kongres magazine spring issue

www.kongres-magazine.euVOLUME VIII, ISSUE 2 // MARCH 2014

I S S N 1 8 5 5 - 8 6 1 5

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www.slovenia.info#ifeelslovenia

I FEEL INSPIRED BY WHERE WE MEETAt the crossroads of Europe we come together to do business. Accessible, affordable with fine Slovenian hospitality, all you need to do is provide the people.

SLOVENIA. Green. Active. Healthy.

spirit_london_2013_kongresni_turizem.indd 1 14. 01. 14 14:10

KONGRES MAGAZINE IS MEDIA PARTNER OF

OUR SELECTION

page 12 SLOVENIA CONVENTION BUREAU 10th ANNIVERSARY Talking with Miha Kovačič and Karmen Novarlič, Head of Slovenian Tourist Board

page 18In Focus PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS: THE BENEFITS OF HAPPY ATTENDEESJonathan BRADSHAW, CEO, The Meetology®Group

page 20In Focus METHODS TO CREATE ENERGYSvuisj – Spoing / Zip – Zap – Zup / Lucky Luke / Bus ticket / Fireworks / Shakin’ Stevens

page 38INCENTIVE TRAVEL BEST IDEASSavudrija, Croatia / Dubrovnik, Croatia / Belgrade, Serbia / Boka Bay, Montenegro / Brda, Slovenia

page 44Voice From The Top EDITH MADER, Convention Bureau Nieder Osterreich GERNOT MARX, Salzburg Convention Bureua

page 52 Who is who Ivona Maissner, CEO, Best Western Central Europe

page 66 - 71 Hidden congress guest - GRAND HOTEL PRIMUS, TERME PTUJ,

Ptuj, Slovenia - HOTEL ATRIJ SUPERIOR, Zreče, Slovenia - WELNESS HOTEL SOTELIA, Podčetrtek,

Slovenia - SPA & SPORT RESORT SVETI MARTIN,

Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia - HOTEL BALNEA SUPERIOR, Dolenjske

toplice, Slovenia - HOTEL VALAMAR SANFIOR, Rabac,

Croatia

page 74Croatia Addendum

BO KRÜGER

Bo Krüger is a writer, speaker and meetingdesigner. Bo is the co-creator of the Danish Meeting Design Concept Meetovation. Bo has designed and facil-itated numerous meetings and training sessions on meetingdesign and active involvement of the meeting participants. Bo is the owner of Moving Minds and has a master degree in education and is also a skilled impro-comedy actor.

NATALIJA BAH ČAD

An unforgettable member of the meeto-logue editorial board, who at each des-tination adds her icing on the cake. She has insight into the soul of destinations, based on many years of practical expe-rience with the organisation of events. She is interested in everything from the history, geography and destination marketing to taking care of the tiny little things that make the big events.

JONATHAN BRADSHAW

Jonathan combines his personal experi-ence in human performance with over 17 years in the international meetings industry. His experiences on the sport-ing front include climbs on Mt. Everest, Mt. Kilimanjaro and an epic 3500 mile / 5500 km bike ride. His career in the meetings industry includes over 7 years with the prestigious IMEX Group where he was Director of Business Development. He is a professional speaker and award winning industry columnist.

DANIELA KOS

Daniela Kos graduated from Zagreb’s Faculty of Business and Economics. An entrepreneur with a specific interest in marketing, after starting her career in the IT industry and culture Daniela has gone on to today run the first Croatian media for the meetings industry.

ROBERT COTTER

Alongside his work for Kongres, Rob is a regular contributor to MPI’s One+ magazine as well as MICENET Asia and MICE Japan. He attends international MICE events to seek out best practice and share this with the international meetings community.

GORAZD ČAD

Editor of the magazine and by profes-sion a geographer and historian. He united his professional education and love of discovering new, lesser-known convention destinations with a love and passion for the meeting industry. In Meetologues he will try to share his enthusiasm with the readers.

CONTRIBUTORS

@kongresmagazine

G www.facebook.com/kongres.magazine

Editor in Chief Gorazd ČadAssistant to the Editor in Chief

Danaja Besnard, Špela JerucEditor of Croatia Addendum Daniela Kos

Editor of Kongres Telescope Robert Cotter

Design Nenad Cizldtp and prepress Premedia, Andrej Juvan

Translation Danaja Besnard

Printing Schwarz, LjubljanaCirculation 6000 copies

ISSN Number 1855-8615

The Kongres magazine is entered into the media register under sequence number 1423.

Magazine issued in January; March; May; July;

September; November

Publisher, Production and Marketing Toleranca Marketing d.o.o.,

Štihova 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana,t: +386 (0)1 430 51 03 f: +386 (0)1 430 51 04

v e: [email protected]

Issue dateMarch 2014

For the content reproduction it is required to get the written editorial consigment.

Official magazine of the Slovenian Convention Bureau

Member of

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ISTANBUL

A word from the editor

RISE OF CONGRESS MEGAPOLISES

Gorazd Čad, Editor, Kongres magazine

The bus driver, after a good hour’s drive from Istanbul airport, somewhere halfway involved in a conversation stated

“today’s traffic is quite ok”. To me, not used to metropolitan crowds, the first half of the journey was already making me immeasurably nervous, but after about an hour and a half we finally arrived at the notorious Taksim Square, our end destination.

World megapolises are like some kind of clusters that according to some theories bring together a minimum of 10 million inhabitants. The Megapolis is a complex social phenomenon that varies in time and space, and therefore they appear in differ-ent forms, which have in common that they are unstoppably spreading and especially so during periods of economic upswing.

Interestingly, the global meet-ings industry today is concentrated around the smaller, more manageable European capitals. All of the new and up-coming congress names, however, belong to the new-old global megapolises. Think of the following destinations that have been surprising us in recent years with their incredible and rapid development: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Seoul, Jakarta, Moscow, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro. These are all variants of the giant megapolis.

In the South-East Europe region the only real megapolis is Istanbul, which has 14.6 million inhabitants. When you get into its heart, you feel a special energy and with each visit you better understand the Babylonian power of such a place. With every step Istanbul confirms and justifies the reputation of ‘the city that never sleeps’. The same evening that Galatasary take on Chelsea, on the Asian side of the city Fenerbahce fight it out in a local game, both games making me think of the oldest team, Besiktas. On the day the MPI EMEC confer-

ence ends, on the other side of the city the Ace of MICE trade show is being launched. The leg-endary rivalry between clubs, congress centres and agencies, creates a positive energy hustle and bustle of creativity that some other desti-nations do not yet know. Adding to this are in-credible projects in the city, such as those of the construction of the new Istanbul on the Black

Sea coast, now called Istanbul Metropolitan, as part of its candidature for the 2020 Olympic Games. How ambitious their thinking is exem-plified through the idea of the new city building the largest airport in the world to cater for 100 million passengers per year. The project is per-sonally supervised by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, who has set the objective that the project will be completed by 2023.

So what is the secret of success of the Turkish meetings industry, which is slowly turning into a regional and even global congress superpower? Most mention the global expansion of Turkish Airlines as the unanimous main reason. Last year, also as a result of their expansion, their location was visited by a record 10 million tour-ists. This put the wind in the sails of the local

convention industry, which can without any weakness promote the accessibility of their city.

In the city there is also a concentration of a lot of local corporations that are ardent-ly followed by multinationals, which is a genuine pulse for the corporate events in-dustry. The stereotype of the affluent cor-porate client was confirmed by the director of a local DMC agency when we found our-selves at a party in one of the elite bars along the Bosporus. In the neighbouring club Reina they have allegedly entertained every-one from Bono to Bon Jovi - everything is adapted to the new corporate elite. From luxury transportation to care for the safety of guests and their discretion, everything is in place.

So what is then left to the smaller desti-nations? A lot, as the theory that ‘less can be more’ has been confirmed. After experienc-ing a hectic, giant city, with all one’s heart one wants something more subdued and intimate. In this I believe that congress or-ganisers around the world are like-minded.

@gorazdcad

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Not everyone from the industry is basking in the limelight, however.

Cheap labour, which helps to maintain the competitiveness of the

congress and especially the hotel industry, comes through work at miserable wages. Nevertheless,

the Turks are extremely friendly and talkative hosts who are

always willing to help. And above all, Istanbul is full of an endless

range of stories, all of which slowly unveil and reveal precisely what it is that makes this intense

and crazy city so interesting.

Industry’s reactions: #emec14“When we meet we change the world”

Exclusive interview

REMCO NORDEN, general manager at hilton istanbul bomonti hotel & conference center

“I think Turkey has one huge advantage and that is that hospitality is in the nature of the people”

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Exclusive interview

SIZE MATTTERS. THINK BIG, DREAM BIG, ACT BIG AND BE BIG REMCO NORDEN, General Manager at Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center

Text by Gorazd Čad Photo credits: Hilton Istanbul Bomonti

Q: Maybe just for the beginning a little bit about your background – have you been part of Hilton family for many years?A: A long time. This year is 20 years that I’m part of the Hilton. I started my career with an internship in Hilton Amsterdam and moved to the Park Hilton as a student and stayed with Hilton ever since. I went back from Amsterdam to Brussels, Stockholm, Vienna, Prague, Warsaw and Istanbul. I think this is my 8th country that I’ve had my job with Hilton. I have always been fortunate.

Q: What inspired you to decide on a career in the hotel industry? A: I went to the Hotel school but from very little onwards I was always interested in going to hotels with my parents. I was allowed to go there – I always wanted to have a look in the kitchen, so we went there for a dinner. I like the diver-sity both in guests and team members and I’m interested in food more than the average person and I think you are then quickly attracted to this industry. I think the beauty with Hilton is that people don’t go there for an average event, for an average day. People want to have a special stage, a special event if you come to Hilton. And either you strive or it will stretch you out and you will never like it. I think it is important to have special events with special people.

Q: Anyone visiting some of Hilton’s hotels where you were the director admires the order and neatness, despite the crowds of guests and many events. How do you do it? A: Firstly, thank you very much. It is obvious-ly way too much credit for me. It is about team work. The first thing is that you need the right teams; on your own you achieve nothing. And I think that, secondly, in conference hotels it’s largely about logistics and the flow of the event and about routines and executing those routines with great discipline. It is all about the logistics and understanding how it works. There is no such thing as a perfect event. You can always evaluate it later and get better. It is a discipline. I think I’m a pretty competitive guy, so if you want to stay ahead you need to reinvent and make sure that you become better. For an event the facilities like those here are unique, but they are nothing without a unique service and without the unique attitude of the people. That is something that is

the key – the smile, the way your coffee is deliv-ered more than the taste of the coffee. The right balance is the key.

Q: Which part of your career are you most proud of? A: I think I’ve always thought that my current job was the best job and I still think that, so obvi-ously today I think having opened this together with once again a fabulous team is a real unique experience already just by its size. However, I think for me personally it is more the pride I take is more on how you achieve it than what you achieve. So one is opening a hotel with the people, how you do it and the ethic and values that you live by, and then to operate it together with the team is I think something that I’m most proud of. It gives a lot of satisfaction if you can do those things together, because on your own you are nothing.

Q: What are your main business principles? A: The first, which is very relevant to this job where I started 13/14 months ago on my own, is teamwork, which is so important. Dare to hire people who are better than you because you cannot be the best in everything and you should not have the ambition to be the best in everything. If you dare to hire the people that are better than you and make the team out of them I think you have a very, very good recipe.

Q: How big is the Hilton Bomonti team?A: We are today 400 people and a few outsource partners/functions, which is very important. Me and my senior team have seen every person during the interviews and I think that is impor-tant, even if I join the interview in the last two minutes. It is not just because of Remco, but it is the title of the business card – if the general manager joined it must have been an important job. Everybody enjoys that and I think that is the intention that you want to give to your guests and to your team.

Q: You have been in Istanbul for just over one year. How would you assess it from the perspective of a hotel with one of the largest conference centres in Europe? A: I think there are 2 sides: one in Europe; there are very few of those big conference centres, so I think for Europe generally something like this

is still needed. From our perspective it has been received extremely well from around the world and Hilton obviously has a large sales network globally so we know pretty well what we need and where we need it. This was one of the things that we needed very much, a large hotel with this level of utilities in such a city – it is a winning recipe. Ever since I came here, the amount of requests and interest from Turkey and particu-larly from abroad is fantastic. So many inter-national organisations that have big requests (Asia, Europe, America) come back to Europe every 3 years. This type of hotel, just by its size, you probably have a handful or more likely both hands full. For this size and detail, you already narrow it down to 1 or 2 cities, and if it’s this size and detail and city you go here.

Q: What are the challenges when opening a new hotel in Istanbul? How does it differ from the rest of Europe? A: To be honest, every opening is difficult. The core principles of the Hotel remain the same. So here I think the main difference is obviously just the size and the quantity. When we ordered our glassware, we didn’t need to order just glassware - we ordered 100,000 pieces of glassware. So fi-nancial consequences are times 10 or 100,000 and are significant. So, like I said before, in big events it is the same like opening a hotel. It is all about the planning, because it requires a lot of planning. We were very fortunate with very dedicated and ambitious people and committed to only provide us with the best. We have tried to complement that with the same level of team members and operating equipment and details. I think we had a large advantage that this is in Istanbul, so that made it significantly easier as far as the ramping up of the business and how well Istanbul is perceived. It’s a market with quality people available, so I think the real dif-ference in this hotel is in size and shape that makes the difficult opening; the logistics behind this within the 12 months time frame ramping up from 1 team member to 500 and getting that sorted was probably the biggest challenge.

Q: So do you believe that size matters?A: If you go to the back of our hotel or in front of the hotel, on both sides there is a picture of this hotel with the slogan of Conrad Hilton: “Think big, dream big, act big and be big”. So I absolutely

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Exclusive interview

ABOUT HILTON ISTANBUL BOMONTI HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE

The Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Centre is by far Istanbul’s largest hotel, with 829 rooms and 12,000 sq metres of meeting space. It is also Hilton Worldwide’s largest opening in Europe for over a decade. The hotel offers the largest pillar free ballroom in the city and the ability to serve in excess of 6,350 guests at any one time. The hotel features state-of-the-art meetings technology, including digital check-in screens and iRoom applications for event planners, as well as outdoor terraces ideal for wed-dings and social occasions.

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think that size matters. But instead of size, if you think about our slogan you can really achieve something. Not just what you achieve but how you achieve it. And not what you do, but how you do it. The slogan could not be more perfect for this hotel.

Q: Hilton has long been present in Istanbul with a range of hotels. What is the market position of Hilton and what is the differen-tiation within the chain? A: Like anywhere worldwide we differenti-ate our properties to luxury full service and like every other have our focus service brands, like Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn – altogether 10 brands and all with very specific values, segmentations and we operate identically according to those brands, even in this market, like a convention centre will have a very specific market segment where it goes in.

Q: Do you have centralised sales for all the Hiltons in Istanbul?A: Both yes and no. We have worldwide sales, so most of the countries have international sales offices, people focused selling outbound or from that country into other countries. We have a lot of people representing us around the globe; we have a Turkish sales force selling all the hotels in Turkey plus we have a local sales force within the hotel to make sure we go in the individual accounts. So we go from global to micro, so basi-cally all segments and markets are covered.

Q: Does the situation ever happen in Istanbul where city-wide everything is sold out for a big event? How do you manage such situations?A: I would say not enough. It has frequently happened, but not just because of a conference, rather because there is such a high amount of them in Istanbul and there are so many tour-ists coming 365 days a year already and that is the beauty of the destination. They are not de-pending on one segment only, so they get every market coming from different directions.

Q: Your partners are the most demanding congress clients. What is it like to work with them and meeting their needs? A: That is why I joined. It is either you love that or hate that. You want to create special events, so you’re up for it. I still remember when I was an events manager in Amsterdam, somebody came up to me and we had a meeting just like this and he said: “I’ve only one ambition. It needs to be the event of my life.” It was his 50th birthday and

he was a very wealthy person. Some people were scared, but I loved that challenge. The beauty is if you deliver it you have a client and a friend forever. And I think I see it here; we have many events that we already hosted in our Hotels around the globe and I think you book a big event based on a level of trust. Yes, finances are impor-tant but you will not book a great financial deal if you have no trust/confidence in people that can deliver. The level of trust is so important, so I say our demanding client becomes a loyal client and also a friend forever.

Q: Is the price associated with a sense of quality? It is known that the wealthier guests also decide on the basis of how high the price is? A: I think this is partly right. Why I like this in-dustry is the diversity of the cultures. Not every culture is the same. The Dutch people probably are very modest in that way. But at the same time in Istanbul, with this hotel, we have beautiful 35 square meters guest rooms with spectacular bathrooms up to 500 square meters suites. So we have all differentiations in the price ranges to deliver a spectacular service. Our manager is on 34 floors with a spectacular view, we serve complimentary afternoon drinks that is adding more value to those who are looking for more exclusive service. But at the same time our guest

bedrooms are already fantastic. So my answer is yes, it often is, and I think here we have that var-iation of product to offer all that under one roof.

Q: What is the main difference from the hotel and convention markets of Central Europe, where you worked most of the time, and Istanbul? A: The big events are going around Europe and around the world, so I don’t think in that way there is a huge difference. I think Turkey has one huge advantage and that is that hospitality is in the nature of the people. So again, because this is a business of people and hospitality is very difficult to learn, I think service-wise Istanbul stands out, climate-wise compared to other countries it stands out, airport-wise as far as accessibility and connectivity to the rest of the world it stands out, so Istanbul has a lot going for it and basically these facilities are hard to find in Eastern Europe, if at all.

Q: For some time you were also working in Vienna. What are the real chances of Istanbul overtaking Vienna, which has for many years been the premier meeting destination of the world? A: Istanbul is doing all the right things at the moment and I have worked in Vienna and have the greatest respect for the things that they

Exclusive interview

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Conventa Add Kongres 2015.indd 1 16. 01. 14 10:42

(Vienna Convention Bureau) are doing, the whole city and the products they have. But again, as a competing destination, I think Istanbul is making all the right moves to get closer and closer.- I don’t know if Istanbul is going to over-take it someday. The hotel facilities are here - a great addition to this hotel is convention centre and is a great addition to enhance your competi-tiveness on the international market. The infra-structure is progressing. We have just opened new underground line, the 3rd bridge is being built, the 3rd airport is being built. Istanbul is already much better connected to the world than Vienna, so the number of hotel rooms are growing rapidly and are larger than in Vienna. With additional conference centres we will be getting more competitive with them and will be getting closer.

Q: In these last days the European MPI Conference has just finished. This is the introduction to a series of important International Meetings Industry events in Turkey. How important do you think these events are? A: I think we have just established that this is the people’s business. So to get people into your home it is better to build a relationship, it is better to do business with people, so flying them into Turkey, getting to show them the places and hotels is the key. Big events are built on trust. I’ve never seen an event for several days with 1,000 people without having the person coming to see you at the event. So it is key and it is our ambition to grow the destination.

Q: Istanbul is now virtually omnipresent in the international meetings market through the Istanbul Convention Bureau. How would you assess the current functioning of the Istanbul Convention Bureau? A: I think it is very good. I had a very nice meeting in my first weeks here and I was advised that the Convention bureau was very excited by the opening of our Hotel, because we could open a different segment as no Hotel in town would give more than 250 or 300 rooms in one hotel.

I think with giving the Convention Bureau the possibility of selling more than 250 rooms in one Hotel, we are actually giving them the tools to enhance the performance even further. I think they are everywhere, they are very active, and they are up against the competition from other Convention Bureaus. But again the Hilton Bomonti is giving them the capabilities to go into segments which they never had before. I think together we will be very good partners and we will be very strong.

Q: What is the co-operation at the destina-tion like? What is it like for major candi-dacies when the whole destination has to work together? Are you satisfied with the promotion? A: I think it’s wanting to appreciate and to un-derstand the funding behind it before evaluating the performance. Looking at Vienna at the end of the day is how you do it. But I think to really perform you need the destination and you need the facilities. To the two conference centres we have just added the third, so we have just added 50% more capacity to their ability to promote and to their outreach. From an infrastructure point of view, in Istanbul we have so many great messages to tell in coming years. If you look at it from a European perspective, with Istanbul being really on the access of the two continents we are so much closer to the rest of the world. So with the convention centres, the capacity in-creasing rapidly just throughout town, I think we will all be able to offer support, because they cannot do it on their own without us. I think they are doing a great job, but if we all partner up we can compete with the best in the world.

Q: Can you say that you are satisfied with the promotion of Istanbul Convention Bureau at this moment?They will never say that they are 100% satisfied, but I think they are great partners.

Q: At your hotels you’ve hosted many famous people. Who are the guests that impressed you the most?

A: Hilton Hotels like to keep a certain level of confidentiality. But I think out of the many famous guests it must be Nelson Mandela. I was still very early in my career, but the impact and personality can make a great impression. Every prime minister that comes to the Hotel is very much protected, but not him. He stepped out of the car, shook everyone’s hand and asked how you were. I was fortunate enough that I was able to organise everything and I asked one of the African waiters if he would mind sleeping in the hotel for 3 days, because the ambassador had to ask if Nelson Mandela could be served by the same waiter, not because he is particular, but because he’s getting older and would like to avoid too many strange faces. The impact I made on that man’s life by just asking him if as an African person could he serve Mandela was huge. Every year, after 10 years when he was still working, he would still run to me and remem-ber. So I think this was one of the most special occasions, probably because it was so normal and by being so normal the impact he had on my colleague.

Q: What is your favourite place in Istanbul and why? A: Princess Islands. The islands are the only islands around the city. It just shows the mag-nificent and enormous size of Istanbul. You are driving by boat one and a half hours and the city just gets bigger. It just never ends and is constantly growing. It is spectacular to see. You see more and more coastline. Once you are there, after one and a half hours driving, you still cannot see the end of the city. It is just a spec-tacular city.

Q: What do you personally love about Istanbul? A: I personally have the passion for food and bev-erage. Like everybody else I’m not a fan of the traffic, but I think it’s entertaining. And I very much like the climate.

Q: Can you share the best advice you’ve ever been given? A: I took that from film makers, but I think “Hire the best people you can and make a team out of them”. That is what my job is all about. Probably the shortest and the simple one is the ambition for the rest of my life: “Handle every piece of paper once”. In these days it is an e-mail, or a call, but no longer paper. Yet it is so difficult to do that -very small but very strong advice. For busi-ness advice I’m a big, big fan of Steven Govier and the 7 habits of highly effective people. I have read that many times. It helped me a lot to put things in perspective and to keep balance.

Exclusive interview

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Tatjana Juriševič, President of the management Board and CEO at Kompas d.d.

“ Kompas d.d. is one of the founding members of the Slovenian Convention

Bureau. The need for the estab-lishment of this Bureau emerged ten years ago among the provid-ers of congress tourism. At that time we came together and set up the Convention Bureau. We believed in this project from the beginning and regularly partic-ipate in activities organised by Bureau. Even in times such as the current crisis it is necessary to stick together and continue with the quality work. We would like to thank all of the members of the Slovenian Convention Bureau, notably Miha and Azra for their hard work. «

Azra Botonjič, Marketing manager at the Slovenian Convention Bureau

“ On the 10th Anniversary of the Slovenian Convention Bureau I can point out that

it was a period full of challenges for us and that we have success-fully implemented a number of events at home and abroad and connected providers with each other, which definitely helped to raise the visibility of the con-gress product of Slovenia in the international environment. I believe in the importance of the congress product for Slovenian tourism and I wish for a pos-itive development, innovative marketing projects and joint cooperation in the future. «

Breda Pečovnik, Congress and Commercial Programme Director / Director General Assistant at Cankarjev Dom

“ The Slovenian Convention Bureau is a valuable insti-tution. Cankarjev dom, as

one of the initiators of its crea-tion, wishes them on their 10th Anniversary to accomplish their mission in the greatest extent possible, to take care of the promotion of Slovenia as rec-ognisable congress destination and attract new partners and international associations to trust us with their meetings. «

Iztok Bricl,Director of Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre

“ Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre with the certificate E – congress

facilities and H – other facili-ties has been a member of the Slovenian Convention Bureau since 2007. Membership is very important for us, because in Slovenia in the realm of the meetings industry the Bureau is responsible for the promo-tion and marketing of Slovenia as a meetings destination and getting international events. As a member we regularly attend trade shows that under the organisation of the Bureau. Finally, we are members of the institute because it connects and integrates all stakeholders in the meetings industry in Slovenia through the exchange of knowl-edge and experience and thus directs us to become a destina-tion that can be placed along-side the best and greatest. «

Hotspot

SLOVENIA CONVENTION BUREAU 10TH ANNIVERSARY

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Hotspot

10 YEARS OF SLOVENIAN CONVENTION BUREAUTalking with Karmen Novarlič, Head of Slovenian Tourist Board

Text by Gorazd Čad

Q: How do you evaluate 10 years of Slovenian Convention Bureau? Could it be done more?The meetings industry was already an important segment of Slovenian tourism 10 years ago when Slovenian Convention Bureau was established. At the state level, so as line ministry responsi-ble for tourism and national tourist organization we have decided that the meetings industry in Slovenia has big opportunities for further devel-opment, so it was important to resolve the insti-tutional issue and the framework of organized activities at the state level. This was also the time when number of investments in congress facilities was made.The meetings industry is an important or an increasingly important product of Slovenian tourism. It is characterized by excellent and professional business events, high added value, excellent ratio between quality and price, high quality recognized by the rest of the world, the satisfaction of domestic and foreign business partners, tourist product which records high

growth….these are all facts who speak in favour of meetings and business tourism. We always marked Slovenia in the field of busi-ness and congress tourism primarily as a des-tination for implementation of small and medi-um-sized congresses. At the same time we were aware that for the acquisition of major congress-es we needed additional congress and accom-modation facilities, especially high-grade. The development of such activities in conjunction with other “attendant” products such as quality wellness offer, we enabled many places to extent their tourist season. With the development of this product we pursued objectives such as sea-sonalization, higher purchasing power and the strengthening of congress tourism and incentive travel mainly on the domestic and gradually on foreign markets.Cooperation with then Slovenian Tourist Organisation (STO), today the Department of Tourism SPIRIT Slovenia, with then estab-lished Slovenian Convention Bureau began soon after the establishment of the latter. In all the years we have been deeply involved in numer-ous marketing and communications activities. Together we passed the promotional activities abroad with the aim to position and strengthen Slovenia’s position as a congress destination, es-pecially in recent years as a leading connection in South East Europe. Today, our view is orient-ed on the future and vision in further 10 years. It’s a fact that in Slovenia in the field of business and congress tourism was done a lot at all levels (national and in the field of tourist economy), which among other things reflects in the fact that Slovenia is becoming more internation-ally recognized as a congress and incentive destination.

