third, services aimed at the MICE sector are noticeably more profitable. It is estimated that business tourists spend even several times more than their leisure counterparts. Hana Krejbichová: “Together with Prague City Tourism, an official municipal unit responsible for leisure tourism, we are trying to promote the meetings industry as a version of sustainable tourism. We introduce delegates to lesser-known places in Prague and encourage guests to sightsee other highlights offered by our city, to take the strain off the historical centre. The meetings sector takes advantage of our resources mostly outside of the peak season and generates several times higher profits”. The fact that the meetings industry makes it possible to implement a more balanced distribution of incoming tourism throughout the year is also well known in, i.a. Poznań, a city that boasts impressive experience in the promotion of business tourism and in recent years

has also been making efforts to develop nature-centred tourism. Jan Mazurczak, CEO of Poznań Tourism Organisation, explains that “The institution coordinates activities connected with broadly defined tourism promotion. On the one hand, it is our priority to ensure hotels are booked in the so-called low season (December and January in the case of Poznań), on weekends and in the summer plus to focus on broadly understood city tourism. On the other hand, we want to secure increasingly prestigious international events. This is why for the last few years we have been concentrating on working together with the Poznań International Fair on bringing global congresses to the capital of Wielkopolska”.

PROFITS FOR THE CITY Experts draw attention to the fact that the meetings industry might act as a component of the growth of sustainable tourism. Dr Miroslav Rončák explains that “The goal of cities is not to increase the number of tourists, but rather to focus on affluent and sophisticated target groups. They wish to extend their stay, make sure they return and increase the share of the congress industry.

Participants of conferences and congresses are among the groups which bring the most desirable results for cities”. According to a 2017 report by the audit-advisory company KPMG, the estimated profits of Prague’s economy generated by the congress industry exceed 200 million CZK. A foreign congress participant staying in the city spends an average of 220 EUR, much more than a leisure traveller. This is the best proof possible that the MICE sector pays off.

Consequently, investments in the meetings industry are a method making it possible to effectively deal with overtourism. Finally, the discussed sector also helps alleviate potential losses caused by the reduction of the number of incoming leisure tourists (i.a. by the introduction of various additional restrictions). Łukasz Kuś

TORUŃ is ranked at the top of the list of Poland’s must-see cities, which should not come as a surprise to anyone who at least once had an opportunity to stroll around the Old Town, savour gingerbread and drink coffee surrounded by Gothic walls. A major advantage of the city involves its convenient setting and the proximity of the Tri-City and Warsaw, which additionally can be easily reached by the A1 highway. In the city of Copernicus you will find the right balance between activities and slow life. After hours you can relax by taking part in one of the numerous cultural events.

The Cultural and Congress Centre Jordanki is among the most interesting venues to be launched in Poland in recent years.

The complex is set in the very heart of the country, in the picturesque and charming Toruń, the perfect city for professionals specialising in the meetings industry, congresses and trade shows, as well as for masterminds of cultural events.

Sting, Goran Bregovic, Nigel Kennedy, and Glen Miller Orchestra are among the acclaimed artists that performed at the Centre.

Moreover, the Centre hosted numerous conferences and company events. Below you will find some of the most prestigious examples of this category: – the “Reach higher” conference staged

by Backstage Agency for 400 guests of Wyborowa Pernord Ricard

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT US AT WWW.JORDANKI.TORUN.PL OR CONTACT US DIRECTLY: DOMINIKA NOWICKA Event manager - conferences, congresses and corporate events Tel. +48 516 277 766 mice@jordanki.torun.pl

MACIEJ TREICHEL Space rental specialist - rental of conference rooms, training sessions, direct sales Tel. +48 516 277 832 m.treichel@jordanki.torun.pl

– gala produced by one of the largest event agencies, Perfectto, boasting many years of experience in developing events and corporate meetings for customers such as the PZU Group, EY Polska, Deloitte, Nestle, etc.

– international conference of TZMO, a global manufacturer and provider of medical and hygiene products Get in touch with us!

