KONGRES MAGAZINE SPRING ISSUE

/7/ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Interview with Toby DANIELS, CEO, Founder and Executive Director of Social Media Week /109 / CROATIA ADDENDUM Kristina Ercegović - Business cafe networking events

/75/ BEHIND THE SCENES Esplanade Zagreb www.kongres-magazine.eu

NATAŠA ANDLOVEC, Bohinj Eko Park Hotel

/69/ MEETOLOGUE Villach

/53/ KONGRES TELESCOPE

/27/ CITY REPORT Piran, Prekmurje /34/ BEEN THERE Dubai meet busters

/50/ MEET THE TEAM Penta PCO

/14/ IN FOCUS Newsworthy today

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NEW EUROPE MEETINGS INDUSTRY MAGAZINE VOLUME IX, ISSUE 2 // March 2015

ISSUE

48

PE®SONALIZATION

www.slovenia.info

#PostojnaCave

GO DEEPER, RIGHT TO THE HEART! Over 8,000 karst caves are located beneath the surface of Slovenia.

spirit_spolar_oglas_204x255_postojna.indd 1

16. 03. 15 10.14

OUR SELECTION

THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS ISSUE

Page 5 Editorial Gorazd Čad, It's personal Page 7 Exclusive Interview Toby Daniels – CEO, Founder and Executive Director of Social Media Week Page 9 Case Studie Live campaign, Seat and Marylin Monroe – The big picture at Auto salon Geneva Page 14 Newsworthy today Top 10 Page 20 Biggest hotel venues for events and meetings in the Adriatic Page 25 Rock Venues City Report Page 27 Piran Page 91 Prekmurje Page 34 Been There Dubai meet busters Page 50 Meet The Team Penta PCO

New!

Page 53 Kongres Telescope Page 69 Meetologue Villach Page 75 Behind The Scenes Esplanade Zagreb Page 86 Catering David Mulcahy – Craft and food development Director at Sodexo UK & Ireland Ana Roš – First lady in Slovenian culinary Page 107 Croatia Addendum Kristina Ercegović – Business cafe networking events Jasmina Bilać and Andrea Turić – Socialise your event!

Tea Krpan – Events that enhance networking rule the MIC world

COVER: Photo by Mark Škoflek KONGRES MAGAZINE IS MEDIA PARTNER OF

GORAZD ČAD Editor of the magazine is in his profession a geographer and historian. He united his professional education and love of discovering new lesser-known convention destinations with love and passion for the meetings industry. In meetologues he will try to share his enthusiasm with the readers.

NATALIJA BAH ČAD An unforgettable member in the editorial board of travelogues, who at each destination adds her icing on the cake. She has insight into the soul of destinations based on many years of practical experience with the organisation of events. She is interested in everything from the history, geography and destination marketing to care for the tiny little things that make the big events.

POLONA SIMŠIČ The knowledge and experience she accumulated with organization of advertising festivals and conferences, she successfully transfers to the meetings industry. She tells stories of the project Conventa and makes sure that they are always up-to-date and interesting.

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

KRISTINA ERCEGOVIĆ Kristina Ercegović is a serial entrepreneur, writer and business teacher. She has been holding classes on how to start and run a small business, as well as founding Business Cafe events. She has written three books and is mentor and member of jury at numerous StartUp projects.

JASMINA BILAĆ AND ANDREA TURIĆ, PROCONVENTA Jasmina Bilać and Andrea Turić run ProConventa, a company specialised in organising all kinds of corporate events, business meetings and conferences.

Their work in the congress industry focuses on implementing new technologies and modern processes, including active marketing through social media.

TEA KRPAN Tea Krpan is the Head of Mozaik Grupa, a company that manages the Hypo Congress Centre in Zagreb. She is experienced in the management of large projects and organisation of business and entertaining events, such as the Microsoft WinDays conference, Hospital Days and Whisky Fair ZG015.

ANA HOTKO A new member joined our team recently - the young, professional and ambitious Ana. She is eager to improve her knowledge about the Meetings industry and gain priceless experience.

@kongresmagazine

G www.facebook.com/kongres.magazine Editor in Chief Gorazd Čad Assistant to the Editor in Chief Ana Hotko Editor of Croatia Addendum Daniela Kos Editor of Kongres Telescope Robert Cotter Design Nenad Cizl dtp and prepress Premedia, Andrej Juvan Translation Dragoman, Špela Jeruc Proofreading: Rob Cotter Printing Grafex, grafično podjetje d.o.o.

Circulation 1.000 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: gorazd.cad@toleranca.eu Issue date March 2015 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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53.200

READERS Kongres magazine total unduplicated reach of 41.200 meeting professionals.

Frankfurt 19–21 May 2015

How much do you know about IMEX? As the countdown to IMEX 2015 begins, take our quick quiz and find out…

1. How many people from

the international meetings industry attended last year’s IMEX? A) Just under 5,000 B) Just under 10,000 C) Just under 15,000

2. Which of the following

subjects will be included in IMEX 2015’s 10-track education programme?

A) Marketing B) Technology C) Wellbeing

4. Which benefits do Hosted Buyers receive at IMEX?

A) Free travel and accommodation B) An exclusive lounge with free wifi C) A friendly concierge service

5. Which destination held

a screaming contest on their stand last year?

A) Mexico B) Norway C) Japan

3. How big is the company behind the show?

IMEX. A small, friendly company hosting a big, friendly event. Come and join us 19–21 May 2015 in fabulous Frankfurt. imex-frankfurt.com Call +44 (0)1273 227311 Email info@imexexhibitions.com @imex_group Register now for IMEX 2015 imex-frankfurt.com/register

A) Under 60 people B) 60 –120 people C) 120+ people

The worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events.

Answers: 1. C 2. A,B&C 3. A 4. A,B&C 5. B (They’re not as shy as we thought, obviously.)

A word from the editor

IT’S PERSONAL Things meeting planners can do to keep participants happy

Gorazd Čad, Editor, Kongres magazine

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ot a single day passes without us hearing from a new start-up company with magical tools for networking and making meetings more personalised. I am definitely a big supporter of these modern kinds of solutions, because they have reduced the cost and simplified the logistics process of organising events. If you can tie together different apps and the latest support tools into your event mosaic, the results can be exceptional.

Despite that, I deeply believe that you can only control 70% of the satisfaction of congress participants with these kinds of tools. The result of using them can be a perfectly delivered conference, but one without any distinct added value. We live in an ultra connected world, but at the same time we are starting to drift away from one another. I’m sure you know that feeling, when you get home from an event that’s left your emotions feeling completely cold.

Apps and many other event tools only partially resolve the complex part of the event’s relationship with participants, one that we can measure with EMQ - Emotional Meetings Quotient. It determines the emotional aspect of an event and answers how participants will feel during the event and after. In my opinion, bad content will soon be forgotten and small organisational mistakes will be forgiven, but a bad atmosphere and bad vibes at the event never will be.

The capacity and capability of our brain is quite miraculous, so despite all the technology at our disposal it is surprising that as an industry we are not giving much attention to the ‘emotional area’. I believe that in doing this we are

@gorazdcad

betting on the wrong horse. The personalisation of meetings does not happen through technological platforms, but through storytelling and quality content, the type of which will touch your guests’ hearts.

Modern neuroscience discovered the connection between storytelling and the sense of satisfaction in our brain some time quite a way back. Stories trigger an emotional reaction in the brain, which in turn triggers a neurotransmit-

Events are stories. And the one who manages to plant his story into the minds of the community through an event can change the world. ter called ‘dopamine’. It is dopamine that gives us that feeling of pleasure and satisfaction, but also mobilises the energy sources in our body.

Another effect of dopamine is enhanced activity, liveliness and a general good mood.

As the essential core of an event, the story is therefore very critical. It is what we are and what we are trying to say about ourselves. A story is more than a show, a teaching tool or some historical reflection; it is the core of every community that through time has developed

into rituals and into several events we know today. Such stories can even form countries, communities and religions.

Current society is distinctly individualistic and it seems at times that we are trying to tell too many stories that can’t be tied together as a whole. Through practice, though, the harmonising of stories has proved to be both possible and necessary. The search for a common thread brings us back to basics. ‘Events are stories’, we tell ourselves, and constantly repeat it. And the one who manages to plant his story into the minds of the community through an event can change the world. Think of the meaning that the annual meeting in Davos brings, for example.

And there are other such similar cases, of course.

Personally, I believe that this is the most important field for the future of events and the meetings industry. In our recent issue we listed stories that are part of the winning formula for a successful EMQ. We also talked to chef Ana Roš, author of the best Slovenian culinary stories, and to Toby Daniels, CEO and founder of Social Media Week, who also presented his story to us.

In just a few years he rocketed from a local event to a worldwide movement. And it is through a story that we also present the exquisite and legendary Esplanade hotel in Zagreb.

These are just some of the articles, but our magazine offers loads of interesting stories in its reading material. You can read them in our digital version, or if you prefer the printed version to leaf through you can order that too. Either way, we know you will enjoy our storytelling.

EMQ = content + stories + vibe 5

Exclusive Interview

TOBY DANIELS DEFINING MOMENTS: Moving to NYC from the UK in 2006.

Craziest destination: The Cook Islands, South Pacific Craziest event: Burning Man Hotel to return to: The Elms, Worcestershire, England (Where I proposed to my wife) Best concert: U2, Joshua Tree Best rock band: U2

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Exclusive Interview

INTERVIEW WITH TOBY DANIELS, CEO, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK The beauty of Social Media Week is its shareability built into the conference Text by Ana Hotko

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oby is the co-founder and CEO of Crowdcentric and the founder of Social Media Week. Crowdcentric is based in New York and works with a global network of partners and collaborators across three divisions: Media, Creative Services and Labs.

Toby is also the founder and Executive Director of Social Media Week, a leading news platform and worldwide conference that takes place in 20+ countries around the world.

Prior to Crowdcentric, Daniels was the Managing Director of Online Creative Communications, a London based digital agency which he managed for 7 years. As a thought leader on a range of topics at the cross-section of media, technology and communications, Toby has been featured extensively in mainstream and trade media, including articles on CNN.com, The NY Times, The Next Web, Huffington Post, BBC, PSFK and Fast Company. He speaks regularly at conferences and has given talks at PdF Latin America in Santiago Chile, Social Media Brazil in São Paulo, PDMA’s Co-Creation Conference, Phoenix, SXSW, Austin and Digital Hollywood, Los Angeles. In 2013, The Next Web named Toby as one of New York’s 50 NYC Tech Entrepreneurs You Need to Know About. In 2014 Toby co-curated the hugely popular book The Future of Now: Making Sense of Our Always On, Always Connected World, with the proceeds going towards supporting clean water projects in the developing world. In addition to his professional endeavors, Toby is also a passionate contributor to a number of non-profit organizations, including CampInteractive, whose mission is to inspire and equip underserved students with the skills in computing, leadership, and professionalism needed to thrive in the Internet economy and beyond.

Brief description of Social Media Week: Social Media Week (SMW) is a leading media platform and worldwide event with local presence and global reach across five continents, including Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Because of the changes happening in our lives, society, culture and business, their mission is to capture, curate and share the most meaningful ideas, trends, and best practices with regard to technology and social media’s impact on business, society and culture.

Over the past six years, Social Media Week has expanded to 26 cities around the globe, exploring the cultural and economic impact of social media and gathering more than 6,000 media impressions.

Virtual conferences lack one huge factor, and that is shaking hands with a fellow attendee.

Q: What are Social Media Week (SMW) highlights this year?

There are so many to choose from. In New York, Reverend Jesse Jackson had a riveting discussion on diversity in tech, and Martha Stewart participated in an epic drone-jousting battle. There was even a hitch-hiking robot in Hamburg, a Nigerian football captain in Lagos, and countless other tremendous speakers spanning seven cities and four continents.

Another big highlight this year included SMW global team together with local teams from Mexico City, Los Angeles, Sydney, Rotterdam and Chicago were invited to ring the closing bell at the Nasdaq.

Q: What is your approach to social media?

The fact that social media can connect each other across the world with just a few clicks is amazing. I love sharing information and stories with not just my friends and colleagues, but also complete strangers. When I share an article on Facebook, I’m genuinely excited each time a 7

friend comments. We all have different opinions and insights on information, and social media is the playground that allows us to interact with each other and share these ideas.

Q: When you started Social Media Week, how did you promote it?

Talking with friends and colleagues in the industry helped spread Social Media Week in its early days. Word of mouth was huge to get SMW off the ground, especially on top of the social layer we used to reach people online. The beauty of Social Media Week is its shareability built into the conference. A speaker, sponsor, or any stakeholder will naturally want to share their involvement in SMW with anyone they know, and that really ignited everything for us early on.

Q: How is the sharing economy impacting the meetings industry?

The sharing economy is making several aspects of life easier, more affordable, and more convenient for individuals in the meetings industry.

One example is car sharing, and offering attendees and alternative to public transportation.

Car-pooling to the venue not only is convenient, but also presents a new, simple opportunity to meet new people all within the car.

Q: How important is content marketing for meeting planners and organizers?

Incredibly important. Content is one of the top priorities for Social Media Week. Leading up to SMW, we produce articles, videos, and infographics targeted towards a specific type of attendee. “16 Sessions At SMW New York That Marketers Will Love” and “13 SMW Events To Understand, Reach, And Attract Millennials” are two examples. We also continue to produce content that is non-SMW related throughout the year to drive people to our website, and once he or she is there, they’ll see all this great conference material.

Q: What are some of the big trends you’re seeing in the meetings industry?

I think the common “press release” and the meetings industry is fusing together more and more. We now see product launches, major announcements, and new technology featured at

Exclusive Interview

conferences and events. I think this is because the meetings industry brings together several stakeholders all at one, ready and able to amplify that announcement. Attendees are consumers, press, influencers, and want to be the first to hear new announcements.

Q: What about the debate about virtual meetings versus live events?

Virtual meetings are great. They connect individuals regardless of location, and the scale is essentially limitless. However, virtual conferences lack one huge factor, and that is shaking hands with a fellow attendee. Perhaps in 25 to 50 years it will be different, but right now, and the near future, meeting face-to-face, whether for new business or just making a new connection, has a ton of value that virtual meetings cannot match.

" If we bring more technology into the mix, it de-hu-manizes the experience."

Q: Greatest idea you have ever had?

My greatest idea is also my biggest failure, which was a website I launched in 2004 called findmydoppelganger.com which used facial recognition technology and a match.com style interface to help people discover people who look like them. It was obviously way ahead of its time. ;-)

Q: Technology will personalize meetings.

What do you think about that?

Yes, but there’s a very fine line. For example, the SMW mobile app allows conference attendees and the global SMW community to network and connect with each other. We enable users to meet each other and chat through the app, but the technology does not go much further. If we bring more technology into the mix, it de-humanizes the experience.

Q: Which are your favorite meeting destinations and why?

I have had the privilege of attending SMW in a number of our most interesting cities, including Bogota, Mumbai, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, San Francisco. Sadly I haven’t been to them all (we’re in 25+ cities at this point), but I would very much like to visit Jakarta. We just hosted there it sounded amazing.

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Case Studie

LIVE CAMPAIGNS: SEAT AND MARILYN MONROE – THE BIG PICTURE AT AUTO SALON GENEVA Case studie live campaigns by Vok Dams

W Colja M. Dams,CEO – VOK DAMS Agency for Events & Live-Marketing Colja M. Dams is president / CEO of the VOK DAMS GRUPPE since 1998. Since the foundation in 1971, the agency has been one of the international market leaders in Live-Marketing and Events. www.vokdams.de

hat do SEAT, one of the leading Spanish automobile manufacturers, and Norma Jean Baker - aka Marilyn Monroe - have in common? Well, they are both legends.

Vok Dams – Agency for Events & Live Campaigns combined these two legends and made an excellent live campaign at the Auto Salon Geneva 2014 press conference. The task for the SEAT press conference was both simple: “utilise the full potential of information, emotion and brand in 15 minutes”, and difficult: “create a stunning, and effective press conference that truly stands out.”

And these were the ingredients: the SEAT Mii, designed by fashion brand MANGO and to be introduced in this new design to the press for the first time, and the sporty SEAT Leon Cupra, which was to be revealed to the press. When the Mii was introduced all the attention was focused on the “hanging Marilyn”. A lightshow under the 21-foot-skirt increased the tension, while the acrobatic Marilyn-model danced beneath the ceiling. And with a swift, almost magical movement her skirt was blown up by a sudden gust of air – akin to the famous picture of the original Marilyn - and disappeared into the trade hall ceiling above, revealing two cars underneath.

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More than 300 persons and 10 supply companies from different countries took part in the preparation of the SEAT stand and the results were outstanding.

The press conference lured journalists to the booth and impressed them into writing favourably about the new models presented: not exactly an easy task in a setting buzzing with another 65 press conferences and another 150 new models that awaited presentation!

In Focus

HIGHWAY TO HELL The South East Europe region is an emerging one in the meetings industry.