Q: How do you evaluate the importance of the congress destination management?Today, congress tourism in Slovenia is devel-oped, convention centres offer the high quality and often even more flexible bids than compe-tition within the European Union. In favour of quality congress tourism witness among other things successfully carried out domestic and foreign congresses, Slovenian organizers are enjoying reputation by foreign associations. I estimate that the congress tourism has a major role in the development and marketing of tourist services at the destination level, so the profes-sionalization at the level of congress destination will be necessary in the future.

Q: What inspires you at 10th Anniversary of Slovenian Convention Bureau?I am pleased that from the time of establishment of Slovenian Convention Bureau was developed and awareness of the importance of development of this field in Slovenian tourism. We are happy with the fact that success of this product for competing in the European and global market reach with innovation, investing in knowledge and training of personnel and investing in the promotion and marketing of the product. At the same time, we have successfully implemented networking/integration with other areas of Slovenian tourism and beyond. Forecasts for this segment globally in 2014 are positive, for business and congress tourism are good, the organizers of business and congress events are looking for new destinations, often with accom-panying outdoor events where Slovenia can offer attractive tourism products with good price and quality. I am confident that together with Slovenian Convention Bureau these opportuni-ties in partnership with the finding of synergy effect will be used and position this product on the top of the European and global providers.

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10 YEARS OF SLOVENIAN CONVENTION BUREAUTalking with Miha Kovačič, Headman of Slovenian Convention Bureau

Text by Gorazd Čad

Q: How do you evaluate 10 years of Slovenian Convention Bureau? Could it be done more?10 years of National Convention Bureau can be seen as short time or as quite a long time. It depends from which angle you look at it. As its Director for more than 8 years I would prefer to be much further ahead as it is currently. But we

have to understand that the role of the National Convention Bureau is to connect, promote und market the country for the meetings business. It can develop only with the speed as its industry is developing. But we understand we have to act as a leader and not run after our industry.We have achieved that our industry is united, connected and we promote ourself under the same brand. We have learned that we promote Slovenia first, than destinations and only than individual properties and services. We are aware that meeting planners are demanding quality and professionalism. We have learned and still learning that it is a buyer market and we have to market ourselves otherwise the market will simply forget us. We haven’t achieved the understanding of the real value of the meetings and events for the na-tional economy and its potential. I understand that this will be the job for the near future. We have some good examples from Europe which will help us to quicker achieve this goal. I would also wish to have more strategic thinking and acting within our industry and more interna-tional cooperation.

Q: How do you evaluate the importance of Slovenian congress energy?It was not easy to define Slovenian energy. It took us some years to realise that Slovenian

meetings industry has something special. At one of the brainstorming session of our annual assembly we worked hard and came to the conclusion that it is the energy that makes us special and our clients satisfied and wanting them to come back not just for business but also as friends.Slovenian energy is one of the main USP’s we have and not just that. It is also the EMP – emo-tional marketing proposition

Q: What inspires you at 10th Anniversary of Slovenian Convention Bureau?All achievements that we have made in this period. It was not easy as we are lacking on fi-nancial and human resources from the very be-ginning. I am glad that I still have the passion and see the opportunities that Slovenia have in the meetings business. I am not the only one and there are some great colleagues in our industry share the same vision.

Slovenian convention bureau excited to enter a new decadeOn 19 March, members of the Slovenian Convention Bureau met in Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana to celebrate the 10th anni-versary of the National Convention Bureau, to overview its past work, elect a new council and discuss the programmes and actions that will help put Slovenia on every meeting planner’s top 10 list for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions in the years 2014 to 2024.

The celebration that was sponsored by Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana, Ljubljana Tourism and Kaval -Group, a catering company that also become a proud new member of the Slovenian Convention Bureau, gathered

around 70 meeting professionals and members of the Slovenian Convention Bureau. During the programme that included round table discussions, Miha Kovačič, Director of the Slovenian Convention Bureau pointed out the members of the bureau have to work together to put Slovenia on the international meetings map: “Meeting Industry is an interdisciplinary and destination story that depends on a number of criteria; both domestic and international. Slovenia is paving the way for a better position on the international market, but like everywhere else, much depends on the cooperation and pro-activity of its actors.”

The stress of the meeting was put on the strategic discussion about the future of the Slovenian meeting industry. The 10th anni-

versary of the Slovenian Convention Bureau represents a great milestone in the Slovenian meeting industry’s history. In the past decade the bureau has successfully promoted and marketed Slovenia as a meeting and incen-tive travel destination and has helped attract many international meetings and events to the country. Now that the new decade lies ahead and the new council had been elected, it is time for the revival of the Slovenian Convention Bureau. At the next strategic meeting that will follow shortly, the new council will discuss strategic issues for the next decade and how to better position Slovenia on the international meetings map.

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ENERGY IN MEETINGS - WE GOT IT ALL WRONG!Energy that can help us stay focused, motivated and creative during a meeting

Text by Bo Krüger, [email protected], www.movingminds.dk

A great meeting or congress gives its partic-ipants energy – the energy to stay focused and open-minded during the whole con-

ference, the energy to connect to the other par-ticipants and the energy to go back to work and implement all of the new insights. Unfortunately the opposite always happens: meetings drain our energy and we lose our ability to learn, think and be creative. We often end up carried away from the meeting in body bags, demotivated and unable to use the insights we never got.

The reason for this is that most meeting plan-ners don’t really understand how humans learn. They treat participants like machines, which we are obviously not. Machines are most effective if they work all the time, if they work fast and if they have many functions turned on at the same time. We overload participants with speakers and information, with no time for breaks and reflection. We expect them to have many differ-ent focuses at the same time; while they listen to the speaker, they are supposed to tweet and navigate the latest meeting app on their iPad. But we’ve got it all wrong - humans work differ-ently to machines. Machines work steady, at the

same speed, all the time, whereas humans work best in waves - peak, relax, peak, relax. Research shows that humans have difficulties focusing on complicated new knowledge for more than four hours a day and no more than 90 minutes at a time, after which we need to recharge our energy. You have probably heard about violin players and Olympic athletes that have to prac-tice for 10,000 hours to reach world class, but what you seldom hear is that those champions seldom train hard more than 4 hours a day and that they all are really good at taking breaks and doing something else.

In Focus

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In Focus

Case 1:Physical movement is one of the quickest ways to create a high energy level. In 2010 I facilitated energisers for 600 partici-pants at the 5th European Conference on Positive Psychology in Copenhagen. These respectable scientists loved it!

Case 2:The energy level immediately rockets if you engage the participants. During the Mind Event for meeting planners in Copenhagen 2014, we changed a site inspection at Marriot Hotel to a Murder Mystery that the participants should solve. It’s me in the middle, dressed like detective Karl Moerk.

Case 3: Humans always strive towards positive re-lations to other humans. Therefore I always try to help the participants connect. Here are participants at a conference for a big medical company, playing network bingo.

There are basically four types of energy that can help us stay focused, motivated and creative during a meeting:

1. Physical energy: sleep, food, movement and breaks.2. Social energy: Positive relations to other participants.3. Mental energy: Meaningful and interesting tasks and ways of working.4. Emotional energy: If we experience at least 3 times more positive emotions than negative, we are happy and high performing.

If we want the participants to stay energised during the whole meeting, we have to think in waves. After each peak performance (max every 90 minutes) you should shift frequency and give the participants time to recharge from one of the four energy sources. You could try:

Physical energy: Activate the participants physically, let them stand up, take a walk or make a funny energiser. Energisers are 2-5 minutes of non competitive physical games that make the participants move, interact and laugh.Social energy: Facilitate positive interactions between the participants, like non-competitive games and networking activities.

Mental energy: Give the participants a chance to work with something that comes purely from inner motivation, for example let them discuss a work challenge that occupies their thoughts at the time.Emotional energy: Use humour, music, beau-tiful artistic experiences, great food, beautiful nature, acknowledge the participants and give them a chance to focus on their successes.

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THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS: THE BENEFITS OF HAPPY ATTENDEES 5 Ways to Help Them Achieve It

Text by Jonathan BRADSHAW, CEO, The Meetology®Group

With my background in sports I’ve always had an interest in the mental side of human performance and have

witnessed the power of mental skills both in my own experiences such as my expedition to Mt. Everest but also when working with profes-sional athletes too. I was therefore interested to come across research (1) recently suggesting that various meetings related behaviours includ-ing negotiation improved when we are simply in a certain mental state – specifically in a good mood. It got me delving into the archive to find some proven ways of optimising your attendees’ mental state. Whilst I know they aren’t suitable for all types of meetings I wondered if you could use any of the following?

1 - HAPPINESS IS A PENCILPsychologists have done some fascinating re-search into the whole area of how our posture and physical state effects our emotions. As early as the 1800’s they began to note that emotional state actually followed physical state and not the other way around – something that was coined as the ‘As If’ principal. So, if you want your at-tendees to feel a certain way you just need them to act as if they already are. Have you ever tried to get 1,000 people to hold a pencil between their top lip and nose?! I have and it is hilarious – the idea is that the action forces them to use the same muscles that they do when smiling and, if the research is borne out, then their emotions are likely to improve too.

2 - SIT UP AT THE BACKFollowing on from the previous point you won’t be surprised that your attendees’ posture will affect their emotional state too. It’s an area called Proprioceptive Psychology and research in this area has found that people sitting up straight were in a far better mood after a 10-minute meeting than those who slumped in their chair. It may be a reason for holding a meeting standing up (which by the way have been shown to generally be much shorter but just as effective!)

3 - MAKE THEM SWEATMost of us know of the phenomenon of a ‘run-ner’s high’ – the euphoric state that those who exercise can experience as a result of the natural release of endorphins into their body. Now, I’m not sure most people would describe any post exercise emotions as ‘euphoric’ but certainly moderate exercise is likely to get people feeling in a good mood. (Always undertake such activ-ities with proper medical supervision in place).

4 - CALL IN THE CATERERSPsychology indicates that people are more likely to be influenced when they have just eaten. Why? The theory is that food puts us in a good mood. What I certainly do know is that irrita-bility and tension can rise if people aren’t fed so make sure there is a plentiful supply of (the right type) of food for those meeting.

5 - SURROUND THEM WITH HAPPY ‘NUGDES’By creating a specific environment psycholo-gists have induced numerous and fascinating changes in behaviour (e.g. If you want people to clean up after themselves give the room a slight smell of detergent or if you want people to be more creative put creative art on the wall.) Due to the existence of mirror neurons in our brains some psychologists suggest that just by seeing someone smile we are likely to follow suit and therefore simply having lots of images of smiling people around could unconsciously raise the happiness levels of those who see them.

Based on this psychology perhaps you’ll start your next meeting with a stand-up comedian, have food at each table and go for a run at lunch time too? No matter, I hope you’ll begin to put positive attendee emotions high up your list of ‘must haves’ for a productive meeting.

JONATHAN BRADSHAWJonathan combines his person-al experience in human perfor-mance with over 17 years in the international meetings industry. His experiences on the sport-ing front include climbs on Mt. Everest, Mt. Kilimanjaro and an epic 3500 mile / 5500 km bike ride. His career in the meetings industry includes over 7 years with the prestigious IMEX Group where he was Director of Business Development. He is a professional speaker and award winning industry columnist.

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E [email protected] +386 1 433 21 55WWW.UNION-HOTELS.EU

In Focus

METHODS TO CREATE ENERGY

SVUISJ – SPOINGA fun little concentration exercise which gives energy to a group. It works well in the very beginning of a course or a conference. The purpose of this exercise is concentration, group focus and laughing together. Best suit-able for groups of 6 - 20 persons. Time of this exercise is approximately 5 minutes.

ZIP – ZAP – ZUPAn easy exercise that can be done in all con-texts. Often it gets to be more and more fun by being repeated many times so that you feel that you’re getting better and better. The purpose of the exercise is to wake up and to enhance concentration. Best suitable for groups of 5 - 12 persons. Time of this exercise is approximately 5 minutes.

LUCKY LUKEA simple exercise that does not require much space and can be done with many participants. The purpose of this exercise is to enhance con-centration. Best suitable for groups of 2 - 200 persons. Time of this exercise is approximate-ly 5 minutes.

Text from: www.visitdenmark.com/meetovation

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In Focus

BUS TICKETA fun exercise that in a surprising way creates dynamics and physical contact. The purpose of this exercise is to laugh together and phys-ical contact. Best suitable for groups of 8 - 100 persons. Time of this exercise is approximate-ly 5 minutes.

FIREWORKSFun physical exercise inspired by the “rock-paper-scissors” game. The point of this is that good teamwork not only means talking about things, but also being able to feel what the people around you want. The purpose of this exercise is physical activity, positive energy and laughter. Best suitable for groups of 4 - 200 persons. Time of this exercise is ap-proximately 5 – 10 minutes.

SHAKIN’ STEVENSPhysically demanding exercise with high pace. Great warm up exercise for right after lunch. The purpose of this exercise is physical activ-ity, waking up and to “shake” people up. Best suitable for groups of 3 - 100 persons. Time of this exercise is approximately 5 minutes.

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MEETOVATION = MEETING DESIGNS

The Danes excel in developing different and beneficial meeting design concepts that increase the outcome of the time and money spent when bringing people together. The unique Danish

Meetovation meeting design concept makes conferences and meet-ings more efficient and responsible. It engages participants actively and offers a new, creative approach to far more flexible usage of meeting and conference facilities.

In 2003, they took a quantum-leap by introducing a new concept dubbed Meetovation. They basically decided to break with the old-fashioned and conventional ways of conducting meetings and conferences. Today, their ever evolving Meetovation meeting design concept shows how to create MINDblowing meetings and how Danes dare do things just a little bit differently..!

Text from: www.visitdenmark.com/meetovation

In Focus

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In Focus

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Did participation meet your expectations?

Yes, absolutely Yes, partly

Surveys and Forecasts

ExhibitorsOverall satisfaction with the show

Excellent Good Adequate

BuyersDid participation meet your expectations?

Yes, absolutely

Main reason for attending Conventa

How likely are you to place future business in the destination?

Presentation of the meeting industry offer

of SEE at one place

Very likely

One2One meetings between exhibi-tors and buyers

Likely

Networking

Moderately likely

Experience at the fam trip

Slightly likely

CONVENTA 2014 SURPASSED ALL EXPECTATIONS Presentation of SEE and CE meeting industry offer in one place remains the main reason for hosted buyers to attend Conventa

55,56% 44,44% 52% 44%

4%

52,54 %

42,37 %

79,66 %

20,34 %

44,07 %

33,90 %11,86 %

10,17 % 3,39 %

1,69 %

Yes, partly

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Level of satisfaction with the number of realised One2One meeting with hosted buyers

Excellent Good Adequate

Surveys and Forecasts

“I would like to warmly thank you for giving me the opportunity to discover both your wonderful city of Ljubljana as well as attend Conventa. It was really a great experience and I am very enthusiastic about all I have seen, heard, tasted and experi-enced. I can’t wait to come back and to bring ESC sub-specialty congresses to Ljubljana!”Valérie Thiollet, Specialty Congress Production, European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

“You made this experience something to remember. Being a first time visitor I was surprised by the high level and standard of accommodation and all the possible activities to do while in Ljubljana. And not to forget all the tasty meals accompanied by good wines,…”Jaana Alenius, Resecity i Huddinge, Sweden

“I very much enjoyed my time in Ljubljana and the hospitality of the people in Grand Union and Bled. I met great people and got invaluable contacts for future business associations.”Christian H. Selchau, HelmsBriscoe, Turkey

“I would like to thank you for the invitation to be your guest in the city. I know i postponed my visit for a long time but I am glad I was there. You are great people, with an amazing and charming ap-proach, and you made me fall in love with the country, city, and the people. I am glad I made the decision to stay here for extra 2 days so I could also walk around and have 1 or 2 more meetings. I am sure I will be able to bring congresses to you - you are unique.”Eyal Halevy, Paragon Group, Switzerland

“I’ll thank all of you including the other team members of Conventa 2014 for the personal invita-tion as well as the perfect organisation of the exhi-bition, seminars etc. For me personally it was a very positive and useful experience attending Conventa 2014 as well as the organised Fam Trip to Zagreb. I did get in touch with a lot of very interest-ing venues, hotels, convention and congress centres and had the possibility “to look inside” in some locations.Next to that the free time programmes as there are the dinners as well as the after party were marvel-lous (the food was delicious and the music “cool!”)”Ben Prins, PMC-Magina srl., The Netherlands “Thank you so much for inviting me as a hosted buyer to Ljubljana; it was a pleasure to visit your country and to meet so many lovely people. The whole Conventa experience was really well put to-gether and I gained some valuable experience and knowledge about Slovenia which I will be able to pass on to my clients. I hope to come back very soon both on a personal and professional basis.”Jane Reid, PRC Europe, UK “I do thank You for my stay in Ljubljana during Conventa. It was an interesting opportunity to learn about new structures and to networking and I fell in love with the city: it’s a small jewel of archi-tecture, stunning and flourishing; a perfect place to wander around o for unwind. I hope to come back again, not only for leisure.”Clara Grossi, Omnia Congressi ed Eventi s.r.l., Italy

“I would like to warmly thank you for giving me the opportunity to visit your nice city of Ljubljana as well as attend Conventa. It was really a great expe-rience and I am very enthusiastic about all I have seen, heard, tasted and experienced. Conventa was really good organisation.”Yasemin ŞAN, ONŞVA TOUR - Istanbul / Turkey “Thank you for hospitality and very good organized trade show. I’ve find many new partners, and I hope for future cooperation with them. Of course, I will fill out the survey after 7 February.”Andrey Kozlov, S7 Tour, Russia “Thank you very much for inviting and hosting me during Conventa 2014. I really enjoyed my time spend there. For sure I made few new very useful contacts and meet a lot of inspiring people. Definitely I would like to use new ideas and try new providers form South – East Europe as soon as it will be possible. “Anna FrŞczek, OBP Incentive & Sports travel, Poland “Just back behind my desk (immediately after Conventa I had to do a site-inspection, that’s why my reaction is ‘late’…) I like to thank you very much for the great perfomance and organization of Conventa 2014.For me it was the first time I attended, do hope there will be more to come: CHAPEAU!”Adriaan Deurloo, Travel & events, The Netherlands

Exhibitor statements after the show: “I am happy that this year the quality of the hosted buyers was much better and more leads were generated.” “I very much appreciated the organisa-tion of the event, meeting buyers from a CEE region was also interesting.” “Very well organized, professional organizers, the communication with the organizers was very easy, friendly pre-schedule appointment process, lots of helpful information about buyers, very good hotel (Best western)- high level standards, nice touch the upgrade and welcome treatment in the room, a large variety of good food during the event.”

CONVENTA 2014 SURPASSED ALL EXPECTATIONS Presentation of SEE and CE meeting industry offer in one place remains the main reason for hosted buyers to attend Conventa

51,85%37,04%

11,11%

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MEETINGS STAR AWARD 2014

For the third year in the row, Kongres Magazine called a tender for Meetings Star award, award for outstanding contributions in the field of marketing

communication of destinations, congresses, events and meetings industry suppliers in South East Europe. The award is a visible recognition of creativity, knowledge and work based on team-work and experiences that brought clear and measurable results.

Top Destinations 20131. Prague 4,642. Dubrovnik 4,61 3. Budapest 4,53

Editorial Board of Kongres magazine again prepared an overview of the top convention destinations in the region, which have been evaluated in the context of the project KONGRES MEETOLOGUE. Within the project we are discovering lesser known destinations and compare them with the more well-known and established ones.

To date, they have visited and evaluated 34 destinations in which they have thoroughly reviewed, analysed and evaluated:- Natural and cultural factors- General and transport infrastructure- Tourist infrastructure- Meetings infrastructureEach destination has also received a subjective grade.

At the end of the year due to the many changes and inno-vations were reassessed the destinations that they have already evaluated in 2010 and 2011. As an additional cri-terion, they have taken into account this year’s ranking of individual cities on the ICCA scale (ICCA Country and City Rankings 2012) and Merecer’s global scale of quality of life in individual capitals.Cities were divided into two categories:- Large and medium sized cities with more than 150.000

inhabitants- Smaller regional and local towns with less than 150.000

inhabitants

Among larger cities in first places there were no surprises and in the lead remain Prague and Budapest. The most advanced Belgrade, which due to new investments and improved accessibility ended up in seventh place. On the scale also advanced Split. Zagreb, Ljubljana, Graz and Krakow remain in the first part of the scale with similar grades as previous year.Among smaller cities with a large assault the first is Dubrovnik, which is also in absolute terms the second best congress destination of the region. To the tenth place then with minimal differences are listed famous tourist destinations, which are increasingly focusing on congress tourism. Interesting surprises include fast-growing new congress destinations Umag, Zadar, Šibenik. The most in the last year eroded Maribor and Osijek, because both cities have not yet exploited their vast potential.

Meetings Star 2013

PRAGUE SLAVIC PARIS

MEETINGS STAR AWARDBEST MEETING

DESTINATIONS 2014

The spirit of Central Europe is best captured in this beautiful city, which is an excellent convention destination because of its cosmopolitanism, multi-culturalism, liveliness and a tireless nightlife. What is the secret of Prague congress tourism? What are they doing differently? Well, it’s a combi-nation of circumstances and wise development policies. Elegantly and sustainably they are working towards being among the top ten European congress cities.

Destination grade: EXCELLENT MEETINGS DESTINATION

Individual grades: A. Natural and cultural factors ............................................ 4.42B. General and transport infrastructure ......................... 4.23C. Tourist infrastructure ......................................................... 4.79D. Meetings infrastructure .....................................................4,65E. Subjective grade ........................................................................ 4.61

Comparison with the region: Prague has for a long time not just been an Eastern European gem, but a true European tourist metropolis with a diverse and comprehensive offer, luxury hotels and sometimes too high prices. The story is reminiscent of Škoda, of which the Czechs are very proud and is one of the oldest automotive brands in Europe. Reputable, solid and reliable pre-war lim-ousines were after the war changed by cars that were behind the times. Today, Škoda shines again, and again puts the Czech manufacturer where it once was. The same can be said for the meetings industry, where Prague began to seriously falter against the locations at the top of the European league. If we look at the position of Prague regionally, Prague will not take primacy in the region over Vienna, but it certainly has all the condi-tions to remain for a long time the first congress destination among East European capitals.

4.64

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Meetings Star 2013

DUBROVNIK PEARL OF THE ADRIATIC

BUDAPEST CONGRESS QUEEN OF THE DANUBE


DESTINATIONS 2014


DESTINATIONS 2014

Budapest has always belonged to the tradition and culture of the West and the enforced stay in Eastern Europe is already quite a faded memory. Specific added value are bestowed on the city by the extremely profession-al and positive professionals who, because of their Finno-Ugric linguistic connection, are reminiscent of their Scandinavian relatives. Once you agree all of the details everything will work like clockwork and without any unnecessary problems. It’s no wonder that it is always attracting con-gress organisers.


Individual grades: A. Natural and cultural factors ...........................................4.54B. General and transport infrastructure ........................ 4.22C. Tourist infrastructure .........................................................4.64D. Meetings infrastructure .....................................................4.43E. Subjective grade ........................................................................4.45

Comparison with the regionIf we put congress destinations of the New Europe in a football perspec-tive, then in the premier league Vienna dominates, which is immediately followed by Prague and Budapest. This is also shown on our scale, on which among the larger cities Budapest ranked third. The city has no shortage of picturesque special venues or the most luxurious hotels, not to mention the crazy and diverse incentive locations. If Prague and Dubrovnik are a love at first sight, then Budapest is love in the long run. In addition to the selection of 16 five-star hotels, from Intercontinental to Kempinski, and 61 hotels with four-stars, it impresses with the unique specialty of historic spa resorts. All this has been for many years an ex-cellent and well-established MICE destination and a well-oiled congress machine. In addition, Budapest, unlike its rivals, is also a very pocket friendly congress destination.

4.53

Dubrovnik is a city growing and developing, a large part of this due to the meetings industry. It will be a big part of the industry future for the entire region, primarily as the most successful Croatian and regional brand on the global meetings market. Without any exaggeration it can be claimed that the destination brand of the entire region will hang on Dubrovnik. It will lead the region as the primary destination where international and local hotel chains are opening convention centres and performing intensive co-branding. The results of this are the numerous incentives of international corporations booking up the season and convention centre openings one after the next. I personally believe the meeting industry will change the image of Dubrovnik.

Destination grade: QUALITY MEETING DESTINATION

Individual grades: A. Natural and cultural factors .......................................... 4.94B. General and transport infrastructure ...................... 4.15C. Tourist infrastructure ........................................................ 4.89D. Meetings infrastructure .................................................... 4.69E. Subjective grade ...................................................................... 4.58

Comparison with the region:Dubrovnik is the flagship of regional tourism and is the first association of meetings organisers we meet daily. It has still not reached its full poten-tial, but is closest in the region to the renowned Mediterranean conven-tion destinations of Cannes and Monte Carlo. It has the biggest potential in the area of corporate and other incentives; with the completion of the convention centre it will also benefit in the area of international associ-ation conventions.

4.61

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Overall impression and credibilityThe cultural and convention focal point of Slovenia and a place where Slovenian history is happening. One can not imagine Ljubljana today without Cankarjev dom; it and the Slovenian meetings indus-try were created together. On top of that Cankarjev dom is a perfect-ly oiled congress machine, which does not show its age and which after recent renovation is in excel-lent condition.