PROFILE

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HELLO, IS THIS MICHIEL POOL OF ERICSSON? HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU NEED TO CHANGE THE MYTHOLOGY OF SIGNS AND MEANINGS, ASSOCIATIONS BROUGHT TO MIND BY A SINGLE SOUND, A PRODUCER’S BRAND LOGO AND ITS NAME? A THOROUGH ANALYSIS CONDUCTED BY VIRTUOSOS OF MARKETING - PRESENT-DAY SEMIOLOGISTS OF THE ART OF IMAGE AND PROMOTION - COULD PERHAPS ANSWER THIS QUESTION. EVEN THOUGH ERICSSON HAS NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN THE MANUFACTURING AND SALES OF CELLULAR PHONES FOR TWENTY YEARS NOW, MANY PEOPLE OUT-OF-DATE WITH TELECOMMUNICATIONS MISTAKENLY CONTINUE TO PLACE THE COMPANY IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS OTHER PHONE MANUFACTURERS. THIS IS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT MICHIEL POOL HAS TO FACE.

In the spirit of Lars Magnus At the Event Biznes conference in Nadarzyn near Warsaw in 2018, the announcer introduced a successive speaker, who was greeted by a round of applause by invited guests settling down in their seats.

Michiel Pool, Head of Global Events with Ericsson, walked onto the centre of the stage and once again found himself in the middle of an event that is a part of a schedule of a globally woven calendar of activities promoting the brand he represents. Michiel tapped the microphone, introduced himself, showed the first slide of his presentation and immediately informed the numerous gathered spectators what exactly Ericsson is involved in. He started with a laconic declaration that “Communication is not a tool but a goal, and this is precisely what Ericsson does”. While this statement might sound a bit like a literary understatement, it actually would be difficult to come up with a more precise, apt and vivid definition. Indeed, ever since the nineteenth century the Swedish company has been responsible for providing the operators of telephone networks and, more recently, suppliers of Internet services with the necessary infrastructure and technology. Handed down from generation to generation, the tradition of connecting people is reflected not only in technology. According to Michiel Pool, each year Ericsson stages more than 200 worldwide events. What is important is that each one, albeit distinguished by a regional approach to discussed issues, is always inspired by the company’s universal values. The very same ones that founder Lars Magnus Ericsson established and then passed on to his

successors. The values in question relate to respect, professionalism and perseverance.

The centre without which there is no circle A vigorous and well-built man with a cheerful but sharp gaze, as if in a constant state of readiness - Michiel speaks with an emphasis and his eyes glisten when he explains the significance of the company’s philosophy in relationships with customers. After all, the latter are the target group of events ultimately intended to contribute to generating new agreements. This is precisely why an Ericsson event is never separate from the whole or developed ad hoc; as an element consistent with the company’s policy, it always refers to something that was or will be included in plans for future implementation. In turn, the companycustomer relations, as seen from the outside by potential customers, result from accepted internal practices in this particular field. Everyone in Ericsson knows that the customer is always in focus, especially in terms of the event organization, from its initial phase of planning and logistics to the final stage. “Let us imagine a circle and place a dot, the figurative customer, right in the middle of it. This is how we define our point of reference, exemplar and direction, which acts as the centre of our actions. This approach guarantees that regardless if the final effect is positive or negative, it will always depend solely on us. And that is a lot - even in the case of quite frequent mistakes, we have some kind of

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PROFILE control over them and are aware of their origins and direct cause. Each meeting starts with this reference to the customer. No matter if it is a major event staged for numerous participants or a scaled-down online conference held in a small room”, explains Pool.

History projected into the future

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us”. However, before this fruitful cooperation was established, our protagonists - Michiel Pool and Ericsson - started with tasks of more basic, not to say simple, character. The truth is that from the perspective of the twentieth-first century, the early days of telecommunications might seem positively prehistoric.

Consistent growth disciplines the spirit of success

The Museum & Future Playground, which uses a special kind of a bridge to present an essential picture of the idea behind the company’s activity, draws the attention of all visitors to Ericsson’s headquarters. Its bridgeheads combine a magnificently told story with a song of the Let us travel in time all the way back to 2004, when the paths of Pool future; what was merged with what is and what will be. The company’s and Ericsson crossed for the first time. The Facebook social networking values, spread on strong “legs” and unaffected by the passing of time, act service was just launched and Ericsson announced its plans at the as the common denominator. The very same values that for more than CommunicAsia conference to more effectively apply the 3G a hundred years constituted a guarantee in hard times spent working on technology, intending to use the technology of wideband code-division a project. And there are more and more of them on the road to multiple access (WCDMA) networks and closer cooperation between accomplishing desired effects in a highly demanding customer-centric manufacturers of mobile phones and suppliers of network services and market. However, this is hardly breaking news for Ericsson staff. After solutions. This was also when Michiel Pool graduated from an event all, for years the company’s dynamic management programme at NHTV growth had a tendency to coincide with internationale hogeschool Breda (today: breakthrough historical monuments, Breda University of Applied Sciences).