Being an emerging region has pluses, but also minuses. We won’t crack the old chestnut of the minuses open for now, though.

Text by Miha Kovačič

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he meetings industry is one that cannot easily be defined as independent. The majority of countries still regard it as a part of tourism, or one of the products of tourism. People that work in the meetings industry, however, are very much aware that this is certainly no tourism product, but so much more than that.

Until today just a few countries in the world have measured the economic impact of the industry and the results were astonishing. But how can we measure other results beyond economic that our industry is producing? We still have quite a way to go.

Speaking to PCOs, congress centres or event agencies, they would never agree that they are part of the ‘tourism product’. This is fully understandable, as a presentation of a new car to sales dealers or meeting a group of doctors to discuss a new drug cannot in any way be considered as a tourism product. More and more the phrase ‘knowledge economy’ is being used. But is this the right term? Only time will tell for that. We’ve already changed the term a few times in the past.

And did it help? The jury remains out.

So why doesn’t the meetings industry have a proper position in local/regional and especially national government?

First of all, let’s remember that the convention bureau was established more than 100 years ago.

The founders were hotels that wanted to generate more business for the city. It was a very simple model that worked well and is still working (or is it?).

The major stakeholders in our industry are hotels. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the question is, do they understand that meetings business is not a tourism product? And do they understand that it is part of the knowledge economy? Having been in this industry for almost two decades I am afraid to say that this is something that they don’t care much about, as long as they reach their monthly, quarterly and yearly targets.

From our side we want and expect that the city/regional/national government would better understand our roles, the wider roles. But we also have to ask ourselves if we are we telling them the right story?

Where does the knowledge economy fit? Under education and science, or economy or foreign relations? The answer is that it fits in all of them, and maybe even in more areas than these.

Governments think in boxes, however, and if you

The major stakeholders in our industry are hotels.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but the question is, do they understand that meetings business is not a tourism product? And do they understand that it is part of the knowledge economy? want to be supported by them than you have to be in one of them. The easiest and most understandable box is tourism i.e. economy. And herein lies the problem. If you are part of economy than you cannot be part of science and education, especially so as the majority of convention bureau stakeholders are hotels and their income comes from the tourism sector.

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As our world and businesses come under more and more pressure to deliver results we are facing challenges of how to prove the benefits of convention bureaus. As they are financed mostly by the tourism sector, only the results for this sector become valid. The development of science, economy and social life unfortunately bring no value to them, at least in the short term. And unfortunately we are talking about businesses that live by short term results.

Recently I came to realise that the national government of one of the region’s major countries does not understand the knowledge economy or the meetings industry independently, but only as one of the tourism products, a ‘tourism product/ meetings industry’ that has a small contribution to the entire tourism business of the country. There is actually no need for a national convention bureau.

Those that worked in the tourism sector know that the measurement tool in tourism sector is revenue, room nights and number of tourists, all showing a positive annual trend, of course. For them there is not much difference between an incentive guest that spends EUR 1,000 and more per night and the camping guest that spends EUR 35 per night. On average these two guests produce a revenue of EUR 517 per night, and this is way above the current average of EUR 55.

The knowledge economy, or meetings industry, or MICE, or however you care to call it has an essential job to do. If it doesn’t do this job, or isn’t allowed the right conditions to do it, it will go down.

There is a need to get the right stakeholders around the table from both sides, from both the meetings industry and the government. It is going to be a hard and painstaking job, as our results are not short term or even medium term, but long term.

Do governments honestly search for long term results? We need to find out.

Don’t just think here about resources for convention bureaus and the support needed for association bids for large congresses. Think here also about the development of meeting destinations, the education of meeting professionals, new investments in the convention centres, hotels, new DMCs, PCOs and the many other providers in our industry.

Our industry has to make the first step and gather the appropriate people in order to put the right statement on the table. It has to be backed up by the global industry and consistently communicated at national, regional and local level. It will take years, but the sooner we start the sooner we will start to see the results.

In Focus

WHAT'S THE HOOK FOR THE SLOVENIAN MEETINGS INDUSTRY Assembly of Slovenian Convention Bureau Organised by: Slovenian Convention Bureau

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7 1 Participants in Four Points by Sheraton Hotel Ljubljana Mons 2 Boom time energizer 3 New member of Convention Bureau board Saša Zor 4 Gorazd Čad presented program for CVB new promotion 5 Presentation of last year’s work and program for 2015 by director Miha Kovačič 6 Johanna Fischer from TMF Germany is a new partner 7 Padraic Gilligan – Sool Nua 8 Discussion with experts in digital marketing

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Photos made with Fujifilm X-M1

In Focus

MANAGING CONTENT, PRODUCT AND MOTIVATION IN THE MEETINGS AND EVENTS INDUSTRY A Polish perspective of the global event market Text by Ana Hotko

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comprehensive monograph about the Polish meetings market has just been created. The premiere of “Managing content, product and motivation in meetings and events industry” by Krzysztof Celuch took place on 1 February during the MPI European Meetings & Events Conference in Kraków.

The publication is the result of the author’s observations of the dynamically growing meetings market in Poland as well as an illustration of its 25-year history. The author has presented operating characteristics and cooperation models, describing interdependencies between respective entities and proposing a new market categorisation.

Krzysztof Celuch has presented and analysed the current theory of the meetings industry, formulated by both experts and academics, only to suggest his own classification. According to his argument, goals are the key aspect of organising various types of events. He has classified them into three groups (content, product and motivation) and it is from their perspective that he has described the market.

This monograph comprises also a forecast of the meetings industry development over the next ten years. In this respect, the author has identified two areas that are especially in need of regulation. One of them is the need to create a satellite account for the meetings industry as it would show its economic value in the long term.

Solutions proposed by the author are of a universal nature and are not limited to the specificity of the Polish market.

In his publication, Krzysztof Celuch combines theoretical discussion with many examples of project execution, as well as case studies illustrating each of the proposed categories.

The author hopes that the summary he has prepared and the tools presented will serve the purpose of strengthening the position of the meetings industry. The aim of the monograph was to present the essence of the meetings industry on the Polish market. Through applying a qualitative analysis of (among other things) its products, i.e. meetings organised by Polish companies, the author intended to show the professionalism and economic value of this branch of the economy.

In the foreword to his monograph, Krzysztof Celuch has expressed his thanks to his friends and experts of the international meetings industry for their support in his academic work.

Special words of gratitude have been addressed to Rob Davidson.

The premiere of the “Managing content, product and motivation in meetings and events industry” monograph and a meeting with the author took place on 1 February during the MPI European Meetings & Events Conference at ICE Kraków Congress Centre in Kraków.

The monograph was published by the Vistula University in Warsaw and the Warsaw School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. It was reviewed by Associate Professor Amanda Cecil, Indiana University, USA; Cracow University of Economics Professor Jadwiga Berbeka, PhD.; and Rob Davidson, Managing Director of MICE Knowledge.

The strategic partner of the publication is the Poznań Congress Center. The monograph has been published in English. Number of pages: 240. Price/app. 16 EUR

www.i.vistula.edu.pl/pubs/content/ksiki-books k.celuch@vistula.edu.pl www.kceluch.com

The publication is the result of the author’s observations of the dynamically growing meetings market in Poland as well as an illustration of its 25-year history.

Krzysztof joined the meetings industry as a tour leader for a number of DMCs in 2000. As a journalist over a period of six years he published more than 100 articles about the meetings and events industry. Besides his active role in MPI Poland Club (President 2009-2011) and as international volunteer in Student and Faculty Advisory Council (2009-2011), he is a vice-dean at the VISTULA University. He has spoken at numerous events including seminars at EIBTM, IMEX and other conferences. Since 2006 he has been working in destination marketing. Currently he is a manager for the Poland Convention Bureau. Each year he launches a Poland Meetings and Events Report. He was nominated as one of The Meeting Professional Magazine's "30 people under 30 of age currently making an impact on the global meetings community". He is an MPI Global Training accredited trainer; he has the designation Certificate of Incentive and Travel Executive (CITE) and Certificate Meetings Management (CMM) and won the MPI RISE AWARD for Young Professional Achievement 2010. He is an author of a new book Managing Content, Product and Motivation in Meetings and Events Industry.

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In Focus

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In Focus

NEWSWORTHY TODAY More Content - More Contacts More Contacts - More Contracts Text by Gorazd Čad

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few days ago a young colleague gave me a strange look, because I turned down “important news” from one of our business partners. As I gave her a long explanation about journalistic standards as justification for this, she listened carefully. I started out by explaining the way we want to interpret meetings industry reality. I then expanded on this by setting out the objectivity and accuracy of reporting that is the ideal of every media. I then spent quite a bit of time explaining that news has to have a direct meaning to the public we are addressing. It is also a key feature to recognize key recent events and forward them to the public in a brief fashion. And on top of all that the text has to be appealing and well put together. I finished off by explaining about the classic PR message, the type that is published by every media against payment - these messages are the ones we get the most.

My quite broad explanation didn’t quite manage to sink in with her, so by way of experiment we divided the news of the day into five categories that, for easier understanding of editorial logic, I will post later on. What they show is rankings by editorial attraction, rankings that were confirmed on the www.kongres-magazine.eu web portal with measurable readership results.

In understanding these rankings, the key criteria that make newsworthiness that can then be evaluated on a scale of one to five are:

Timing and Novelty Something genuinely new, that is appealing to worldwide meeting planners and that might affect their decision on organising an event or on the event that has just taken place.

Impact and relevance The event is fresh and has the power to impact on a meeting planner’s decisions or on the way they think about the world.

Reality and prominence Real statements from real participants, stakeholders and partners. The results can be from the first, the last, the oldest, the youngest, the biggest...

Importance Has the event got results that resonate with a local, regional, international or worldwide audience? Such results can have profound consequences.

Public interest What exactly is in the interest of the public we are addressing? Close events are usually more important than distant ones.

Sometimes we can also spice things up with a bit of conflict, because as human beings we’re naturally interested in conflict. Think about movies - they all have some type of conflict. Drama is built on it!

And we also like an unusual angle, as well as a new twist on an old theme, such as meeting design.

Currently the majority of the ‘news’ is just information and doesn’t have the right elements to form a real meeting ‘story’. That is actually a little bit surprising, because the target audience of meeting planners is very clearly defined, which means we know their habits well and we can get lots of help from online analytics offered to us by Google and many other systems.

Now, getting back to my colleague, lets see how the individual news articles that we received today coped with our new criteria for categorisation:

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EXCELLENT NEWS Newsworthy index:

4,55

LENKA JAROŠOVA APPOINTED TO LEAD THE PRAGUE CONVENTION BUREAU A woman again heads the Prague Convention Bureau. The organisation’s new Executive Director is Lenka Jarošova.

Lenka Jarošová majored in Travel and Tourism Management at the University of Jan Amos Komensky in Prague. She has industry experience in Sales and MICE from her previous position of Corporate & MICE Sales Manager at Clarion Congress Hotel Prague. She also worked as Business Development Manager in the ZIBA project and Sales Manager at B&B Hotel Prague-City.

In Focus

SATISFACTORY NEWS Newsworthy index:

3.64

21 METRIC TONNES OF PAPER SAVED AT EVENTS BY USING POKEN Poken, the Green Event Platform, today announces that over 21 metric tonnes of paper were saved at events in 2014, by replacing paper brochures and business cards with its Poken device. In 2014 Poken recorded 1.94m instances where people had collected documents digitally using its platform at events, which saved a total of 3.88m pages being printed. The company also recorded 2.18m instances where event visitors used Poken to network and exchange digital business cards, eliminating the need for some 4.5m printed business cards.

UNSATISFACTORY NEWS Newsworthy index:

VERY GOOD NEWS Newsworthy index:

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HOTEL KORČULA WILL SOON SHINE IN COMPLETELY NEW SPLENDOR The former Hotel de la Ville, today know as Hotel Korčula, was built back in 1912, making it the monument tourist tradition of Korčula and the heart of Korčula’s tourist facilities.

The hotel made of old stone is reminiscent of the charm of an old Venetian Villa, especially in its very interior. The spacious 150-seat terrace offers a unique view of the Adriatic Sea and the ships passing between the Pelješac peninsula and the island of Korčula, all of which contributes to overall charm of these ‘old beauties’.

GOOD NEWS Newsworthy index:

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VISIT ESPOO APPOINT LEOPOLD MARKETING TO DELIVER IN-MARKET REPRESENTATION SERVICES THROUGHOUT EUROPE Visit Espoo has appointed Leopold Marketing to provide in-market representation throughout Central Europe and the UK to attract MICE business from the corporate and association sectors. The fully retained deal builds on previous activity undertaken by Leopold Marketing in 2014, which saw the agency deliver a pilot marketing campaign promoting Espoo to the UK market.

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MESSEZENTRUM SALZBURG WILL FULFIL ALL YOUR DESIRES The Messezentrum Salzburg, with its outstanding accessibility, provided the perfect venue for renowned congresses last year.

“Every year we are the event location for over 100 top-class exhibitions, events and congresses,” explains Dipl.-Kfm. Henrik Häcker, CEO of the Messezentrum Salzburg.

“For large congresses with up to 5,000 participants, our multifunctional hall and its modern convention area, equipped with excellent event technology, fulfils every desire.”

The newest multifunctional hall offers an exhibition area of more than 15,000 m² and can be separated into nine parts. The 10 exhibition halls are arranged in concentric circles and can be combined variably and rented separately.

So, before you get down to writing your own story, here’s a quick editorial starter tip: even the most inexperienced writers can help themselves by answering the 5 W questions (Who What - Where - When - Why). By answering these questions I guarantee you a quick uplift in quality and a better sales conversion.

Have in mind: More Content - More Contacts / More Contacts - More Contracts.

Do you have a Newsworthy Story?

Send an email with your story idea and we will work with you to make your story attractive or newsworthy.

In Focus

A MEETING INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL BLOGS HER POINT OF VIEW Aga Ciesielska - Marketing & Event Partner at Everitum and event blogger Text by Ana Hotko

and how best to pay attention to best business practices. User numbers are still growing – so the answers are clearly helpful for her readers.

She has a plan to start an English version in the middle of 2015.

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ga has been working in the events industry for 10 years. She started out with the ADB Group corporation, where for 7 years she handled all the duties of assistant as well as internal event manager. She then started working for a publishing house, where she managed events for the automotive industry. With direct cooperation with UEFA Events SA in organising events within the Corporate Hospitality Programme she achieved UEFA’s detailed events strategy at just one year calendar. With Poland OCP Group, the biggest event agency in Poland, she carried out projects for corporates such as Reckitt Benckiser Nestle, Astellas, Bayer, Citi Handlowy, Saint Gobain Polska, Orange, ABC Data and Colgate Palmolive. Since 2014 she has established Everitum, her own agency, where she now shares her knowledge providing projects for professional associations. She is a public speaker on training courses, conferences and workshops, as well as a lecturer at public and private Universities on event management studies. Lastly, she is an event blogger.

The blog is dedicated to event managers, corporate specialists and students. Event Blog is the only one in the Polish blogosphere. It covers themes about events tools, trends and case studies. Aga describes the event world through the eyes of a participant, and sometimes as an organiser. There are many categories to help share knowledge in collaboration with event partners, recommendations of unique locations,

How did you get the idea for the blog?

The idea of creating the EventowaBlogerka.pl blog came about for a few reasons. The Polish event industry is becoming more dynamic, comprehensive and it’s much more professional than it was a few years ago. In the years of communism Poland was an event/concert desert.

Today, some of our experts have said that the value of the Polish MICE market is a minimum of 1.35 billion euro. Now we have brilliant festivals, excellent event marketing case studies and countless conferences and congresses. In parallel with this, in such a mature market we can notice the development of event management knowledge, but the low number of Polish publications on local market. We have event targeted conferences, associations and event competitions; the event community is still growing.

We also have studies of event management. So, I realised that there is a space to develop an event blog, where can I share all of my my daily experiences – http://eventowablogerka.pl/

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What are your biggest achievements?

One of my most spectacular events was carried out for UEFA Events and was related to hospitality packages for their sales campaigning. It was a challenging experience. I’ve also carried out many projects for corporate customers. I like working with open-minded customers. With one such customer, last year I arranged a great congress project where at the event gala I transferred guests to a really scary halloween event in the Wieliczka Salt Mine, 550 metres underground. My team prepared excellent scenography and a few scary tunnels with real actors carrying out horror movie scenes. It was definitely one of my most favourite projects.

The Polish event industry is becoming more dynamic, comprehensive and it’s much more professional than it was a few years ago.

App Scene

SLI.DO – TOLL THAT WILL ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE

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li.do is an award-winning Q&A and polling tool that allows event organisers to crowdsource the best questions for Q&A sessions and engage their audiences with real-time polls. sli.do’s focus is on simplicity - organisers can create an event in less than 1 minute, while participants get just 1 simple code to join in.