- FLOP – negative surprisesDue to the complexity of the

architecture it takes some time for orientation.

+ TOP – positive surprisesA sustainable approach, with

bees on the roof in the middle of the city, its own crop of honey and an environmentally friendly business philosophy.

Meetings Star 2013

CANKARJEV DOM, Cultural and Congress Centre ★★★★★ LUXURY Luxury congress centre 4.85

Final Score

MEETINGS STAR AWARDBEST LUXURY

CONGRESS CENTRE 2014

MEETINGS STAR AWARD

RESULTS OF ANALYSISLocation 4.95Accessibility 3.90Overall impression at arrival 4.90Quality - entrance hall lobby 5.00Quality - conference space 4.98Quality - conference inventory 5.00Quality - lighting 4.89Quality - acoustics and sound system 4.92Quality - multimedia system 4.97Quality - internet connectivity 4.95Employee behaviour 4.76Access to power and com lines 4.95Bussines centre 5.00Customer service 4.92Safety 5.00Security and emergency 5.00Additional offer 4.83Catering 4.72Sustainability practices 4.85Communication & marketing 4.57Total: 4.85

FINAL GRADE Luxury hotel 4.85Luxury ★★★★★

Premium ★★★★

Business ★★★ Economy ★★

Budget ★

MEETINGS STAR AWARD 2014

Since 2010 in the editorial office of Kongres magazine takes place evaluation of convention centres and hotels in the region. To date, they have evaluated

over 70 hotels.

Hotels are rated by hidden congress guests. These are professional people who have years of experience in the meetings industry and additional knowledge of hospitality management. Required skills and competences to ensure objectivity are:

• Min. 15 years of international experience in the hotel business;

• Knowledge of Slovenian and international standards with specific knowledge of control of standards (DIN (Deutsche Industrie Norm) DEHOGA and others;

• Knowledge of trends in the meetings industry in the do-mestic and international market;

• Identifying specific needs and preferences of customers;• Knowledge of all the necessary elements for guest satis-

faction (technical specifications, catering services, addi-tional services, security, ....);

In addition, their evaluators have verified references in the field of quality assurance of own work in the field of meetings industry, which provides an unbiased view on behalf of the client and maximum reliability. Their hidden guests are objective, fair, accurate and reliable, well organ-ised and with a sense for details.

The evaluation matrix contains over 400 measurable eval-uation criteria, which are divided into different categories such as the first contact with the customer, the general impression upon arrival, the behaviour of employees and many others. Each category is assessed by the share of conditionality and the average rating, which allows the improvement of the quality of the individual criteria.

Call us for MEETINGS STAR 2015 AWARD competition.

28

METROPOL PALACE BELGRADE ★★★★★ LUXURY LUXURY LOUNGE IN THE CITY

KEMPINSKI HOTEL ZOGRAFSKI SOFIA ★★★★★ PREMIUM A VIEW ON THE ZEN GARDEN

Overall impression and credibilityReasonable prices, a solid selection of restaurants, beautiful views from the rooms (especially to the Vitosha mountain) and a great convention centre are the main advantages of the hotel. Still, the hotel is far from the standards of other hotels in the Kempinski chain. The most disturbing aspects are the lobbies and other public areas, which call for urgently needed renovation, and the inconsistent services. In a final evaluation the hotel fits more readily into the four star cat-egory and does not reach the five star standard, but because of the diversity of the hotel offer in com-bination with the cuisine, a large number of rooms and the overall spaciousness, it is still a very good choice for meeting planners.

- FLOP – negative surprisesThe old and as yet unrenovat-

ed rooms are not at the level one would expect from the Kempinski hotels.

+ TOP – positive surprisesJapanese Zen garden with

Japanese restaurant.

Overall impression and credibilityThe legend has returned to Belgrade! After a long renovation the historic heritage has been ex-cellently rebuilt and the hotel is today flirting with premium hotels in the major metropolitan cities of the region. Warm colours, supe-rior lighting, retro furniture and services at an appropriate level place it among the best hotels in the Balkans. If you want to impress your conference guests, then at the moment this hotel is the best choice in Belgrade. The hotel, rich in good memories, is now back for the many people who were missing its good times.

- FLOP – negative surprisesSmall construction details

that have not yet been completely resolved after the hotel’s opening.

+ TOP – positive surprisesTašmajdan park for lovers of

recreation and jogging, or simply to relax between busy convention hours.

RESULTS OF ANALYSISLocation 4.82Accessibility 3.92First impression 4.15Lobby 4.07Employee attitude 4.77Reception 4.93Hotel room 4.13Hotel bed 4.13Bathroom and restroom 4.38Hotel breakfast 4.66Bars and restaurants 4.69Congress hall 4.89Additional offer 4.48Total: 4.46


4.79Final Score

4.46Final Score

FINAL GRADE premium hotel 4.46Luxury ★★★★★



Budget ★




Budget ★


CITY HOTEL 2014

MEETINGS STAR AWARDBEST PREMIUM

CITY HOTEL 2014

Meetings Star 2013

29

Meetings Star 2013

KEMPINSKI PALACE PORTOROŽ ★★★★★ LUXURY THE ALL STARS

HOTEL DUBROVNIK PALACE ★★★★★ PREMIUM SPACE PALACE

Overall impression and credibilityThe Hotel Kempinski is, simply put, a great hotel. After the renovation it not only offers to guests superior services at Kempinski standards, but also has a unique look and style that reflects its legendary charac-ter and Habsburg elegance. In ad-dition, at the hotel they understand the concept of hospitality at the very highest level extremely well.

- FLOP – negative surprisesIt’s hard to find faults, perhaps

the only disturbing thing is the ar-rangement of the coastal stretch, which with the quality of its offer does not reflect the prestigious hotel, but this is not the problem of the hotel, but rather of the development of Portorose tourism. Maybe also the prices of prestigious wines (that are overpriced) raises an eyebrow on the otherwise exceptional wine list.

+ TOP – positive surprisesThe hotel is an excellent choice

for automotive premieres. Because of the above it is no surprise that the prestigious car manufacturer Mercedes chose it for the global launch of its A-Class model.

Overall impressions and credibilityAt the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace I wonder how little is needed to move from being a solid hotel to something special and collect-ing numerous awards. Firstly, it is about the quality of services, as well as about marketing that was excellently prepared around the hotel and is reflected in its increased profile. After visiting the hotel, it is clear that the Hotel Dubrovnik Palace deserved the award; to the highest category it does not lack much, and depend-ing on the assessment we ranked it among the top premium congress hotels in the region, where the emphasis is not only on the envi-ronment but on quality. In almost all respects a modern hotel and definitely a good choice among the many options in Dubrovnik.

- FLOP – negative surprisesGuests accustomed to 5-star

standard would expect a slight-ly higher standard in the rooms and especially the bathrooms and their hotel arrival experience (concierge).



4.77Final Score

4.41Final Score




Budget ★

FINAL GRADE Premium hotel 4.41Luxury ★★★★★



Budget ★

+ TOP – positive surprisesSpaciousness, comprehensive

offer, wellness and professional conference services.


RESORT HOTEL 2014

MEETINGS STAR AWARDBEST PREMIUM

RESORT HOTEL 2014

30

Meetings Star 2013

MEETINGS STARMeetings star award ceremony at Conventa Welcome Reception, Grand Hotel Union, 20 January 2014

01 Black&White reduta as a main theme of the evening

02 Dagmar Brozova, Prague Convention Bureau

03 Romana Vlašič, Dubrovnik Tourist Board

04 Aniko Ferenczy, Hungarian Convention Bureau

05 Mateja Peric, CD-Cultural and Congress Centre Ljubljana

06 Dagmar Brozova, Aniko Ferenczy, Romana Vlašić

07 Aleksandar Danilović, Metropol Palace Belgrade

08 Najda Djordjević, Kempinski Palace Portoroz

09 Damir Lukić, Hotel Dubrovnik Palace

10 Matej Zalar, Visionect

11 Damir Lukić and Romana Vlašič

01

04

09

07

02

05

10

08

03

06

11

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Meetings Star 2013

INTERVIEW WITH MEETING STAR 2013 AWARD WINNERS

Lenka ŽLEBKOVA General Manager, Prague Convention Bureua

What is the Prague meetings industry’s secret?First of all, it’s the destination itself. Prague’s location in the heart of Europe makes it easily accessible. Prague has always been a crossroads of the most important trading routes, as well as cultural and political centre of Europe. Secondly, it is one of the safest destinations with a great infrastructure, which is extreme-ly important when it comes to large meetings. For example, Prague hotels offer almost 80,000 beds and 38,000 rooms, which is actually more than Vienna, our greatest competitor! Another important advantage is Prague’s city transpor-tation, which was listed as the fourth best in Europe a few years ago, as well as variety of dif-ferent venues – from the modern ones to charm-ing historical palaces. Third, it is our close co-operation and support from the City of Prague that helps Prague meetings industry to further develop. Teamwork within the destination is another asset. The final ingredient in this recipe for success is our team of 8 hard-working women who are very focused, loyal and enthusiastic.

Are there any exciting new meeting places in your city? We all are looking forward to the upcoming opening of a unique social and cultural hall - Forum Karlín - with the capacity for up to 2,000 seats or 3,000 standing spaces. The City of Prague has big plans for the Prague Congress Centre: in the following 4 years it will go through a large-scale renovation which will

Romana VLAŠIĆDirector at Dubrovnik Tourist Board

Dubrovnik has the reputation for being meetings flagship of the region. Howdoes your destination maintain competitive edge?Dubrovnik is really a panache of the meeting industry in the region. All the recognitions of Dubrovnik (as a destination in general and in particular for the meeting industry) are a confirmation of the already recognised quality and high standards that Dubrovnik achieved in accordance with the meaning of Dubrovnik in Croatian tourism, but also in the wider region. All the recognitions are a commitment and also encouragement for a further lift of the overall quality of supply. With a perfect blend of cultur-al and historical heritage, natural beauty, quality tourism and congress infrastructure, Dubrovnik is the most desirable congress destination that justifies its place among the best. The Meeting industry is one of the main factors to extend the season, which is also our strategic goal. The Dubrovnik Convention Bureau within the Dubrovnik Tourist Board systematically works to promote Dubrovnik for meetings industry and to support local and foreign organisers from initial contact to the realisation of events.

How has Dubrovnik developed since our last chat in January 2013?With constantly improving quality of services, Dubrovnik has significantly improved the trans-port infrastructure, it reconstructed the main entrance to the city and access to the old town, which managed to organise the arrival of tourist buses and solve the current traffic on the roads.

include extension of its exhibition area. Another congress centre - „U Hajku“ - will soon be reo-pened in the centre of Prague, and it will offer a large meeting space for up to 500 persons. There is also a number of other interesting non-traditi-onal venues, for example Zizkov TV Tower, the so-called „Prague Rocket“, which is the highest building in Prague and one of the city’s land-marks, or the National Technical Library, which was awarded Building of the Year 2010. To name some of the historical venues, Lobkowicz Palace, which is a part of the Prague Castle complex, is definitely one of the most beautiful places of-fering its premises for meetings, as well as the Municipal House, a real Art Nouveau jewel.

Where are you positioning your marketing efforts in this year and the next?We will focus our attention to our traditional source markets, namely United Kingdom, Benelux, Germany and France in Europe, and USA over-seas. This year, we would also like to add China to the list, as we see a huge potential in this rapidly growing country. As well as in previous years, we will further develop our activities in the field of internet marketing and social media.

What are some of the biggest challenges for Prague? In spite of the huge number of hotel rooms Prague offers, the city still has just one congre-ss centre that can host large meetings and con-ventions over 1,500 delegates and exhibitions in one place. There are future plans to rebuild the Industrial Palace, after its left wing was destroyed by fire in 2008, as well as the adjacent Exhibition Grounds. This would definitely help us bring more large conventions and exhibitions to the city. One of our biggest challenges is a lack of financial resources for promotion of Prague as a congress destination. We are trying to be efficient with our limited resources; however, more money would enlarge our business devel-opment and promotion possibilities and increase the chance to achieve our goals much sooner.

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Meetings Star 2013

Violeta MILUSHEVADirector of Sales & Marketing Bulgaria, Kempinski Hotel Zografski Sofia

What is your ultimate meetings goal at Kempinski Zografski for 2014?Being the leading MICE hotel in Bulgaria our ultimate goal is to achieve the planned growth in the meeting segment of our budget and to in-crease the visibility of our product and destina-tion on the international market. The strategy is in line with our Kempinski philosophy where we embrace the European art of luxurious hospital-ity and provide the best solutions to our clients.

What is the biggest challenge of producing a meeting with high profile and high expecta-tions among guests in Sofia?Founded 7000 years ago, today Sofia is devel-oping as a modern city with easy access and in-credible potential as a conference and meeting destination.The biggest challenge we face is the lack of knowledge and wrong perception about the destination. Most of the international buyers have low expectations about Bulgaria. However, after a visit all of them are extremely surprised by the high level of product and quality offered at a very attractive price in comparison with other cities in Central and SEE. I consider this competitiveness as one of the main USPs of the destination.

Is there increasing competition from other destinations in Bulgaria?Sofia remains the MICE capital of Bulgaria with a comprehensive infrastructure of international branded hotels, excellent meeting facilities and

It started with the “City in the park” project and up to now Dubrovnik has arranged the park in Gruž along with the port of Dubrovnik, it has opened walking/cycling trails on the Petka hill and it has organised a public area to further create better conditions for improving the life of tourists and citizens. It additionally created con-ditions for the construction of the recreational park Golf on Srđ and also prepared the project of the marina in Gruž. Leading hotel compa-nies are working on improving their supply and raising the quality, so for example one of the leading conference hotels - Dubrovnik Palace Hotel - will welcome the new season with a com-pletely rearranged unit. Also, Hotel Dubrovnik President is lifted to be a five-star hotel and Hotel Argosy to four stars.

What tools are available for conference delegates to make the most of their time in Dubrovnik?Dubrovnik is a complete destination that pro-vides business visitors and conference delegates a quality work environment. The content is then complemented with what Dubrovnik means. Modern technology is available to all business partners (hotels, conference organisers and tourist agents).Various excursion programs are prepared for conference participants with special emphasis on the cultural and historical heritage and rich gastronomic offer of the Dubrovnik Riviera. Literally every Dubrovnik Hotel has a certain congress facility and those of 4 and 5 stars have halls which can accept up to 1,200 delegates with appropriate technology. The added value of Dubrovnik in the organisation of meetings is the frequently used option of special venues in very attractive historical sites of the city, like palaces, castles, fortresses and the city’s main squares.

What is you favourite place in Dubrovnik and why?If you really want an honest answer, my favour-ite place, if it can be called that, is Dubrovnik Sea. Even in the photos it is easy to notice how the city and the sea are the ideal combination, along with every detail of the City and in every aspect the sea….fits perfectly to this City.

convention centres. However, more and more destinations in Bulgaria are gaining impor-tance and have great potential to develop MICE in combination with cultural, historical, eco and spa tourism. Preserved nature, picturesque scenery and UNESCO heritage are waiting to be discovered and put on the international tourist map. It is all about communication, knowledge and building of trust among the buyers. I would give as an example Bansko, the best ski resort in Bulgaria, nestled at the foot of the majes-tic Pirin mountain and the second hotel of the group – the Kempinski Grand Arena Bansko. The property, a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, is the best ski-in, ski-out hotel in the country and attracts with its state of the art meeting facilities, impeccable Kempinski service and remarkable group activities all kind of events throughout the whole year.

How important is CSR for Kempinski Zografski?CSR is extremely important for Kempinski as a group and Kempinski Hotel Zografski Sofia sup-ports numerous social responsibility initiatives at corporate, regional and local level.Our hotel is part of the worldwide initiative of BE foundation, contributing actively to the fight against infectious diseases. Apart from that we are a founder of a charity football tour-nament under the motto “Stop Tuberculosis”, donating money to clinics for lung diseases. By tradition we have every Christmas a wish tree initiative raising funds for different orphanag-es in Bulgaria. Furthermore our hotel supports culture and young talents with Kempinski Art Weeks and eco-friendly initiatives to protect the environment with Earth hour organised by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and “Green inspiration by Kempinski”.

Where do you see Kempinski Zografski in five years time?I see Kempinski Hotel Zografski as a leading hotel and a trend setter among the best in CE and SEE. Last but not least I would use the motto of the international Coca Cola Leadership Conference which took place at our hotel this year - “The best is yet to come”.

33

Najda DJORDJEVIĆ,Kempinski Palace Portorož

What makes the Kempinski Palace Portorož different?First of all, our employees make the difference. Valuable individuals at our hotel who in the past years have created a dedicated and profes-sional team, every day having a smile on their faces and offering with kindness an outstand-ing product combined with impeccable servic-es. Being part of such an international luxury group as Kempinski we can impress our guests with European Kempinski flair blended with warm Slovenian hospitality, which enables us to create a genuine experience for them at the Adriatic coast.

Who is a typical Kempinski Palace Portorož customer?Customers who appreciate a five-star superior, luxury comfort and individuality, excellent cu-linary offers and outstanding services.

What is the most challenging thing about your business?The challenge, especially with our foreign guests, is still by selling the destination. Slovenia is still one of the best-kept secrets in Europe. Kempinski Palace offers five-star superior hardware and services, but the infrastructure around the hotel, especially with noisy bars, is not five-star. Here an upgrade should be done to correspond to the level of the hotel and the general beauty of Portoroz. In the midterm and long-term we see opportunities for the future development of our beautiful destination. Also in regards to gain a better reputation by develop-ing a golf course nearby, a private beach club, a luxury shopping area and a private marina with deeper water to welcome bigger yachts. The

Damir LUKIĆGeneral Manager, Dubrovnik Palace Hotel

Damir Lukić is a hotel industry professional with over 10 years of experience in hotel oper-ations management. He is currently the Hotel

golf course would be a major driver for busi-ness, especially in the low and shoulder season, and would help to establish Portoroz as a golf destination. Portoroz and Slovenia have a lot of potential, but it is finally also time now to make the right strategic decisions.

What’s the outlook for 2014 and beyond for Kempinski Palace Portorož?The outlook for the future is positive and moving in the right direction. The focus for 2014 and beyond is still on sales and marketing activities on our key feeder markets of Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Russia with additional strong-er actions on potential new markets. Better visi-bility, attractive promotional offers and packag-es including food and beverage experience and spa elements will bring additional guests and we set a strong focus on meetings and incentives, where we are using all the synergies with other sister properties within the Kempinski Central Europe Area.

Where are you positioning your marketing efforts this year and next?Our marketing directions are definitely follow-ing the sales activities in the mentioned markets in cooperation with our public relations agen-cies based in Munich and Milano, focusing more on online promotion and strengthening the Kempinski Palace Portoroz brand through the social media platforms.

Manager of Hotel Dubrovnik Palace, part of Adriatic Luxury Hotels, the leading luxury hotel company in Croatia.

What makes the Dubrovnik Palace Hotel different?Celebrated as Europe’s finest five-star resort and conference centre and the most awarded hotel in Croatia, Hotel Dubrovnik Palace has it all: a luxurious wellness and spa centre, high-tech conference rooms, superb gastronomy and spectacular sea views from every room. With high technology, impecable service and a magnificent setting where natural beauty and luxurious hospitality go hand in hand, The Dubrovnik Palace has proved to be one of the best hotels in the region for hosting the most ambitious conferences.

Who is the typical Dubrovnik Palace Hotel guest?This depends on the season, but key markets of our hotel include two major segments: individ-ual clients and the MICE market segment that includes large and respected global companies. Leisure groups and individual clients at Hotel Dubrovnik Palace are predominated by guests arriving from the United Kingdom, USA, Japan, Ireland, France, Germany and the Scandinavian region.

How do you collect feedback from your cus-tomers and can you give us some examples of how you’ve used it to improve your business?Hotel Dubrovnik Palace focuses on an inno-vative approach and provides a ‘tailor made’ service for each customer, which is ultimately rewarded by client loyalty and a high quality ranking. We believe that customer feedback is crucial for success. We collect feedback from individual clients and from MICE organisers as well. We discuss collected information on a daily basis at our morning meetings and than act ac-cordingly. Many constructive ideas for improve-ments came from our guests, for example in the F&B offer or the better operation of events.

What is Dubrovnik Palace up to at the moment – have you any news you would like to share with us?From April Hotel Dubrovnik Palace will re-open to great anticipation on completion of an exten-sive renovation. Dubrovnik’s finest five-star resort is currently undergoing a refurbishment of all 308 rooms and suites, all of which have private balconies and spectacular sea views. The fresh new look designed to capture the essence of the dramatic coastline with the elegance long since associated with the resort will be unveiled to guests old and new in time for both the MICE and summer season.

Meetings Star 2013

34

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IMEX is where it all happens for the meetings industry – it’s the innovative exhibition that brings the global market together for three ground-breaking days. With exciting new technology, suppliers, destinations and learning every year, IMEX will keep you at the forefront of the MICE market. Welcome to IMEX 2014! Latest inspiration – Discover the innovations and latest trends that will get you on top of today’s meetings market challengesTailored to you – We gather feedback from the industry and shape each IMEX to address the most pressing issuesConstantly evolving – Every year is different, so you’ll always find the very latest trends and developments

TOMORROW’S

TODAYMEETINGS TRENDS,

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Face2Face

PRAGUE BUDAPEST

Population: 1.257.000

Population: 1.728.000

ICCA Country and City rankings 201211th place

112 meetings

ICCA Country and City rankings 201220th place 98 meetings

Mercer Quality of Living 2013 69


+ The spirit of Central Europe is in the best way caught in this beau-tiful city, which is an excellent convention destination because of

its cosmopolitanism, multiculturalism, liveliness and a tireless nightlife. What is the secret of the Prague congress tourism? What

are they doing differently? It is a combination of circumstances and wise development policies. Elegantly and sustainably they are

working to be among the top ten European congress cities.

+ Budapest has always belonged to the tradition and culture of the West. Specific added value are bestowed on the city by the ex-tremely professional and positive professionals who, because of their Finno-Ugric linguistic connection, are reminiscent of their Scandinavian relatives. Once you agree all of the details everything will work like clockwork and without any unnecessary problems. It’s no wonder that it is always attracting congress organisers.

Prague meetings flashpoints: 1. Hotel Yalta - a modernist hotel

2. Dragonboating - rowing competition with dragon boats on the Vltava river

3. Tower Park Prague - crazy venue with a beautiful view of the city4. Beer Tour - meet typical Prague pubs with a century of tradition

5. Driving with tanks - the taste of socialist times for real men

Budapest meetings flashpoints: 1. Four Seasons Gresham Palace – One of the craziest hotels in Europe.2. Claustrophilia - team building and having fun with others 3. Rent a trabant – team retro ride 4. Chefparade – learn to cook Hungarian specialties 5. Central market Hall - special venue

STAY: Four Seasons Prague

STAY: Budha-Bar Hotel Budapest

4.64 / 5 4.53 / 5

PRAGUE vs. BUDAPEST

AND THE WINNER IS

37

Top

SAVUDRIA, CROATIA

MUST DO: THE LIGHTHOUSE OF LOVE: The charm of Savudria, a small town near Umag, makes it the perfect destination for a romantic escape from everyday reality and stress. Take a journey of love and music with a cello concert and a theatre of shadows in the lighthouse. Experience the forbidden love with a flickering fire glow and the richness of smells and tastes of love potions. While enjoying the food enriched with aphrodisiac characteristics, we follow the story of the two best known Istrian lovers.W: www.istriainspirit.hr MUST TRY: The Meat of the Istrian Ox – boškarin. This high-quality beef is most often prepared in šugo, a gravy-like sauce, and paired with njoki or fuži (types of pasta). This animal is an indigenous and protected species, part of rich traditional Istrian values, and has forever been tied to the ‘little man’ and the soil.BEST MEETING SPACE: Hotel Kempinski Adriatic. Wouldn’t it be simply wonderful to feel spoiled by every service and facility within your reach?While luxury may have various interpretations, Kempinski Hotel Adriatic understands them all and will endow you with them.

INCENTIVE TRAVEL BEST IDEAS

MUST DO

MUST DO

BEST MEETING SPACE

BEST MEETING SPACE

MUST TRY

MUST TRY

DUBROVNIK, CROATIA

MUST DO: GAMES OF THRONES. Game of Thrones is an action role-play-ing team building based on novels by George R. R. Martin, and in part also on the TV series HBO, Game of Thrones. Challenge your team to crack the Team Code. Teams gather information, reproduce photos and create artworks to lead them to the “Iron Throne” of Team Work. A dramatic outdoor problem solving team building event with cryptic clues, a scav-enger hunt and photo challenges that put teams’ creativity and sense of adventure to the test. Teams visit locations, gain information, complete the tasks... W: www.dt-croatia.comMUST TRY: PAŠTICADA –a stewed beef dish cooked in special sauce which includes sweet dessert Dalmatian wine called Prošek. It requires long and meticulous preparation. It is usually served with gnocchi or homemade pasta. BEST MEETING SPACE: Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Dubrovnik Sun Gardens. Radisson Blu creates iconic buildings with individual interiors invoking an inviting, exciting ambiance and offering a holistic hospitality experience that is totally relevant to now.

When planning an incentive travel, organisers are always looking for new destinations, unique and authentic programmes. We were looking for some unique programmes in the region of

South-East Europe and we ended up with more than 130 proposals that are now published in the KONGRES INCENTIVE IDEAS GUIDE.