MICHIEL POOL such as the erection of the cult building Ever since then the paths of Pool and of Polish Telephone Join-Stock Company Ericsson began to converge on one Specialist in the fields of event marketing, employer branding (Polska Akcyjna Spółka Telefoniczna; another before eventually setting out strategies, data searching and collecting, as well as B2C PAST), which launched the expansion of together in the direction of the growth marketing. At Ericsson he heads a team responsible for the telephone networks all over Poland. It is and promotion of mobile technologies. production of events such as Mobile World Congress and Digital Transformation World. On a daily basis he is involved common knowledge that later on the At the initial stage of his career, Michiel in promotional activities of the brand and securing customers very same venue became a redoubt of was earning stripes in the marketing all over the world. Graduate of a marketing programme at Breda University. Before eventually joining Ericsson, he was insurgent battles in 1944 and a landmark department of the Dutch Hardbrass working for a marketing department of the Dutch Hardbrass of the Warsaw of yore. In turn, the BV company. However, he soon joined BV company and then moved on to Swedish Opticom and Kista district in Stockholm has started Universum, where his skills in the area of Universum. Starting with 2015 the events staged by Michiel Pool’s team are awarded in Ericsson’s prestigious internal playing the role of the largest centre of management and promotion were put to competitions - Digital Communication Awards 2015, information technology in the 1980s. more extensive use. It is not without Ericsson R&D Digital Summit and Talks 2015, Best Internal Event 2016.

Originally developed as a site of industrial reason that a company responsible for and residential facilities of the Swedish launching college students and graduates capital, today it “radiates” 5G technology onto the labour market created the perfect onto the whole world. According to engineers and scientists working in environment for Pool’s professional growth. With Universum he no Ericsson corporate labs, our bold approach to the future depends on longer focused exclusively on profits but, most of all, on creating a how skilfully we take advantage of this very technology. Michiel also brand that would meet his own expectations and promote an unique makes sure his voice is heard in this prophetic incantation of a choir of offer - recognised by the customers of a microculture with its own specialists, claiming that “We are on the brink of a technological traditions and an autonomous repertoire of features and values. As it breakthrough, which can be compared to the industrial revolution, later turned out, the work culture and logic represented by Universum when machines were replacing physical labour in factories”. 5G became thoroughly embedded in Michiel Pool’s DNA. His mode of technology, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and Internet of operations, highly appreciated by numerous industry figures, for a long Things (IoT) - Michiel lists in one breath successive accomplishments time continued to be defined by factors determining a company’s of engineering, which in the future will play a significant role not only sustainable growth, such as Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and in telecommunications, but also areas such as medicine, road traffic and employer branding, which he mastered early on when working for the environmental protection. Pool believes that “Without these discoveries college job consulting network. This trend is also reflected by the it is no longer possible to get a full picture of the reality surrounding awards Pool later received at annual, Best Internal Event and The

Digital Communication Awards (2015). Presented to express great recognition for contributions made for the company, the distinctions listed above acknowledge accomplishments in the categories of professional campaign management and strategic approach to the field of communication. Need more examples? Ericsson R&D Digital Summit and Talks 2015, staged by a team, which Michiel was a part of, placed second in a ranking for the best event in the category of internal communication. To fully grasp the scope of this success, suffice to say that Ericsson operates in 175 countries all over the world and employs more than 95,000 staff members. The training sessions and hard work at Universum in 2004-2014 paid off and a new star was born in the event industry. In this way our protagonist has already contributed on numerous occasions to the long tradition and growth of the Ericsson brand. The Scandinavian potentate of the telecommunications market also stayed active in the discussed period by introducing its users to technologies without which global communication would not be able to reach the present-day level of advancement. This story, however, should be told in a chronological order.