The core functions of sli.do are live Q&A, real-time polling and tweets. Thanks to the live Q&A feature, anyone in the audience can easily ask questions and vote up the best ones, which

can be displayed live on a presentation screen.

Questions can also be easily curated before being displayed live to maximize their quality.

Instant polls can be created in advance or even on the spot in a just few seconds and easily displayed live. Results are updated in real-time as the participants send their votes.

Since its foundation in 2012, sli.do has been used at over 2,000 events and has worked with clients such as SXSW festival, LeWeb conference, Google, KPMG, SAP, Oracle, or Telefonica

O2 in 55 countries.

SUPEREVENT – THE ULTIMATE APP FOR ALL YOUR EVENTS

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event. The app even includes rating, voting and Q&A with a web version for users without the app and this substitutes the expensive Audience Response systems. Because of dynamic pages you can include your Twitter feeds, photo galleries landing pages and much more from your own website into the app.

One of the most important features of Superevent is that organizers can view, follow, reach out and engage with the audience. The dashboard also enables them to send attendees a buzz with a simple “ring the bell”. Moreover, organizers can now also send out a message to all attendees at once before, during and after the

uperevent offers advantages for all your attendees on your internal or external events. Superevent keeps everyone up to date on the latest information about the event such as program, speakers, maps and all practical information. Users can use the app publicly or they can login for private events. For the event organizers Superevent is really easy to use, and offers excellent opportunities to expose sponsors or partners. It is also convenient for users because they can get an overview of all event attendees and have the possibility to interact with each other before, during and after the 17

meeting. People who do not use the app will still get an e-mail with this information.

Superevent is available for iPhone, iPad and all Android phones and tablets.

Meeting Star Winners

MEETING STAR WINNERS

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he Meeting Star Award is award for honoring outstanding achievements in the field of marketing destinations, congresses, events and meetings industry service providers from Europe. Hotels and convention centres were rated by secret hidden congress guest. This year editorial board of Kongres magazine prepared an overview of: Top Resort Meeting Hotels, City Meeting Hotels, Boutique Meeting Hotels and Convention Centres and announced the Best Meeting Destinations 2014.

MEETINGS STAR AWARD KONGRESNA ZVEZDA

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1 Meeting Star Award ceremony at Conventa Welcome reception 2 Brdo Congress Centre – Top 10 Convention Centres 3 Hotel Splendid - Top 10 Resort Meeting Hotels – Premium 4 Kempinski Palace - Top 10 Resort Meeting Hotels – Luxury 5 Hotel Bellevue - Top 10 Resort Meeting Hotels 2014 – Luxury – winner 6 Salzburg Congress - Top 10 Convention Centres – winner 7 Valamar Lacroma - Top 10 Resort Meeting Hotels 2014 – Premium - winner

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Meeting Star Winners

8 Cankarjev Dom, Cultural and Congress Centre - Top 10 Convention Centres 9 Falkensteiner Hotel Belgrade - Top 10 City Meeting Hotels 2014 - Premium 10 Hotel Cubo - Top 10 Boutique Meeting Hotels 2014 11 Hotel Townhouse 27 - Top 10 Boutique Meeting Hotels 2014 – winner 12 Prague – Best Meeting Destinations 2014 13 Dubrovnik – Best Meeting Destinations 2014 - winner 14 Istanbul – Best Meeting Destinations 2014 8

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Top 10

10 BIGGEST HOTEL VENUES FOR EVENTS AND MEETINGS IN THE ADRIATIC

1. GRAND HOTEL BERNARDIN, Portorose Hall Europa Theatre: 1,100 seats Meeting room space: 2,500 m 2 MAX Number of meeting rooms: 8 PACE S Number of bedrooms: 241

7. HOTEL CROATIA, Cavtat Congress Hall Ragusa Theatre: 850 seats Meeting room space: 1,500 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 8 Number of bedrooms: 480

2. HILTON MOLINO STUCKY, Venezia Venetian Ballroom Theatre: 1,000 seats Meeting room space: 2,500 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 23 Number of bedrooms: 379

8. LE MERIDIEN LAV, Split Hall Grand Dalmacija Theatre: 850 seats Meeting room space: 1,300 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 12 Number of bedrooms: 381

3. RIXOS LIBERTAS, Dubrovnik Hall Mistral Theatre: 1,000 seats Meeting room space: 1,800 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 9 Number of bedrooms: 254

9. HOTEL SPLENDID, Budva Hall of Dynasties Theatre: 782 seats Meeting room space: 2,000 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 9 Number of bedrooms: 322

4. VALAMAR LACROMA, Dubrovnik Hall Elafiti Theatre: 1,000 seats Meeting room space: 1,200 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 8 Number of bedrooms: 385

10. HOTEL DUBROVNIK PALACE, Dubrovnik Hall Mare Theatre: 750 seats Meeting room space: 1,100 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 10 Number of sleeping rooms: 308

5. RADISSON BLU RESORT & SPA, DUBROVNIK SUN GARDENS, Dubrovnik Hall Soderini Theatre: 900 seats Meeting room space: 1,100 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 8 Number of bedrooms: 408 6. HOTEL KVARNER AMALIA, Opatija Crystal Ballroom Theatre: 900 seats Meeting room space: 1,000 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 3 Number of bedrooms: 87

SHERATON DUBROVNIK RIVIERA HOTEL, Dubrovnik Hall Orlando Theatre: 1,000 seats Meeting room space: 1,500 m 2 Number of meeting rooms: 5 NEW Number of bedrooms: 239

2015

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Inside Ljubljana

LJUBLJANA'S CONGRESS HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2014 A look back at 2014 and major congresses for 2015

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he Slovenian capital, which has been present on the international association meetings market for more than thirty years, can be regarded as an established, yet still fresh destination that can welcome meetings with up to 2,200 delegates in the largest plenary capacity. The array of meeting facilities features two convention centres, several convention hotels and hotels with conference facilities, as well as a number of academic venues, the majority of which are in the downtown area. The “walking city” dimension of Ljubljana, which was crowned European Green Capital for 2016, is definitely one of its advantages.

Last year Ljubljana has recorded a good number of regional, European and international association congresses with an attendance between 500 and 1,200 delegates that were well visible in the city and generated important income in the destination. Surprisingly, the peak month was August, and not the traditional June, September or October. The majority of the events took place either at the GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre or at the CD – Cankarjev dom Congress Centre Ljubljana.

THE 2014 HIGHLIGHTS WERE: 14–16 February 2014, 18th Winter Meeting of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons – ESCRS, CD Congress Centre Ljubljana, 600 delegates 11–15 August 2014, 40th World Scout Conf­ erence – WSC 2014, GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, 1.200 delegates 26–29 August 2014, 14th Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists – EAAE, GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, 680 delegates 27–30 August 2014, 14th International Congress of the European Association for Japanese Studies – EAJS, CD Congress Centre Ljubljana, University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Arts, 850 delegates 17–20 September 2014, Conference of the European Council for High Ability – ECHA, Four Points by Sheraton Ljubljana Mons, 550 delegates

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18–20 September 2014, 26th Annual Confe­ rence of the European Association of Labour Economists – EALE, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics, 500 delegates 22–24 September 2014, The Travel Con­ vention 2014 (ABTA - Association of British Travel Agents), GR - Ljubljana Exhibiton and Convention Centre, 450 delegates 3–4 October 2014, 11th FIAPAC Conference (International Federation of Professional Abortion and Contraception Associates), CD Congress Centre Ljubljana, 500 delegates 26–28 October 2014, Couples for Christ Confe­rence, GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, 550 delegates With over 1,200 delegates from 130 countries, the 40th World Scout Conference – WSC 2014, was not only the largest congress in terms of attendance last year, but also the most international event ever held in the capital and Slovenia based on the number of the delegates’ countries of origin.

Inside Ljubljana

The year 2015 promises to be a positive one, and although only one congress will go beyond 1,000 delegates, a series of mid-sized ones are on the calendar.

n The main events at the GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre will instead be: the 27th International Symposium on Lep­ton Photon Interactions at High Levels - LEPTON PHOTON 2015 (August, 500 delegates) and the congress of the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia & Pain Therapy – ESRA (September, 1,500 delegates).

The latter has the highest expected attendance among congresses in Ljubljana (and Slovenia) in 2015 and is the second larger project run by Kenes in the destination.

A selection of the larger events in 2015 is featured below: n At the CD – Cankarjev dom Congress Centre Ljubljana, a high concentration of events is visible in May and June, however also the autumn months are busy: the 11th IEEE Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition – FG 2015 (300 delegates), Plant Health for Food Security (250 delegates), Medicine of South East Europe (600-800 delegates), the 16th European Congress of Pediatric Surgery – EUPSA 2015 (600 delegates), the 13th Meeting of the European Neuro-Ophthalmological Society

– EUNOS 2015 (300 delegates) and the 53rd Symposium of the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision – ISCEV (200 delegates); in September, the 25th Annual Conference of Alzheimer Europe (500 delegates), the International Conference on Engineering Vibration IFToMM (300 delegates); in October, the CIVITAS Forum (500 delegates) will follow, while the last congress, organised by the Mediterranean Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Society (300 delegates), is scheduled in December.

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n The Grand Hotel Union, which offers the largest hotel convention facilities in Ljubljana, is hosting this year several conferences of international and European associations attracting between 200 and 400 delegates, the largest being in mid October 2015: the 9th International Congress on Vascular Dementia – ICVD. Confirmed congress bookings for Ljubljana are in place for as far as the year 2018. Destination partners focusing primarily on the corporate / incentive market are also giving a positive outlook for business in 2015. www.visitljubljana.com/meetings

Incentive Ideas

GREEN URBAN EXPERIENCE 1 NIGHT INCENTIVE / 24 INCENTIVE HOURS IN LJUBLJANA www.blue.si e: info@blue-reg.si

OVERVIEW: Ljubljana is a boutique capital, which writes short boutique stories that portray its beauty and inhabitants. In a small space it uniquely combines natural, cultural and historical treasures, which is why it was also awarded with the title European Green Capital 2016. The easiest way to describe it to our guests and partners is by means of the following facts: – The loveliest small city in Europe – Small, quaint, and very explorable – One of the safest capitals

ITINERARY DAY 1: IN HARMONY WITH NATURE 10:00 Arrival at the Ljubljana airport and transport to Ljubljana 11:00 Arrival at the Vander/Cubo hotel and checkin 12:00 Time Machine at the Ljubljana Castle Discover the roles the Castle Hill and the Ljubljana Castle played throughout the castle’s rich history. The costumed characters representing each period will create a genuinely special atmosphere, which will be both instructive and entertaining.

13:00 Viseat Ljubljana, Strelec restaurant Getting to know the typical dishes from Ljubljana at the restaurant Stralec. The Viseat Ljubljana serves up a typical Ljubljana menu. You will indulge in authentic dishes and experience a premium menu with the signature of Ljubljana and Slovenia in a perfect ambience.

15:00 Boat trip to the Ljubljana marshes

1. MOMENTS OF ZEN: Experiencing Ljubljana and the Ljubljana marshes from the Ljubljanica river 2. QUALITY TIME: Organic processing of oleiferous plants and cereals 3. MUST SEE: Masterpieces of the visionary architect Jože Plečnik 4. MUST DO: Urban fishing 5. OUR’S PICK: Trnulja estate and the Ljubljana Marshes

16:00 Trnulja experiences You will actively learn how to organically process oleiferous plants and crops into organic oils, spreads, plain and whole-grain flour. In a short lecture you will learn how to respect natural systems and cycles without using genetically modified organisms. The entire programme will take place in the form of a workshop on preparing healthy home-made food, led by the host Urška and the top-class chef Slavko Adamlje. You will reminisce about and taste long-forgotten recipes and learn how to prepare healthy dishes.

20:00 Union – 150 years of the marriage of beer and food Visit to the Union brewery, the most renowned brewery in Slovenia, and its production. What follows is a guided beer tasting at the hottest tavern in town. You will get a chance to experience a legendary beer-inspired menu and get acquainted with all the flavours from the Union beer portfolio.

23:00 After-party or return to the hotel DAY 2: 08.00 Breakfast at the Cubo or Vander hotel 09:00 Urban fishing A unique fishing experience. Fly fishing for graylings and brown trout, spin fishing for metre-long pike in the heart of Ljubljana, and winter adventures – huchen fishing on the length of the Ljubljanica river.

11:00 Face to face with Jože Plečnik There are only a few cities which are so strongly characterized by an artist as Ljubljana, the home-town of the architect Jože Plečnik (1872– 1957), a student of Otto Wagner. In a little over 35 years he transformed Ljubljana from a provincial city into the capital of the Slovenian nation. Since the mid-20s of the 20th century this architect designed countless city squares and parks, one after the other.

13:00 Plečnik’s lunch – JB restaurant Imaginative recipes of Janez Bratovž in the chambers of Jože Plečnik. Optional: lunch with fresh, local ingredients from the open-air market under the Plečnik arcades.

16:00 Departure to the airport

HOURS OF SUNSHINE: 1832

GETTING THERE: All flights to and from Ljubljana land at Jože Pučnik Ljubljana Airport, just 25 km from the city centre.

The national airline Adria Airways connects Ljubljana with more than 20 European cities and offers great connections to south-east Europe as well.

ACCOMMODATION: 5 apartments made of ecological materials at Trnulja estate or Hotel Cubo or Hotel Vander in the city centre of Ljubljana EAT AND DRINK: Organic food at Trnulja estate or restaurants JB and Strelec in the centre of Ljubljana GATEWAYS: Due to its location, Ljubljana is the best starting point to discover Slovenia.

The Central Slovenian region, which surrounds Ljubljana, is full of interesting incentive experiences, which can be integrated into your event’s programme.

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Top 10

TOP 10 ROCK VENUES IN SEE Rock Stars

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his list is for those who dare to wish for completely different urban venues. You can find them in bigger urban regional centres, which are also the regional congress capitals. These are places that don’t feel like your typical setting for an event on first sight. They usually offer an excellent sound system and a special rock atmosphere.

TVORNICA KULTURE, Zagreb The legendary hall with the best acoustics can also be a place for different types of events. Having been renovated the hall can now be split into 3 smaller units. The larger hall can accommodate 1,600 guests. Technically and in terms of executing events it is one of the best-equipped concert venues in Croatia.

From concert history: Pixies, Joe Satirani, Patti Smith, Apocalyptica, The Walabouts...

KINO ŠIŠKA, Ljubljana Ljubljana’s rock center with topnotch equipment in its Katedrala hall. This unique setting is mostly connected with music, theatre, dance and experimental production, but it is also offers a place for meetings and conferences. It sits among the biggest and most technically advanced rock venues in Europe.

From concert history: TBF + Zooster, John Mc Laughlin, Swans, Megadeth, Joss Stone, Laibach...

DOM OMLADINE, BEOGRAD An institution that has been offering a home of alternative culture for more than 50 years. Your guests can feel this spirit in several rooms spreading across 5,000 m2.

Amerikana, the biggest hall, is where you can really get the positive energy and rock spirit. It is in these rooms that YU Rock was born. After renovation this hall has also been very well equipped.

From concert history: Mudhoney, Fink, Doghouse, Chris Eckman, Laibach, Sepultura...

MOČVARA, Zagreb If you want to organise an event in a true temple, then Močvara is the place to do it. The former Jedinstvo factory on the coast of Sava is the mecca of alternative culture, where you can bring a special subcultural spirit to your event. In the bigger hall alongside the club can host 1,200 guests.

From concert history: UK Subs, Christian Death, Mad Professor, Mike Watt...

KLUB ULJANIK, Pula The epicentre of rock culture and generator of urban culture in Istria’s biggest town. The club named after a shipyard and has 25

hosted some big names in the local rock scene. For entire generations in the region it was a major part of their youth and it is still known as the best urban rock scene in Istria.

From concert history: Marc Ribot, Šime, Atheist Rap, Električni orgazam, Hladno pivo, Partibrejkers...

CVETLIČARNA, Ljubljana From a metal scene to the club scene, from a meeting place for ex-yu lovers to strong competition for Kino Šiška, this venue offers perhaps a more commercial and recognisable array of music. It can host up to 1,000 guests.

From concert history: Rambo Amadeus, Bajaga, Partibrejkers, MI2...

KLUB LAZARETI, Dubrovnik In a historical quarter of Dubrovnik and is joined by a theatre and an art gallery, the Lazareti consists of an interactive theatre, club, terrace and a beach with one of the most attractive views of the Stari Grad.

From concert history: Ministry of Sound, S.W.A.G, Laus recrods, Primate, Adult records...

CK 13, Novi Sad The main idea behind this centre

is to ensure that young people are introduced to different aspects of politics and culture, giving them a better perspective and approach to life enabling them to be independent and take their own decisions.

Omladinski Centar regularly hosts a variety of events, including workshops, seminars, a lecture series, live concerts and other functions.