MORE INCENTIVE IDEAS CAN BE FOUND HERE:http://www.kongres-magazine.eu/category/ magazines-documents/kongres-magazines/volume_2013/

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BELGRADE, SERBIA

MUST DO: “RAKIJA TOUR”. Feel the authentic charm of Belgrade and the bohemian atmosphere with an organised visit to Rakija Bars, where you can learn more about rakija (local brandy) and try six different kinds of rakija at three different locations, served with a special type of snack that amplifies and frames the taste of the rakija accompanied with pres-entations, lectures and professional commentary at Rakia bars. You will not get drunk even after the third bar. W: www.rakiabar.com MUST TRY: Although vegetarian food is not totally neglected in the city, Belgrade is definitely for meat lovers. PASULJ or GRAH is a soup made with white or brown beans and normally prepared with meat, particularly of the smoked kind. Pasulj is generally well seasoned with sweet and hot paprika. BEST MEETING SPACE: Hotel Metropol Palace. Stunning five star Belgrade hotel, the Metropol has always been the heart of Belgrade’s social life and the host to all its most esteemed guests. Located in the city centre near the Serbian National Parliament, after a total renovation and a new design by MKV, Metropol Palace can now be considered the luxurious modern gem of Belgrade again.

BOKA BAY, MONTENEGRO

MUST DO: MARITIME QUEST IN THE BOKA BAY. The UNESCO pro-tected Boka Bay offers a great combination of cultural and sporty experi-ences. Each team having its own boat and captain will have to accomplish fun and creative tasks during navigation and during stops in different places (islands, old towns).W: www.talas-montenegro.comMUST TRY: ZUČENICA (endive) - a unique, native, coastal plant, of dark green colour, which is picked by hand on the meadows or hill slopes. It is a greenish plant with branchy leafs, from which most often people make salads. BEST MEETING SPACE: The Regent Porto Montenegro – the future heart of the premier yachting homeport in the Mediterranean. It is a full-service marina and nautical village in the UNESCO protected Bay of Kotor and is already one of the most luxurious marinas in the Mediterranean.

BRDA, SLOVENIA

MUST DO: ELECTRIC BIKES. Quality bikes of the Mathitech brand offer an average cyclist, a child or elderly guest the ability to conquer the de-manding Brda hills without much effort. Bikes are available at the Tourist Information Centre Brda, in the courtyard of the castle Dobrovo. You can choose between guided tours with electric bikes for a half-day, one-day or the two-day tour in the Brda region, in Aquileia, Trieste or the Karst region. W: www.brda.si MUST TRY: FRTALJA - is prepared of whipped eggs, flour and different types of herbs. It is very important that the main part of the dish is made with fresh herbs, whereas the flour and eggs act only as a binder. A real spring frtalja is prepared of fennel, feverfew, balm-mint (heart cabbage), chive and sage.BEST MEETING SPACE: The Dobrovo Castle. In Dobrovo there used to be an old castle, which fell to ruins over the course of centuries. In its place a new renaissance building emerged in the beginning of the 17th century. The original castle has been conserved in relatively the same shape and is today one of the nicest in the Goriška region.

MUST DO

MUST DO

MUST DO

BEST MEETING SPACE

BEST MEETING SPACE

BEST MEETING SPACE

MUST TRY

MUST TRY

MUST TRY

39

Spotlight

1. EUROPE’S CLOSEST MEDITERRANEAN PARADISE While inland the winter is showing its teeth, the weather in NW Istria is almost always pleasant for outdoor incentive programmes. You are just a short drive away from Adriatic inspiration for your team and you are already in the middle of the province that is the gateway to the Adriatic. The cuisine, climate, vegetation, temperament, convenience and the light are im-pressions evoked with each visit to NW Istria.

2. NOSTALGIC EURO-REGION Istria has traditionally been an ethnically mixed and windswept destination. It has always been torn between at least three worlds, which it makes it culturally and historically rich. Maybe that’s why we feel so at home. The wealth of Istria is in its plurality and complexity that make this mild and open region also unique as a venue for incentive events spiced with a hint of nostalgia.

3. GREEN ISTRIA FOR CONTACT WITH NATURE This is the region of fairy tale Istria with breath-taking views all the way to the sea. Fortified medieval towns are the best back-drop for treasure hunts. Cycling and walking

routes, which run among the mystical forests and vineyards of this rich and fertile landscape, are a superb environment for a variety of active and adventure incentive programmes at a more tranquil and calm pace.

4. HEALTHY – ISTRIAN OLIVE OIL……is one of the highest quality olive oils in the world and has won many awards. The olive growing tradition dates far back into the past and today olive oil is an integral part of the Istrian cuisine and traditions. Due to the natural resources the production yields excel-lent results; you will certainly remember the olive oil for its unique flavour and unforgetta-ble quality.

5. SPORTS PARADISEIn recent years a sports paradise suitable for high-performance and recreational incentive programmes in all seasons has been created between Umag and Novigrad. Its biggest ad-vantages are the excellent sports facilities, the extra offer and the pleasant climate. As a con-sequence NW Istria is an ideal location for the organisation of sports games and other sports team building programmes.

10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU ORGANISE YOUR NEXT INCENTIVE IN NW ISTRIA

NW Istria is an authentic and exciting all year round incentive destination. As it is a lesser known region, we have gathered together some facts and information in the event that you decide to organise your next event there.

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6. RED ISTRIA The western Coastal area got its name after a typical ‘terra rosa’ soil or ‘jerina’. It is today the most populated and developed in terms of tourism, with most hotels and tourist complex-es in this part of Istria. Terra rosa is ideal for vine and olive cultivation.

7. ISTRIAN WINE STORIES Before coming to this part of Istria it’s good to know that you are coming to a region with a highly developed wine culture and a variety of indigenous grape varieties. Taking first place among them is Malvasia, with Teran and its relative Refosco taking the prize from the red wines. You can learn much more about this through a visit to one of the top wineries in this area.

8. THE GASTRONOMIC OFFER The turbulent Istrian history has also left traces in the field of gastronomy. Different traditions have intertwined in the national cuisine that has its basis firmly in nature. The gastronomy of Venice, which had administration over this area for almost five centuries until 1797, has made a big impact on the Istrian gastronomy. This cross fertilisation has left its traces in littoral Istrian gastronomy to the present day.

9. EXCELLENT HOTEL AND CONGRESS FACILITIES The mistaken belief that in this part of Istria there are no top hotels has been well quashed. Flag bearers of a superior offer include the Kempinski Hotel Adriatic and Melia Coral. There is always adequate space in these hotels except in the high summer season, as there are 5,811 beds available and as much as 75% of them are concentrated in the hotels of category 4 and 5 stars. Existing congress facilities are ideal for conferences and incentive programmes for up to 350 participants.

10. GOLF DESTINATION If you are looking for a destination in Croatia suitable for top golf programmes currently you do not have much of a choice. The best is definitely Savudrija’s top course with 18 holes, which was opened in 2009. It extends to over 80 hectares and is considered to be a course superbly embedded in the cultural landscape.

ESTORIL

A luxury destination only a stone’s throw from Lisbon, like Umag it built its story on its sports offer, major events and excellent cuisine. The combination of 11 5 stars catego-ry hotels and over 105 conference halls placed Estoril among the European Incentive stars. The crown of the offer is the Estoril Congress Centre, which is the first low-carbon centre in Europe with a multifunctional hall for 1,200 participants.

Getting there: 2,30 hours flight time from London to Lisbon / 3,30 hours flight time from Berlin to Lisbon

UMAG & NOVIGRAD

Umag used to be known primarily as a leisure destination, but today, due to its rich sports and gastronomic offer, it is becoming a new European incentive destination that offers everything that its older and more famous Portuguese brother Estoril does. For sheer perfection it lacks only a medium-sized mul-tifunctional congress centre.

Getting there: 2 hours flight time from London to Trieste / 1.30 hours flight time from Berlin to Trieste

THE ORIGINAL

THE NEWCOMER

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WHO TO CONTACTSanda Bravar, TOURIST BOARD UMAG Trgovačka 6, 52470 Umag, p.p. 79, HRt. ++385 (0)52 741-363, f. ++385 (0)52 [email protected], www.coloursofistria.com

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Been There

01 Conventa Academy 02 Black And White Welcome reception03 Our future leaders at Future Leaders

forum04 It’s cool to be at Conventa welcome

reception05 The Grand Union Hall06 Herbal garden by Sava Hoteli Bled07 Mingling at Welcome reception08 Exhibitors from top09 Ljubljana Mascot Ljubo brings the joy10 Our pioneers11 Conventa Hall of fame with Andrea Leitner 12 Ambasador of Conventa Timo Heinaro13 Networking dinner at Tito exhibition14 Posing with Tito – A Yugoslavian Icon15 Geoffrey – Electronic Butler16 Conventa Chef Challenge with SORA

Catering17 Ljubljana Mascot Ljubo amuses

participants18 Conventa Chef Challenge with Vivo

catering19 Kisikura at Conventa

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Hot Spot

SORA Catering is an international catering company that provides a number of hospi-tality products and services. With an office

in Zagreb, Croatia and headquarters in Sora, Slovenia more than 1,500 events are organized annually.

SORA Catering Zagreb is an international brand of a renowned company Catering Klub književnika. Common business performance with Jezeršek Catering from Slovenia prides itself with 30 years of experience in the hospital-ity industry and holds a leading position in the Slovenian and Croatian markets. The main aim

of the cooperation is to join forces to raise the quality and creativity of catering at large na-tional and internation-al events.

Martin Jezeršek, Managing Director

Q: What were the reasons for expanding the business to Croatian market?For several years, the feedback we have got from our customers, especially from foreigners who came to Slovenia and used our catering services, was very good and they claimed that we could easily be placed alongside any other recognized European catering business. It also happens very often that we get individual projects abroad. All this has shown us that we have to make a step forward and start being continuously present abroad, not just at individual events. For quite some time we were searching for the optimal business model for the internationalization of our company and after thoughtful planning and research we have found it. The Croatian market is a perfect first step. The facts that Zagreb is very close to Ljubljana and that it has one million inhabitants, make it highly interesting for our business. According to our knowledge and re-search, there is still plenty of room for quality catering providers.

Q: How do you assess meetings industry business opportunities in Croatia?It is a well-known fact that the meetings indus-try activities in Croatia are on the rise, especial-ly in the developed coastal parts, which boast high quality infrastructure designed to congres-sional activities. In terms of catering, Zagreb is more developed in the field of corporate and diplomatic events. Right now, SORA Catering together with the Croatian partner company is

concentrated mainly on the area of Zagreb, but our aim is to expand the activities also to Istria.

Q: What are your plans for the Croatian market this year and in the coming years?This year’s goal is to become recognizable on the Croatian market and to position us as a reliable, responsive and flexible catering provider. Our services are always tailor-made and adapted to the clients’ wishes and needs. At the same time, our aim is to cater some of the major events and show that we are able to provide quality regard-less of the size of the event. In the coming years, the aim is to become one of the largest providers in the entire Croatia, not only in Zagreb. Q: What is your recipe for succeeding on the Croatian market?Our recipe is simple and we believe in its success. The major obstacle of an international company expanding to new markets is their poor knowl-edge of the market and the situation there. It is therefore crucial to search for a partner who knows the market and has experience in cater-ing. So we have teamed up with Catering Klub književnika, who is on the market for several years and specializes in catering smaller events.

We, on the other hand, bring experience with large events, large capacity inventory, references etc. As such, SORA Catering by Catering Klub književnika boasts international experience with large events, experience on the Croatian market, good business network in Croatia, Cuvée Restaurant in the center of Zagreb on Tkalčičeva ulica …

Q: How complex is the Croatian business en-vironment for opening a new business?What is the state support for opening a new business abroad? What more could they do in this area?Our experience with expanding our business to Croatia is positive. Procedures were simple and fairly quick. Also the Slovenian Embassy in Zagreb has done a great job in assisting us and providing an insight into the Croatian market. We did not search for any other kind of help.

SORA CATERINGJoined forces – no borders for chefs

Zagreb office – short presentation

Hrvoje Perić is head of SORA Catering Zagreb. He successfully runs a small cater-ing company in Zagreb since 2007. Catering Klub Književnika is known for its friendly staff and high quality food. The company also celebrates one year since the opening of a new stylish restaurant Cuvée at Tkalčićeva Street in the centre of Zagreb.Catering and restaurant kitchens are in hands of young chefs with trendy minds and ex-perienced waiting staff. By entering SORA Catering family they got excited to welcome larger national and international events.

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EDITH MADER CONVENTION BUREAU NIEDER OSTERREICH

Voice from the top

Q: Have you always wanted to work in the meeting industry?Actually, my first profession was child care, but my passion for traveling brought me to Spain where I worked as an au pair and learned Spanish. So when I returned to Austria I started my career in the tourism industry. At American Express Travel, I was responsible for the Incoming Department. After that, I spent three years as a travel guide for an Austrian tour operator in Spain. And since 1997 I have been working for the Lower Austrian Tourist Board in marketing and more recently for the Convention Bureau. The meeting industry is very important for Lower Austria and I am happy to help promote its top destinations.

Q: Why is your destination/country the best in the world?There’s a clear focus on the client in terms of services offered by our extremely professional business partners. And our destination has a unique combination of top-notch locations, breath-taking landscapes, and outstanding programs.

Q: What would be the first thing you would show every visitor to your country?Our conference locations like Casino Baden Congress Center and Laxenburg Conference Center. Then there’s the picturesque Danube river region, the Wachau, a UNESCO world heritage site with historic monasteries and a rich Heurigen (wine tavern) tradition. And don´t forget Lower Austria’s internationally acclaimed wineries, making the province the largest wine producer in Austria.

Q: What has been your star moment so far and your favorite project with which you would praise yourself?The presentation of Lower Austria and the region of Bratislava during an event at Schloss Hof.

Q: What motivates you the most at work?Satisfied clients and happy partners – when my feedback confirms that the meeting industry in Lower Austria is top quality and the number of conferences and meetings is rising.

Q: How do you deal with stress?I like to spend time with friends and go hiking with my husband and daughter.

Q: When were you last angry / disappointed and why?When we hosted a networking evening with a wonderful program at a great location outside Austria. Of 100 people invited, only 20 came

VOICE FROM THE TOP

to the event. Maybe it was the wrong date and people didn´t have time (before Christmas).

What’s new in your business in 2014?We are planning presentations in Graz and in Salzburg.

What did you learn last week?That we should always remember our focus on quality by only promoting partners that provide top-quality products and services.

Q: Where are you going to spend this year’s holiday and why?We’re vacationing in Austria this year, hiking and biking. Austria is a beautiful country and we especially enjoy spending time in the mountains.

Q: If there were no time and financial constraints, where would you go?I would travel to Cuba.

Q: What would be the title of your autobiography?Opportunities people have given me to discover new destinies and realise them with passion and heart!

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GERNOT MARX DEPUTY MANAGER, SALZBURG CONVENTION BUREAU

Q: Have you always wanted to work in the meeting industry? I wanted to become a Salesman when I was a child. I found it so interesting working with different clients and their different needs. Later the Meeting Industry became the most interesting part of tourism for me and still is.

Q: Why is your destination/country the best in the world? I was born in a different part of Austria, but ever since I lived here in Salzburg, I call it my hometown. It’s not that I feel at home very quickly, but the people here made me feel that way.

Q: What would be the first thing you would show every visitor to your country?Nature-wise I would show them the giant Ice Caves and Krimmler waterfalls, which are the largest in Europe. History-wise it would be a tour through the Residence Palace, the vault with Mozart’s handwritings or the big fortresses. But I would definitely make a stop at Red Bull Hangar-7 and at the Museum of Modern Arts, too.

Q: What has been your star moment so far and your favourite project with which you would praise yourself? I prefer to praise my team about our clients’ feedback. My personal highlight might have been my first congress bid for an important international congress of a UK-based association. It was a tense and tough project, but a thrilling moment when I got informed that we won the business.

Q: What motivates you the most at work? When I gained a strong or long lasting client relationship where both sides work together. Ultimately, it’s the point when our clients understand that we work with them and not just for them.

Q: In what way do you deal with stress? Over the past years I have a more relaxed view of things. But I make music and work as a volunteer for some associations. That helps me to gain a new perspective of things.

Q: What will be new in your business in 2014?Salzburg has many new and re-openings, large scale investments in event resorts as well as new infrastructure for which we built up a multi-channel-communication in order to reach out to new clients.

Q: What did you learn last week? That Salzburg is worth going that one step further than other CVBs do.

Q: Where will you spend this year’s holiday and why? It might sound a bit odd, but it will be Salzburg. I travel so much, that it’s most relaxing staying here. Together with friends, we rent a lakeside house in Salzburg’s lake district and spend a week there, doing nothing but eating local fish, having a glass of fine wine and having fun at some Red Bull Events like Air Challenge.

Q: If there were no time and financial constraints, where would you go? If this is about my holiday, I just answered it. It’s not about “how much it is” it’s about “how good the money can be spent” to aim for good quality. That might also be a reason why I’ve been working for the destination for nearly six years.

Q: What would be the title of your autobiography? Lifelong learning and innovate through experience.

VOICE FROM THE TOP

Voice from the top

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Advertorial

Based on the results of Conventa 2014 exhibitor satisfaction survey, 67 % of Conventa exhibitors would absolutely recommend this trade show to their meeting industry colleagues!

Conventa 2014 surpassed all expecta-tions with:

n the largest number of international meeting planners in the history of the show (over 200)

n highest quality hosted buyers (62,78 % were rated as good or excellent by exhibitors)

n congress destinations were presented in the highest number so far (12)

n the organizers recorded a record number of pre-arranged meetings (3.158)

n the best and most extensive education-al program was offered (over all 3 days)

Jump on the bandwagon now to:

n Be among the first to secure your place at the 2015 trade show

n Save money and take advantage of the Early Bird Rate

n Exhaust all Conventa marketing and PR activities

n Attract the hosted buyers attention at an early stage and build a relationship before the show

Conventa 2015 promises to deliver:

n International and regional hosted buyers of the highest quality

n One2one meetings and plenty of chances to network

n Your exposure and introduction to the key meeting industry audience 365 days a year

n Great support and an unforgettable Conventa experience

CONVENTA 2015 INVITES YOU TO REBOOK YOUR STAND AND START WITH MARKETING ACTIVITIES NOW!

Ensure you place on the meeting industry map and continue to be a part of the Conventa magic!Deadline: 1 June 2014

For more information about rebooking the stand visit www.conventa.info

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Advertorial

Through over 20 years of its existence Vivo Catering has become a recognizable brand for event catering and world class

conference catering. We have taken this oppor-tunity to invite to conversation Mrs. Jerneja Kamnikar, Msc, lecturer, founder and director of the company Vivo d.o.o. from Ljubljana. She told us about how they managed to adapt the offer in these times to the difficult economic situation and what their plans for the future are.

At the International congress trade show Conventa in Ljubljana you in addition to the presentation of culinary offerings also demon-strated an innovative form of cooking in front of guests. Can you tell us a little more about the presentation itself?

We have created a new offer, with which we are recognized in the market. At the congress trade show Conventa, we presented a pilot project ‘’Lets cook live together with Vivo cater-ing’’ within the project Chef Challenge. Selected participants of the trade show in the conviv-ial atmosphere »battled« in the preparation of selected dishes in front of guests in mobile cooking units. At the end of relaxed socializing and creating, we announced the creation of a competitor who in the opinion of the commis-sion presented the best creation. A new form of culinary presentation with an innovative ap-proach, which we are developing as a concept of socializing in the cultural monument D125 at Dunajska 125 in Ljubljana as a response to the different needs of today’s market, where needs for socializing, networking and culinary expe-riences have changed.

Q: Are you preparing culinary workshops as a part of your offer? Where can we visit you? Could you introduce to us the concept? What is it about?In Vivo, together with the Institute for Innovative Management we established the Centre for innovation D125 (Event Centre at

Dunajska 125 in Ljubljana), where in addition to the events we are also developing live cooking. As a part of culinary workshop, we have developed two concepts, which mutually differ depending on the purpose of socializing and creating. The first one is intended to connect teams (a form of team building), in which groups and individuals are formed with a predetermined concept and selection of dishes and then they prepare a meal themselves. The essence of this concept is the interaction of each individual within the team to achieve a common goal. The other concept, which has been developed, is a little different. It is a more innovative approach based on the inspiration of an individual, where they cook like at home without a predefined concept and given recipes. Participants are offered a selec-tion of ingredients with which they adjust both quantity and selection of dishes. Both concepts have proven to be a good answer to the needs of today’s market.

Q: Do you think that your new offer could affect the development of the meetings in-dustry of Ljubljana?Innovative hanging out with live cooking is also interesting for conference guests and with its help we can also present the Slovenian cuisine. Heritage of the building D125 is also connected to the cultural heritage of cuisine in a modified modern way by incorporating foods of Slovenian origin and from local providers with the concept of Ljubljana dishes, Slovenian dishes of various regions and the concept Taste Slovenia labelled Taste Slovenia or dishes depending on the se-lected Slovenian region.The purpose of socializing with live cooking is that we can offer to foreign guests the revival and presentation of Slovenian cuisine in an in-

novative, relaxed and creative way. The project aims to increase the visibility of both Ljubljana and Slovenia, its cultural and culinary features of the present and past times, and discovering flavours which for many guests are representing the unknown.

Q: What plans do you have in Vivo Catering for the future?Certainly we want to remain a recognizable brand for the event and conference catering. We will follow the development of the Centre of innovation D125, where we will place our logistics part of the catering. In the longer term, we would like to arrange at this point a centre in which could connect cuisine, art, creativity, crafts, we will also work on intergenerational in-tegration, social entrepreneurship... At Vivo’s 20 years we have started the development of new projects in support for the next 20...

LET’S COOK LIVE WITH VIVO CATERINGIt is a lot more than just cuisine!

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LUKA OCVIRK Receptionist at Hotel Cubo, Ljubljana

1: My name is Luka Ocvirk, a 27 year old graduate student of the Faculty of Tourism

Studies. I am proud to say that I work in the modern-design hotel Cubo in Ljubljana, which has just been awarded for being one of the best luxury hotels in Europe. Beside the fact that I work front office, I am also planning events, meetings, small conferences and also work back office.

2: The Conventa Trade Show.

3: It was a decision that I accepted after fin-ishing high school. I had an opportunity to

go to study abroad, more precisely in United States of America, and it was such a great experience.

4: Since I truly enjoy working in the hotel in-dustry, my dream goal is to become a

general manager of a famous hotel chain one day.

5: It is a fact that I am in love with sports, so watching Winter Olympic Games is defi-

nitely my biggest obsession these days.

JASNA JAŠIČ Protocol Event Manager at Brdo Congress Centre

1: I’m Jasna Jašič, born and living in the Slovene capital of Ljubljana. I joined Brdo

about a year ago and I work there as a corporate and protocol event manager. I’ve been in tourism for some 7 years now, it’s my greatest passion, and I like to believe I have an earnest desire for professionalism, business excellence and growth. I’m positive and I smile a lot, as long as things aren’t too stressful. In my private life, I’m in love with all things beautiful, design, art, ar-chitecture, books, fashion, and the simple pleas-ures of life.

2: That would naturally have to be the Brdo Estate. We’ve got a great location, a pris-

tine green setting and a tradition of credibility, all of which makes us a major player in the re-gional MICE industry, and we’ve managed to parlay these traits into a strong and well posi-tioned brand. Guests today expect experiences and adventures, and our assets are perfectly suited to offer them a variety of content wrapped in historical storytelling. It might sound like a cliché, but the beauty of Brdo, a protected Natura 2000 site, is something that has to be seen to be believed. Another advantage we possess is our long-standing experience with state protocol, which always demands immaculate execution, and our personnel is thus able to provide top level services coupled with world-class cuisine to our corporate clients.

YOUNG TALENTS

1. Who are you?

2. What is your favourite meetings brand?

3. What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

4. What’s your alternative career fantasy?

5. What, if anything, are you obsessed with at the moment?

Global Village

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3: Professionally, it took a lot of courage to step forward after I’ve only been with

Brdo for a month, and take on the responsibility of independently coordinating Brdo’s first Flower Tales, an extensive week-long floral ex-hibition with an accompanying cultural history programme. To me, that was my own daring ad-venture into the unknown, since I wasn’t quite familiar or established in my new work environ-ment yet. My profile within the company was on the line right away and there was potential for many things to go wrong, some as unpredictable as the weather, but the gamble paid off and the event ended up a major success. As a result, we were able to follow it up with the Winter Tales, a second instalment in the Brdo Tales concept, which is now looking to become yet another ad-dition to our offer of traditional events. Looking back, this makes me happy and proud.

4: My dream career always involved hospi-tality and here at Brdo, my work comes as

close to it as I can imagine, so I’m truly hoping to stay here for a very long time. Meeting new people, noticing their satisfaction, adapting to their expectations, these are the things that bring me professional fulfilment. That being said, there’s always room for fantasy, and a secret wish of mine is having my very own bou-tique hotel. I studied interior design in addition to sustainable tourism, and I sometimes day-dream of consolidating my ideas, interests and passions into a fabulous concept hotel, some-where in the charming old town of Ljubljana perhaps, where high-end design, elegant show-rooms and an art gallery could walk hand in hand with outstanding hospitality services.

5: Right now, my radar is tuned to the latest trends and innovations in the meeting in-

dustry, and I spend a great deal of time contem-plating how the Brdo Estate can stand out in the abundant MICE offer, how to establish success-ful digital marketing channels that provide a uniform brand experience across all the modern platforms, and how to create truly special events that can cater to the industry’s untapped niche potentials. Most of all, I try to think outside the box.

DEJAN HOJNIK MICE Manager at Terme Olimia

1: My name is Dejan, 25 years old and I live in Maribor. If you ask my friends and col-

leagues I am the most lovable person on this planet – no seriously, I am laughing every single second. Probably it’s the same when I’m sleep-ing. J

2: That is hard to say, because I’ve visited so many great brands in Spain, Germany and

Conventa as well. Every single brand has this special something that stays for ever in your memory. If we are talking about Slovenia I should say Terme Olimia, because it is really unique with the Wellness Orhidelia and a number of other pluses that we have. But like I said, every brand has its advantages and disadvantages.

3: If only I could say jumping out of a plane – of course with a parachute on my back!