Summer Olympics – a time of trial and lifetime achievements In 2007 Ericsson launched the IP Multimedia System (IMS) technology, which was subsequently applied at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Coincidentally, this was also precisely when Michiel’s career gained momentum. He was responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with a network of the world’s best universities. The very same thing that Ericsson streamlined for top Olympics contestants - efficient communication without any disruptions and representing the highest quality possible - was promoted by Michiel at universities, among future employees and the market’s best employers. He was also promoted to the position of University Relations Manager and took over a team in charge of operations on a global level. Next, he joined Universum’s management. Since then, the protagonist of our profile section organised and supervised the work of his team working from two places simultaneously - Philadelphia and Stockholm. “I headed a team that was overseeing the development, maintenance and intensification of contacts with more than 1,700 universities and business schools in 32 countries. By 2014 the number of academies of higher learning working with us grew to more than 2,000”, recalls Michiel Pool. At this stage he decided to hand over his tasks to a successor and leave for Ericsson and new professional challenges in the realm of telecommunications technologies. The year was 2014 and the framework that Pool had to adapt to in the very beginning of his cooperation with Ericsson was defined by the concept of “Network Society”. The project in question was aimed at guaranteeing mobile telephony access to users all over the globe. The

Photo: SBE-Event Biznes ICU Images

PROFILE

implementation of infrastructure created with the new technology in mind was among his first steps on the road to meeting challenges posed by the modern society, such as the need to improve education, mass migration between countries, excessive CO2 emission, public healthcare system, and many others. To this we should add another goal of effective application of the available frequency band used to transmit data. According to estimates of Ericsson engineers, an approx. 10% growth in the application of occupied frequency bandwidth resulted in the creation of two million new jobs. In this way, Michiel began his Ericsson adventure at a stage of major social transformations and ambitious plans of keeping up with a dynamically growing society.

24/7 positive attitude Our protagonist often repeats that his priority task is to “Put as much energy as possible into everything I am doing”. He knows well that each event is a carrier of social energy that comes back to the attendees in a multiplied form. A need for communication, openness and presence, but also accessibility and a sense of fun - if you have seen and listened to Michiel’s stage appearance, you already know that he is used to fulfilling all these requirements following the best practices of the MICE industry. Soon after the Nadarzyn meeting, Michiel’s team started developing another event, Ericsson’s top highlight of the year - Mobile World Congress 2019 (MWC) in Barcelona. Now that you are already familiar both with the professional background of Michiel Pool and the history of the company he is working for, you should not have any doubts how well Ericsson was prepared for the event in question…

Tomasz Nowak

35 THINK MICE

IS THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY A SHE?

“My peace of mind has the shape of your arms and the sound of your voice”, a company owner told the main organizer or, as we would say, an event planner. She responded by dialling down the radio used for communicating with a team of technicians for just long enough to answer: “Everything will be fine. I know this is important and you can count on me”. Then she got back to work. Is this a true story? Let us find out! One thing is certain – they have known each other for more than ten years, which is a long time.

Face-to-face meetings and events play an integral role in reinforcing national economy and key business sectors – this is the outcome of the latest report of Oxford Economics, commissioned by Events Industry Council and supported by Meetings Mean Business Coalition and other industry partners. Data compiled in the report was collected as part of a nationwide study of meeting planners, exhibitors and representatives of venues. In this manner, almost 9,000 domestic business trips were successfully analysed, along with close to 50,000 international flights and data from 11,000 U. S. hotels.

The results are optimistic – it turns out that meetings directly generate hundreds of billions of dollars for the national economy and influenced the creation of approx. 5.9 million jobs! There have been approximately ten similar reports conducted all over the world and acting as a driving force behind the meetings industry’s growth in various countries (e.g. Great Britain, Canada, Denmark and Poland).

A NEW DEAL The meetings industry is not only gaining strength, but also changing its structure. For decades we have been hearing about various kinds of markets, including the MICE sector, discriminating female employees. Back in the 1970s women were declaring that they handle only 65% of all operations conducted by men.

Today this figure already exceeds 80%. In other words, we are observing increasingly smaller disproportions between genders, regardless of what caused them in the first place. Already this May a meeting focused on the power of women, among its main issues, will be staged at the IMEX exhibition, one of the key platforms of knowledge transfer in the meetings industry. Its roundtable discussions will start with the subject matter of female empowerment, an analysis of what is missing to reinforce the position and role of women. The list of topics will include i. a. balancing family and career, building a personal brand and preventing cases of sexual harassment. This wide range of topics is not only aimed at

women involved in the meetings industry, but also their male colleagues who would like to learn more about the new problems, challenges or simply the everyday reality of the fair sex. Viewing the market from a global perspective, the percentage of women working in the meetings industry is estimated at about 65%. Pew Research Centre recently published a report showing that the gender pay gap became considerably smaller since the 1980s – in 2015 women earned 83% of what men earned. However, an article published by The Foundation for Economic Education’s think tank continues to take a critical look at differences between wages of the two genders. It is worth noting that the meetings industry is among the sectors when women actually constitute a majority of the labour force. In other words, the issue of equality and professional advancement is especially urgent in its case.