MIKSER HOUSE, Belgrade Mikser House is a hybrid concept space for cultural, educational and commercial activities, nestled in an inspiring, converted industrial facility of 1,000 m2. Located in Savamala, one of the most promising Belgrade neighborhoods, Mikser House is contributing to its bottom-up transformation into a progressive design & culture district.

From concert history: Dogville, Jewlwz & Sparks, Otis Taylor, Damir Urban...

MOSTOVNA, Nova Gorica Mostovna was an industrial building with an extensive grass courtyard that was desolate for many years and showing no signs of life.

Located on the outskirts of Nova Gorica it was redeveloped into a public space and its premises are now perfect for events.

From concert history: Marduk, Elvis Jackson, Noctiferia, Fake Orchestra, Zabranjeno pušenje...

Enjoy business. Feel pleasure.

Bernardin Group. Perfect combination.

Hoteli Bernardin d.d., Obala 2, SI-6320 Portoro탑, Slovenia

Tel . +386 5 690 70 00 congress@bernardingroup.si

www.bernardingroup.si/mice

Piran Report

PIRAN FOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS One of the most photogenic cities in the Mediterranean, Piran has preserved its unsurpassed charm. With its quiet, lush green environment and proximity to the sea, Piran and its neighbouring city of Portoro탑 are a great choice for international congresses, business conferences, cultural and entertainment events as well as incentives.

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Piran Report

PIRAN FOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS Piran, the dream city

One of the most photogenic cities in the Mediterranean, Piran has preserved its unsurpassed charm. With its quiet, lush green environment and proximity to the sea, Piran and its neighbouring city of Portorož are a great choice for international congresses, business conferences, cultural and entertainment events as well as incentives.

TOP 5 PLACES WHERE PEOPLE MEET

The best places to meet, stay and incentivize in Piran and Portorož Congress centre Bernardin Bernardin creates spontaneous networking environment to increase creativity with inspiring sea-view guestrooms, meeting facilities, large exhibition space and walking distance venues on the Mediterranean.

Congress centre Bernardin with 19 modern multifunctional halls and a total capacity of 2,600 people is the first and the largest convention centre in Slovenia. It offers all services under one roof!

Metropol Conference Centre

Convention Centre Kempinski Palace

As an integral part of the Grand Hotel Metropol, Metropol Business Centre fulfils the demanding standards of the congress-seminar tender.

The business center offers 5 conference halls of various sizes. While the biggest hall can seat 150 people, the other ones seating 30 people are perfect for smaller meetings or workshops.

Kempinski Palace Portoroz offers 7 meeting rooms. For business meetings, choose the Mistral Meeting Room with up-to date technical equipment. The magnificent Crystal Hall Ballroom, known for its majestic balls held in the early 20s for the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy, is a perfect choice for glamorous events.

Experience private receptions, dinners or unique evenings in the vintage ambiance surrounding the Wine Cellar, with its exquisite culinary creations and fine wines.

Conference hall Piranesi - Hotel Piran Boutique and full of charm. The view of the wide-open sea or the medieval Piran will make your stay at Hotel Piran a unique experience.

With 15 spacious suites, 74 modern 4-star rooms and a small meeting room, this hotel is perfect for smaller events and meetings.

Convention Centre Portus, LifeClass Hotels & Spa Popular among meeting venues in Portorož is also the Convention Centre Portus, LifeClass Hotels & Spa. It consist of six hotels, including the 192-room Grand Hotel Portoroz and the 160room Slovenija, 16,000 square feet of event space for up to 1,200 persons, and a conference center for 520.

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Piran Report

ESSENTIAL MEETING EXPERIENCES STAY LOCAL

Recharge and rejuvenate in nature The coastal line that goes from the Sečovlje Salina to Portorož and Strunjan is well known for its health benefits: salt-pan mud and brine from the Sečovlje Salina, the beneficial Mediterranean climate and sea water. People from all over the world come here to boost their health and vitality. Experience them in their natural environment or in one of the several spa centres like wellness center Paradise Spa Portorož.

HIT THE STREETS

PLAY THE GAME

Visit Tartini Square

Explore the sea life, go to the Aquarium

The venue of many outdoor events! Once a harbour for fishing boats of Piran, today one the most impressive squares in Slovenia. The Tartini Square was named after violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini, of whom a monument was made in 1896. Tartini Festival, Ex-Tempore Piran, Miss Alpe Adria Contest, Piran Days of Architecture, December festivities and many other events are held at Tartini Square throughout the year. Walk around Tartini square, enjoy the beautiful scenery and take that perfect picture of Piran.

The Aquarium has its premises at the inner bay of the Piran port. Around 200 species from the deeps of the submersed world can be admired; of which there are around 140 various kinds of sea organisms that can be found in the local sea.

Great fun for individuals, group or families!

ESSENTIAL INCENTIVE EXPERIENCES The Truffle Hunt

Engage yourself in the search of the “diamond of the kitchen”. Istria is a very famous and quite known destination for its truffles which are a highly esteemed and highly prized delicacy in the world of gastronomy. Under the supervision and guidance of professionals learn the basics of truffle hunting and with the help of specially trained dogs test yourself in the search of the prestigious white truffle on the beautiful Istrian landscapes. After a successful day of “hunting” it is time for an exquisite truffles based dinner in the famous restaurant Stari Kaštel.

solving various mysteries, your mission will be to find the missing Tartini violin. The event concludes with delicious Mediterranean refreshments and a concert played on the once long-lost instrument.

Search for the Lost Violin

The search of the lost violin is an excellent team building experience and a unique and fun way of discovering the gorgeous city Piran. Following the traces of Giuseppe Tartini, the famous composer born in Piran, through the typical Venetian streets, visiting attractions, finding clues and

Salt Miner for a Day

The Sečovlje salt pans are the northernmost salt pans in the Mediterranean and one of the most beautiful landscapes in Slovenia. After a 29

short tour of the salt pans, participants in small groups will compete in producing the famous salt flower in the traditional way, based on a 700-year-old method, that harmonizes man and nature. A nice competition and good team effort builds up an appetite that will be satisfied with a delicious Mediterranean lunch in the authentic atmosphere at the Sečovlje salt pans.

Piran Report

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE Monfort Exhibition Space Between Portorož and Piran lies the historic salt warehouse of Monfort that is listed as both cultural and historical heritage. Built in the time of Napoleon, Monfort nowadays no longer stores salt but is an exhibition gallery that is also a part of the coastal regional galleries for modern art.

It offers a large, rustic area suitable for larger events.

WHEN IN PIRAN MUST HAVE – GASTRONOMY

CARRY ME HOME – GADGET/GIFTS

Piran sea bass in salt

Dark Chocolate With Fleur De Sel

At least once in your lifetime you need to taste the Piran sea bass, fish of outstanding quality produced in Slovenia. Piran sea bass in salt is one of the healthiest and most delicious ways to prepare a sea bass. We recommend you visit Casa Nostromo in Piran to have a taste of this culinary perfection. Our tip: For groups up to 50 people Fonda fish farm offers a tour and degustation. This can be a great incentive trip where participants can learn and experience the king of Slovenian fish.

A perfect balance of bitter and sweet, with just a hint of traditionally harvested virgin salt. A true delicacy made for connoisseurs. This chocolate contains at least 62% cocoa solids and is sold in Portorož (Sečovlje Salina Nature Park, Solni cvet shop) and Piran (Benečanka shop).

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

Cloister of the Franciscan Monastery Next to St. Francis Church is a Franciscan monastery with a gracefully designed atrium, the Cloister, which represents one of the best cloister atrium designs in the Istrian coastal region.

Leading to the Cloister is a half-arched portal adorned with richly carved columns, bearing an architrave with an inscription and coats of arms.

Due to its beautiful atmosphere and good acoustics, the Cloister has for many decades been the setting for the Musical Evenings of Piran. With the capacity of 120, it is a great venue for concerts, exhibitions and evening receptions.

BEDS in 3 STAR HOTELS in Piran and Portorož

ICCA 2013 328 Worldwide 164 Europe

880

BEDS in 5 and 4 STAR HOTELS in Piran and Portorož

2.168

€ COMPETITIVE PRICES OF HOTELS (Hotels.com)

2160 PIRAN

SUNSHINE HOURS

PRO PIRAN

Tartini Theatre The Tartini theatre is a fine example of a finde-siècle complete work of art, created in mixed Historicist and Secessionist styles. Various cultural events including concerts, exhibitions, film screenings and stage performances are organised there. The space is also used for conferences, symposia, seminars, presentations and receptions. The Tartini Theatre has a capacity of 263 seats within an area of 350 square metres.

✔ ALSO CALLED A PEARL OF SLOVENIAN MEDITERRANEAN COAST ✔ TINY, FRIENDLY AND OVERWHELMINGLY PICTURESQUE ✔ DIFFERENT VENUES ALL WITHIN EASY REACH ✔ RICH HISTORY ✔ EXCELLENT CLIMATE, EXCEPTIONAL GEOGRAPHICAL DIVERSITY ✔ SURROUNDED BY HEALTHY AND CLEAN SEA ✔ TOP-QUALITY CONFERENCE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE IN VENUES LOCATED BY THE SEA AND SURROUNDED BY GREENERY

✔ VARIOUS CULTURAL AND ART ESTABLISHMENTS ✔ TOP ISTRIAN CUISINE ✔ PIRAN COUNTRYSIDE IS A SPORTS HEAVEN; GUESTS CAN ENJOY MARKED BICYCLE PATHS AND HIKING TRAILS ✔ THE PROXIMITY OF PORTOROŽ MAKES PIRAN EVEN MORE INVITING AND OPENS UP NEW POSSIBILITIES WHEN LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT VENUES FOR YOUR EVENT ✔ NEAREST AIRPORT WITH INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS IS TRIESTE ✔ FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA AIRPORT AND IS 82 KM AWAY

Contact: Mojca Gobina, Bernardin Resorts & Hotels, MICE Department Manager T: +386 5 690 7302, F: +386 5 690 7210, E: mojca.gobina@bernardingroup.si

30

Face2Face

SPLIT vs. TRIESTE A current comparison of the closest competitors on the 2013 ICCA scale according to the methodology of Kongres travelogues – meetologues.

SPLIT Population: 178,102 ICCA Country and City rankings 2013 328th place, 6 meetings Mercer Quality of Living 2013 NA Sunshine hours: 2,633

TRIESTE Population: 205,535 ICCA Country and City rankings 2013 265th place, 8 meetings Mercer Quality of Living 2013 NA Sunshine hours: 2,165

✚ Political stability, safety, ratio of quality to price and general competitiveness of the destination are the main attributes of Split’s offer. Split does somewhat worse in the area of meetings industry support, e-services and the image of Split as a congress destination. Among the Adriatic congress destinations Split has become serious competition to Dubrovnik in the last years. The main disadvantages of the destination are bad cooperation between the service providers, lack of air traffic connections to key markets and not enough destination marketing. If Split gets a real convention centre in the future it could become one of the leading congress destinations in the Mediterranean. New and excellent hotel capacities, good road connections to Europe and wonderful surroundings, with islands offering numerous incentive programme opportunities, all bolster this proposition. Split is one of the most unexploited congress destinations in the Mediterranean.

✚ Trieste has great natural conditions to prosper in the meetings industry, which it has already taken advantage of many times in the course of its history. The Trieste meetings industry is really quite fine, albeit missing that ‘something’ to make it an above average congress destination. The city is safe, tidy, has a good price-to-quality ratio and its locals are hospitable and professional. That something extra that’s missing is a more attractive offer, which would take advantage of Trieste’s hidden potential.

Today Trieste is known mostly for its coffee rather than its meetings industry. The geo-political location could make Trieste a leading Adriatic congress destination, yet it is now being overtaken by less accessible and geographically located destinations. The solid infrastructure is a good foundation for further development.

Split meetings flashpoints: 1. Diocletian palace - The ruins of Diocletian’s Palace can be found throughout the city and they are one of the most imposing special venues of the Mediterranean 2. Hotel Le Meridien Lav - the largest congress hotel in the city. Flagship of the Dalmatian meetings industry 3. Radisson Blu Resort - The four star hotel with 240 rooms has a smaller congress centre 4. Mestrovic Gallery - a family house with a studio of one of the most famous Croatian artists of the 20th century, Ivan Mestrovic.

The Garden Gallery, offering a view towards the sea and the central Dalmatian islands, can accommodate up to 1500 people 5. ECA Seaplanes - Jet off to one of the Dalmatian islands with Europe’s only scheduled seaplane service.

Trieste meetings flashpoints: 1. Hotel Savoia Excelsior Palace - It’s the embodiment of Trieste and its glamour 2. Old fish market - an excellent event venue, which serves as a multipurpose exhibition and event centre 3. Molo 4 - The renewed port warehouse is mostly used for concerts and as a multipurpose event space 4. Castle Miramare - It was built by Emperor Maximilian I as his summer residence. With a wonderful park it is a perfect space for protocol receptions 5. Espresso - Trieste is the second name for coffee. Espresso from Trieste rules! And to quote the coffee doctor Ernesto Illy, “cappuccino is the female side of coffee, espresso is for men”.

STAY: Hotel Park / 5*****

AND THE WINNER IS

3.87 / 5 31

STAY: Grand Hotel Duchi D’aosta / 4****

3.43 / 5

Voice from the top

VOICE FROM THE TOP Q: Have you always wanted to work in the meetings industry?

Actually, I never thought before to work in this industry. This is a totally new thing for my country and it has started to develop recently. So I got in the game really by accident.

Q: Why is your destination/country the best in the world?

Albania is a beautiful place, a good combination of history, nature, culinary experience and warm and friendly people. It is easy reachable by international flight and the distance between places in the country are short.

Q: What would be the first thing you would show every visitor to your country?

Definitely people. Meeting the local people and showing their hospitality to our guests would be one of the first things I would like to show to our visitors!

ADION CANO, Operations manager at Albania-Experience Adion Cano was born in Albania and educated in Albania, School of Economics from which he holds a BA. In economics and a MBA from IEDC school of Management in Bled, Slovenia.

He worked at Avis Rent A Car Albania in 2008 and later joined Albania Experience. Now he serves as Operations Manager covering the Asian markets. He has been trained at different Institutions and loves swimming, biking and thinks that travelling is his life. He likes to read especially travel and history books. He lives in Albania and enjoys life with all its dimensions.

"The sky is the limit / The best by choice."

Q: What has been your “star” moment so far and what is your favourite project with which you would praise yourself?

My “star” moment usually is at the end of an event, when you have the handshakes from everyone and they say “thank you”. This is the best moment, when you realise that all your effort and work has been rewarded and that the client is happy.

Q: What motivates you the most at work?

It is always challenging to create and implement a new event. It is always exciting and always keeps me going!

care that everything goes well and also dealing with emergencies coming up during the event.

Naturally I am a quiet and reasonable person, which helps a lot. Also, some brain games tips always help!

Q: When were you last angry/disappointed and why?

Ha-ha I never get angry J. No, there are a lot of cases where you might get angry. I always try to be reasonable and see how I can resolve the emergency, not whose fault it is or who should be punished!

Q: What will be new in your business in 2015?

I like technology a lot. I believe that this might make a difference in the future.

Q: What did you learn to do last week?

In business I should try to have my partners close and not take everything for granted.

Q: Where have you spent this year’s holiday and why?

I was in Asia: Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia.

I love these countries. I love everything there: their way of work, their food… but not the airconditioning J Q: If there were no time and financial constraints, where would you go?

Latin America would be my next destination. J Q: What would be the title of your autobiography?

‘Doing the work he likes and loving the work he does’.

Q: How do you deal with stress?

You are right, there is a lot of stress taking

T •• ET EE •• M ME

S RS ER TE B ST US BU 204 & 186

According to ICCA statistics, Vienna is the leading world destination. In 2013 the city hosted 182 international congresses, all meeting ICCA standards.

182

#$BUSTED!!!

In 2013, for the first time in 8 years, Paris and Madrid have both overtaken Vienna, Paris with 204 congresses and Madrid with 186. Vienna, however, still remains on the winners podium of the top European congress league.

32

Hot Spot

DOING BUSINESS AMONG FRIENDS The formation of Skål International Club Ljubljana Text by Polona Simšič

O

n the initiative of Slovenian Convention Bureau and with the support of Nik Racic, Former Skål World President, now Chairman of Central and Eastern Regional Group, the Skål International Club Ljubljana was officially formed this February. The main purpose of the Club is to make Slovenia even more internationally successful in the field of tourism.

Skål is a professional organisation of tourism leaders around the world, promoting global tourism and friendship. It is the only international group uniting all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Its members, the industry’s managers and executives, meet at local, national, regional and international levels to discuss and pursue topics of common interest.

This global association that is led by the motto “Doing business among friends” has more than 16.900 members and almost 400 clubs in 86 countries.

Skål is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization whose mission is to promote the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Skål has adopted the Global Code of Ethics in Tourism, and is also a sponsor to the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from exploitation in tourism, and supports the new project Sustainable Tourism-Eliminating Poverty. The organization has developed and hosts the Sustainable Development in Tourism Awards to encourage the conservation of the environment and help to promote the development of responsible and sustainable tourism.