J I really wish to do that in my very near future. Or maybe swimming with sharks, because they scare the (the peep word) out of me. I do not know what would be the number 1 – probably sharks. But till now zip lining in Singapore is nr. 1.

Global Village

4: That is easy. I always wanted to be an actor. I was living those kinds of dreams in

my primary and secondary school by performing all over Slovenia and in England as well. After that I was introduced to tourism and it is going really well for me.

5: My obsession has always been to travel all over the world. I became obsessed with

traveling 5 or 6 years ago and I hope that that obsession never goes away. I think it’s a really healthy obsession, because you get to know how life is outside Slovenia and Europe, get to know their cultures and their way of living. I think people get richer from the inside, you know.

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Gadgets

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BERRYSHKABerryshka is an exciting Slovenian brand of award winning and handcrafted products of spirit drinks, liquors and hand-made chocolates. With our unique creations as a proponent of responsible drinking we are establishing more authentic awareness in drinking culture and representing the alcoholic beverages as a hedonistic way of tasting, including chocolates. Party pack – is our latest creative product we made and consist of liqueur and handmade choco cups, appropriate for enjoying the Party with your friends on a different way. Berryshka - currently looking for new partners worldwide!

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e-mail: [email protected]@berryshka.com

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Gadgets

® MARCHÉ CATERINGFresh ideas for your eventsMake your event unforgettable by choosing Marché® catering

and your guests will be impressed by excellent snacks and

thoughtful service. We can offer catering for different

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home or in your company.

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choice or in our restaurant or you can choose the take-away

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success of your event!

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CATERINGMARCHE GOSTINSTVO d.o.o.

Notranjska cesta 71, 1370 Logatec

Tel.: 01 750 84 34

E-mail: [email protected]

www.marche-restaurants.com/si/catering_si

marche-restaurants.com

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HOSPITALITY AS A WAY OF LIFEWho’s Who in Best Western Central Europe

Who is Who

IVONA MEISSNER CEO BEST WESTERN CENTRAL EUROPE

What are you most proud of in your business and private lives?In my private life I`m proud of my family, as we support each other in both the good and the bad times and we spend a lot of time togeth-er having fun. In my business life I`m proud of my “dream” team, which faces new challenges every day and does its tasks independently, re-sponsibly and all team members are committed with high commitment and professionalism.

Life wisdom/motto?Formula for my luck/happiness; a yes, a no, a straight line, one target (German philosopher) Where are you going to spend this year’s holiday?I`ll spend my vacation with my partner at the Cote d`Azur this year. We`ll spend the time on remote beaches, visit sleepy fishing villages, idyllic little towns with historic attractions and enjoy the romantic sunset, beautiful coastal panorama and the delicious French cuisine. What was your favourite vacation?I travel a lot for business during the year– I was able to see many interesting places all over the world and meet nice people of different cul-tures. Sometimes I return to those places with my partner for a holiday. It is difficult for me to say which vacation was my favourite one. We always enjoy our time together, no matter where we spend our beautiful vacation.

Where would you go if there were no time and financial constraints?Maybe I would do a trip to the moon – it would be very exciting for me to see the earth from a different perspective.

What is your favourite indoor/outdoor activity?I work out every day in the morning to keep my body fit, but I prefer any kind of exercise in nature, no matter which kind of sport. This can be long walks in the vineyards or Nordic walking in the forest or playing tennis with our friends.

What is your favourite dish and restaurant (anywhere in the world)?In general I prefer light Italian and French cuisine, but as an Austrian I like very much the legendary “Tafelspitz” – boiled beef with spinach, apple horseradish dip and hash browns. It tastes delicious! This traditional Austrian dish is prepared with top-quality meat of Austrian origin, from a piece of a young ox` leg.

What is your favourite gadget?My iPhone and iPad – they are very practical and useful, but I`m not a slave to them!

Which song do you most often play on your iPod?I like any kind of music and have a large col-lection of CDs at home – I choose the music depending on how I feel...

Which part of the day and of the week is your favourite?I like morning because I know that I can do a lot. I do not really have a favourite day – every day is nice for me and brings something new.

What is your favourite mode of transport?It depends for which purpose – for long dis-tance I prefer the plane-for sure, but I also like driving my car.

If you could return to the past or zoom to the future, how old would you like to be and why?What a difficult question! I feel good the way I am and where I am at the moment – as long as I stay healthy, have my family and I’m capable of doing what I like – I`m happy!

If you could witness any event in history which one would you choose?“Harley Davidson Charity” Tour which was or-ganised for children with muscular dystrophy last year in Austria. I think it`s great that this organisation tours through Austria and helps those poor children.

What was the best party you have attended?The very last one was one week ago, the “Sponsionsfeier” (graduation ceremony) of my daughter – in a small restaurant with family and friends.

The last film, book, concert?I like crime thrillers – the last I saw was yester-day from Bremen “Brother” with Sabine Postel and Oliver Mommsen. I like biographies – the last one I read was the biography of Steve Jobs (the Apple founder) and the last concert was Pink Floyd`s “The Wall” last August in Vienna – a fantastic adventure!

What fantasy character would you be?Batman – he is not a superhero in the narrow-er sense, such as superman, because he has no super powers. His superiority is based on intel-ligence, willpower and hard working – this is how I see myself.

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KAROL CHOLINSKISpecialist for Tourism, Delta Tour

Buyer Spotlight

What did you learn last week?If you are sick and you don`t feel well – the world looks completely different- health is the most important thing I own!

After her professional education in the hotel tourism sector in Czechoslovakia in 1984, Ivona Meissner was able to make her first ex-periences as a Front Desk Clerk at the Hotel Slovakia**** in Zilina. After moving to Austria, the native-born Slovak was working in 4- and 5-star hotels as a Front Desk Clerk, Reservation Agent, Front Desk Manager, Banquet- Sales and Marketing Manager and finally as Assistant General Manager.

WHO? My name is Karol Choliński. Since 2009 I’ve been working in the Delta Tour travel agency in Warsaw, Poland. My tasks include searching and booking the most suitable hotels for our clients, organising local transport, preparing incentive pro-grams and the general coordination of all services. Occasionally I travel abroad with groups as a pilot and interpreter. Beside Polish I speak English, German and Spanish, which is very helpful and conven-ient for my job.

WHERE? Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, is without any doubt one of the most charming places of Europe. It is known

also as “Golden Prague”, “The city of one hundred towers”, “Golden ship on the Vltava”, “Mother of cities” or “Heart of Europe”. No matter how sophisticated a nickname you use, nothing can truly express Prague’s charm and beauty. You must simply take a look at the city and taste it, walk through its narrow streets, admire the comprehensive composition of Roman, Gothic, renaissance, baroque and classical architecture, then finally take a rest in an old restaurant with a glass of beer brewed in a local brewery and try the delicious specialties of Czech cuisine. Even though you will follow these clues, please do not expect that you will be able to discover all the mysteries of Prague… but you can always try. It is definitely worth it!

In the heart of the historical centre of the Czech capital is the Charles Bridge Palace Hotel. It is a 4-star-deluxe facility operated by the Pinelli family. The hotel has 77 rooms and suites (from 20 to 100 sq.m.) with parquet wooden floor, which lets you enjoy a sense of elegant style and individual design. There are 55 Individually Designed Rooms, 17 Spacious Junior Suites, each with unique details, and 5 Royal Apartments. Among the room facilities are: free Wi-Fi Internet, air conditioning, a mini-bar, safety deposit box, flat screen satellite TV, telephone, shower or bath, hair-dryer, cosmetics, ironing facilities. Moreover, many rooms have views to the Vltava River and Prague Castle. The hotel also has meeting capabil-ities – you can arrange here a meeting for up to 80 pax in theatre-style layout with modern equipment and interpreters at your disposal, if they are requested. Another advantage of the hotel’s location is that within 25 minutes you can reach Prague’s Václav Havel Airport.

WHY? In the past Prague used to be very popular among Poles as an urban destination, especially for those who, due to political reasons, could not travel behind the so called “iron curtain”. Now we can enjoy traveling without any obstacles, but Prague is, as I already wrote, well worth a visit. That’s why we decided to organise a city break for a group of approxi-mately 30 pax here – employees of one of the leading European insurance companies. It took place between 5th and 7th of September 2013. They wanted to spend 3 days abroad, so we had to choose a destination not far away from Poland. Prague was a quite obvious decision. As we believe that taste is one of the most important senses, we invited our clients to the most famous and the oldest restaurant-brewery in the city – “U Fleků” – to let them try its specialties. We are quite sure that many members of our group will return to Prague to listen to and feel the beat of “the restless heart of Central Europe.”

IVONA MEISSNER In 2007 Ivona Meissner started working for

BEST WESTERN, the biggest hotel group of privately owned hotels worldwide, subsequently taking over the position of the Member Service Manager. Some of her main tasks included the support of members, organisation of member conferences, meetings & workshops, development and execution of training sessions as well as counseling and being part of the Help Desk solving issues with reservations systems & revenue management. Another part of her responsibilities were the development of manuals, the development and implementation of the successful and groundbreaking quality program “I Care”, as well as the hotel acquisition and implementation of new hotels.

In her role as Chief Operation Manager (COO) and Authorised Officer from 2010 until 2012, she was in charge of the target of the business policy, economical organization and strategy, development of concept and controlling.

In taking on the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in January 2013, she is now not only involved in operations, but is also a delegate in all of the European and International BEST WESTERN committees.

Given her long experience in the hotel business and tourism sector she has been a guest speaker at many events and schools in Austria and abroad.

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BUDAPESTCONGRESS QUEEN OF THE DANUBE

The second largest city of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy is one of my favourite European capitals, where I feel quite at home. Even in the greyer times to

me it seemed colourful, cheerful and full of the power of life. Through numerous visits I’ve observed the transition of the city into today’s modern congress metropolis.The first impression of the mighty Hungarian capital city is of the Danube River, which divides it and with a number of picturesque bridges connects the historic city areas of Obuda, Pest and Budim. All three parts have connected as a whole city since 1872, when it developed into one of the major European metropolitan areas. ‘Paris of the East’ and ‘Pearl of the Danube’ are just a few of the terms with which the beautiful city has been poetically described.

Budapest can be explored for days, but no matter how long you take you will always discover something new. On the left bank of the river the oldest part of the city Budim on the Gellerthegy hill with the famous Citadella is inspir-ing, with its underground labyrinths and beautiful views of the Danube. In the city centre you will be impressed with the public baths, which can also be used as the most special venues for crazy parties. Under the city there are more than 120 thermal springs. The most famous spa is Gellert spa, built in the Art Noveau style. In addition to it, there is also well-known Kiraly spa, which is decorated in the style of Turkish swimming pools. In Pest the most famous is Furdo Szechenyi, which is one of the largest spas in all of Europe.

Pest is known as the business side of the city with one of the most spectacular buildings in Europe, the Hungarian Parliament building, built in a neo-Gothic style. Personally, I prefer Pest, as it is more lively and cosmopolitan. An inter-esting specialty of this side of the city are some points of the so called ‘Dark Tourism’, such as, for example, the “House of Terror” or the “Statue Park”, with statues from the period of socialist realism. Attractions in the former centre of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire do not run out, as surpris-es await you literally at every step.

Budapest has of all the eastern capitals been the first one to get rid of the socialist feel, and in addition to Prague it quickly caught the cosmopolitan tourist spirit. The city centre is nicely arranged and the city is developing. The worn-out buildings, green spaces and public areas are looking better year after year. In addition, the Hungarian cuisine is excel-lent and a great added value of the city. You can learn to cook it yourself in culinary schools such as Cheparade, where they like to organise cooking courses for conference guests. A personal experience of this on my last visit was excellent. The sense of security is good and the public transport system operates without any major problems. Budapest has among other things one of the first underground railways in Europe that still operates smoothly and without any complications. The biggest added value for many Westerners are the rel-atively low costs of food and entertainment and the low cost of living in general. The air accessibility of the city is good, mainly thanks to low-cost carriers, which practically from the first to the last are putting Budapest on their maps. Nevertheless, after the collapse of the national air carrier

Malev, low-cost carriers were not able to fully fill the short-fall, which is reflected in the somewhat lower availability of some of the less important destinations.

Budapest is Hungary’s biggest tourist attraction. In Budapest, there are currently 256 hotels with a total of 22,000 rooms. Approximately 47 % of the hotels are in a cat-egory suitable for congress tourism (4, 5 or more stars).

It seems that the economic crisis has not affected Budapest too much; according to STR Global research Budapest is an-nually attracting over 3 million tourists who generate 7.3 million overnight stays. Most of the overnight stays (87 %) are made by foreign guests, with the main tourist months being from April to October. The majority of tourists come from Germany, Great Britain and Italy. The fastest growing are tourist arrivals from Russia and China. According to the same survey, the average occupancy of rooms in the city last year was 64%. In addition, the RevPAR has also grown positively, which last year amounted to EUR 53 as per data collected from 52 hotels. The average price of a hotel room last year amounted to EUR 135,60 in a typical four-star hotel, which is very favourable compared to other European metropolises.

The wave of new hotel openings culminated in the opening of two upscale hotels in 2012, namely the five-star lifestyle hotel Budha - Bar Hotel and Park Inn Hotel by Radisson. Major hotel investments in the current economic situation are not predicted. An important part of the overall tourist offer is the virtually unlimited possibilities that can be had with shopping, recreation and night-time entertainment, which is ranking Budapest among the major tourist me-tropolises of Europe. Night-time entertainment is especially popular, attracting many city- breakers for the club scene, restaurants and for the traditional cultural offerings.

The meetings industry experienced its largest decline between 2009 and 2010, but in recent years it has further strengthened and is now experiencing positive growth. The biggest congress advantages of Budapest often include easy accessibility and value for money. In addition, the city has an exceptional concentration of world-class convention hotels. All this has resulted in a tremendous growth of con-gress tourism in the city. On both the ICCA and world scales in 2012 Budapest was in 20th place and in Europe in 15th place, making it the third city in the important convention ‘Bermuda Triangle’ of Prague, Vienna, Budapest.

Over the last 20 years numerous convention hotels were built, the offer of restaurants became more enriched, special venues increased and it is impossible to list all of these in their entirety. Among the international congress first-class brands there are Kempinski Corvinus, Hilton, Sofitel, InterContintal, Boscolo, Le Meridien, Marriott Hotel, Aquincium in Corinthia and as a specialty Budha bar, with its lifestyle story. These names will most often be found in connection with congress events. In Budapest you can or-ganise your event at the highest level in hotels such as the Art Noveau Four Seasons Gresham Palace, which is considered one of the best hotels in Europe.

An important player on the congress scene is Hungexpo, which in 2005 was taken over by the French-Belgian multi-

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national GL Events. On 356 hectares of land it has 8 halls with a total area of 70,000 m2. Hungexpo is the main organiser of trade fairs in Hungary. Its flexible halls are also suitable for large conferences.

Special locations for organising events are endless, with the main city market and its picturesque and dynamic loca-tion especially dear to me. You can also savour socialist times through a ride in a Trabant, or the grandiosity of the 19th century at a Gala Dinner at the Szabo Ervin Central library, and other events at many other locations.

Budapest is a place to enjoy and explore, one that offers a lot to congress organisers. It seems that despite the economic crisis facing the whole country it continues to get on with living its life. Nevertheless, the crisis has not bypassed the city meetings industry, especially agencies. Quite a few agen-cies have closed their doors in recent years. Currently they are undergoing a consolidation of the meetings industry for it to be ready for the new wave of demand. Interestingly, most of the events in Budapest are coming from abroad, according to estimates of the Budapest Convention Bureau counting for as much as 80%. Perhaps the reason lies in the exception-al concentration of top hotels. Among the selected 35 best hotels in Central Europe, according to a survey by Conde Nast Traveller 8 of them are located in Budapest.

There are some drawbacks of Budapest, in that the city still does not have a true convention centre with a capacity of 1,500 and more participants that would attract larger inter-national congresses and facilitate the marketing game with Vienna and Prague. Therefore, the news which resounded in November, that they are going to build a new centre, is encouraging.

Budapest has always belonged to the tradition and culture of the West and its enforced stay in Eastern Europe is already quite a faded memory. The extremely professional and posi-tive professionals, who because of their Finno-Ugric linguis-tic connection are reminiscent of their Scandinavian rela-tives, give the city a specific added value. Once you agree all the details everything will work like clockwork and without any unnecessary problems. It’s no wonder that it is always attracting congress organisers.


Grades: 5 excellent meetings destination4 quality meetings destination3 recommendable meetings destination 2 average meetings destination 1 so so

4.53

INDIVIDUAL GRADES: Natural and cultural factors 4.54

One of just a few cities in the world that literally lies on thermal springs and to which the Danube River gives a spe-cific experiential value. In the city there is just no end to the cultural and historical attractions, which positions Budapest among the most attractive tourist cities of Europe.

General and transport infrastructure 4.22

Budapest enjoys a very favourable position in Europe, at the crossroads between the East and the West. Moreover, even according to Mercer’s scale of quality of life it is among the top cities in Eastern Europe with a strong multicultural char-acter. The accessibility of the city is excellent, as all roads in Hungary lead to the capital. Public transport is also excel-lently arranged and known to be reliable. The city is also a safe convention destination.

Tourist infrastructure 4.64

The rich legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in com-bination with sights of the soc-realist period and the city’s affordability are a formula for an exceptional tourist popu-larity of the city and a good occupancy of the 22,000 hotel rooms. If we add to this an excellent hotel infrastructure and attractions such as spas, gastronomy and a rich nightlife we get a top tourist destination.

Meetings infrastructure 4.43

The winning combination of world-class convention hotels, additional incentive offer and good prices. Behind its main competitors Vienna and Prague Budapest lags in destination management and has a little bit of a worse image. Missing a more proactive city convention bureau.

Subjective grade 4.45

Best value for money. According to the research of Magyar Turizmus 1 EUR spent in Vienna in the congress industry is worth 2 in Budapest. At the same time Budapest is still a fresh and new destination compared to some quite tired competitors in the market.

Comparison with the regionIf one was to put congress destinations of the New Europe into a football perspective, then in the first league Vienna dominates, which is immediately followed by Prague and Budapest. This has also shown up on our scale, on which Budapest ranked third among larger cities. The city has no shortage of picturesque special venues nor the most luxu-rious hotels and crazy and diverse incentive locations. If Prague and Dubrovnik are a love at first sight, then Budapest is love in the long run. In addition to the selection of 16 five-star hotels, from Intercontinental to Kempinski, and 61 hotels with four-stars, it impresses with unique, speciality, historic

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spa resorts. All this has been for many years an excellent and well-established MICE destination with well-oiled congress machinery. In addition, Budapest, unlike its rivals, is also a very pocket friendly congress destination.

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Cool meetings

Hungarian cuisine is famous for its pepper and I cannot imagine a visit to the capital without tasting the world famous speciality of Hungarian goulash. They cook it with different kinds of meat - veal or pork. There are plenty of versions and since the 19th century it spread around the world via Viennese cuisine.

Five Budapest meetings flashpoints by Kongres magazine:1. Four Seasons Gresham Palace – One

of the craziest hotels in Europe.2. Claustrophilia - team building

and having fun with others 3. Rent a trabant – team retro ride 4. Chefparade – learn to cook

Hungarian specialties 5. Central market Hall - special venue

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ISTANBULSIZE DOES MATTER

Does size matter? ‘Absolutely’, argue the meetings industry representatives of Istanbul. So too thinks Remco Norden, the charismatic director of the largest

hotel convention centre in Europe, who is at the head of the 500 member team of the Hilton Bomonti hotel. This is one of the largest hotel convention centres in Europe. Distances and size are all relative in this city of superlatives where even five minutes, which is maybe a measure of distance from your destination, can easily be converted into a completely differ-ent travel experience.

The only regional megapolis today has almost 15 million inhabitants, the city spreading in every direction where you out your view. As you walk down Istiklal street you wonder where the path leads the million pedestrians reputed to stream along it every day. Personally, I am delighted, sur-prised and shocked by the contrasts of the city and the history that accompanies you at every step, peppered with incredi-ble scents and scenery: this is a city that awakens all of the senses. Even the rigorously protected Taksim Square, where policemen armed to the teeth are on the sidelines waiting in a standby mode, is not disruptive to tourists, who just five metres away hustle and bustle through a Saturday evening.

Istanbul shares the variety and diversity of the country it is the capital of; its population is so colourful and unique that such a melting pot can only be held together by secular principles. Geographically it belongs to the Middle East, con-nected together by the Muslim religion as the foundation of the region’s identity. It is no wonder that the city name ac-tually means “Islam Bolu” or place of Islam. This amazing agglomeration of races, nationalities, languages and customs gives it the hugest possible experiential value. In addition, the geographical position in the extreme southern part of the Bosphorus at the Aegean Sea has always been a strategic hub and crossroads between Europe and Asia, and in particular with the Middle East. To describe all the historical attrac-tions that make the city interesting we simply would not have enough space here. At each visit to the city I detect a myriad of new places, which, together with its friendly climate, place Istanbul among the world’s top tourist destinations. The his-torical core of the Sulanahmet city, which is on the UNESCO world heritage list, is extremely well preserved whilst at the same time besieged by tourists.

The first impression of the city for foreigners is the traffic chaos. After a few days, however, you realise that despite this impression it is actually governed by a kind of order, which is best controlled by taxi and bus drivers. The transport in-frastructure is also improving from year to year - new metro lines are planned and the biggest relief for traffic was deliv-ered by a high-tech rail tunnel under the Bosphorus, which connects the European and Asian parts of the city.

With the events of Taksim Square the feeling of security is reinforced at every step with thorough screening that you

need to get used, also upon arrival at the convention centre or hotel. Guards are ubiquitous in Istanbul. The development of the city to which something between 300 and 500 immi-grants arrive on a daily basis is a difficult task. The results are ‘gecekondular’, neighbourhoods constructed overnight. The inhabitants of these parts also have a self-cleaning power, because every day they process tons of waste that remains behind the metropolitan madhouse.

One could use the analogy that that the horses on which the Turks once conquered Europe have today morphed into the planes of national air carrier Turkish Airlines. For the third consecutive year it was the best airline in Europe, as assessed by web portal Skytrax. The reason is the extremely friendly service, which is unusual in today’s world of national airlines. In addition, they have significantly changed Istanbul into an intercontinental aviation hub. A large part of the tourism and convention industry success stories is a result of the renewed fleet of 228 aircraft flying to 239 destinations. Thankfully, the whole idea is also supported by policy, as they are starting out on constructing the world’s largest airport on the Black Sea, which will be followed by a sharp increase in market needs. The mega-airport is scheduled to have six runways with a capacity of up to 150 million passengers a year. Already last year Istanbul was visited by a record 10.4 million tourists. The tourism industry is in the middle of a true boom. To illustrate this, 750 aircraft or 82,000 passen-gers land daily at the airport.

On Harbiye street it is impossible to memorise the names of all the agencies that have found their homes along this avenue. The tourist buzz is endless and the city spins at an incredible speed. Last year, according to the director of the Istanbul Convention Bureau, they acquired 20,000 new hotel rooms. The city has more than 400 hotels of which 76 are of the category 5 *****, 107 being category 4 ****. Lovers of top hotel brands will have a serious problem which hotel from the first league to choose for their event. The restaurant scene is also among the best in the world and special locations are so numerous they cannot be listed. On the Bosphorus there are plenty of specialised outlets for entertainment on all scales. The city lives literally 24 hours a day - even at the seemingly most impossible hours, one does not go hungry.

Throughout history Istanbul has been at the crossroads of civilisations and some sort of a meeting point. It offers its congress product through seductive orientalism, which is steadily gaining interest on the global convention scene. Congress facilities are too many to set out here, but the city is easily capable of hosting the largest congress events, as witnessed by last year’s Orthopaedic Congress EFFORT, at-tended by 7,000 doctors, or the 2009 hosting of the 5th World Water Forum, with over 25,000 participants.

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The convention industry is roughly concentrated around three clusters:- Congress Valley in the city centre, which combines the

Istanbul Congress Centre and Istanbul Convention & Exhibition Centre, with the largest hall for 5,000 partici-pants and 11 halls for sections. Around the valley there are 6,000 hotel rooms within walking distance.

- Golden horn includes a slightly more intimate Hallic Congress Centre with a plenary hall for 3,008 participants and a number of smaller halls .

- The Airport Area includes the Istanbul World Trade Centre and nearby hotels. The World Trade Centre has 11 halls, with a total area of over 162,000 m2. An integral part of the cluster are the Grand Cevahir Hotel & Convention Centre, Istanbul Expo Centre and the WOW Conference Centre.Each cluster has in its surroundings enough hotel rooms to

host mega-conferences with over 20,000 participants.Also new is the huge Hilton Istanbul Bomonti hotel and

convention centre next to the 120-year old Bomonti brewery. The largest hall has a capacity of 3,200 guests, thrilling with its exceptional elegance and excellent technical equipment and more than 30 rooms for parallel sessions.

Istanbul has a young population that is innovative and open to different thinking. This was reflected at the recent-ly executed Ace of Mice fair, which was a demonstration of Istanbul’s energy and innovation. Numerous young meetings industry companies compete with one another and are cre-ating new added value. They are very smartly connected by the Istanbul Convention Bureau, which has been acting as a public-private partnership since 1997.

The main advantage of Istanbul is that it reorganised its meetings industry and took advantage of its strategic location at the crossroads between Asia and Europe. This is further complemented by exceptional air accessibility, since 50 air-lines fly into the city daily.

Today Istanbul is some kind of a congress hybrid between regulated western destinations and more exotic congress destinations, and a hybrid between the old and the new that follows you in this incredible city at every step. Options for the organisation of social events are unparalleled elsewhere in Europe. Cosmopolitan Istanbul has come back in full shine and has become one of the top global congress cities.

The destination is back in the limelight and is the new global success story. How vital is the image of the city was proven at last year’s protests in Taksim square that did not cause any problems to the meetings industry.