POINTS OF REFERENCE The power of women in the global meetings market is unquestionably on the rise. Howe-

37 THINK MICE

INSPIRATIONS ver, we need to discuss the needs of the growth of women as part of particular organisations – regardless if they are employed in a major global corporation or a small company that is just starting out. Each such entity has the power to build awareness and create a strong work ethos of the meetings industry that appears as an attractive and relatively profitable sector placing emphasis on experts irrespective of their gender. It is also crucial to cooperate with the right people, such as mentors, bosses or the management board of a given organisation. After all, they have the greatest impact and we should be able to rely on them. One of the few methods of answering the titular question I posed (“is the meetings industry a she”) involves looking for case studies, which would act as determinants of success. This calls for identifying organisations and people actively creating and developing programmes influencing the changing status of women. It is worth finding out which initiatives worked well and then adapt them to the requirements, culture and goals of a given organisation. Finally, when working in the meetings industry, it is recommended to learn from the experiences of other people to create new and effective solutions.

IT IS THE RELATIONS THAT COUNT

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Especially when working with young leaders, a question frequently comes up how to build the first portfolio of partners or customers. The answer is actually very simple.

After all, men are among the most loyal supporters of women. Young female leaders should then use their intuition and network of contacts (both within and outside of their organisation) to connect with both men and women representing different functions and levels. It is also crucial to share experiences, challenges and needs connected with the professional growth of women and men in an open environment distinguished by mutual respect and a willingness to change the status quo. Mutuality and collaboration ha-

ve been described in detail by the Bangkok Manifesto document published by Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) after its January conference held in Thailand. The manifesto includes a statement that “Relationships and teamwork build business results, not isolated individual effort. And nothing creates and strengthens relationships more effectively than shared incentive travel experiences”. By drawing attention to the role of incentive travels, at present the de facto very foundation of the existence of incentive systems, SITE also subtly emphasises the role of women. Other associations representing the discussed sector, including MPI and ICCA, published similar documents.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYONE Event planning is a fantastic career path both for women and men. It is fun, fast and guarantees great growth opportunities. While women account for the majority of event planners, the latest research conducted by PMCA claims that women in the meetings industry on average continue to make about 24% less than men. How then do women find ways to stand out and stimulate their career in such a competitive and developing sector? Obviously this is one of the first questions that come to mind when analysing the gender of the meetings industry. As for

the answer, each one of us has different goals and definitions of success. It is certainly key to boast the right knowledge and self-confidence needed to create your own path to the goals you set for yourself. Along the way there might be obstacles and challenges, but you can overcome them by assuming a passionate approach to the industry. Regardless of your gender self-identification, the meetings industry can act as your fantasy and a tool to pursue objectives. It continues to be beautiful no matter if it appears as a delicate dragonfly revealing its feminine nature or as a manly game of influence played when securing each successive major event. It acts as a source of inspiration, offers growth opportunities and makes dreams come true. The meetings industry is a “she” whose mysteries are not fully explored yet, boasting remote corners of influences and flows of dependencies. This, however, is precisely what renders this industry so magnificent and makes it possible to fulfil one’s potential by helping others. True, this is happening under pressure, often under the impact of differences in culture and practices or interconnections, but then we live in the twentieth-first century. In spite of all, the meetings industry can be compared to the peace of mind shaped like the most important arms and sound like the one voice you are looking for…

Krzysztof Celuch

ABOUT THE AUTHOR DR KRZYSZTOF CELUCH is a speaker, an academic lecturer, an entrepreneur and certified trainer (CMM, CITE, CIS, HMCC, CED). His company Celuch Consulting specializes in the meetings industry and event marketing helping organizations in a journey from content to impact.

Head of the Poland Convention Bureau Polish Tourist Organization (2009-2017).

Krzysztof gained professional experience by working in convention bureaus, being involved in international associations and organisations, as well as by conducting scientific research. As a lecturer he cooperates with, i.a. San Diego State University, Skema Business School and several Polish universities. He is an author of articles and books dedicated to the meetings industry, reports and research projects, including The Economic Impact of Poland's Meetings Industry.

Finally, Krzysztof has been distinguished by numerous international awards and distinctions, i.a. MPI Rise Award, Events Industry Council Pacesetter Award and, presented by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Poland, the honorary distinction "For contributions to tourism".