For the leadership in encouraging responsible tourism practices in the travel and tourism industry, Skål International was awarded the 2013 World Tourism Award at World Travel Market in London.

More than 20 Slovenian professionals working in tourism have joined the Skål International

33

Club Ljubljana in January and thus entered the network of close to 18.000 tourism professionals worldwide. “As membership in Skål is individual and not corporate, more professionals from Ljubljana and Slovenia are expected to join in the near future,” said Miha Kovačič, Director of Slovenian Convention Bureau and initiator of the formation of Slovenian Club.

Among others, member benefits include various discounts, attendance at international trade fairs, participation at important Tourism Forums, Seminars, Annual Skål World Congress and Skål events around the globe.

For more information about Skål International, please visit www.skal.org/en.

Been There

DUBAI MEET BUSTERS Back to the future

S

etting aside the intense summer heat and the lack of Central European greenery that we’re familiar with, Dubai is a city of wonderful excess. We have read much about its staggering rise (and quite literally too) in the past couple of decades, but a lot less is known about its meetings industry. Let’s put it like this: why organise an event in Dubai? I have been asking myself this for quite a while now, as a few largescale and important events and conferences will be held there in the coming years, no less so than the ICCA and IAPCO congresses. In getting to an answer, a comprehensive clue was offered to us in March, when we were guests of a mega Fam trip in this meetings destination of the future.

DUBAI = EMIRATES The first thing to confess is that the trip organisers managed to break a whole series of stereotypes and congress myths deeply embedded in my subconscious. The second thing is that I now know a little more on Middle East geography, specifically so on Dubai’s relation to the other Emirates making up the UAE, which I can now finally properly list and locate. CEO of Dubai CVB, Steen Jakobsen explained to us that “the region is becoming increasingly popular both for corporate and association planners as it is such a dynamic region – in terms of knowledge, social and economic development, Dubai is located within one of the fastest growing regions in the world. In addition to this we also see the return of events – Dubai is no longer considered a one off destination, as events are returning here again and again”.

MYTH

1

DUBAI IS A SYNONYM FOR THE LUXURY SIDE OF THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY The biggest myth of all is connected with Dubai’s meetings industry. There are certainly a wealth of luxury hotels, the artificial MYTH

2

34

Palm and World Islands, and the highest skyscraper in the world in the midst of it all. For these reasons, a planner might not feel drawn to organising a budgeted congress in Dubai. Actual contact with Dubai, however, reveals a mature and well-organised meetings industry destination with a comprehensive offer and a variety of hotel services which also includes a growing number of three-star hotels. As Steen Jakobsen was keen to explain, “Dubai resonates with a ‘Can Do’ attitude plus the combined partnership within the industry to ensure that we as a city are successful”. This success is not just for luxury seekers, but for everyone.

DUBAI IS A CITY WITHOUT TRADITION Although, the Middle East is regarded as the cradle of human civilisation, it sometimes feels that there is not a lot of the ancient world to go and see. We therefore got a big surprise with the Al Fahidi old fortress in the Dubai Creek area, as well as a genuine contact with Arab culture (The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding). Through a heritage tour we learned about the traditional and modern Dubai from the wonderful storyMYTH

3

Been There

telling of an energetic guide. The exceptional cultural and culinary experience took us back to a Dubai of a tiny population of people who busied themselves with boat building and pearl fishing. Through his stories of the development of Dubai and the region, the guide managed to break some of the more unusual European perceptions about Islam and Arabic culture and give a clear and historical picture for their food, housing, clothing, religion and culture. Whilst the Muslims of Dubai have adapted the laws of their religion to modern times, it was both interesting and informative to learn about the habits and the history of the indigenous Bedouin.

DUBAI IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT AND HAS NO INCENTIVE PROGRAMMES Just forget this one! Upon entering the town, you quickly lose the feeling that Dubai lies on the fringes of the second largest desert in the world. Direct contact with its Bedouin past is possible through a number of incentive programmes and mega adventures: sand skiing, desert camping with a company of Bedouins and belly dancers, smoking shisha and riding camels will all stimulate images of One Thousand and One Nights. “We have a myriad of options, including: Cultural understanding at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, as well as our many different Souks – market places for gold and jewellery, textiles and spices for example – Dhow dining (traditional boats with restaurants), Desert Safari, Camel Polo, adrenalin types of activities including Sky Diving, Seaplane, the Autodrome, Sailing and Sand Dune offroad,” explained Steen Jakobsen.

MYTH

4

35

Been There

DUBAI HAS NO ACADEMIC TRADITION Dubai has perhaps no long-standing academic tradition, but its academic achievements of recent years are helping it become one of the world’s meetings industry capitals with first rate facilities and free zones greatly helping this come to fruition. There are currently 23 free zones in Dubai, from Media and Internet City to Design City, all attracting global corporations that are following suit with their company offices and headquarters.

Educational institutions are also moving in, which are themselves a generator of meetings industry events. In 2003 ‘The Knowledge Village’ was formed, which has attracted wellknown universities and businesses. Today there are 450 such villages in Dubai and Dubai Academic City was built in 2007, which includes 30 campuses and faculties from 13 countries. Dubai today has a remarkably strong academic base, which is the basis for the development of regional association meetings, so we can definitely confirm that Dubai is knowledge society.

MYTH

5

DUBAI IS NOT YET A GLOBAL CONVENTION HUB To the question of where the bulk of Dubai CVB business wins have come from in recent years, Steen Jakobsen replied that is has been from “Asia, and particularly incentive groups from South East Asia. Europe also remains a stable key market for Dubai.” Backing this up, this year Dubai will host the Dragon awards for Chinese insurance, with 5000-8000 delegates. Helping host such numbers, Dubai today has 93,000 hotels rooms and by 2016 the number will surge to a breathtaking 150,000.

The entire infrastructure is more than ready for the world’s biggest events, one of which they will host within the next five years: since 2009 work has been on-going for the Dubai metro that will help the city be ready for hosting EXPO 2020.

MYTH

6

DUBAI IS FOR THE BIG SPENDERS It is undeniable that the shiniest stars of Dubai are the fashion designers and luxury brands. However, this myth is far from the whole picture of the Emirate. To organise an event in Dubai you don’t need a wallet the size of the Burj Khalifa. The hotel offer is comprehensive and you can select the appropriate location for your budget. The prices of catering services are also comparable to those in Europe.

If you do feel a burning urge to splash the plastic, there are more than 30 huge shopping centres MYTH

7

36

Been There

(including the biggest mall in the world) that will be very happy to see you.

DUBAI HAS NO NIGHTLIFE Seriously? From what we saw Dubai has a very buzzing nightlife that you’ll mostly find going on in its hotels, as despite liberal views and general tolerance the residents of Dubai are still part of a traditional society. When you understand not to expect bars under palm trees and nightlife on the streets, you certainly won’t be disappointed. The main day for fun and entertainment is Thursday, although unlike most European cities the nightlife is not limited to weekends. The Souk Madinat, with its forty-five bars and restaurants, is the main place to amble from pub to pub. The Parisian Buddha Bar has also opened its own restaurant and club, instantly becoming one of the city’s most popular meeting places.

MYTH

8

THE MAIN INDUSTRY IN DUBAI IS OIL That’s the perception, but the oil stock in Dubai is sufficient for just a year or two more. Since 1991, the Maktoum royal family began to intensively work on this problem, knowing that their reserves were drying up and would not bring profits indefinitely. The result of their work is that tourism is today the main industry in the Emirates, with approximately 80% of them being leisure visitors and 20% congress and FIT visitors.

MYTH

9

Dubai has elevated its hotel and hospitality sector to a level that has been setting benchmarks across the world. Over 400 hotels supplement the innumerable diverse attractions, including a the ski slope in the middle of the desert, the artificial islands in the form of a palm tree, and a large variety of the largest, highest and longest visitor attractions of the world.

THE ROAD FROM EUROPE TO DUBAI IS AN EXPENSIVE ONE Definitely not. Dubai has excellent connections with the world, with more than one hundred airlines flying to nearly 160 cities around the world, among them also a number of low-cost carriers. Last year Dubai Airport also chalked up record passenger handling figures and became the busiest airport in the world by number of international passengers.

The exemplary cooperation between Emirates airlines, the airport and the Dubai Convention Bureau is extraordinarily impressive. Hubert Frach, Divisional Senior Vice-President for Operations West at Emirates Airlines, presented the airline at a press conference and explained how he sees great potential in the meetings industry, with the largest number of congress passengers currently coming from Great Britain and Germany. Helping such growth, Dubai is soon to start operating from a second airport that will set a new milestone in the city’s development and will further consolidate Dubai’s position as a global aviation hub.

MYTH

10

Dubai Convention Bureau Steen Jakobsen, CEO E: steen.jakobsen@dubaitourism.ae T: +971 600 55 5559 W: www.dubaitourism.ae

Steen Jakobsen, CEO of Dubai CVB From working on a tourism project for the Ministry of Industry in Denmark, Steen made connections at the Copenhagen tourism board that took him to a new position with them and was the start of getting to where he is today.

Sten was keen to note that the key factor to succeeding as a Business Events destination is to create strong partnerships both locally and internationally, which is what they are engaging in to help elevate Dubai to the global podium for business events. This involves not only creating partnerships with people within the industry, but with key partners and stakeholders in the city and internationally, such as Dubiotech, the Dubai Health Authority, Zayed University and many other government entities.

STEN JAKOBSEN DEFINING MOMENTS: Craziest destination: India Craziest event: Dinner at Bacardi Distilleries in Puerto Rico Hotel to return to: Balmoral Edinburgh Best concert: Michael Buble Dubai Best rock band: U2

FORMULA 1 FOR HORSES We stayed at the Meydan Hotel, set at the edge of the most prestigious racecourse in the world, the home of the Dubai World Cup. Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rašid Al Maktoum, the largest fan of horses and horse breeding patron of Dubai in the middle of the desert created a breeding paradise. There are over a thousand breeding mares and stallions on the estate. We were thrilled by the quality of care. Dubai World Cup is a race with the biggest prize pool with three million dollars.

37

Advertorial

GR - LJUBLJANA EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION CENTRE REMAINS A NESTING PLACE

T

he meetings industry can be compared to the world of birds: like birds, meetings industry professionals know no borders, migrating to several nesting destinations and some of them coming back.

Kenes International, which in 2010 brought to the GR the World Congress on Autoimmunity, with 1,200 participants being the congress of the year in Slovenia, is coming back again in September 2015, due to its excellent experience. Will the congress from the field of medicine, ESRA – European Society of Regional Anaesthesia Congress, with its 1,400 participants from all over the world, again reverberate from the GR as the congress of the year in Slovenia? We are certainly keeping our fingers crossed.

Speaking of the ‘world’ event format, the recognised World Scout Conference deserves a mention. Over 1,200 delegates from 130 countries attended the event in August 2014, which makes it not only last year’s largest congress in terms of delegate numbers, but also the most international event ever held in the Slovenian capital. Among a number of remarkable events we hosted last year were also the Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists with 700 participants and in September an annual conference of ABTA, the largest British tourist association, with 400 participants. ‘If the GR staff could fly,’ said Tracy Phillips, Head of Event & Marketing at ABTA,

‘it would be great to pack up the GR and take it with us to each destination, as we have worked so well together. Alas, as that isn’t possible, we look forward to returning to beloved Ljubljana one day!”

Birds know why they keep coming back. So do you. Once you enter GR, it might become the place you remember. Your next nesting place.

“Client satisfaction is our priority” – the GR team: professional, experienced and dedicated. You will be assigned someone who will follow you through from the initial offer to the concluding stages of cooperation.

38

Kongres magazine

Just like birds, meetings industry professionals know no borders; they migrate to their nesting destinations ‌ And know why

they are coming back.

www.gr-congress.si

39

Conventa Addendum

CONVENTA 2015 RAISED THE BAR FOR THE NEW EUROPE MEETINGS INDUSTRY For the first time we present Conventa 2015 satisfaction survey results Text by Polona Simšič

Hosted buyers: “Conventa covered a lot of opportunities in a short time”

4.41

4.19

4.00

4.02

The activities

yes, partly 11.1 %

In the future, hosted buyers will most likely place business in the destination.

How likely are you to place future business in (1-not at all likely, 5 – very likely)

The venues

OVERALL RESULTS:

Almost 89 % of hosted buyers said that their participation absolutely met their expectations.

Did your participation meet your expectations?

The breadth of offer presented at the show was confirmed through the fam trips and post-show tours to different meeting destinations in the region, where hosted buyers experienced the meetings offer first-hand. Hosted buyers were most satisfied with Ljubljana (5) and Portorož (5), followed by Bled (4.82), Kranjska Gora pretour (4.75) and post-tour (4.67) and Zagreb (4.40). Overall, the fam trips were extremely educational and remain an important and essential part of the Conventa experience.

The hotels

The main reason for hosted buyers attending the show remains the One2One meetings between exhibitors and hosted buyers. On average, hosted buyers pre-scheduled 21.6 meetings, but throughout the show and social events actually realized 34.5 meetings. They were satisfied with the content of their meetings, rating it with 4.29 out of 5. They estimated that the success of their visit also depends on the networking opportunities and quality of visitors. Networking opportunities at the show was rated by hosted buyers as 4.35 out of 5, while the quality of meeting providers exhibiting at Conventa was rated at 4.38.

yes, absolutely 88.9 %

Three quarters of hosted buyers agreed their itinerary met their business objectives.

Did the itinerary meet your business objectives?

The destination

W

ith new dimensions, new opportunities and a new personal best, the seventh edition of Conventa brought to Ljubljana the highest number of international meeting planners and meeting providers in the show’s history.

“The 7th edition called itself New Europe and it came big,” said Miha Kovačič, Director of the Slovenian Convention Bureau and organiser of Conventa. “Although we exceeded all expectations, Conventa has always been all about quality, not quantity.”

166 international visitors from 31 countries and around 100 regional and Slovenian meeting planners have come to Conventa to familiarise themselves with the meetings offer of New Europe. A milestone was also reached with the number of pre-scheduled meetings, reaching 3,428.

The exhibition floor at GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre was taken up by 135 meeting providers, most of them coming such as Greece, Azerbaijan and Russia. An additional 13 providers complemented the meetings offer presented at this year’s show. These were incentive programme providers exhibiting at the brand new Incentive Valley and tech and event solution providers exhibiting at the Meetings Services Spot.

most likely likel 25.4 % Room for improvement: One-to-one application (3.90), Set up of working lunches (3.90), Concept of Experts’ corner (3.90).

yes, absolutely 74.5 %

40

Conventa Addendum

7

years of results: Exhibitors: “Professional but friendly informal atmosphere!�

1,716 Hosted Buyers from 45 countries

Like hosted buyers, exhibitors also stated One2One meetings between exhibitors and hosted buyers as the main reason for attending Conventa. Exhibitors were quite satisfied with the number of meetings realised (3.84 from 5). As a result of attending Conventa, 79 percent of exhibitors generated up to five quality business leads, while 18.4 percent generated up to 10 quality business leads. In their opinion, the quality of visitors has the greatest impact on the success of their attendance.

The friendliness and effectiveness of the organizer (4.71) and the famous Conventa After Party organised by Kongres Magazine (4.5) was highly appreciated by exhibitors this year.

899 Exhibitors from 17 countries 21,160 Bilateral talks 17,079 One2One Pre-scheduled Meetings

OVERALL RESULTS: More than half of exhibitors said that their participation absolutely met their expectations.

Did your participation meet your expectations?

yes, absolutely 55.3 %

Most of the exhibitors will be returning to Conventa also in 2016, as they believe the investment in exhibiting pays off.

Do you think that investment in exhibiting at Conventa will pay off?

yes, partly 47.7 %

Yes, absolutely 23.7 % No 13.2 %

Further confirming exhibitor satisfaction is the fact that more than 60 percent would recommend the show also to their industry colleagues.

Would you recommend Conventa to your colleagues?

yes, absolutely yes, absolutely 60.5 % 60.5 %

most likely most 39.5%likely 39.5%

yes, partly 63.2 %

How likely are you to exhibit at Conventa 2016?