Similarly, Turkish Airlines is a symbol of the rise and vi-tality of the Turkish economy. We believe that the meetings industry of Istanbul will be the new congress success story, for it has already fulfilled almost every condition and at the same time it is still relatively inexpensive.


Grades: 5 excellent meetings destination4 quality meetings destination3 recommendable meetings destination 2 average meetings destination 1 so so

4.51

INDIVIDUAL GRADES: Natural and cultural factors 4,74

The most distinctive geographical determinant of the city is the Bosphorus, which separates the European from the Asian part of the city and connects the Marmara and the Black Sea. From the sea the most magnificent landscapes of the city are revealed. Together with the demographic conglomeration, historic heritage and amazing architecture, experientially they are putting Istanbul among the most important global tourist destinations.

General and transport infrastructure 3,84

In the city of excess, despite the apparent chaos everything works more or less normally. In recent times the orderliness of public transport is especially impressive, with two metro lines and other transport that thoroughly interconnect the city. With the planned mega-projects the quality of life is improving as well as the general infrastructure. Most of all it is thanks to the phenomenal and smart growth of Turkish Airlines, which is today the fourth largest airline in the world.

Tourist infrastructure 4,75

A city of scents, flavours and fragrances together with countless tourist attractions that have always been attract-ing tourists with their oriental touch. It is therefore not sur-prising that according to the last year’s Master Card Global Destination Index study it is among the ten most success-ful global destinations in 2013. Ahead of Istanbul are only Bangkok, London, Paris, Singapore and New York.

Meetings infrastructure 4,82

Congress Bazaar of Istanbul offers everything that the heart of a meetings organiser could wish for, in addition to 7 con-vention centres, 3 fair grounds and almost 100,000 hotel rooms, and the excellently organised Convention Bureau of Istanbul.

Subjective grade 4,25

Caught between traditional and Western culture the city offers one of the most authentic congress experiences in the world. Leaving aside the political instability and security problems it is one of the most competitive destinations in the world, which is also characterised by the genuine hospitality of the locals and their natural gift for business.

Comparisons with the regionCurrent support of local politics and the economy in the region is more an exception than a rule. Although the country has recently found itself in a whirlwind of protests and polit-ical instability, it seems that this does not affect the meetings industry and the Turkish congress tiger is relentlessly growl-ing and overcoming everything set in front of it. If personal hospitality could be combined with the proverbial German precision, the route to congress superstardom would be com-pletely open. Professionalism and entrepreneurship when they are competing for international events is not lacking and they could be setting an example to other convention

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bureaus. Perhaps the biggest rival is Barcelona, which with its facilities and overall support is also able to host the biggest events.

Cool meetingsIstanbul is not in any way missing a whole world of real treats, so to pick just one would be unfair. This time let’s expose the spices that make the food divine, with the easiest way to encounter them at the Grand Bazaar.

Five Istanbul meetings flash-points by Kongres magazine:1. Hilton Bomonti – one of Europe’s largest convention hotels,

which is setting new Hilton standards2. Basilica Cistern – unusual gala dinner in the largest under-

ground cistern in the world 3. Tea time a la Turca - a memorable enjoyment of drink-

ing tea is an unforgettable experience for your conference guests

4. Club scene at Bosphorus - a club with the most beautiful views of the Bosphorus, Reina, Sortie, Suad and Super club

5. Santralistanbul – a special venue in the restored electrical central

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Venue of the Month

Why hotel Lev? Hotel Lev has been welcoming guests since 1964. The range of top class hotel and culinary

services has slowly made the Hotel Lev more and more popular amongst business as well as leisure guests. Its long tradition helped this mighty hotel to become an important city, business and re-gional conference hotel, well-known all over the world. Meetings in hotel Lev Meeting rooms with a view, perfectly situated in the city centre. Located on the 13th floor of the hotel, six confer-ence rooms with 70 participants capacity, offer a perfect venue for your business meetings. The rooms have a magnificent view of Tivoli Park or

the city centre with the castle in the background. They are modern, well-equipped daylight-bright rooms with flexible layout and enable the or-ganization of different events. Flawless techni-cal equipment and support will make sure your event is unforgettable. The Karantanija con-ference hall, located on the ground floor of the Hotel Lev is our largest conference hall; it can welcome up to 150 guests. The hall is technically well-equipped and offers top quality sound and lighting system. It can be partitioned into four sections to comply with the number of attendees and the nature of the event, from conferences and seminars to receptions, gala dinners and weddings.

Contact: Ms. Mojca Vidic E-mail: [email protected] for special offer or more information for conferences, meeting or special events.www.hotel-lev.si

HOTEL LEV, UNION HOTELS LJUBLJANA Perfect comfort with a view

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Extended stay

WERZER’S HOTEL RESORT PÖRTSCHACH

Location: Werzerpromenade 8, A-9210 Pörtschach, Kärnten, Austria

Werzer’s Hotel is run with a personal touch and oversees one of the most stunning locations on the shores of Lake Wörth. As a hotel hosting events up to 500 persons we have made a name for ourselves in Carinthia. Be it classical seminars, workshops, conferences, receptions, gala dinners – we are always the top address. All 120 rooms & suites are tastefully and comfortably furnished and have balconies, most of which have a direct view of the lake. Also the large hotel beach with flat edge and 2.000m² spa area with a heated pool in the lake, different saunas and relaxing areas are gorgeous.

Werzer s Hotel Resort PörtschachT: +43 (0) 4272 / 2231-0 E: [email protected]

HOTEL CASTLE OTOČEC

Location: Grajska cesta 2, Otočec, Slovenia

Castle Otočec is the only river castle in Slovenia and one of the most attrac-tive ones. It is ideal for visiting cultural and historical sights of this part of Slovenia, for magical weddings, smaller business meetings, meetings including protocols and other business meetings. As a member of family Relais & Châteaux Castle Otočec became one of highly qualitative hotels and restaurants, which are among the best in the world that offer qual-itative high-class tourism. Being a member of the association we share passion and commitment to working with guests who wish for something more than a common accommodation.

Castle Hotel Otočec T: +386 7/ 38 48 900 E: [email protected]

EXTENDED STAY

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Advertorial

The expansive development of tourism in Dubrovnik was from the outset followed by the gradual development of congress

tourism, because at the time of the Dubrovnik Republic the hosts had to care for the pleasant stay of diplomats, guests and foreign visitors. The catalyst for tourism development is considered to be the opening of the Hotel Imperial in 1887, when the archive also documents and records data on the first international conference held in our city. In the spring and autumn seasons Dubrovnik today hosts participants of interna-tional conferences and seminars, and groups with special programmes through which we are generating outstanding tourist results.

The excellent offer available for conference organisation alloyed to a very long experience in this segment of tourism business makes Dubrovnik a major Croatian congress destina-tion. Studies in recent years show that the eco-nomic impact of this tourism segment is on the rise, and that Dubrovnik has the most organised

conferences, seminars and incentives in Croatia. The indicators show that congress participants and organisers come mainly from European countries. Dubrovnik responds promptly to con-gress tourism global growth trends and adapts to the demands of the clientele.

In hotels such as the Dubrovnik Palace, Excelsior, Bellevue, Grand Villa Argentina, Grand Hotel Park, Importane Resort, Dubrovnik President, Valamar Lacroma Resort and the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, a series of conferences, seminars and annual meetings have been held. From the initial eighty participants we are today talking about double that number of delegates at congresses and seminars. It is known that Dubrovnik has established itself as a centre of excellence for conferences for 150-700 participants, as it is now one of the most famous congress cities in Europe. Since the conference season extends into the tourist season, starting in early spring and ending in late November, most hotels that

have a conference offer operate continuously throughout the year, helped also by the favour-able climatic conditions and the improving air connections of Dubrovnik with the rest of the world. Another attraction for conference and congress participants is certainly the possibil-ity of organising business meetings in inspir-ing historical venues, such as Renaissance palaces and medieval fortresses.

The casual aspect of congresses and meet-ings in Dubrovnik will show itself to very select special events at top restaurants on terraces with stunning views of the Adriatic sea and the sunset, and a mild climate that allows the enjoy-ment of nature throughout the year.

Incentive and teambuilding programmes in Dubrovnik will offer another dimension; it will become an unforgettable experience, as Dubrovnik itself is.

DUBROVNIK – CENTRE FOR SPECIAL TOURIST PROGRAMMESCongresses for the highest international standards

64

Advertorial

ICCA RANKING - DUBROVNIK CLIMBS ON THE LIST OF POPULAR CONVENTION DESTINATIONS

The character of Dubrovnik as a congress industry destination is confirmed by climbing higher on this newly published list of prestigious global association ICCA, as according to the latest published data it is now 74th place on the world’s congress destination list, up from last year’s 87th.

ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), one of the most prominent organisations in the world of international conferences, announced its country and city rankings for 2012 and indi-cated Dubrovnik again occupying excellent positions, this year rising to 74th place, while Croatia took 40th position in the world and 22nd place in Europe.

On the European list of 178 positions for cities, Dubrovnik is ranked higher, current-ly at 39th place, up on its last year position of 48th.

All of these rankings of Dubrovnik confirm its status as an attractive convention desti-nation. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Dubrovnik continues to record a large number of conferences and congresses in 2013, with a total of 368 held and the steady positive trend recorded in recent years testi-fying to the stable status of Dubrovnik as a congress destination. During the spring the large convention hotels in Dubrovnik - Rixos, Libertas, Valamar Lacroma, Dubrovnik Palace Hotel, Radisson Blue and others -

hosted a series of major conferences with smaller meetings held in other hotels with convention facilities. It seems that 2014 is also shaping up to be very successful.

Dubrovnik will be again presenting its con-gress offer at the largest gathering of congress professionals in the world, the IMEX fair in Frankfurt, where this year the Convention Bureau of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Tourist Board will also be represented.

Brsalje 5HR-20 000 Dubrovnik

T +385 20 312 015F +385 20 323 725

[email protected]

Take your business to the City, a city for all seasons!

Bu

sin

ess

Pleasure

65

Hidden Congress Guest

Photo credits: GRAND HOTEL PRIMUS

GRAND HOTEL PRIMUS, TERME PTUJ, Ptuj, Slovenia ★★★★ PREMIUM HEDONISTIC PAMPERING

LOCATIONPtuj is the oldest Slovenian town and with the oldest wine cellar in Slovenia, while onm the other hand Terme Ptuj is one of the youngest Slovenian spas. Despite this, doctors attribute beneficial effects in the treatment of rheumatism to their thermal waters.A well-preserved castle with the old town centre and a wide riverbed of the river Drava give the seal of the city to Ptuj. The complex of Terme Ptuj on the oppo-site bank of the river is connected by a modern bridge, designed for pedestrians and cyclists.

ACCESSIBILITYPtuj is located in the northeast of Slovenia, 30 km from Maribor and 140 km from Ljubljana. On the highway from Ljubljana it takes about an hour and a half, a little less from the airport in Graz. At the front of the hotel there is plenty of parking, with a hotel garage also available.

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and AestheticsGrand Hotel Primus has a great position on a spacious green area, surrounded on one side by the swimming pool complex, and on the other with a park and a golf course. All rooms have a great view. The hotel was de-signed with an emphasis on the wellness offer, so this part is the most outstanding both in terms of content as well as design. For everything else – the exterior, lobby, rooms – it would be difficult to say that it is an archi-tectural excess, but the hotel is modern and functional.The hotel successfully combines health care, relaxa-tion and enjoyment of good food.

WARN APPETIZER - Staff and Food Grand Hotel Primus, with its story linking to the his-torical period of the Roman Empire (part of which was also Ptuj (Petovia)), is in the Slovenian area definitely the winner in the concept of how to use history and adapt it to the modern guest. Without a good story the Grand Hotel Primus would be only one of many 4 star hotels. From the wellness centre, where they can or-ganise a real Roman feast to culinary art according to the recipes of the ancient Romans, and the staff uni-forms to the animation for hotel guests... in everything you will find something Roman. It is true that the staff in city hotels is more restrained and that the further away you go the more relaxed is the atmosphere and the staff friendlier. This is certainly also true for Grand Hotel Primus.

MAIN COURSE - Congress hotel offer The standard hotel room is beautifully furnished and almost all rooms have a balcony. In particular the su-perior rooms stand out, where you will be soaking in the bath in thermal water.The congress hall on the ground floor can accommo-date up to 220 people theatre-style and can be divided into two smaller halls. The multipurpose Gemina XIII hall can be used as a conference hall (up to 200 dele-gates in theatre-style set up) or as a space for social events. Additional meeting rooms are also on other floors of the hotel.

DESSERT – additional offerNot often in Slovenia will you find at a hotel so many different activities that you can use as an update or upgrade of a professional conference or other event.

- FLOP – negative surprisesIt is a pity that planners did not plan more

space for the main conference hall.

+ TOP – positive surprisesThe diverse additional offer, from preventive

health programmes, to sports activities, guided ex-ercises for relaxation, culinary teambuilding, ani-mations with a touch of Roman times...

Overall impression and credibilityOften for an event we need more than just a well-equipped hall: what happens during breaks, at lunch, and at the evening event is also important. In the Grand Hotel Primus the offer is so rich that you can easily fill a day, two or more for your partic-ipants with a quality programme. The grand hotel Primus convinces, especially with its authentic story.

CATEGORY★★★★

OPENED SINCE2007

STANDARD Hotel with conference facilities

NUMBER OF ROOMS119 rooms

PRICE INTERNET97 EUR per room (BB, February 2014)

ADDRESSTerme PtujPot v Toplice 92251 Ptuj, SloveniaT: +386 2 749 45 00E: [email protected]/en/accomodations/terme-ptuj/grand-ho-tel-primus/

FACILITIESThe Valens Augusta Wellness Centre Water ParkGolf course A la carte restaurant Primus

SPECIALSPtuj carnival

RESULTS OF ANALYSISLocation 4.02 Accessibility 3.99 First impression 4.01Lobby 4.39Employee attitude 4.82Reception 4.75Hotel room 4.35 Hotel bed 4.21 Bathroom and restroom 4.23Hotel breakfast 4.02Bars and restaurants 4.05 Congress hall 4.21Additional offer 4.78 Total: 4.29




Budget ★

4.29Final Score

66


Photo credits: HOTEL ATRIJ SUPERIOR ZREČE

HOTEL ATRIJ SUPERIOR, Zreče, Slovenia ★★★★ PREMIUM THE STORY OF AN APPLE

LOCATIONThe newly built hotel is located in the centre of Zreče and the spa complex and actually forms its core. Zreče is a pleasant health resort below Pohorje, forming a complete whole with the Rogla sports centre. The place is suitable for smaller meetings and ideal for a variety of incentive programmes in the area and at sports facilities.

ACCESSIBILITY The hotel is easily accessible as it lies on the main road in the centre of a friendly, small health resort town. The area around the hotel has over 200 car parking spaces.Moreover, the capital city Ljubljana and the airport are is just over 100 km away or an hour and 40 minutes drive. It’s approximately the same distance to Graz airport.

COLD APPETISER - Architecture and Aesthetics The additional construction of the new hotel to the ex-isting hotel complex with hotel Dobrava 2000 defined the architectural design of the hotel. It sensibly fits into an architectural whole that appears nice and warm. At the same time, the new hotel is logically con-nected with the older part, so one almost doesn’t notice the transitions. The features of the hotel are likable, although they were not looking for revolution. Natural materials were used, especially wood and stone from Pohorje. In addition, the hotel offers a lot of large glass surfaces that allow enough light in the rooms. The hotel was built in accordance with the principles of eco-building, for which it has gained an eco flower.

WARM APPETISER - Staff and Food The hotel’s restaurant Atrium offers a friendly at-mosphere for all types of catering, from breakfast, and lunches through to dinners. A lot of attention is paid to traditional local cuisine, which is presented in a modern way. Since Zreče is surrounded by vine-yards, also the wine list includes many excellent local wines, with wines from other Slovenian regions also available.

MAIN COURSE – Congress hotel offer The Hotel Atrium has added a congress offer to Zreče, which was missing in the old part of the hotel complex. Hotel rooms are spacious and pamper the guests with good equipment, as well as in design terms having kept to the Golden Rules of the hotel design. In addition to two-bed rooms, the hotel is now also richer for 3 luxury suites with whirlpool baths, Turkish baths and

Finnish saunas. Rooms are equipped with wood veneer of apple trees and are of warm colours that appear cosy. The hosts enliven it with the local Pohorje apples and apple juice that await you upon arrival at your room. The hotel has a large cultural and congress hall and five smaller seminar halls within the new hotel. They are particularly pleasant for the participants and deserve their rightful praise. The halls are modernly equipped and adapted for smaller events of up to 100 participants.

DESSERT - Additional offerIDILA, Wellness & Spa with four worlds: Natura – an idyll of the riches of nature; Sawadee - idyll of the Orient; Romance - idyll of getaways for two; and Beauty & Spa – an idyll of beauty, intended for relaxa-tion and pampering.

- FLOP – negative surprisesMixing of the spa and convention guests. On

the website you will hardly find information on the location and accessibility.

+ TOP – positive surprisesThe genuine friendliness and hospitality that

creates a sense of familiarity. Modern architecture with lots of daylight and natural materials, which affects the well-being of convention guests.

Overall impression and credibilityOnly a few years ago, organisers had little choice when it came to Zreče. This is now much greater. The end result is a diverse hotel and congress offer for smaller events. Hotel Atrium is kind of a mild form of hybrid between a business and wellness hotel, which have recently become very popular. The most important part is the expectation of how much one has to pay for the offer - here the new hotel is very competitive. The additional and asso-ciated offer, which includes the sports centre Rogla, spa and well maintained tourist infrastructure, to-gether represent a competitive tourism product for smaller events.


OPENED SINCE2012

STANDARDHotel with conference facilities

NUMBER OF ROOMS45


ADDRESSTERME ZREČE Cesta na Roglo 15, SloveniaT: +386 (0)3 75 76 000E: [email protected]

FACILITIESIdila wellness & spa, Thermal healing water, Medical Centre, Restaurant Atrij, 140 seats, Coffee shop, 80 seats, Izba - a la carte restaurant, 50 seats, Retro fireplace room, 30 seats, Sports centre Rogla.

SPECIALSIDILA, Wellness & Spa





Budget ★

4.23Final Score

67


Photo credits: WELNESS HOTEL SOTELIA

WELNESS HOTEL SOTELIA, Podčetrtek, Slovenia ★★★★ PREMIUM ARCHITECTURAL EXCELLENCE

LOCATIONThe roots of organised development of the spa stem back to 1966, when they began the construction of health facilities that have turned out to profoundly alter the image of the frontier town on the river Sotla. The development of the spa therefore marked the de-velopment of the town, which has become one of the most recognizable tourism destinations of Slovenia. The hotel’s spa offer has developed around the swim-ming pool complex, which, together with the new hotel Sotelia forms a new urban whole.

ACCESSIBILITYPodčetrtek is not exactly in the centre of Slovenia, but one can get from Ljubljana to it in about an hour and a half. The main road is a regional road, which runs from Celje towards Brežice. In Podčetrtek there is also an interstate road border crossing with Croatia. A single-track railway line – the Celje - Imeno – also runs through the town, with work under way on a cycle track from Podčetrtek to Rogaška Slatina. Within the spa it is well catered for parking, the hotel itself also having an underground parking garage.

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and Aesthetics Outside the hotel is set apart from its rivals with one of the most original architectural solutions in Slovenia. It is one of the best and also award-winning architectural sustainable solutions. The building of the hotel appears excellently embedded in the surrounding nature, while at the same time appearing futuristic and extravagant. Interior fittings are served with a colourful arsenal of light effects, having a variety of natural patterns and textures. Architects here have proven that in modern tourism a different architecture is not only essential, but also very possible.

WARM APPETIZER - Staff and Culinary Art The staff is mostly friendly and very hospitable and professional.Breakfast in the Basilicum restaurant is buffet style, as well as a pension dinner on offer with a rich choice of dishes and an emphasis on healthy food. In addition to the a la carte Gratiola restaurant, the hotel’s Virstein winery, named after the nearby wine-growing area, offers a welcoming atmosphere for smaller groups.

MAIN COURSE - Congress hotel offerThe hotel rooms offer a spacious, thoughtful and com-fortable interior with a high level of comfort. The se-lection of materials and the thoughtful personalization classifies it amongst the best Slovenian hotels. The size

of rooms is just right, the feeling in the rooms is excel-lent and on the whole not much seems missing.The hotel’s conference centre is pleasantly arranged in Zen style and in pastel colours. The largest hall, which can be divided into two parts, can accommodate 350 participants in theatre style. Three smaller halls with a capacity of 30 - 70 people are in the hotel Sotelia, with additional halls also in nearby hotels Breza and Rosa, which are connected by an underground passage.For slightly larger conferences, where an exhibition might also be planned, the space in front of the hall is a bit small. The compactness of the “resort Olimia”, however, offers many options for organising the ac-companying social events, both in the external and internal locations. A unique experience is an evening reception by the magically illuminated pools in the outer part of Orhidelia.

DESSERT - Additional offerHotel Sotelia charms congress organisers with its different options, among which in first place are the Wellness Centre Orhidelia and Spa Armonia. The little things like a bottle of your own mineral water, fresh fruit and an energy message awaiting you in the room make guests feel truly welcome.

- FLOP – negative surprisesThe lack of daylight in congress halls. From

the photos on the website, it is difficult to imagine how the hall looks.

+ TOP – positive surprisesThe architecture of the hotel: for an average

user, this architecture is light enough, colourful and lively, but at the same time compositionally complex, technically sophisticated and conceptu-ally integrated to also satisfy the demanding visitor or an expert.

Overall impression and credibilityHotel Sotelia was never hiding its ambitions to bring to the meetings industry a genuine wellness expe-rience, which other competitors do not yet know. In addition, the distinctive architectural design has many admirers; small details always attract the eye. In all respects this is a very good hotel with confer-ence facilities for smaller events. Together with the rich tourist and sports offer Podčetrtek is ideal for the implementation of various incentives and other incentive programmes. The hotel is no longer the newest on the market, but it is still fresh enough and different from the other offer in Slovenia.


OPENED SINCE 2006


NUMBER OF ROOMS135 two bed rooms, 4 appartments,6 suites

PRICE INTERNET156 EUR per room (HB, February 2014), entrance to luxurious Wellness centre Orhidelia included

ADDRESSWELNESS HOTEL SOTELIA Zdraviliška cesta 24, SloveniaT: +386 (0)3 829 70 00 E: [email protected]

FACILITIESWellness centre Orhidelia, Wellness centre Termalija, Spa Armonia, Pen-sion restaurant Basilicum, A la carte restaurant Gratiola, Virstain winery, Zafran Club

SPECIALSNatural thermal water

RESULTS OF ANALYSISLocation 4.15Accessibility 3.12First Impression 4.45Lobby 4.65Employee Attitude 4.84Reception 4.89Hotel Room 4.42Hotel Bed 4.15Bathroom And Restroom 4.19Hotel Breakfast 4.32Bars And Restaurants 4.02Congress Hall 4.59Additional Offer 4.88Total: 4.36




Budget ★

4.36Final Score

68


WELNESS HOTEL SOTELIA, Podčetrtek, Slovenia ★★★★ PREMIUM ARCHITECTURAL EXCELLENCE

Photo credits: SPA & SPORT RESORT SVETI MARTIN

SPA & SPORT RESORT SVETI MARTIN, Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia ★★★★ PREMIUM IN HARMONY WITH NATURE

LOCATIONThe resort is situated in a quiet location in the middle of the vineyard region and 15 km from the city of Varaždin, making it the northernmost Croatian health resort. The site is located on the protected area of the Mura River, which seems to live in harmony with nature. With the development of sustainable tourism in 2006 it was declared a European destination of ex-cellence. A specialty of the site are its vine-loaded hill-sides full of vineyard cottages and tourist farms, which make the landscape especially attractive.

ACCESSIBILITYThe hotel is accessible by the main regional road from Varaždin, just a stone’s throw from the Slovenian-Croatian border. As most guests come by car there is an enormous amount of free hotel parking, with a garage available at an additional charge.For guests arriving by plane Zagreb Airport is advis-able, which is just an hour and a half drive away, or Graz, from which it takes an hour and fifty minutes.

COLD APETISER - Architecture and Aesthetics The hotel is defined by contemporary architecture, which is trying to please the taste of most guests. Modern architecture, a solid external appearance and good hotel functionality, with the icing on the cake being the greenness as far as the eye can see: on one side a golf course, on the other woods, elsewhere meadows and vineyards.

WARM APPETIZER - Staff and Culinary ArtDefinitely the best part of the story come through the professional staff. A buffet breakfast is solid and with a range of choices, although the breakfast room is a bit cold and impersonal.Beyond this, the hotel’s vineyard landscape location means there is no shortage of top agro-tourism and other rich culinary offerings. In order to taste the best local wines, you do not need to go out of the hotel. However, to ‘experience’ the best local wines a visit to one of the surrounding wine houses is recommended as an additional authentic experience of Međimurje.

MAIN COURSE - Congress hotel offer The hotel boasts a pleasant appearance of hotel rooms, which impresses with spaciousness, but to a lesser extent with the quality of the materials used. The rooms, however, offer exactly what guests expect from such a hotel.The ambitiously designed conference centre accommo-dates up to 450 participants in the largest multifunc-

tional hall, Mura. Next to it are four smaller meeting rooms. It is a well-equipped conference centre. In the hotel they have taken good care of innovative team-building programmes with a special emphasis on sports programmes, which are otherwise rarely seen in hotels of the region.

DESSERT - Additional offerGolf course with nine holes, which due to heated meadows is also suitable for playing in winter.

- FLOP – negative surprisesLocation of the hotel itself attracts mostly

guests arriving with their own transportation. Also, on the website you will only find instructions for road access.

+ TOP – positive surprisesThe architecture of the hotel: for an average

user, this architecture is enough light, colourful and lively. For meeting planners the resort is ideal because of the extensive additional offer. Even in the case of a multi-day conference there is enough choice for a varied programme.