INSPIRATIONS

B2B INFLUENCER MARKETING – 5 STEPS TO SUCCESS WHILE INFLUENCER MARKETING IS PERCEIVED AS A HOT COMMODITY AND PEOPLE SPEAK A LOT ABOUT IT, IT SEEMS THAT NOBODY (OR ALMOST NOBODY) ACTUALLY APPLIES IT. WHY IS THAT? ARE WE AFRAID OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS OR TRENDS IN OUR SECTOR? ARE WE NOT WELL INFORMED ABOUT THIS MEDIUM AND ITS OPTIONS? PERHAPS WE HAVE RECEIVED A WRONG IMAGE OF INFLUENCER MARKETING IN THE B2C MARKET?

Let us start with a definition: Influencer marketing activates internal and industry experts with engaged networks to co-create content of mutual value and achieve measurable business goals (source: TopRank Marketing).

Why don’t we use influencer marketing to its full potential? To understand it we first need to change our mindset. We are used to doing our marketing in a certain way, but the environment is changing and we need to adapt. We need to change the way we are working today and that costs time. We cannot change our behaviour right away. It is like losing weight or quitting smoking.

Below I share the 5 key elements of B2B influencer marketing.

STRATEGY This is the most underestimated part. Influencer marketing is an integral part of your marketing campaign and your strategy. It is not a single standalone action, but rather a combination of online and offline marketing activities. Therefore we suggest starting with a quick scan and posing questions about what was done online/offline and what was successful (and, importantly, what was not).

What are your current audience and your desired audience? Take into consideration

any other information that might be important, like a new airline coming to your destination, construction works, etc.

To find the right influencer you need to have an exact description of who you are looking for. I am talking here about experts who will share your story, share the same values and have a common goal. People who will share your mission and vision and with whom you would like to work with in a long-term arrangement.

What I see in our beloved MICE industry is that generally a lot of suppliers do not have a digital strategy and only post when they have time, leading to a one-way

39 THINK MICE

INSPIRATIONS conversation. In this case, unfortunately we cannot set up an influencer campaign for you. Of course this might change in the near future.

the content calendar, edit photos, read relevant articles, stay up to date with the latest trends & developments, etc.

CONTENT MATCHMAKING It is important to confirm if the influencer and the client share a common goal, mostly in regard to knowledge and expertise level and, naturally, their audience of followers. We do not talk about influencers who call your hotel to ask for a free stay in exchange for a post, with all respect to other influencers. Instead, I am referring to experts, which is why I prefer the term “key opinion leader” (KOL), which is used in China (we will continue to use “influencer” for the rest of the article). We involve our influencers as partners before we even start the campaign. We leverage their knowledge and expertise and need their professional input and involvement from the start to create a successful campaign. The relationship between the client and the influencer is key.

If there is no mutual goal between them, it makes no sense to start working together in the first place.

Influencers build their audience of followers very carefully and will not work with any client just because they get paid. And the fact that they get paid is not subject to discussion.

After all, would you work 20 days for free?

Because that is the minimum workload during a six-month campaign. We underestimate the time required to post, use the right hashtags, observe competition, measure results, adapt

We all know the ice bucket challenge, right?

Wouldn't it be an amazing opportunity to create the MICE bucket challenge and put your company or product in the spotlight?

Humour, creativity, fun and engaging with a good cause would be responsible for the success of such campaign.

Working in a very privileged industry, we are invited to the most stunning venues, openings of the most luxury hotels, exclusive parties, etc. As a result, we have many occasions to connect and interact with influencers to show what we do and how we arrange a VIP treatment. Just think about all the available options.

And what do you do with food waste after an event? Do you donate it to a good cause?

How do you contribute to or support your surroundings? These are fantastic elements to focus on, show how you stand out from the market and tell your story.

Let me be clear, we do not have a TripAdvisor in our industry to find the right match.

Event planners are looking for real stories and all events feature something that does not go according to the plan. Sorry, but this is how things are. Still, while that is not a problem in itself, it is important how suppliers handle and react to these situations. This is the key information that event planners want and need to know to make the right decision.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR MARISKA KESTELOO

40 THINK MICE

Entrepreneur, public speaker and former president of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) in Belgium. With more than 15 years of experience in tourism and the MICE sector, she is an authority in the industry. Passionate about meetings & events, Mariska founded her company Word of MICE in 2017. It connects the MICE industry with right social media influencers to tell the story of suppliers in an authentic, creative and fun way within the right target audience. She is convinced of the impact and potential of influencer marketing and her mission is to create a global active community of influencers and ambassadors. She is a visionary and a forward-thinking entrepreneur who loves new challenges.