Not very likely 2.6% Somewhat likely 23.7%

Extremely likely 28.9 % Very likely 44.7%

41

Room for improvement: Set up of business lunches (3.81), networking activities at social events (4.07)

Conventa Addendum

Red

Yellow

CONVENTA 2015 HIGHLIGHTS

Green

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9









42

1 IMEX-MPI-MCI Future Leaders Forum 2 Conventa Hall of Fame - winner Tomaž Krušič, director at Intours DMC Slovenia 3 Conventa Ambassador - Paul Kennedy MBE, Director and Owner of Kennedy integrated Solutions 4 Kongres Magazine Traffic Light After Party 5 One2One Meetings 6 Kevin Kelly, COnventa Experts' Corner 7 Team energizer at Conventa Academy 8 Conventa Welcome Reception, Grand Hotel Union 9 Dalmatian vocal group Kaše 10 Incentive Valley at Conventa Exhibition 11 One2One Meetings 12 Working Lunch sponsored by Dubrovnik Tourist Board and catered by Sora Catering 13 Meeting Stars Awards, Romana Vlašič from Dubrovnik Tourist Board - 3rd Meeting Destination of 2014 Photo by: Katja Jemec

8

TH NEW EUROPE EXHIBITION FOR MEETINGS, EVENTS & INCENTIVE TRAVEL

Explore the emerging destinations of Europe over a cup of coffee

THE BOUTIQUE MEETINGS MARKET IS BACK AND THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL Once you’ve seen what CONVENTA can do for you in two days you’ll never want aything else.

WWW.CONVENTA.INFO

20 - 21 JANUARY 2016, Ljubljana—Slovenia

Ideas Bank

CONVENTA PRESENTS THIS YEAR’S AFTERPARTY BAND Fun is about humour, experience and play

Are you organising a social event and wish to create an amazing atmosphere with great live music?

Do you need an experienced band with powerful energy and a very broad repertoire?

Are you looking for entertainers who ‘feel’ their audience, know what the right buttons are and just when to push them?

THE SUBSTITUTES are a six-membered professional musician Party Cover Band from Ljubljana. Since 2010, they have been one of the most desired and specialised performers for private social events, especially in the meetings industry, covering a big part of the SE Europe Region (Slovenia, Croatia, Austria and Italy).

The basic set-up consists of two female lead vocalists, a male vocalist and keyboards, live drums, bass guitar, acoustic and electrical guitar. The band members are well-experienced musicians, all with at least ten years of live performance experience. Led by Slovenia’s acclaimed female pop singer Manca Špik, they have given more than 500 performances at different events throughout Europe. In addressing your guests, they speak fluent Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, English, German and Italian. Their »mileage« gives you a quality and diverse cover programme that includes all musical styles: pop, 44

rock, evergreens, modern pop and dance music, tailor made for an international audience.

Known for their immense stage energy and with a very broad international repertoire they will satisfy even your most demanding congress guests. Open-hearted and with exceptional energy on the stage, a relaxed and experienced approach to your audience and exquisite vocals, they always give their best to achieve an excellent atmosphere at your events.

Conventa organisers Let THE SUBSTITUTES heat up your dancefloor once again!

For reservations contact Mr. Primoz Goricnik, by phone +386 (0)31 604 001 or e-mail info@agencijaspik.si.

Whats Hot

SLOVENIA AT EXPO MILANO 2015 „I feel SLOVEnia, Green.Active.Healthy.“

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lovenia will appear at Expo Milano 2015 under the slogan „I feel SLOVEnia, Green.

Active.Healthy.“ Slovenia’s presentation will take place in its own 800m2 pavilion in an excellent location, being at the centre of activity at the crossroads of two main streets at the venue and very close to the Italian pavilion.

The pavilion will be presented through five main themes: salt pans, bees, thermal and mineral waters, hiking and cycling, and the measurement of black carbon particles. Slovenia is Italy’s eastern neighbour and its proximity makes it a perfect country to visit during the Universal Exposition. Everything is very close and accessible in Slovenia; there are countless scenarios for touring around the green, active

and healthy Slovenian countryside. A short, two-hour ride will take you from the Alpine peaks to the green Mediterranean, from the coast through the underground world of magical caves to the Pannonian plains.

The exceptional diversity of the landscape is also reflected in the design of the Slovenian pavilion at EXPO Milano 2015; it is a pyramid set on a geometrically diverse surface, built from the natural materials of wood and glass, wood being a strategic material for Slovenia, as 60 per cent of the country is covered by woodland.

Italy is an important economic force and partner for Slovenia - the largest share of tourists to Slovenia come from Italy, which is also Slovenia’s second most important trading

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partner and the third largest foreign investor.

Slovenia will therefore organise several promotional and target-oriented events for different economic sectors.

Slovenia is also characterised by a very diverse cuisine in a relatively small geographical area; the presentation of Slovenian regions in terms of tourism, culture and traditional specialities will take place at Expo Milano 2015.

The general commissioner of the Slovenian Pavilion is Jerneja Lampret, the architectural design of the pavilion was csrried out by SoNo arhitekti d.o.o., and the pavilion construction is

by Lumar IG d.o.o.

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4 FACES OF SLOVENIA DIVERSE, YET COMPACT

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lovenia shows off various faces through its locations, meeting venues and hotels, all of which are genuinely diverse and offer clients a very wide choice.

From the enchanting capital Ljublja­ na or other historic cities, such as Maribor to the east, or Nova Gorica, the gambling and entertainment mecca in the west of Slovenia, the country has a wealth to choose from. Perhaps it will be the coastal destinations, the leading one being Portorož? Or striking Alpine settings such as Bled, the number one meetings destination in the region, and Kranjska Gora, well-known by skiing fans, but with a choice of small meeting facilities? Another feature of Slovenia are the inviting spa destinations with their excellent wellness products, most of them set in lush rural surroundings.

To complement all of these principal meeting and incentive locations are some very special ‚unusual‘ venues offering something quite different. These include the world famous Lipica Stud Farm and the renowned Postojna Caves.

Every individual destination offers a wide range of meeting facilities for events of various sizes. Another advantage of a small country is the ability to combine different loctions, venues and experiences to make one event truly memorable. For example, a conference held in Ljubljana can be complemented by a truly spectacular evening event in Pthe ostojna Caves, just a half hour‘s drive away.

Slovenia is also a fantastic destination for great outdoor activities. Teambuilding and special activities encompass a wide array of programmes, such as canyoning, hydrospeed, kayaking and rafting on white waters, sailing, snowshoeing, sledding, ice-climbing, to name just a few. It can truly be said that when organising a programme in Slovenia, the sky is the limit…

Meetings In Cities

BREATHE TO THE URBAN NEAT

Ljubljana The capital, offering a blend of old charm and new cool, is a small but stylish city of arts, music, history and gastronomy. With a population of 280,000, it is conveniently compact and a true walking city. It is, therefore, logistically easy to run programmes there. In their free time, delegates can easily explore: the Old Town quarter with its narrow cobbled streets and the Ljubljanica riverbanks that are lined with excellent restaurants (ideal for organising dinearounds) and trendy and friendly bars. Over 60,000 university students largely contribute to the city’s youthful image and urban creativity.

Ljubljana’s relaxing atmosphere and interesting shopping options - from antiques to art galleries and designer clothes - are also appreciated by its visitors, who entirely commend the city as an extremely safe city to visit and experience.

Maribor Maribor is simultaneously charmingly small and idyllic, wedged between Pohorje‘s wonderful nature on one side and wine-growing hills on the other, with the river Drava wending its way through it. The second city of Slovenia perfectly combines history, arts & culture with thermal water, ski slopes and vineyards on its outskirts.

The meeting facilities includes those provided by the Terme Maribor company, which manages several hotels, including the 5-star Habakuk with a modern congress centre and an excellent thermal & spa product. A host of incentive and outdoor teambuilding experiences are focussed on the river and the great nature in the surrounding mountains. Maribor is close to the Austrian border and the city of Graz, which is the closest airport with international connections.

Nova Gorica Nova Gorica is situated just across the border from the Italian Gorizia and is known today as the “town of roses”. It enjoys a mild local climate and is the leading gaming and entertain46

ment centre in the country. The HIT Group has the major hotels in the area featuring conference facilities, wellness centres and casinos. Just a short drive away, the wine routes of the Goriška Brda hills offer some of our internationally acclaimed wines and to many are an unexpected discovery, as is the green hue of the Soča River, the queen of white-water sports in Slovenia.

Symbols • The Ljubljana Dragon, as can be seen on the Dragon’s Bridge, is a symbol of Ljubljana. Legend says that: “A long time ago, the Greek hero Jason and his companions from the ship Argo, stole the Golden Fleece from the Colchian king. In an effort to escape its pursuers the ship took a wrong turn and, instead of sailing south on the Aegean Sea, it found its way to the mouth of the Danube river”.

• “Stara trta”in Maribor, the oldest vine in the world, is the oldest living specimen on our planet of a noble vine that still bears grapes! With an age of over 400 years it is registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest vine in the world.

Recommended by the locals • Ljubljanica river gives Ljubljana a special charm. Strolling along the river banks will help you feel the rhythm of the city and its inhabitants!

• Lent, the oldest part of Maribor, with its famous towers and remains of the city walls is the venue for the traditional summer Lent Festival.

• Starting from Nova Gorica, you can easily reach Goriška Brda and enjoy a visit to famous Slovenian wine producers, such as Kristančič (Movia), Ščurek.

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Meetings in the Alps

THE ALPS MIRRORED IN THE LAKES

Lake Bled, the pearl of the Julian Alps, is one of the most famous attractions in Slovenia and it is a truly magical place. An ancient castle, available for a range of events, sits high on a cliff boasting breathtaking views over the lake and surrounding mountains. Bled can be reached in less than one hour‘s drive from the capital and less than 30 minutes from the airport. Just a few kilometres away there‘s another Alpine pearl, lake Bohinj, which being a mountain ribbon lake is enclosed by sheer mountains on either side. Kranjska Gora, a popular ski and all-year-round resort, boasts modern meeting facilities with a view of mountain peaks and the ski slopes.

All three resorts are located in or close to the Triglav National Park, the only national park in Slovenia, which extends along the Italian border and close to the Austrian border in the north-west of Slovenia. The park covers 880 square kilometres, or 3% of the territory of Slovenia, and was named after Slovenia‘s highest mountain, Triglav (2,864m), located almost in the centre of the park.

Not only the lakes, but also the Soča river makes this part of Slovenia so incredibly special. Bovec and other places in the Soča valley are the perfect choice for pre- and post-congress tours, as well as for incentives. Another picturesque Alpine valley, the Logarska dolina, attracts visitors with its calmness and natural beauty.

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Recommended by the locals: Cream slices (kremšnita), known as a Bled speciality for decades, has in fact now become one of the symbols of Bled!

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Meetings on the Coast and at the Karst FROM ADRIATIC BLUE TO THE MYSTERIOUS KARST

Portorož is the leading coastal resort that boasts a mild climate, lush vegetation and more than 100 years of tradition in the hospitality industry, which is reflected in its high-quality hotel infrastructure. This includes several 5- and 4-star properties with excellent meeting facilities. The Lifeclass Hotels & Spa are famous for their fantastic thermal and wellness products, as well as for the congress centre. This resort currently boasts the most luxurious hotel in Slovenia, the Kempinski Palace Portorož.

The Slovenian Karst (also known as limestone), featuring the majority of the 9,000 caves in the country, is regarded by many as one of the most beautiful underground worlds on the planet. The Skocjan Caves, that could have been a fantastic film setting for the Lord of the Rings, are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This region is also home to the famous Lipizzaner horses. Nearby the Lipica Stud Farm offers hotel seminar facilities and a golf course.

Many attractions are close at hand, even within walking distance, such as the charming and historic town of Piran, once a fishing port. The Sečovlje saltpans where salt is still harvested manually, as it was centuries ago, is a landscape park and a haven for both birds and ornithologists. Incentives themed on salt-picking can be organised there for smaller groups. Many other options are also easily accessible – from boat trips with fish picnics to yachting regattas, or even a day trip to Venice by catamaran. Istria, with its vineyards, olive groves and truffles, is just around the corner.

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Symbols Human fish (Proteus) is the most famous of around 130 different species of animals living in Postojna Caves.

Piran salt from the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park is still produced today in the traditional manner.

Recommended by the locals: The Karst is known for its »osmice«, where farmers open their doors and serve their homegrown food and wine for one week every year. If you aren‘t lucky enough to catch the right week, a tailor-made visit to the typical Karst farm-houses with tasting of the local specialities, such as Teran (indigenous Slovenian wine) and pršut (Karst prosciutto) can easily be organised.

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Meetings at the Thermal Spas TAKE A DIP AND RELAX IN THE SPAS

Slovenia is also a truly smart choice for those seeking spa and wellness Programmes, because it has a rich tradition and incredible range of centres to choose from. Modern spa facilities are combined with the meeting rooms ,which makes a perfect combination for small and middle size conferences.

Slovenia’s spas offer extraordinary natural assets in a green environment; most are set in rural areas. There are 15 natural health resorts to choose from and they are all of a high standard. Several of them can provide very functional meeting facilities combined with relaxing and invigorating wellness programmes. To name just a few, Terme Čatež, Terme Rogaška, Terme Olimia, Terme Krka and Terme Ptuj are established players on the market. New meeting facilities in Thermana Laško were opened in 2010.

Many of the spas are found in the north- to south-eastern part of the country, often in wine-producing regions, and wine tasting is a natural extension to the sense of well being!

As remnants of the rich historic past, several ancient castles, now serving as special event venues purposes, are dotted around and complimented by modern golf courses. This is just a taster of genuine local experiences that you should try for yourselves as to be able to say…

I FEEL SLOVENIA!

Symbols Thermal springs with healing qualities and mineral waters that have been appreciated for centuries! Radenska is one of the best mineral waters bearing the trademark of the three hearts. Its healing properties were discovered back in the 19th century.

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Meet The Team

PENTA PCO

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he most valuable asset in Penta is our highly motivated and experienced employees. There are 13 of us all focused on delivering congresses and events at the highest level with nothing but perfection in mind.

To deliver a successful conference you need to have every area covered by an experienced team member, so we have six project leaders on board, two destination management specialists, two as air ticketing and transfers support, one accountant, one IT specialist and our manager.

We are a family of individual talents that can meet the challenges of a culturally diverse business arena.

Our employees are proud and confident to be key players in a winning team that shares a common mission, vision and set of values.

We are dedicated, passionate and responsible.

It is in our roots. It is how we do business. Our clients demand high level of services and we deliver. Consistently.

| Zagreb, Croatia

Top talk How and why did you decide to specialise in the meeting industry?

As a long time tourism professional I was mainly working with corporate clients, associations and medical doctors attending congresses. My main vision was focusing and specialising on this complex and demanding field of congress organisation in order to deliver the highest possible service. We are so passionate about excellence that it is even in our company name: Penta [Greek, from pente, five; as the top mark].

What are you the most proud of?

Our achievement in occuping the leading position in the PCO niche owing to my team and the continuous emphasis on education and development of the company makes me very proud. Of course, positive feedback from our clients is the main source and result of our aspiration.

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What is your vision of a successful PCO?

We are all trying hard not to become too big not to understand our clients’ wishes and desires, yet big enough to deliver the most demanding congresses. We nurture our relationships and take huge care of them. We are long-term partners and to achieve that you need to have a great level of sensibility, a profound knowledge of the industry and a great connection with all of the parties involved. Each organiser or association has it’s own characteristics and challenges, so you need to know them all to be right on the balance.

Your team is your biggest asset…

…Yes that is correct. We are all carefully selected, very well edcuated and experienced, so our clients very soon realise that with our world-

Meet The Team Company logo:

Stars Facts & Figures Long term clients:

60 +

Organised conferences: Exhibition space sold: Registred atteends:

115+

4.000 m2+

25.000+

wide knowledge and local experience they are in safe hands - they trust us, so we can focus on our mutual aims (targets), which are to deliver a successful conference and to create additional value for the future. Besides continuously educating my team my vision is to always be one step ahead with our technology and IT support. We are introducing processes not seen to date to our local market.

Clients / References presentation of key clients / projects Many of our clients regularly re-confirm their confidence in our services. Mutual satisfaction and a long-term relationship is the way we do business. Creating value.

Together. It’s in our name. Our most successful and key projects have been: - Central European Oncology Congress (Croatia) - Croatian Congress of Psychopharmacology - Central European Neuropsihopharmacological Congress (BiH) - Croatian Oncology Congress - 3rd Europan Congress on Head and Neck Oncology - 37th European Congress of Cytology - Congress of the Croatian Thoracic Society - Annual Meeting of Croatian Society of Gastroenterology Key clients are Society members of the Croatian Medical Association – Croatian Society of Oncology, Croatian Society of Gastroenterology, Society of Cytology, Society of Hematology, Society of Biological Psychiatry and Psycho­phar­ma­cology, Society of Clinical Endo­crinology and many leading pharmaceutical companies.

Silva Ušić has a quarter of a century’s experience in tourism, of which for the last 15 years she has been a meeting planner working on conferences from 2 – 2,000 pax.

She specialised in the IT industry and pharma congresses, partner summits, off-site meetings, teambuilding, land programmes for cruises and events of all kinds.

With her know-how she covers every destination in Croatia and knows the highlights of every location. A true understanding of a client’s wishes is Silva’s greatest asset and delivering on a promise and exceeding clients’s expectations is her goal. There are numerous unique thank you letters bearing witness to that.

With Silva’s arrival in the Penta team we can say we have professional perfectionists working together in a creative atmosphere with the knights’ code – one for all and all for one! We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen!