Overall impression and credibilityAt the beginning of the year, the management of the hotel was taken over by the hotel chain Lifeclass. With their vast experience in the field of congress tourism, we believe that the resort will be re-posi-tioned on the new map of conference and in particu-lar incentive destinations. The hotel itself is well designed and except for minor cosmetic changes they will not have a difficult job. It is complement-ed by the offer of 120 apartments, which puts it in a suitable location for medium to large conferences of up to 300 participants. The hotel teamed with the authentic surroundings is designed in such a way to offer a very competitive and different conference experience.


OPENED SINCE2009


NUMBER OF ROOMS151 rooms, 6 suites


ADDRESSTOPLICE SVETI MARTIN d.d. Grkaveščak bb40313 Sveti Martin na Muri, CroatiaT: +385 (0)40 315 002 E: [email protected]

FACILITIESMain restaurant Mira, A la carte restaurant Martin, Lounge bar, Pub Potkva, Hairdresser, Wellness centre at 1800 m2, Tennis, basketball, foot-ball and volleyball courts.

SPECIALSPaintball ground and golf court





Budget ★

4.18Final Score

69


Photo credits: WELNESS HOTEL SOTELIA

HOTEL BALNEA SUPERIOR, Dolenjske toplice, Slovenia ★★★★ PREMIUM A GENUINE GREEN EMBRACE

LOCATIONDolenjske spa is one of the oldest spas in Europe. Today, moreover, it is a space of wellness and congress tourism and an area of unspoilt natural and cultural heritage. The spa valley is surrounded on one side by the mysterious Kočevski rog, and on the other by the gentle dolenjski hills. The Dolenjske spa lies in the centre of the Spa Valley.The new hotel in the middle of the historic core of Dolenjske spa is embedded in the existing ambience and forms a kind of an organic link with other objects.

ACCESSIBILITYDolenjske spa is in the south-eastern part of Slovenia. It is accessible by local road from Novo mesto or from Ljubljana along the picturesque valley of the river Krka. Ljubljana is 67 km away. Like other spas it is not exactly in the centre of Slovenia, but precisely the lo-cation in the middle of greenery makes it particularly interesting.

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and Aesthetics The hotel forms a functional unit with the Kristal hotel and forms a nice relaxing atmosphere. With the Zen glass walkway it is connected to the Wellness Centre Balnea, which creates a unique and high-qual-ity spatial experience. Through the hallway you are directly connected with the majestic spa park. The simple design is rich in terms of materials, colours, textures and light. As a whole it appears warm and pleasant, surprising wits its many small details, like a series of international jokes and sayings in the elevator and the top quality lighting of hallways, restaurants and the hotel as a whole.

WARM APPETIZER - staff and foodIn the renovated hotel top quality cuisine has found its place. An excellent choice of breakfasts and very friend-ly staff are some of the main catering strengths of the hotel. A selection of regional and local cuisine thrills, as does the promotion of local products and honey. The restaurant is connected across the hallway with the new hotel; it is also suitable for larger receptions.

MAIN COURSE - Congress hotel offer The hotel room is well-equipped and even borders on being luxurious. It most impresses with its warmth, which is emphasized by the materials and wood used. The hotel has one of the best hotel beds. We particu-larly recommend the rooms with balconies.

A small conference centre has three modernly equipped halls. The largest hall can accommodate 80 participants. There are additional facilities in the res-taurant with Small lounge and club Ana. Across the road the Municipality of Dolenjske spa has built a cul-tural and congress centre, which is an integral part of the offer. The largest hall in the centre can accom-modate 260 participants and it is technically very well equipped.

DESSERT - Additional offerMighty park for Zen incentive programmes.

- FLOP – negative surprisesCrowded pool complex and saunas.

+ TOP – positive surprisesThe warmth and quality of hotel rooms,

which are maintained to a high level.

Overall impression and credibilityA full-blooded wellness experience that does not disappoint your congress guests - the interiors and architecture of the hotel is sound in all respects and the quality craftsmanship and materials used satisfy at first glance, with the only drawback being that the hotel is generally very busy and so your conference guests will have to mix with classical health guests. Otherwise, this spa is where you can be a little removed from the world and enjoy the peace and intimacy of your event. A very authentic and very genuine boutique congress experience.


OPENED SINCE2008



PRICE INTERNET 139 EUR per room (BB, February 2013)

ADDRESSTERME KRKA d.o.o.Zdraviliški trg 78350 Dolenjske Toplice, SloveniaT: +386 7 39 19 400E: [email protected]

FACILITIESWellness Balnea Saunas oasis Aesthetics Balnea Restaurant Terme Dolenjske toplice

SPECIALSConvention centre Dolenjske toplice





Budget ★

4.35Final Score

70


HOTEL BALNEA SUPERIOR, Dolenjske toplice, Slovenia ★★★★ PREMIUM A GENUINE GREEN EMBRACE

Photo credits: HOTEL VALAMAR SANFIOR

HOTEL VALAMAR SANFIOR, Rabac, Croatia ★★★★ PREMIUM INCENTIVE IN THE SPIRIT OF THE GODDESS SENTONE

LOCATIONRabac is not exactly top of the list for the most well-known and frequent convention destinations in Istria. It is known more as a distinct family leisure destina-tion on the southeast coast of Istria, opposite the island of Cres. Until recently it was known primarily for its clean sea, beautiful beaches and rich sports offer. With the renovation of the hotel Valamar, though, the full offer is also available for a variety of incentive pro-grammes, in the extremely diverse landscape of the medieval town of Labin, which controls the region.

ACCESSIBILITYArrivals to Rabac are mainly on the well-kept roads through one of the branches of the Istrian ipsilon (Y). Both international airports are relatively close – Pula is just 47 km away and from Rijeka airport on the island Krk it’s just 95 km. Unfortunately both airports are poorly connected with the main transport hubs. The hotel is right next to the sea, with well-marked trails leading to it. Nearby there is ample parking in the shade of a pine forest.

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and Aesthetics Hotel & Casa Valamar Sanfior was extensively ren-ovated in 2013 and was formed by the merger of the Valamar Sanfior and renovation of Lanterna apart-ments. The pavilion design of the basic hotel building with a central atrium fits nicely into the pine forest. Even the refurbished apartment element follows this logic with a refined and modern look. The main archi-tectural focus is on the new outdoor pool complex in the middle of the pine forest, which, due to the large glass surfaces and broken outdoor patio, works very nicely. Pleasant trails and a walking promenade along the sea are combined to create a serene and stimulating Mediterranean ambience.

WARM APPETIZER - staff and foodWith the staff one can always find room for im-provement, even though we were at the hotel at the exact time when crowds were at their peak. The food offer is pension-style, with a well-stocked buffet on the model of “we offer everything”. The solid ambi-ence and friendly staff are trademarks of the hotel. Particularly commendable is the quality house wine of the Valamar company. The quality of the food and the staff are unquestionable, on Rabac you will not find a comparable offer. Guests are impressed by open cooking with a varied offer. Guests are also impressed by a fully stocked buffet breakfast with freshly baked warm bread.

MAIN COURSE - Congress hotel offer After renovation the rooms are spacious and equipped with modern furniture. More than just in the hotel, the spacious apartments in the Casa Valamar also thrill with a fit-out to an enviable level. The materials are high quality and guests in the new hotel are well taken care of. For congresses there are two conference halls for max 110 participants. While this is not their major offer, we estimate a very large potential for the organisation of incentive programmes, as the location is full of sports facilities, and we must especially highlight the medie-val Labin that is simply calling out for the organisation of a treasure hunt and other teambuilding activities.

DESSERT - Additional offerMedieval Labin, formerly known as Albona, was first mentioned in 285 BC. Today it is a cultural and ad-ministrative centre, which merges the rich architec-ture and cultural-historical monuments with many art studios.

- FLOP – negative surprisesThe hotel is open only from March until

November.

+ TOP – positive surprisesFor a positive surprise the friendly staff are

very caring, which deserves a big plus point.

Overall impression and credibilityThe renovated hotel has unexpectedly placed Rabac on the map of new, fresh incentive destinations. The hotel with its renovation became more useful and adaptable to the needs of convention guests. In modern parlance, we could say that it is a multitask-ing hotel. Whilst it is not a real convention hotel, it will easily perform well for the needs of a pleasant meeting or an event.


OPENED SINCERenovated in 2013



PRICE INTERNET75 EUR (March 2014)

ADDRESSHOTEL & CASA VALAMAR SANFIORRabac bb 52221 Rabac, Croatia T: +385 52 465 200 F: +385 52 872 561 E: [email protected] www.valamar.com

FACILITIESHotel restaurant, Pool bar, Wellness bar, Blue flag beach, Prohaska Tennis Centre, Aqua park, Wellness

SPECIALSIndented coastline suitable for water teambuilding activities





Budget ★

4.25Final Score

71

✃

KONGRES - EDITORIAL CALENDAR TOPICS AND DATES

CONVENTA DAILY January 2014

CONVENTA DAILY 1 - 2 Daily newspaper, which will be released during the Conventa trade show and which brings to exhibitors and invited guests daily news from Conventa.Space close: 13.12.2013 Materials due: 20.12.2013Delivery: 22. - 23.01.2014

SPECIAL ISSUE January 2014

CONVENTA 2014 Special edition, published as a catalogue of Conventa together with extensive destination presentations and presentations of participat-ing partners. In terms of content this is the most comprehensive overview of the meetings industry in the region of Southeast Europe.Space close: 13.12.2013 Materials due: 20.12.2013Delivery: 22. - 23.01.2014

SRING ISSUE March 2014

In Focus: ENERGY The uniqueness of your event is based on energy. The event can be quickly estimated as successful if it was just executed well and in line with the objectives. Effective are only a few events, which are the ones in which the flow of atomic congress energy is present, where par-ticipants become a part of the energy. In the spring issue we will highlight all the meetings industry topics related to energy.

Themed supplement: KONGRES GOURMET 2014Space close: 14.02.2014 Materials due: 21.02.2014Delivery: 28.03.2014

SPECIAL ISSUE May 2014

MEETOLOGUE 2014 In Kongres magazine we have been publishing since 2010 CONGRESS TRAVELOGUES, which were renamed MEETOLOGUES. International Congress buyers thus discover little-known European convention destinations. All existing travelogues of the NEW EUROPE will be issued in a special issue of Kongres magazine, which will be released prior to IMEX trade show. With high-quality editorial content, travelogues com-pletely replace the tedious and irrelevant cata-logues of meetings suppliers. Digital versions of MEETOLOGUES are currently the most read sections of the Kongres magazine.Space close: 11.04.2014Materials due: 18.04.2014 Delivery: 16.05.2014

SUMMER 2014 July 2014

In Focus: ENGAGEMENTFuture of meetings industry depends on un-derstanding the needs of new generations of congress participants who are looking for new different experiences. In the summer issue, we will explore what triggers positive experienc-es. To do this we must first build well, if we build events on authenticity, there is a good chance that we will initiate positive emotional reactions. We will present to you a few stories that are true, verifiable and relevant.

Themed supplement:ADVENTURE PARKS 2014 OUTDOOR VENUES 2014 Space close: 20.06.2014 Materials due: 27.06.2014Delivery: 25.07.2014

FALL 2014 September 2014

In Focus: “EDUTAINMENT”We live in a period of edutainment, where con-nection of educational content with entertain-ment has become a vital component of events. We will discuss how to use technology at your events for greater interactivity, what kind of innovations are offered on the market. We will re-open the dilemma of whether technology can replace personal contact.

Themed supplement: INNOVATIVE PEOPLE & EVENTSSpace close: 22.08.2014 Materials due: 29.08.2014 Delivery: 19.09.2014

WINTER 2014 November 2014

In Focus: ENTERTAINMENT Meetings industry is characterized by a mixture of professional and fun motive, but certainly the most important thing is companionship in their profession and communities. What are the trends, innovations, and what are the examples of good practice will be revealed in the last issue in 2014. Moreover, as an integral part of the magazine we will present a whole series of new ideas for organization of congress parties.

Themed supplement: KONGRES WAW - WINES AND WINERIES 2014, KONGRES HOLIDAY & PARTY GUIDESpace close: 18.10.2014 Materials due: 25.10.2014 Delivery: 15.11.2014

Kongres Magazine is far from being just a mag-azine. It is the only provider of integrated con-gress marketing communications, with which you can make effective dialogue with congress customers. Because we know what congress customers really need and how to ensure their long-term loyalty, we can make above-average, high-quality, relevant, independent, in-depth and interesting congress stories. In 2013 they will dedicate to you and your customers even more.

Published 6 times per year

Croatia Addendum

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Croatia Addendum

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1Interview

DHARMA MANAGEMENT IN THE ORGANIZATION OF EVENTS

2Daniela Kos

CROATIAN WINE STORY: CRO - WINE

3PERFECT BUSINESS EVENTS - AT SEA

4Daniela Kos

CROATIA HAS THE LARGEST TRAVEL CATALOG IN THE WORLD

– IRRESISTIBLE CROATIA!

CROATIA ADDENDUM

Editorial Board: Daniela Kos, Aleksandra Uhernik Đurðek, Roko Palmić

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Dhar media, marketing and PR agency has recently brought to Zagreb one of the world’s leading speak-ers in the fields of management, leadership and mo-

tivation, management guru Robin Sharma. Sharma at the Hypo event centre held a three-hour seminar based on his best-selling novel “The Leader Who Had No Title” With his energy, advice and simplicity he fulfilled expectations of three hundred participants and provided a number of tools for self-development and a different perspective on people management, but primarily self management. Skeptics might say that Sharma did not pronounce anything rev-olutionary, starting his presentation with a multitude of examples of business practices and the frequent mention of Steve Jobs, Peter Drucker, Tesla and other greats who have changed the world. But, precisely in the simplicity and clarity, and tools that anyone can apply there hides a real little treasure, as well as in messages about the values that should be cultivated if you want to live a successful and fulfilled life.

Agency Director Lea Brezar was extremely pleased with the performance of Robin Sharma, and after the conference an agreement on future co-operation between Dhar Media and Sharma Leadership International was reached, through a strategic partnership with Croatia. Dhar Media is recog-nized by their specific way of doing business - Dharma man-agement and projects in tourism (TouristarTV and Discover Croatia - Exploring Route) and we talked with Lea Brezar about the latest events.

How satisfied are you with the conference “The Leader Who Had No Title” and what challenges have you en-countered in the process of organizing such an event?Satisfaction after the seminar with Robin Sharma is excep-tional. One part goes to his performance, his simple way of presenting one truly exceptional philosophy of “leader with no title,” and the second part to the very success of the organization. As far as the organization and flow of com-munication with Sharma Leadership Institute is concerned, there were no problems. Foreign lecturers have clear rules that must be respected. But I must say that I am extremely

surprised at Sharma’s humility while he is communicating with you and willingness to compromise when unplanned things happen as they always do. But we had no major prob-lems; the feedback we got from the seminar was great. On the other hand, personal development and readiness of Croatian companies to invest in it, is unfortunately still in its infancy, so here we are opening a new area.

For several years you have been leading the Touristar project. It started with the release of Touristar book and website TouristarTV and at the end with filming at the Croatian tourist destinations. At what stage of the project are you?The project exists for five years. At first we believed that the market has room for a printed version of such publica-tion, but this turned out to be a difficult, slow and expensive way. Knowing the market that exists in the online world, we have decided to take this step, which has turned out to be a winning combination.Last year we launched a project Discover Croatia - Exploring Route under the brand Touristar TV. It is a web series that aims to introduce several tourism journalists who travelled through the country, learned about its history, culture, gastronomy and exceptional hosts and have been writing a blog about it on our website. The whole idea was sup-ported by tourist boards throughout Croatia, because the emphasis was on Web content, which is an important part of the strategy for development of tourism. All previously produced materials are available at www.touristar.tv, on social networks and on social networks of tourist boards. Each week all the other episodes of the region where we were shooting will continually come out. For now the first episodes of Zagreb, Zagreb County, Lika-Senj County, Sinj, Split, Makarska Riviera and Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

How has the co-operation with the American journalist and Emmy Award winner Ashley Colburn occurred?In the case of Touristar TV, via the Internet. One Facebook friend request was sufficient that Ashley and I at her return to Croatia met for coffee on the terrace of the Hotel Esplanade. The collaboration began with the assisted

text by Daniela Kos

DHARMA MANAGEMENT IN THE ORGANIZATION OF EVENTS

Interview with LEA BREZAR, Dhar Media

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driving of a car that was not an automatic, and the rest is history!After that, we have started an intensive communication regarding the project “Wonders of Croatia” which was filmed this summer. Given that we were available to her as an agency for public rela-tions, we did sponsorships and media communication.Ashley is an exceptional person, simple and open. Since then we are in very frequent communication and are working on new pro-jects, but this time in our arrangement.

Destination Management seeks good stories

Last year you implemented the project Discover Croatia - Exploring Route. How have the five foreign tourists experi-enced Croatia?It is best to quote the words of enthusiastic bloggers: “When I write a blog to me always the same problem appears, which is that we are running out of epithets to describe Croatia” - said Florence Richiazzi Lince (USA, The six Monthers), after ten days of filming. Violeta Teetor, Finn, Helsinki News reporter, in front of cameras in Sinj after talks with friendly sellers at the Sinj market said only: “This is Croatia, at your service, these people are too kind!”Our country is beautiful and it was not difficult to show it to for-eigners. There is a lot of content, and we have selected things that seemed the most interesting to us. The enthusiasm of each of them was clear, but what they all carried home with them is the knowl-edge that we are very hospitable people.

What awaits us at TouristarTV this year? What unfamiliar stories about Croatia are you going to tell?This year we will be recording ten days in two counties, Šibenik-Knin County and Dubrovnik-Neretva County. We will tell the story of legends which so far have not been documented with re-cording. In itself it has one important aspect, and it is the content offered by individual destinations, and this is in line with the de-velopment strategy of Croatian tourism. Destination management is seeking good stories, and for these counties we will tell them clearly and with fun.

You also organize workshops for the tourism sector “Synergy”. What exactly is this about?Touristar was launched five years ago. During this period we have encountered many of the problems faced by tourism professionals. Of itself imposed a single solution and it hides behind the name Synergy. We have initiated a series of forums that are running dialogue between tourism employees at all levels. The theme is a common approach to solving the problems that they are facing, which carries a unique solution and a start of the operational plan of a major project. Every journey begins with small steps. We have started with the forums. We will talk about the rest when the time comes.

You recently published an interesting contest – until the 1st of April you are receiving registrations for a complimentary rebranding which you will give to one company/brand. Who can apply and what is the goal of this idea?All the companies that recognize themselves in the idea: “We will offer you something really amazing, but only under certain condi-tions – that you are outmoded, that your logo is outdated or that you are desperate because the competition is doing better” can apply to the contest. This means that in accordance with the dharmic man-agement that leads us in the business, we have decided to expand good and start a good idea and to start that just helps. We know that we will be contacted by those that recognize the idea, the ones that really cannot afford the work of an agency or simply those who realize that this way of communicating is innovative and quite different, and that behind it is just such a team - our team of designers who have many times proven that they are working equally for small and large clients. On 1st of April we are finishing with the pitch and we will let you know who the winner is.

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Zagreb residents Davorka Krnić-Trick and Nirvana Jović recently launched an interesting project with which they are turning not only to wine lovers, but also to

those who want to learn more about their favourite “drink of the gods”. This is also an opportunity for tourist agencies and all organizers of business meetings to enrich their events with wine workshops CRO-WINE where with expert guidance and an interesting story about wines they can learn more about the topic, while also have fun through tastings and quizzes.

The leading idea is to promote Croatian wines, Davorka and Nirvana in late 2013 designed a brand Cro - wine. First they launched an application Cro - wine for mobile phones, the first workshops followed. “Workshops Cro - wine were born out of our desire to introduce oenological Croatia, which is unfortunately largely unknown and neglected. For example, we often say that the Plavac at special position Dingaè is too expensive, but when you know where and how it is grown, when you see pictures of these phenomenal positions, then you know that this wine is worth every penny. Slopes that descend to the sea are of 40-60 %, grapes gets triple insola-tion (direct sun, the sea and rocks on which it grows), vines give less than 1 kg of grapes (on a richer soil it is up to 4 kg) mostly everything is done by hand because of the terrain, and the roots of the vine goes into the depths from which it draws water and minerals... this wine is the pure essence of the specific terroir that you need to know to understand it and enjoy it. It is such stories that are a part of the Cro - wine workshop - interesting, entertaining and educational.” says Davorka Krnić-Trick.

Wine culture is not only a part of the general culture, but also a significant part of Croatian cultural heritage that should be promoted both to the local population and to tour-ists, so there are different types of workshops depending on the participants, time, wine knowledge, and the like. For foreign tourists we are doing the basic 60-minute Cro - wine wine workshops, mostly in English, where they familiarize themselves with the story of the Croatian wine through in-teresting facts, and then through tasting several important varieties from different wine regions. But it is also possible to have “tailor -made” workshops adapted to the wishes of clients that can be in different forms, in different places and

with different wines. Particularly interesting is the combined wine and food shop where guests can go to the market, buy groceries and then cook and taste wine. All of these work-shops can be a lot of fun, a way of relaxation, and sometimes guests could be competing through an entertaining quiz or a kind of team building. Through Cro - wine we are also of-fering food education for professionals – hotel staff, restau-rants, event managers and others to whom wine and culi-nary culture is an important part of the overall professional knowledge. Wine workshops can be organized in a number of Croatian wineries or regions chosen by the client, and one of the most beautiful spaces is certainly winery Bornstein of the family Srpek at the Kaptol, the oldest part of the city. Located in a 200 year old building, one of Europe’s most beautiful wineries has hosted numerous celebrities and famous guests.

“It is very interesting to follow the interest of participants, their questions and surprise at some information that they have not yet known. My favourite is when we fail to provoke interaction and when at the end of the workshop, participants have more questions and want to buy tasted wines, visit win-eries that we talked about to them - then we know that we are doing a good job.” concludes Nirvana Jović.

Wine applications Cro – wineCro - wine wine application is the most comprehensive ap-plication of exclusively Croatian wines. In it one can find traditional dishes and wines, a list of wine and food events, a dictionary, as well as a Google map with indicated wineries. This application is in Croatian and English, and for the most part can be used offline. It works on iOS and Android platforms, as well as on the website www.cro-wine.com. When you come to Croatia, Cro - wine app will help you find wineries, select wines and learn more about the Croatian eno-gastronomic scene.

CROATIAN WINE STORY: CRO - WINE

CRO-WINE is a recently launched project of wine workshops where tourists as well as business groups can get familiar with the wealth of Croatian wine offer and enjoy a tasting. The eponymous mobile application also tells the story of the best Croatian wines

text by Daniela Kos

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Croatia Addendum

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What Croatian wine was served at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953? What is a parallel link between the Croatian vineyards and vineyards in Bordeaux, Piedmont and the Valley of the Rhone? Could champagne ripen at the bottom of the sea rather than in the wine cellar? Which Croatian Zagorje variety is called Casanova and why? Where is the vine-yard carved in stone that will enter the UNESCO heritage list of cultural monuments? The answers to these and many other questions can be obtained in the Cro-wine application or at one of the workshops.

Croatian wines are increasingly popular in the worldCroatian wine history dates back to ancient history. Vines were brought to the Croatian territory by the Greeks and in 178 BC, when the Romans arrived, they found a developed winemaking and olive growing. Throughout the centuries, wine production fell and rose, but only in the last 15 years of Croatian winemaking it has an upward trajectory. Proof of this are the many medals and awards that Croatian wines are winning in the world’s most important wine evaluations, while also world renowned restaurants with Michelin stars have Croatian wines on their wine lists. The iconic restaurant The Fat Duck, for example, bought all the bottles of predicate harvest from a Croatian manufacturer.

Croatia is an area several times smaller than other, bet-ter-known wine countries, but its relief, soil and climate (terroir) are very varied so the varieties of grapes are also great and so they are growing everything from well-known international varieties to a large number of indigenous ones. It is indigenous wine varieties that have become the focus of the winemakers and wine lovers and in the market increas-ingly appear old, forgotten, indigenous varieties that are considered to have great potential. Crljenak kaštelanski or tribidrag are old varieties for which DNA analysis proved that they are ancestors of the more famous American Zinfandel, Italian Primitivo and Croatian Plavac Mali, that was recog-nized in the largest guide of the world ‘s wine varieties ever written - “Wine grapes”.

Tasting and pairing wine with foodThe basic rule is to drink wine from translucent glass or crys-tallin on the foot. The glass is always held at the foot, and not at the ‘balloon’. In addition to the temperature of wine in serving one should pay attention to the shape and size of the cups. Wine tasting starts with observation, to determine the colour and density. Then it determines the odour, first of a peaceful wine, then glasses are whirled to intensify the flavours in wine. On the tongue there are different places where receptors of taste are situated (sweetness, bitterness, saltiness). It is therefore important that the wine before it is swallowed, is slurred in the entire mouth to make it feel better.

There are several different “schools” of pairing wine and food so England school has a rule that - there are no rules. However, we should mention the most basic rules that are useful when we are having multiple -course meals with which we want to drink different wines. The meal starts with younger wines and then we go to the more mature ones, from white to red ones, from dry to sweet ... With white fish and white meats we choose younger, less powerful wines, with strong meals we choose a ripe, powerful wine. In fact, a good wine and food should never cover and gustatory override each other, but on the contrary, they should together form a harmonious whole that is gratifying to your taste buds. Finally, when one pairs wine and traditional food from the same region, the same country – one will never go wrong. All this, and lots of other interesting things you will find in the free app Cro - wine.

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PERFECT BUSINESS EVENTS - AT SEA

Croatia is famous for its beautifully clear waters and its thousands of islands along the Adriatic coast; it is a paradise for boaters and all lovers of the sea, cultural and natural heritage. But also business guests can enjoy it. All those who want to spice up their one-day business meetings, anniversaries, presentations, conferences, or incentives with something special, while enjoying the Adriatic and the Mediterranean, are invited to organise their

m/b SEA STAR is a versatile ship that can be used in various combi-nations - as a means of transporta-tion, entertainment hall, meeting rooms, as a restaurant or as a branded lounge bar. The ship has capacity for 400 people and is fully air-conditioned and equipped with audio-visual equipment, kitchen, bars, and stabilisers.