SUCCESS DOES NOT COME OVERNIGHT And please do not think that if you conduct an influencer campaign, magical things will start happening on your launch day.

We all know that success does not come overnight but apparently with B2B influencer marketing we do not have the patience to create meaningful conversations or relationships with our desired target audience. To see the impact of an influencer campaign, block at least six months in your calendar, not counting the time spent on searching for the right influencer, etc. We work in a B2B environment that is highly different from a B2C environment. Our focus is on strategy, knowledge and experience.

RESULTS Influencer marketing has many advantages over traditional marketing. A tailor-made content can be created for each target audience, modified and adapted to an actual situation or even an incident. Moreover, we can measure the impact of a campaign much more precisely than through any other traditional marketing tool. Again, be sure to set clear goals before you start a campaign so you can measure its results. By using this medium every day you remain in touch with your desired target audience.

CONCLUSION We have not taken full advantage of the potential of influencer marketing in our industry. More precisely, we have not even started, which is a pity. We have so many opportunities and changes to use this medium to its full option, but a breakthrough has not happened yet. Perhaps if someone from our industry starts the MICE bucket challenge, others will follow….

Millennials, freelancers, we need people like you to become an influencer in the MICE industry. Search for your niche and focus, focus, focus! There are enough opportunities…

Mariska Kesteloo

REPORT

MICE ON COURSE In recent years the number of MICE events staged around the world has been systematically growing.

Authors of international reports compiled by American Express and CWT Meetings & Events predict that this year will not bring any major changes. The industry keeps expanding, although the budgets of organisers unfortunately continue to lag behind the growing costs of event development.

The 2019 Global Meetings and Events Forecast report by American Express’ Meetings & Events division is based on research involving more than 700 organisers and customers of MICE events representing all continents plus 30 additional interviews with industry experts. In turn, the report on 2019 Meetings & Events Future Trends by CWT Meetings & Events covers data based on information obtained in cooperation with Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), submitted by CWT partners and customers, as well as provided by the company’s worldwide branches.

GLOBAL GROWTH According to the American Express publication, internal team meetings, including employee training, will enjoy the greatest popularity among all meeting types in 2019.

In Europe, Central and South America plus the region of Asia-Pacific, they account for about 25% of all meetings, while in North America, where they are the most prevalent – for 30%. Naturally, this does not mean that the number of other kinds of projects (e. g. events celebrating the launch of new pro-

ducts, board meetings, conferences, congresses, incentives) will be dropping. Only in two regions – Central and South America and Asia-Pacific – meeting planners are expecting the number in some categories (specifically product launches and board meetings) to remain at the same level.

Growth is anticipated for all other meeting types. In North, Central and South America plus Europe the most pronounced increases (1.3-1.9%) are expected for all kinds of customer meetings. In addition, the number of meetings connected with new product launches is expected to grow considerably in Europe and North America, while incentives (1.8%) and conferences and tradeshows (1.4%) will be on the rise in Central and South America. Asia-Pacific planners are the most cautious in their forecasts and do not predict growth above 1% regardless of the character of planned events. In addition to the number of events, their attendees are also expected to be more numerous in 2019.

Meeting planners admit that the increases might not be spectacular but are meaningful. The biggest growth is anticipated in Central and South America (0.9-2%). Hote-

liers agree with this analysis of the current market situation and perceive business tourists as one of the most important sources of income. Venues adjusted to their needs are being systematically open in many destinations around the world. An excellent example is provided by Dubai, where only this year as many as 54 brand-new hotels will be open to the public. According to the 2019 Meetings & Events Future Trends report

by CWT Meetings & Events the growing demand will result in 2019 fees of hotel services increasing globally by about 3.7%.

In other words, this will probably be a quite lucrative year for venue representatives, especially when you take into consideration that authors of the CWT document expect the largest growth of the number of projects to be recorded in the category of fairly major and thus profitable meetings gathering from 101 to 500 participants.

METHODOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES Speaking of detailed data about expenditures on MICE events, starting with this year’s edition authors of the American

COST PER ATTENDEE (EXCLUDING AIR TRAVEL), ACCORDING TO AMERICAN EXPRESS: North America

Europe

Central and South America

Asia-Pacific

Internal team meetings/trainings

Meeting type

1,259 USD

1,004 USD

1,394 USD

1,576 USD

New product launches

1,463 USD

1,434 USD

1,942 USD

1,785 USD

Conferences/tradeshows

1,223 USD

1,571 USD

1,640 USD

1,910 USD

Board meetings

1,434 USD

1,446 USD

1,817 USD

1,907 USD

Incentives/special events

1,679 USD

1,590 USD

2,070 USD

1,957 USD

Source: 2019 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, American Express Meetings & Events

41 THINK MICE

REPORT Express report introduced a methodological change of measuring their estimates.

Ranges of cost per attendee were considerably expanded to more accurately reflect present-day marketplace realities. This change results in a large increase in estimates, which now more than twice exceed last year’s figures. However, this trend should not be interpreted as an actual, remarkably dynamic intensification of investments in events matching the definition of the MICE industry, but rather as merely a change of the estimation method. According to American Express, organisers of meetings in Asia-Pacific have the highest budgets at their disposal (1,576-1,957 USD), while their European colleagues reported the lowest budgets in virtually all categories (1,0041,590 USD). Central and South American companies (2,070 USD) dominate in the category of budgets of incentives, a category considered to be the most expensive.

A slightly different take on things is presented by the CWT Meetings & Events report, which discusses much lower values.

On the other hand, one should keep in mind that they are calculated as cost per attendee per day (and not per a whole event, as in the case of American Express).

According to CWT, organisers in the region of Asia-Pacific will spend the most on MICE events - 276 USD to be exact, still 4% less than in the year before. Europe, Middle East and Africa together ranked second (255 USD, +6%), followed by North (234 USD, +1%) and South America (232 USD, +3%).

EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

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How then does the situation in Europe look like when compared with the rest of the world? It is not that bad despite budgets lower than in other regions. In the last few years the number of events in the Old Continent has been systematically rising, which definitely spells good news for organisers. The largest number is currently recorded in Spain and Germany, two market leaders. In addition, noticeable growth is evident in Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Poland, while

FORECASTS

0.1-2.4%

0.1-1.9%

– projected increase of the number of participants of MICE events in 2019

projected increase of the length of MICE events in 2019

Source: 2019 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, American Express Meetings & Events

COSTS OF ORGANISING MEETINGS PER ATTENDEE PER DAY, ACCORDING TO CWT MEETINGS & EVENTS:

276 USD (-4%)

234 USD (+1%)

255 USD (+3%)

232 USD (+ 3%)

– Asia-Pacific

– Europe/Middle East/Africa

–– North America

– South Africa

Source: 2019 Meetings & Events Future Trends, CWT Meetings & Events

France is distinguished by decreased activity.

Nevertheless, it is safe to say that companies are increasingly investing in MICE tools, a trend to a large degree connected with growing competition – not only as regards securing new customers, but also employees. On the other hand, the fact that the costs of developing an event (including air travel and accommodation) are growing faster than the budgets of customers is considered a disadvantage. According to American Express, the costs will range between 1,004 USD (internal team meetings and trainings) and 1,590 USD (incentives). CWT mentions a sum of 255 USD per attendee per day, but it analyses Europe together with the Middle East and Africa. Customers tend to make most of their savings (budget cuts included) on team meetings and training meetings that they find less important (applied solutions involve e. g. reducing the number of overnight stays or staging an event onsite, without the need to travel to another city). They are most willing to spend money on prestigious conferences and congresses, product launches and incentives.

When discussing the European MICE sector, we need to bring up the European Commission, which imposed a number of new obligations on event organisers in connection with the protection of personal data and privacy of participants.

LARGE DESTINATIONS DOMINATE Moving on, the American Express forecast shows that meeting planners in Europe continue to prefer large metropolitan destinations to host their events. This option was selected by 78% of respondents. The remaining group opted for lesser-known and thus often cheaper locations. Specialists admit that the latter are predominantly a popular choice for smaller events. Interestingly, more and more organisers and customers of MICE events express interest in destinations in Central and Eastern Europe (mostly the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and the Baltic States). This stems from their perceived tourism and price attractiveness, the fact that they are relatively easy to reach and, what is more, considered safe, which is among the more important factors planners today take into consideration. Moreover, the prices of air tickets in 2019 are predicted to skyrocket by 4.8% in Western Europe, but drop by 2.3% in the eastern part of the Old Continent. So far, this does not change the fact that both American Express and CWT place London first among top European MICE destinations. However, experts predict that this state of things might change after Brexit.

Michał Kalarus