Nikica Žunić has grown up with congresses, so it’s in his DNA to live with and for them.

He worked in all sorts of positions; from technical support, bidding presentations, VIP delegate treatments to delivering complete congresses, onsite managing, after congress valuations

and association management. That gave him deep insight knowledge of the industry and its participants with their unique demands.

He has grown with his clients, managing them through different market challenges.

Using the everyday motto of ‘Creating value.

Together’ he is focused on long-term relationships with his societies and associations, always finding the way to deliver successful events that will have better perspective for the future.

Ana Jurašić has 18 years of experience in the tourism agency business. Since the outset of her career she has worked on all sorts of programmes, individual, tailor made and open booking group programmes, but has finally found complete satisfaction in organising coferences, which she has been dedicated to for the past 8 years.

A wide range of experience has given her the complete perspective of client needs and wishes, enabling her to always be a few steps ahead. Customer satisfaction is the most important thing to her, proven by the fact that she has a list of long-term clients who have been working with her for years, from corporate clients and medical societies to nonfor-profit organisations, who all respect her professionalism.

History 1992 – started working as a private and independent business travel company 1994 – besides business and corporate travel recognised on the market as a well known company for congress and incentive travel 1995 – as a part of our PCO services organised the first international congress with more than 300 participants 1997 – recognised as a MICE specialist in Croatia and our region, organising 5-10 congresses on an annual basis in Croatia and surrounding countries, such as Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia 2000 – introducing IT support to market with licensed-out software 2005 – presented our Association Management Company services to our clients

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2009 – started working on our in-house congress and conference software that was constantly developed and improved, following and creating new trends (Abstract Manager, E-posters) 2012 – recognised as a specialised PCO in Croatia successfully completing more than 20 congresses per year.

2014 – invited by the Association of Croatian travel agencies to define and establish certification criteria and processes for PCO certified specialists in Croatia.

2014 - Penta became one of the first certified PCOs in Croatia. Beeing aware of importance of sustainable management in tourism, PENTA has joined Travel life certification procedures, as well as in the ISO 9001:2008 standardisation of quality assurance.

Meet Conferize, the new world of events

Case study

Conferize is the leading social event platform with over 5 million event lovers looking to discover your event.

Since 2011 we’ve been pioneering how events create a much stronger footprint online: They build a living community with social networking and content sharing. Why? Because it creates much more value for your attendees and captivates your global audience online.

Check out one of our happy customers at www.ndc15.com.

NDC is using our social website, with:

Truly social event websites Recently we launched something wonderful. All the power of Conferize can now run under your own domain. We’re offering you the world’s first social event website, where speakers, sponsors and attendees can network with each other. And your visitors are turned into followers, which gives you more chances to convert them from a “maybe” to a “definitely attending”.

• social community • content sharing and realtime activity • networking and matchmaking • customization and custom pages • registration • sponsor/partner pages

How it works We take care of all the technical stuff and it works with any registration of your choice. You just add your logo and graphics and any customization you’ll need to make your website stand out. It just works. And the best news? Pricing starts at free.

kongres.indd 1

See the video bit.ly/conferizevideo or learn more at conferize.com/organizers

27/02/15 12:15

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KONGRES TELESCOPE

By Robert Cotter

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DESTINATION ATHENS: TRAVEL TRADE GATHER IN GREECE IN APRIL 2015

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ow in its third year, Travel Trade Athens is the signature travel trade event for the City of Athens. On April 26 - 27, 2015, top travel buyers from around the world will connect with over 100 leading hoteliers, tourist attractions, travel agents and tour operators in Greece. Select media with a special interest in Athens and Greece will also attend by invitation.

Participants will have the opportunity to discover more about Athens and Greece as worldclass destinations, and experience the vibrant culture and genuine hospitality of this most modern of ancient cities. Confirmed buyers participate free of charge, including all travel, accommodation and social events. Every buyer will have an individually tailored agenda of oneto-one appointments with local suppliers relevant to their target markets. For suppliers, this is a unique opportunity to expand their sales networks and build new partnerships across the global travel industry.

“We are very excited about the results so far: we have already received a record number of applications from more countries than ever before,” said Orhideea Rosu, Travel Trade Sales & Marketing Manager. “Over 60 buyers from a wide range of countries such as USA,

Australia, Brazil, India, Hong Kong, Israel, and Lebanon have registered, along with over 100 suppliers from all sectors of the Greek tourism industry. Based on these figures, I am sure this year’s event will be a very successful business experience for everyone.”

As well as a full day of pre-scheduled B2B meetings, the programme includes open networking sessions and a keynote address by the Mayor of Athens, Yiorgos Kaminis. On 26 April, buyers will have a full day to explore Athens on a choice of FAM trips. These themed excursions will cover the city’s timeless attractions and latest trends, from street art walks and island cruises to wine tastings and off-the-beaten-track tours led by local insiders.

“With its extraordinary cultural heritage, stunning coastline, and excellent climate, Athens has been a magnet for visitors for thousands of years. Now, Athens is emerging as one of the hottest city destinations in Europe thanks to upgraded infrastructure, competitive pricing, and new cultural landmarks,” said Alexis Galinos, CEO of the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency. “Last year, we had more than 15 million arrivals at Athens International Airport and welcomed 3.6 million visitors to Athens. The city is also becoming a 54

major conference destination, attracting over 50,000 business delegates each year. In 2015, I hope we can exceed that number with the help of events like Travel Trade Athens.”

Organised by the City of Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB), in partnership with the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA), Travel Trade Athens 2015 is supported by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), World Youth Student and Educational (WYSE) Travel Confederation, and Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

Fly to Greece with the Best Regional Airline in Europe ‌trust Aegean to make every journey a pleasure

aegeanair.com conventions@aegeanair.com

00000 Aegean Kongres Ad 182x125mm.indd 1

11/09/2014 09:52

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A CONTINENT IN WAITING Meetings Africa celebrates its 10th anniversary

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n South East Europe it’s fair to say that we know a bit about the demands of a regional MICE industry and the importance of regional cooperation. But what about an event where the region we’re talking about is a continent? And what when that continent is the vast land mass of Africa? This is the scope of Meetings Africa, the continent’s premier MICE event held in Johannesburg’s Sandton Convention Centre and that was celebrating its tenth anniversary this February, at which Kongres magazine was invited to join the celebration and learn about Africa’s MICE industry and its plans for the future.

Given the scope and diversity of countries across the huge continent, not to mention the varying natures and interests of the many governments on it, added to some of the external perceptions of Africa arising from disease and on-going conflict reporting, engaging every African nation’s MICE industry faces a significant number of challenges.

What came across at Meetings Africa, however, is that once the right destination and formula can be found for an event and a robust organisational framework put in place, it might just turn out to be the best event you ever have.

Southern Springs Whilst Meetings Africa sets out to showcase the best of what the continent has to offer the lion’s share of exhibitors are from South Africa, the event’s home that continues to lead the way in the continent’s MICE presence on the global market. From Johannesburg to Cape Town and back up to Pretoria via Durban, the country has 56

a wealth of excellent convention centres that can be backed up with incentives that are simply out of this world.

Meetings Africa’s own venue of the Sandton Convention Centre is state of the art and located in a buzzing business district of the city, a venue fit for any size of event. Alongside Johannesburg’s Sandton, Cape Town has its own International Convention Centre (CTICC) and in 2016 will open Century City Conference Centre, a brand new, high-tech meeting and event facility. Further east along the coast the city of Durban is home to South Africa’s oldest and biggest convention centre – although opened in 1997, a relative youngster on the international circuit – a capacious facility offering the largest column-free, multi-purpose event space in all of Africa with a huge number of potential configurations and an adjoining exhibition centre. The significance of these facilities to the industry, as well as of Meetings Africa to the country’s business profile, was strong enough to bring South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, to give the opening speech and carry out the formal opening.

“In the past ten years the African business events industry has emerged from humble begin-

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nings to become one of the most exciting sub-sectors on our continent’s tourism landscape,” said Hanekom. “We have demonstrated that we can function well, in fact very well, in a market that demands accessible, professional, value for money business event products and services.”

“We have already secured 177 major international association meetings for the next five years, thereby attracting a quarter of a million delegates with an estimated economic impacts of R3.5 billion (€269 million),” he added.

“According to research conducted by the South African National Convention Bureau, 40% of all convention delegates attending meetings in South Africa will return in the next five years as tourists, boosting tourism growth and job creation years into the future.”

“This has only been possible because ours is a continent that offers so much,” continued Hanekom. “We are proud of our immense beauty and diversity. Our people are warm and welcoming and committed to growing the sector through service excellence. Our infrastructure is excellent and accessibility is improving rapidly. Our business events industry is ambitious, market-focussed and strategically organised – they stand ready to meet global market demands and to compete with the best the world has to offer.”

Boosting the strong competition alongside the significant South African presence at Meetings Africa, the southern springs of MICE growth have clearly spread to a number of other African countries, to Nigeria and Kenya in particular, but with good representation at the event also from Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Rwanda. The imminent opening of a trailblazing new MICE facility in Nigeria – the Calabar International Convention Centre – reflects the growth of the Nigerian economy as well as their ambitions to grow the MICE segment as part of it. Other African countries with similarly healthy growing economies will be sure to follow suit.

Only in Africa The gala evening of the Johannesburg event was a genuine highlight, bringing in the world-renowned Soweto Gospel Choir and the phenomenal keynote speaker Siya Xusa– a young South African intellectual luminary who has transformed the possibilities of space travel through his rocket fuel research in the USA, but decided to return home to pursue it – who brought a standing ovation from the floor. An incredible evening of African food, music, dance and hospitality made it the gala evening to end all gala evenings – truly fantastic.

The following day we were invited to participate in a media day trip to the Johannesburg township of Soweto followed by an incentive trip to Durban, including a safari in one of South Africa’s many game reserves. ‘You know when you’re really alive when you’re living among lions’, wrote Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa. This was our chance then to get a real flavour of the continent we were on through some incentives. And we certainly did.

A trip to Soweto is the chance to connect with the real spirit of Africa and better understand the roots of the anti-apartheid movement that have changed the country and continent, a chance to visit the houses of Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, and a chance to exchange good wishes with the friendly and curious locals. It is a once in a lifetime incentive experience that can never be forgotten.

Complementing their incredible convention centre Durban offers incentive experiences at the other end of the spectrum: a helicopter ride along the Indian Ocean coastline over stunning, endless beaches and surf-splashed seas; taking an elevator to the top of the curved arch above the football stadium used in their 2010 FIFA World Cup; countless fine restaurants and leisure options, as well as the chance to visit traditional markets and, in this the epicentre of Kwazulu-Natal, a traditional Zulu market and all of the mysteries of life that abound in it.

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In the area surrounding Durban, as with all of the South African cities, the chance to take a safari should never be passed up. This is pure Africa and the greatest reminder of the continent you are on and all of its wonders. Coming within metres of wild rhinos, giraffe, hippos, zebra and all the other animals otherwise only ever seen on the TV screen or a zoo is an exceptional experience. Waking up in my game reserve cabin at 3am to the sound of heavy breathing, pulling the curtain open to be met by the eyes of three zebra outside the window, was even more exceptional.

In his opening speech Derek Hanekom referred to Africa as ‘a continent in waiting’. So far Africa has been patient, and there are a number of challenges to face along the way, none less so than easing travel between African countries and engendering broader cooperation between African countries to build regional MICE offers for the international market. The shoots of its MICE industry are clearly starting to bud, however, and this wonderful continent will in the coming years increasingly show the world what it can do in hosting major events, in building important business relationships, and doing all this along with some of the best incentives on the planet.

Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom was keen to stress that ‘Africa is open for business’.

It most certainly is.

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A DESERT STORM (PART 1) A MICE study mission shows that Dubai really does deliver

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ooking out through the vast glass façade of the Meydan Hotel lobby on a late February morning, the view should have been a clear and sunny one towards the downtown area of the Middle East’s most dynamic and international city, Dubai. However, the sandstorm that had just swept in across the desert to engulf the region was only allowing glimpses of its famous skyline to be momentarily discernible. The wholly uncharacteristic weather was not only clouding the view, but was also casting doubt on whether it would be possible to carry out the full programme for the Dubai MICE Study Mission that Kongres magazine had been invited to by Dubai Business Events, a branch of the city’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

Just a short while later a large group of us, almost two hundred European media and buyers all in town to learn more about Dubai’s MICE market and what it had to offer, had been gathered for a welcome reception at the top of the Burj Khalifa, at a staggering 828m the tallest building and probably most beautiful tower in the world. The

sandstorm continued to blow vigorously outside, but in the fleeting moments that it cleared the floor to ceiling windows of our viewing level offered sepia, dream-like images of a city that is pushing rapidly and relentlessly into the future.

As we would find out in the days ahead, its MICE industry is doing precisely the same thing, creating a storm of its own kind in the global meetings industry.

Rapid Response Unit The first thing that we learned about our host city and its event planners is that, reflecting a city that has rapidly been transformed, they have an intrinsic rapid response unit that quickly transformed our own programme from one focussed on outdoor activities to those we could do indoors and away from the sandstorm. A scheduled trip to camel polo and lunch on the beach quickly became a challenging treasure hunt in Dubai Mall, the world’s biggest shopping mall complete with giant aquarium, waterfalls, cinemas and even an indoor ice-rink, all in all 58

a venue where event delegates could easily wile away a day mixing the full spectrum of shopping with a range of leisure and entertainment activities.

“The business events segment has been growing in Dubai for the past five to seven years and we are currently the number one destination for business events in the region,” said Steen Jakobsen, Director of Dubai Business Events.

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This ability of Dubai to be able to quickly revert not only to a Plan B, but Plans C right through to Z, is just one of the many attributes that is helping the city build a strong platform to achieve its goal of quickly becoming the leading global destination for business events.

“Our job at Dubai Business Events is to drive business event growth based on three key pillars: firstly, to grow our market here of the meeting and conferences that rotate around the world, so the corporate meetings and especially the association meetings of which we want to grow our international market share. Secondly we have a focus on developing new, regional events that we can grow into international events, such as the Emirates Cardiology Conference and the Emirates Diabetes Conference that are now regional events that are attracting a large number of international visitors. The third area of our strategy is focussing on growing visitor numbers at business events in Dubai, so we not only need to make sure that we have a lot of events taking place here, but also that when we do we maximise the number of attendees.”

Built to Bring Business Setting the framework that enables the business events segment to be attracted to and successfully hosted in Dubai, the city has been pulling out all the stops, including investing significantly in infrastructure over recent years that has led to a complete urban transformation.

“Business growth is driven by huge investments in infrastructure – we now have the busiest airport in the world, connecting Dubai with 260 cities worldwide,” said Jakobsen. “The growth in hotels has also been quite remarkable: in the past 18 months alone we’ve added 9,000 hotel rooms, going from 84,000 to 93,000, and we expect between another 15,000-25,000 hotel rooms to come on to the market between now and 2016, a proportion of those being in the mid-market sector, the three and four star segments.”

The hotel infrastructure and variety in Dubai that the study mission revealed to us is extraordinary, from the world class Burj Al Arab and Palace hotels to the magnificent Jumeirah hotels (the Madinat is a particularly impressive hotel of their group) and the instantly recognisable Atlantis the Palm. Dubai is a big and expanding city, however, so getting between hotels and other facilities, particularly the main convention centre, is something the city has also had to address.

“The public transportation is continuously being expanded – the metro opened in 2009 and connects most parts of the city, and we recently opened a tram system,” added Jakobsen. “The World Trade Centre has our main convention centre [the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre], but alongside this not only do hotels offer meeting facilities, but also the universities that all have their own conference

centres and they hold a large number of international meetings and conferences and encourage associations and corporates to take advantage of their lower cost facilities.”

It is clear that the city of Dubai is not settling for simply reaching peaks in its infrastructure that other cities can only envy, but using them to map out the further peaks that lie ahead. A second airport in the city’s Jebel Ali area, for example, the Dubai World Central, is already operational and able to handle an incredible 160 million passengers per year. The national airline, Emirates, has become the world’s biggest international carrier, biggest operator of A380 fleet and with the biggest operation of Boeing 777 aircraft in the world, operating to 146 destinations in more than 80 countries and truly connecting the world with Dubai. Hotel growth in the city is also set to continue well beyond 2016, eclipsing most other global destinations in its supply pipeline, and on top of all this the seemingly endless incentive range will only continue to broaden as part of the city’s phenomenal offer. With sights set on such growth, Dubai also has its sights firmly fixed on making active inroads specifically into the association market too.

“Association meetings are a key focus area for us, supported by strong growth in developing Dubai as a knowledge hub and a knowledge society,” said Jakobsen. “We have more than ten universities and a number of research centres are being set up, for example a biotechnology park, as well as the more than 22 free zones that we have across the city, such as Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City, a Knowledge Village where the universities are clustered and the Dubai International Finance Centre, which is a free zone for banks and investment companies.”