The main lounge of the ship is ar-ranged on two decks and a small lounge located towards the bow of the ship can be detached and used as an exclusive space - VIP meeting room, for example. The new face of the ship is fresh, modern and elegant, and gives a new dimen-sion to the organisation of events and conferences. The ship boasts a spacious sun deck with an unfor-gettable panoramic view during navigation.

EVENT SHIP SEA STAR

Length: 45.25 m Width: 10.5 m Speed: 12 knots Total capacity: 400 people - Lounge: 350 seats - Bow lounge (VIP): 50 people - The dance floor 15 x 4m

Contact: Adriatic cruises d.o.o. Dubrovnik [email protected] www.seastar.com.hr

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next event on one of special event boats. For this occasion we present two such ships - the Event ship Nada moored in central Dalmatia, in Zadar, and the event ship “Sea Star” in the south, in Dubrovnik. In any case these venues will take you wherever you want along and across the Adriatic. Just relax and enjoy yourself!

m/y NADA is a sailing, multifunc-tional purpose convention centre, fully equipped with audio and video equipment for conferences that with the offer of restaurants, bars and kitchens can serve up to 180 people. The ship exudes ele-gance in its modern interior and beautiful decks with which you will experience unforgettable views of the sea and islands as well as unique sunsets, always different throughout the sailing.

Contact:Ilirija Travel, DMC & PCOBiograd na [email protected]

EVENT SHIP NADA

Length: 35 mWidth: 6.80 mSpeed: 16 knotsTotal capacity: 180 persons- Main deck: 80 seats- Gallery: 70 seats

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Sunčana Matić from the agency LUX promotion is the proud owner and author of the project “Irresistible Croatia”, the largest tourist catalogue in the world, which could soon hold the Guinness World Record title

CROATIA HAS THE LARGEST TRAVEL CATALOG IN THE WORLD – IRRESISTIBLE CROATIA!

In Zagreb, in the middle of February at a public ceremony, the largest catalogue in the world, named “Irresistible Croatia”, was presented and at the same time nominat-

ed for a Guinness World Record. The impressive catalogue of width 1,398 mm, height 1,650 mm, weight 70 kg, on 378 pages and 900 squares of paper describes the most impor-tant Croatian values, from the identity and economy to special forms of tourism. With its contents is a brand new, modern chapter in the promotion of Croatia as an attractive tourist destination, and also as an interesting country for business investment.

Sunčana Matić, author and leader of the project, is proud to present the attractive catalogue as a 100% Croatian product. “Irresistible Croatia” was prepared as an independ-ent project of three years, and the content was prepared by fifty expert authors, associations, top photographers and designers. An extremely challenging phase of printing and finishing off was done collaboratively by Croatian printers FED and Offset NP GTO.

“The idea of the world’s largest catalogue imposed because in my work I met with a lack of necessary, trusted informa-tion that my clients expected about Croatia and I informed them myself and suggested a variety of specialties,” said Sunčana Matić. “I first started with the market research, de-ficiencies in advertising and tourist offer that we have tried to compensate with the catalogue. I recognised the huge promotional potential that a Guinness World Record carries and decided to use it for the proper promotion of Croatia as a modern state – an equal and competitive EU member state, through the synergy of Croatian intelligence, creativity and technological capabilities, which is substantially proven in the catalogue.”Croatia’s heritage, ecological, cultural and other special forms of tourism, its wine story, the olives, Olympic and sporting achievements - these are just some of the topics covered in the 378 pages that fully represent the best that Croatia has to offer to its guests.

The first congress of ecotourismShortly after the first presentation, the catalogue began

its tour in Croatia. The first visit was to the Museum of Croatian Zagorje, where it was well received by museum visitors. Foreigners have also expressed interest in “Irresistible Croatia” and the first foreign presentation of the catalogue was organised in Germany, in the town of Bad Homburg, before the Croatian Diaspora as well as German and European politicians. Participants at the Travel Zoom International Conference held at Bled also had the opportu-nity to meet with this extraordinary project.

As a next step toward sustainability of the “Irresistible Croatian” LUX promotion in co-operation with the agency Penta PCO is the preparation of the first Congress of eco-tourism in Croatia and the region, which will be held in Zagreb on 14th November 2014. “With the congress we want to point out the potential and possibilities of eco-tourism in Croatia and the region. Our desire is to set new standards of promotion and direction in tourism development, link states from the region so that we all would be competitive in the world as an ecological destination.”

Sunčana Matić has been for years engaged in event man-agement and is designing her own projects, first in culture, and now in tourism. “I’m glad that through brand GWR and the attention that the brand enjoys, I was given an opportu-nity to show Croatia to the world,” she said. “I like to show our value and uniqueness. Some countries in Europe are imposed and are developing tourism with two biogeographic regions and they are impressed by Croatia’s four regions- the Pannonian lowlands, hilly inland, from the alpine to the warm Mediterranean with one of the most beautiful seas, the Adriatic. These regions have not yet been sufficiently utilised in the promotion of tourism with its potential of ecologically preserved, mostly rural areas. Croatian people continue to amaze me and give me strength; hardwork-ing and honest, who survived and preserved their identity and heritage despite the times. “Irresistible Croatia” is an example of endurance and survival, and carries a positive, truthful message - watch what you wish for, in Croatia it might come true!”

text by Daniela Kos

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Advertorial

CONGRESS & PRODUCT PROMOTION – ROYAL STYLE Split o�ers premium and unique venues and locations for inviting your client base or potential clients to a�end a con-ference, private product launch or exhibition. Atlas will help you choose between modern venues, historical monuments or charming villages in the Dalmatian inlands. BACK TO BASIC TEAM BUILDING PRO-GRAMMES Split o�ers premium and unique venues and loIncentive and team-building programs in Split will get another dimension, it will become an unforge�able experience, as Split itself is. Atlas will help you impress your colleagues and create a fun and memorable corporate entertainment event by providing creative and innovative customized team building activities for all abilities, skills and requirements.

SPLIT is the second largest Croatian city and one of the oldest in the country, its history traceable to at least 1700 years ago. It is now a major city but encompasses several seaside towns and holiday resorts making it a popular place to stay for those who want to explore the Dalmatian coast. The area around the city has strong connections with Ancient Rome and the city is home to the impressive Diocletian’s Palace. Although ancient, Split has a modern touch, in its funky and alternative as well as gorgeous people. Split also has a gold-�sh in form of the Great Grgur Ninski statue, where rubbing its golden toe will make your wish come true... There are many historical spots which we turn into exquisite event venues. Daily trips to the inland or one of the surrounding islands will thrill your partners with their atmosphere and local specialties.

ATLAS – CREATING MEMORABLE EVENTS IN SPLIT SINCE 1923.

HAVE FUN Split is a synonym for fun! During the day, try out Dalmatia’s favorite beach game, picigin: stand in the sea up to your thighs and whack a small ball to other players as quickly as possible, throwing yourself in the water at any opportunity. Careful: the ball must not touch the water! In the evening, the golden Diocletian’s Palace is the perfect backdrop for Croatia’s best bars: spend the night in the secret ancient alleyways and hidden stone corners!PERFECT MIX OF HERITAGE NAD MODERNITY • UNIQUE LOCATIONS FOR EVENTS, FROM CONGRESSES TO SMALL SALES MEETINGS • UNIQUE VENUES, HISTORICAL PALACES TO TRENDY AND MODERN RESTAURANTS • OUTDOORS ACTIVITIES IN AND OUT OF THE CITY AND WATER SEA SPORTS • MODERN HOTELS • GREAT LOCAL GASTRONOMY

Incentives • Event Management • Corporate Meetings • Seminars • Product shows • Special Interest Tours • Team Building • Exhibition • Destination Consulting • Hotel Reservations • Transport Services • Guide Services • Restaurants & Gala Locations • Tickets for cultural events • Airplane and Train Tickets • Sight Seeing Tours and Excursions • Round Trips • Tailor made programs • VIP Services

MICE DepartmentATLAS DMC CroatiaIzidora Kršnjavog 110000 Zagreb CroatiaT. + 385 1 4698 053, E. [email protected]: mice.atlas

ATLAS This brand name stands for a destination management company and professional conference organizer creating memorable events for over 90 years. Everything started back in 1923 when the �rst branch o�ce was opened in Dubrovnik. Nowadays, Atlas is the biggest company in Croatia and the region in the tourism industry. The multiregional organizational structure of the company makes it easier to o�er enhanced service packages and wide array of programs and products which satisfy all demands of individual, group and corporate clients from Croatia and the world.

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Advertorial

It has 13 hotels (six 4**** hotels, including the Bonavia Hotel in Rijeka, six 3*** hotels and one 2** hotel), 4 apartment villages and 4 campsites, having the total accommodation capacity for

22.000 guests. Their 13 hotels have conference halls and meeting rooms which can accommodate 10 to 600 people, providing audio-visual and other equipment. There you will find everything you need for a professional organization of business events while pleasant Mediterranean climate and natural environment will ensure you get the piece and comfort you need.

A combination of the pleasant and the useful – this might just be the essence of their message and the goal of their offer for the organization of congresses, seminars, work meetings, symposiums, presentations, sports events, weddings, gala dinners, refreshments

during work meeting breaks, as well as folklore evenings, special entertainment programs and animation in Laguna Poreč facilities.

After the regular program, they also offer relaxation in one of exceptional outdoor or indoor sports-recreational facilities, gym, swimming pool or wellness. Staying in Istria without getting to know its inland would be a real shame. That is why they organize half-day boat tours, tours of the Istrian inland with visits to pictur-esque Medieval towns and excursions to Pula, Rovinj, Lim channel, Brijuni, Trieste or Venice.

More on: http://si.lagunaporec.com/b2b/kongresi

PLAVA LAGUNA – LAGUNA POREČ, ONE OF THE LARGEST HOTEL COMPANIES IN CROATIABusiness events in a pleasant Mediterranean climate

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LJUBLJANA ZAGREB

Population: 272.220

Population: 792.875

ICCA Country and City rankings 201274th place

31 meetings

ICCA Country and City rankings 2012134th place 17 meetings



+ Ljubljana has congresses written into its genome. Long before the emergence of the meetings industry as we know it today, in 1821

Ljubljana hosted the Congress of the Holy Alliance. The city is pictur-esque, attractive and friendly to congress guests.

According to its conference and accommodation infrastructure, Ljubljana belongs to the group of capitals suitable for medium-sized and smaller

meetings (up to 2,500 participants). It is positioned side by side with the new EU member states and geographically in the region of the Western

Balkans. Ljubljana is friendly and favourable to the meetings industry, whilst also competitive in terms of price and quality. Among all of the

regional capitals it also has a very good image.

+ Zagreb generally makes a good impression on the visitor. Zagreb is a great small place in terms of accessibility and transport. For a foreigner, the first impression is certainly Central European. Generally, the city is safe, clean, comfortable and friendly to congress participants. The good ratio between price and quality is especially attractive; this has a positive impact on the competitiveness of the destination. As its main advantage, we would highlight the compactness and high quality of hotel accommodation, which combined with cultural and historical heritage, is the formula for success. Everything is seasoned with the right dose of metropolitan character and friendliness of the locals.

Ljubljana meetings flashpoints: 1. Grand Union Hall - a wonderful example of an Art Nouveau con-

ference hall tailored to the needs of modern congress organisers 2. 2 Convention centres - Cankarjev dom and Gospodarsko razstavišče

3. Ljubljanica river and its banks offers many possibilities for team building

4. Hotels and congress centres within walking distance5. Ljubljana Castle – special historical venue for different types of events

Zagreb meetings flashpoints: 1. Emerald Hall - probably one of the most beautiful congress halls of the region with the glamour of Orient Express old times2. Old Tram Incentive – incentive story on a nostalgic drive 3. Sheraton Zagreb - classic hotel convention centre at the highest level 4. Croatian State Archive – one of the most beau-tiful special venues of the region5. Treasure hunt - in the old part of the city called Gradec

STAY: Grand Hotel Union

STAY: Esplanade Hotel

4,46 / 5 4,21 / 5

LJUBLJANA vs. ZAGREB

AND THE WINNER IS

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Inside Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA UPDATE

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Inside Ljubljana

CELEBRATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN AUSTRIA TREND HOTEL LJUBLJANA

Between March 7 and 9, 2014 Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana proudly hosted one of the main events of the 25th anniversary of the European Gay & Lesbian Sport

Federation (EGLSF) and 30th anniversary of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) movement in Slovenia.

On March 7, the international human rights conference Building Bridges was held. Under the theme Pride in Sport, over 150 participants took part in the conference, lead by rep-resentatives of European institutions, NGOs, academics and sports organisations. The event was opened by the members of European Parliament, representatives of the Slovenian government, Ambassador for fair play and tolerance, local Ombudsman and the co-presidents of EGLSF. The conference concluded with a special reception of the Mayor of Ljubljana.

On March 8 and 9, the General Assembly of EGLSF fol-lowed, organised at the Castle of Ljubljana. The events were hosted by Out in Slovenija and DIH Associations, under the patronage of the City of Ljubljana, supported by the Olympic Committee of Slovenia, Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, FARE network and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

More at www.outinslovenija.com/eglsf2014/.

GRAND HOTEL UNION IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF COLLABORATION WITH FTE ASSOCIATION

Because of good atmosphere, location and infrastructure within hotel (Wi Fi and highly performed IT support) in combina-

tion with excellent food, Grand hotel Union has hosted several FTE Coordination conferences. They are held 4 times a year and bring around 100 participants each time. Conference takes place in hotel’s conference centre within beauti-ful Grand Union hall and 6 side rooms. Although association conferences are used to circle around the world this one stayed in Ljubljana for several years. Many participants would say that Grand hotel Union became their second home.

Matteo Soldini, FTE: “The staff of Grand hotel Union always knows how to interpret our wishes and requirements to solve them correctly. We as organizers have never heard of the word problem, one has always suggested possible solutions.

And finally, we almost always work with the same people, which brings confidence and stability in the relationship.”

FTE is a European association of railway undertakings and service companies based in Berne (Switzerland) that promotes cross-border rail freight and passenger traffic in Europe. As

a coordination body for railway undertakings, FTE sets out to harmonise international produc-tion plans and path requests for European rail traffic. In passenger and freight traffic, all rail-ways profit from the market-oriented services of FTE as they plan and implement existing and new traffic in Europe.

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www.terme-olimia.com

www.terme-tuhelj.hr

Prestigious meeting & events destinationsQUALITY

We perform top-quality services.

TRADITION OF THE ENVIRONMENT We take gifts of nature into our consideration.

RELIABILITY Our services are consistent and efficient.

RESPONSIBILITY We fulfil our obligations.

EXCELLENCE Our motto and our promise.

SELFNESS We encourage people’s focus on themselves.

It counts only this moment, right now.

Fact: We are trusted by global trade shows IMEX, EIBTM and UK Meetings Show, ICCA association, MPI and SITE, as well as all the major convention bureaus in the region. In addition, all the largest meet-ings players have been with us from the beginning. The degree of loyalty is extremely high, because from the beginning 98% of exhibitors have put their trust in us and they are joined every year by new exhibitors.

Fact: Average cost per lead in Europe is, according to base estimates, 15 EUR per contact. At Conventa you are guaranteed 250 contacts, or a total value of EUR 3,250 far exceeding the investment cost of regis-tration fee for participation.

Fact: For the average sales meeting organi-sation you would spend at least 60 minutes, without counting time invested in market research and other time invested in finding customers. According to the Conventa survey, on average we save you at least 60 hours of valuable time that you would otherwise be spending searching for contacts, organising and executing of meetings.

Fact: Normally, the costs of appearing at fairs and exhibitions in the basic package do not include different types of additional equipment such as chairs, tables, lighting, and more. Conventa offers all of this, as well as a year-round marketing package, for a single price. To the costs of appearing you need only add the cost of getting to Ljubljana and accommodation for your staff.

Conventa has in five years become a respected brand that among invited guests and exhibitors enjoys a high reputation and credibility. By par-ticipating in the trade show you can become part of the group of best meetings companies of the region.

Investment in Conventa is equal to investment in a minimum 250 sales contacts (sales leads). In ad-dition, Conventa is one of the few trade shows that provides exhibitors with a database of all participat-ing invited guests after the event for the purpose of further marketing.

Only at Conventa can you have on average 22 pre-arranged meetings in two days, the organisation of which would otherwise take a lot of your precious time.

The registration fee for Conventa does not have concealed costs and includes a fully equipped stand to work on the principle

“come, meet, win”. In addition, over the two days of the event and fully included in the registration fee, Conventa is one of only trade shows taking care of food for its participants.

A FIRST IMPRES-SION COUNTS IT SAVES YOU MONEY

THE OPTIMUM UTILI-SATION OF TIME

NO HIDDEN COSTS

HIGH LOYALTY

98%

PER CONTACT

SAVE AT LEAST

HOURS

60

15€

MARKETING PACKAGE

FOR A SINGLE PRICE

REASONS TO EXHIBIT AT CONVENTA 2015

TOPTEN

94

Fact: In five years Conventa has been visited by 67 leading professional media, who have brought 119 journalists to the event to spread the word of the meetings potential of the region to the whole world. In partnership co-operation media contacts annu-ally guarantee us free publications and other forms of content market-ing to a total value of 65,000 EUR.

Fact: Conventa achieves outstanding results in terms of quality. The average satisfaction grade of exhibitors was in five years 4.23 from a possible 5), with the average satisfaction grade of invited guests even higher, scoring the trade show with an average grade 4.44.

Fact: According to Conventa statistics a minimum of 10% of all actual meetings are transformed sales in the long run. On average this means 2.2 successful meetings with us. Taking the assumption that it is a one day event with 50 participants, who ac-cording to Ljubljana Tourism analysis spend EUR 383,60 (without transport to the destination) per day, this means that specific yield of the trade show is on average at least EUR 57,540 per exhibitor.

Fact: Conventa treats invited guests and exhibitors equally, which is why all of the social events are an integral part of the Conventa project and are free of charge for exhibitors, as they represent an integral part of achieving ROI

Fact: B2B promotion is based on a rapidly expanding database that has reached 39,816 contacts with whom we regularly communi-cate and keep informed on the project and our partners.

Fact: We have brought global stars of the meetings industry to Conventa, among others Paul Bridle, Linda Pereira, Patrick Delaney, Angie Mason and many more. The average registra-tion fee for such events is ordinarily 250 EUR. Conventa offers them to ex-hibitors free of charge.

Conventa is well visited by professional media and their leading journalists. Many of them were so excited about the region that they became media ambassadors and friends of destinations.

Conventa always ensures a high quality of satisfaction of exhibitors and invited guests. Through the analysis

of the overall results, participant surveys and individual meetings with every exhibitor we are taking care to improve

the quality each year, understanding that this will increase the loyalty of partners and enhance the reputation of the trade show.

These are the heart of Conventa. Only those who have a serious interest in the region and a real purchasing power are invited to the event. Every year we decline over 200 applicants who do not meet the strict criteria of qualification.

Through various forms of socialising Conventa enables you to meet as many invited guests as possible. The social events element of the trade show includes coffee breaks,

a green corner, working lunches and evening receptions. Conventa is one of a few trade shows that treats exhibitors and invited guests equally and offers this side of the networking in the package.

Every year we are expanding our range of year-round promotional activities of the trade show, which are in-cluded free of charge into the exhibitors’ packages. The promotion is based on the constantly growing database of potential invited guests and tools such as the Meet in SEE e-catalogue, Conventa e-newspaper and the quickly growing social networks of the project.

Conventa improves with every passing year and upgrades its education programme, which is free of charge for exhibitors.

CONTENT MARKETING

CARING FOR THE QUALITY OF THE TRADE SHOW

SELECTED BUYERS

HIGH LEVEL SOCIALISING

ALL YEAR ROUND PROMOTION OF EXHIBITORS

FREE EDUCATION

AVERAGE YIELD

€ 57,540 PER EXHIBITOR

39,816CONTACTS

GLOBAL STARSAT CONVENTA

SOCIAL EVENTS ARE

FREE OF CHARGE

LEADING PRO MEDIA

119 JOURNALISTS67

SATISFAC-TION GRADE

EXHIB-ITORS

INVITED GUESTS

4.23 4.44

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MEET US AT CONVENTA 2015Conventa presenting exhibitors for 2015

Conventa 2015

competence, quality & pleasureSuccessful Meetings at Hotel Karnerhof

As a meeting specialist we know that the mind works best in calm surroundings. Situated on a gentle incline overlooking a cristal-clear lake we provide a perfect work environment and impeccable service.

Hotel Karnerhof ****s | Austria Tel.: +43 / 4254-2188 | [email protected] | www.karnerhof.com

Einschaltung Conventa.indd 1 26.03.2014 18:13:06

Set amidst the lush park grounds, Brdo estate offers conference halls varying in size of up to 550 participants. Combine your

event with experiences of the Brdo estate such as golfing, horse riding, discovering park grounds and crown it with culinary masterpieces - simply a winning combination.

Brdo – A Definitive Place for Decisions

t: +386 4 260 10 00 | e: [email protected] | www.brdo.si

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Hospitality, cultural & culinary treats in Lower Austriawww.convention-bureau.at

Gra

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ois

Lam

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hube

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Lower Austria, the land round Vienna, o� ers not only a perfect setting for your meetings, events and incentives in an exclusive ambience, but also

cultural and gastronomic treats, a sense of joie de vivre and warm hospitality.The Lower Austrian Convention Bureau is your competent partner for

fi nding the right location for your event.

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Conventa 2015

„City“ hotel is ranked with 4 stars and is situated in the centre of Podgorica, in the green oasis at the foot of Ljubović hill.The hotel’s position is excellent when it comes to the vicinity of all the important institutions and facilities in Podgorica.Hotel is completely adjusted to the standards of modern business hotel with two fully equipped conference rooms, business center, wine & gift shop.

www.cityhotelmn.com

CUBO HOTEL ogl 3/28/14 4:21 PM Page 1

Composite

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

Your winning event!

The new event locationat the Wörthersee: · 1.150 m² event area

· 2 star award winning restaurant· international gaming

Serviceline: +43 (0) 4274 2064 112velden.casinos.at

facebook.com/casino.velden

SpielendTagen_204x60_Englisch.indd 1 27.03.1413 14:55

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Conventa 2015

Meet in

the

mountains

bleibergerhof.falkensteiner.com

incentive-Package: “Tagen unter Tag” – Move your meeting underground and meet in a mine for half a day (Location: Terra Mystica, Perschazeche)

From € 79,-with halF Board

For single occupancy

BBh hotelbetriebs gmbh, Fleischmarkt 18, 1010 Vienna, company number: 307844m, head

MEET & RELAXBusiness happens where people meet and we want to contribute to your success. Whether you‘d like to stay in private or organize a large conference we offer tailor-made solutions in terms of accommodation, catering and conference rooms.

Seepark Hotel Congress & Spa I 9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee I Universitätsstraße 104T +43 463 204499-0 I E [email protected]

WWW.SEEPARKHOTEL.AT

WERZER’S HOTEL RESORT PÖRTSCHACH

Werzerpromenade 89210 Pörtschach

T +43 (0)4272 / [email protected], www.werzers.at

Werzer’s – one of the most stunning locations for your seminars & events!

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Conventa 2015

A place of diverse experiencesDobrodošli, veselimo se vašega obiska vse dni v letu We look forward to your visit any day of the year!

Ljubljana Castle, Slovenia, T: +386 1 306 42 93, www.ljubljanskigrad.si

Prostor raznovrstnih doživetij

SOČA VALLEY, THE HIDDEN PEARL OF EUROPE!In the western part of Slovenia at the foothills of the Julian Alps, right on the border with Italy you can find the fascinatingly beautiful valley of the river Soča, one of the most beautiful rivers in Europe. Valley is rich in tradition and history, with wide offer of outdoor activities and a circle of excellent restaurants and taverns. Destination is ideal for incentive programs for small groups, guided by our professional and friendly hosts.

Simple but comfortable, in the center of local life but quiet, not much but everything you need.

www.visit-soca-com; [email protected]

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Conventa 2015

Urban city life and rustic country chic can be experienced

anytime in Salzburg. It’s central and perfectly connected

location, proximity between hotels and venues like

Salzburg Congress as well as experienced event professionals make

it such a successful player in the international Meetings Industry.

Variety of suppliers from family run institutions to hotels, steeped

in history of international repute - you have the choice. All of that is

best discovered with the neutral and free-of-charge services of the

Salzburg Convention Bureau. www.salzburgcb.com

Think out of the box. Surprise your clients. Exceed your goals. THINK BLUE.

[email protected]

101

TRADE SHOW OF SPA & WELLNESS TOURISM in

Join us at the 6th

CENTRAL EUROPE

From 23 – 25 October 2013, Radenci, SLOVENIA

Brda – a fairy tale landscape, from where the

view stretches out to the sea, Friuli and Vene-

to, a land of hills, nested halfway between the

Alps and the Adriatic Sea. The abundance of

beauties, attractions and experiences attracts

each and every traveller. Bearing the stamp of

the past, today’s life in the villages and hamlets

of Brda has been taking its own pace - tranquil

and cheerful, surrounded by family and in har-

mony with visitors. The essence of the Brda

region remains the same – pleasure of tasting

excellent dishes, enticing wine experience and

unforgettable socializing moments.

Brda, land of invigorating moments, all year

round!

SEE YOU AT NATOUR ALPS 2014

OCTOBER 2 – 5, 2014, GORISKA BRDA, SLOVENIA

Registration and information on www.natour-alps.eu

www.visitljubljana.com/meetings

A cool capital

for great m

eetings

TL kongresni oglas 234x287 0613.indd 3 11. 07. 13 11:02

kongres magazine spring issue

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