“About a year and a half ago we launched the Dubai Association Centre, a platform that has 59

put the legislation in place for international associations to establish themselves in Dubai and have an office, obtain work visa or bank accounts for their staff and provide training and organised meetings,” he added. “This has been very well received and we’ve licensed the first five international associations, with a strong pipeline of other associations interested in setting up an office or a chapter in Dubai to grow their membership base and partnerships.”

“Adding to all of this business event growth, a large number of SMEs and multinational companies have also set up a base here in Dubai and being a strong business hub means that a lot of corporate business meetings take place here.”

Incentive Heaven With so much business going on visitors to Dubai need some time to kick back and relax. As we found out on the third day of the mission, by when the sandstorm had cleared and the sun was peeking through a cloudy sky, it is hard to think of anywhere else on earth that can offer such variety. A single morning could include skiing at the city’s Ski Dubai slopes followed by a desert safari and then a quick swim with the dolphins at Atlantis the Palm, before alfresco lunch on the beach. For the more sporting minded a game of camel polo might appeal, or even camel racing, perhaps golf, or even watching the country’s national sport of falconry. For real adrenaline junkies there is Motorcity and the chance to speed around a track in a performance car, or see Dubai from the sky with a seaplane trip around the coastline. And for those of a more cultural disposition, a trip to the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding is an illuminating experience of getting to know much more about the history both of Dubai and the region, as well as Islamic culture.

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Whilst the incentive list is extensive, a special mention goes to a day out at the track at the Meydan Hotel when the horse racing is on (and especially one of the biggest races in the world, the Dubai World Cup), with the hotel’s rooms offering stunning views over the track and the stables in the distance, all of it owned by horseracing enthusiast and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“Incentives are back on a very positive note,” said Jakobsen. “We had a very large incentive group from China in 2014 which really paved the way for a lot of companies to bring their incentive groups here, not only from Asia, but also from North and South America as well as India.”

The Chinese incentive group that visited Dubai in 2014 was not just very large – it was gargantuan!

Winning the bid ahead of Seoul, Singapore and Macau, Dubai hosted 14,500 Chinese delegates from beauty group Nu Skin, working seamlessly with key stakeholders including Emirates airlines (even chartering two of the airlines A380s that were internally branded for the event) and many of the city’s leading hotels to deliver more than 40,000 hotel nights and almost 500 luxury coaches taking delegates between the numerous highlights the city has to offer.

“Our successful hosting of the 14,500-delegate incentive group from China has shown the world what we in the emirate have long known,” said Jakobsen. “They came here to see what it was possible to achieve.”

All of the city’s current efforts are focussed on and will culminate in the year 2020, when Dubai will host the world’s biggest single business event, the World Expo, when it is expected that there will anything north of 33 million visits for it.

20/20 Vision The site for the Expo is located close to the new airport in the Jebel Ali area and on current thinking the legacy of the event will deliver an entirely new range of conference and meeting facilities to complement that already existing throughout the city.

“The current strategy that we are working under for 2020 sets out as a target we will welcome 20 million visitors by that year,” said Jakobsen. “Dubai has had a significant growth in international visitors from 2005-2012, from five million to ten million, a doubling in seven years, so we set out to double it again in the next seven years. At the same time we are setting 60

out to triple the economic development from tourism, from 75 billion dirhams (€19 billion) to somewhere between 215-230 billion dirhams (€54-58 billion).”

“Another ambitious target for Dubai is to become the world’s most visited city; currently we are number five, but we are targeting to be the most visited city in the world by 2020,” he added.

Having to leave Dubai after a three-day visit, the feeling was that anything is possible there.

Reflecting on the city’s remarkable meeting facilities, breathtakingly expansive infrastructure and true breadth of incentive options, it would be hard to see any good reason why it can not meet all of its targets by 2020. Driving to the airport I was conscious that the sandstorm had finally blown over and that blue skies had started to cover the city. At the same time I was aware that all around the world the desert storm of Dubai’s MICE offer would be blowing over the radar of meeting planners and offering them the new, blue skies of the future of the MICE industry.

In the next issue of Kongres we will be following up on the Dubai Study Mission with the thoughts of some of the meeting planners who were with us on the same trip. More tales from the desert to come!

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SHANGHAI’S SURGING SUCCESS China's MICE growth shows no signs of slowing

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ince the first IT&CM China in 2007 the event has gone from strength to strength, with the line up for this year’s outing promising to make it the best one yet. The unwavering interest in China as both an outbound and inbound MICE market, as well as China’s expanding economic interests and growing presence in business markets overseas, has led to a notably strong international showing – from Berlin to Grenada via Australia and Thailand – at this year’s event, which will take place from 14-16 April.

“The Chinese market is becoming more and more important for the Berlin Incentive and Congress business,” said Heike Mahmoud CMP, Director of Conventions at Berlin Tourismus and Kongress. “Our goal is to develop and expand our network in China and to promote Berlin’s diverse offers – the modern hotel landscape, the city’s exceptional incentives and high-class restaurants. We are particularly interested in creating personal contacts with representatives of associations, corporates and agencies in China. With its good networking options, IT&CM China 2015 will be a great opportunity to intensify our cooperation with Chinese partners.”

Supporting the aims of Berlin and other European and international exhibitors at the event, General Manager of TTG Events, Ooi Peng Ee, commented that “it is through our constant efforts in buyer acquisitions to deliver quality Chinese buyers, our strong partnerships that raise the local industry support of the show, and ability to attract the largest participation of NTOs, CVBs and corporates, that we are able to provide endless opportunities for our suppliers.”

The endless opportunities available to this year’s anticipated 3,000 MICE professional delegates, from sectors such as DMCs, PCOs, corporate travel and associations, will be taking place in a brand new venue, as the event has been refreshed and will be held for the first time at the Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Centre of International Sourcing (SHCEC) located in the Shanghai Changfeng Ecological Business District, adjacent to the Hongqiao business area and surrounded by the Suzhou river.

“SHCEC is a brand new venue in Shanghai,” said Stone Shi, the venue’s

Director of Sales and Marketing. “It is a one-stop service platform of exhibition, convention, activities and catering for domestic and international events. Hosting the IT&CM China event will enable SHCEC to showcase our facilities and capabilities.”

On top of the new venue, the 2015 event has been further energised by three properties from the Marriott Group partnering with IT&CM China as official hotels, including the Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview that will host the gala evening, as well as the JW Marriott Shanghai Changfeng Park and the Renaissance Shanghai Yangtze Hotel.

“IT&CM China is one of the largest and leading international MICE trade shows in China that attracts a large contingent of national and regional convention visitor bureaus and tourism offices from China,” said Crystal Song, Director of Marketing at JW Marriott Shanghai Changfeng Park. “It is the best platform for us to meet with quality buyers and media from across China and the rest of the world.”

“IT&CM China is a very important event for the MICE industry,” added Ricky Lam, GM of Shanghai Marriott Parkview. “As a MICE-focussed hotel and being the newest Marriott Hotel in Shanghai, we are excited about partnering such an influential event. Not only will we get to be part of this hub for international MICE activity in the region, but this is also a great opportunity to showcase our property to the market.”

Further signalling the continued strength of the event as a hub for international activity, major hotel group Accor confirmed its participation at the event for a fourth successive year, a clear reflection of the ROI to be had from IT&CM China.

“The IT&CM China platform allows us to build brand exposure for our new hotels,” said Bobby Ong, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing. “This is where we can secure new leads and businesses from the one-to-one appointments we have with these buyers.”

With fresh winds from around the world blowing through IT&CM China and bringing more leads and business than ever before, its surging success is set to continue through 2015 and into the years ahead.

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14-16 April 2015 | 2015年4月14-16日

Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Center of International Sourcing 上海跨国采购会展中心

The Leading International MICE Event in China 中国首屈一指的专业会议、奖励旅游、 会议和展览的商业和交流平台 www.itcmchina.com

IT&CM China 2014 Event Highlights 中国（上海）国际会奖旅游博览会展会亮点

“There was a good mix of buyers attending the show, so that definitely helped us in achieving our business objectives.”

Achini Dandunnage Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, Sri Lanka

86% of exhibitors expect orders

86%的展商预期

over the next 6 to 12 months after the show

在展会落幕后6-12个月内获得订单

Business generation of approximately USD 1 million and above 特定展商期望订单业务量能够达到100万美金或以上 for selected exhibitors

83% of buyers gave top scores to the quality of exhibitors

对于展商的质量表示非常满意

86%的买家

*Based on 2014 Post-Event Feedback 根据2014展后反馈

For Chinese Delegates 国内展商 Email: itcmchina@citsmice.com.cn Tel: (86-10) 8522 7997

Supported By 支持单位:

Official Media 官方媒体:

“IT&CM China is a show I will definitely want to attend again as this show raises awareness of our publication, and opens us up to new industry markets.”

对于约谈的质量表示非常满意

95% of buyers rated IT&CM China as a 95%的买家认为中国(上海)国际会奖旅游博览会 是一项不可错过的行业盛事 Must-Attend Event

For International Delegates 国际展商 Email: itcmchina@ttgasia.com Tel: (65) 6395 7575

Li Jianmin China Conference Business Alliance (CCBA), 中国

83%的买家

86% of buyers gave top scores for quality of appointments

Contact 联络方式:

“通过在IT&CM China与参展商们的交流，我 对在东南亚目的地举办会议有了更加深入的 了解。这些信息对于我们来说非常有用，因 为我们希望在这区域举办一些会议。其次教 育主题论坛也非常专业。”

Zhou Hang EMICE.net, China

Exhibitors 展商 | Buyers 买家 | Media 媒体 Scan this QR Code 扫描此二维码

To Learn More About Participating 获取招待计划的更多信息 Hosting Programme For Buyers and Media Available. 为买家和媒体特设的招待计划现在开始申请。

Mobile App Partner 移动应用程序合作伙伴单位:

Media Affiliates 支持媒体:

IT&CM China 2015 is proud to be part of the Shanghai Business Events Week.

2015中国(上海)国际奖励旅游及大会博览会很荣幸的能作为上海商务活动周的一部分举行

Where The MICE Industry Comes Together In Shanghai. An Exciting Week of Business, Education And Networking Events. 国际奖励旅游和大会博览会行业的各个成员企业齐聚上海，在令人兴奋的一周时间里，共同参与这次教育以及商业交流的活动。

ITCMC C2 204 x 255 .indd 1

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1/12/14 4:30 pm

Who is Who

NINA MARIĆ, HOTEL & RESTAURANT MANAGER Who is Who in Villa Menenghetii

NINA MARIĆ HOTEL & RESTAURANT MANAGER MENEGHETTI

“I am a young, honest, highly motivated and ambitious person who wants to be the best she can be, both personally and professionally.”

Q: Who are you?

I am Nina Marić, a young, honest, highly motivated and ambitious person who wants to be the best she can be, both personally and professionally.

Rovinj, my hometown, totally depends on tourism, so living in it and growing up here made working in this industry look very natural and effortless. One just learns to live surrounded by tourists and work, even the one you do just for a few summer months, is usually always connected with hospitality. Although I am young, I started working from a very young age and decided almost right away that it was going to be my career. I realised very early that this industry pays well those who have prepared well, so to increase my level of preparedness I decided to study Economics and Tourism Management, first in Zagreb and then in Venice. Apart from studying I earned my spot in the teams of some of the best hotels in Italy and hotel chains in the world. After these experiences I returned to Croatia and am now the hotel and restaurant manager of the only Relais & Châteaux property situated in the heart of vineyards and olive groves, a small and secluded place that offers a highly personalised service combined with intimacy and privacy – the Meneghetti Wine Hotel & Restaurant.

Q: What is your favorite meetings brand?

In order to answer this question I can only focus on the meetings brands in the hospitality industry and, about those, I have very sturdy opinions or beliefs in general.

The first one is about the way MICE is, or should, be handled. One should admire and follow the work of the well-known and respected business hotel brands like the InterContinental hotels from IHG, Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton Worldwide hotels, or JW by the Marriott International group. I was lucky enough to work for one of those brands and to see and comprehend the incredibly elaborate standard operating procedures that one must follow. I do believe SOPs should be defined, understood and strictly followed. Everything more one can do for the clients or guests simply adds value.

Secondly, I do not think that a business hotel must highlight the adjective ‘business’, ‘conference’ or ‘MICE’ in order to attract the business traveller. People are tired of things and places that they have already seen and like with other things, their interest shifts to other facilities they have not taken into consideration yet. They now simply wish to experience something new, enjoy themselves and relax, even when on a business trip. Just this year I have learned that business brands are slowly losing their strength. I noticed 64

that small hotels, like the one I currently manage, are getting more and more interesting. Apart from being an established events location, our Relais was very often the location where lots of business meetings, small conferences and team buildings were held, so I am glad that we will have more space to offer to our guests once we upgrade our facility in 2016.

Q: What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

Escaping the comfort zone. I always somehow found the courage to make changes, even drastic ones. The ones that involved stepping out of the comfort zone I found myself in.

Q: What’s your alternative career fantasy?

There isn’t an alternative. Ever since I can remember I loved hotels and restaurants and always wanted to be somehow involved in this industry. I started when I was 15 and the ambition and determination to do better keeps me focused and interested in this career.

Q: What are you obsessed with at the moment?

Details, impeccable service and staff education and development.

Q: What is the best part of your job?

Firstly, the service-oriented atmosphere. The size of the hotel and restaurant permits us to focus more on making each guest’s stay memorable through exceptional service. Moreover, definitely rapid realisation time. In places like the Meneghetti you can easily spot the things that do not fit or work, change them and immediately see the result.

Q: What would make your job easier?

Easy is not fun, nor challenging. I wouldn’t know how to cope with easy or easier jobs.

Q: What was your best idea last year?

To remove name tags in the hotel and restaurant.

To me, those represent a barrier between the employee and the guest. I want the staff to develop a friendly yet polite relationship with the guest and I want the guests not to feel like the reason someone interacts with them is simply because it is their job to do so. I think name tags, although they might seem irrelevant at first, make the staff seem artificial or less genuine.

Q: The most memorable event for you?

I remember each one of them, the hard work, the clients and the guests. They all gave me something in the end, either just experience or valuable lessons.

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A combination of the pleasant and the useful - this might just be the essence of our message and the goal of our 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, we offer relaxation in one of our 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 we organize half-day boat tours, tours of the Istrian inland with visits to picturesque Medieval towns and excursions to Pula, Rovinj, Lim channel, Brijuni, Trieste or Venice.

So visit us and find out firsthand why your stay and work in Laguna Poreč hotels will be truly successful because: YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR GOAL!

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PLAVA LAGUNA d.d.

LAGUNA POREČ Rade Končara 12, 52440 Poreč, Croatia Phone: +385 52 410 222 Fax: +385 52 410 412 E-mail: mice@plavalaguna.hr www.lagunaporec.com

Been There

MPI WIND OF CHANGE EMEC 2015, Krakow, Poland

MPI WIND OF CHANGE This year MPI placed the statement “to succeed one must step out of their comfort zone” at the heart of the European conference. The old is not working anymore and success can only be achieved by constantly innovating organisational and business models. The conference’s more than 50 lecturers, who highlighted the topic from various points of view, confirmed this. According to the organisers the fresh and innovative programme captivated over 300 registered participants, and, together with the support team, over 400 persons took part.

The conference was aligned with the MCI Association’s new policy, which once again put its members, their personal development, and possibilities for a pleasant gathering at the forefront.

MPI HOSTED BUYER PROGRAMME Alongside the educational platform the conference offered for the first time a hosted buyer programme. As a result the value of the EMEC platform, which is oriented towards networking and gatherings of meeting industry professionals, has been improved and the event was given a business dimension. 17 meeting planners and 16 service providers were paired up at the event.

MPI ENERGY EMEC is a pleasant conference which has used its location in Krakow and everything that the city has to offer very wisely. An organising team is behind the event, packed with energy and led

by Krzystof Celuch, who received standing ovations for the sincere, authentic, and professional organisation at the conference’s closing event.

During the whole event Dave Sharp, a BBC journalist and an outstanding moderator, kept the energy up at perfect level.

MPI EUROPEAN CHAPTER BUSINESS SUMMIT For the first time in history MPI organised a meeting of all chapters which took place ahead of the conference. Paul Van Deventer, MPI CEO, and Kevin Kirby, MPI Chairman of the IBOD, also took part at this summit; among the lecturers and moderators was also Mike van der Vijver.

Its purpose was to implement best practices and knowledge into the activities of the individual European chapters.

ICE KRAKOW The brand new ICE Krakow centre offers a superb view through its large glass walls. The centre is an important acquisition for the second biggest Polish city. Its futuristic exterior is softened by the oval shaped interior, which embraces the listeners in the main hall. The topnotch acoustics and the wooden covering give the room warmth, and contribute to the overall sense of well-being.

Although opinions are divided over the exterior, the essence of the centre can be found inside – it surprises with its spaciousness, technical equipment and trendiness.

WIELICZKA MINE The social highlight of the event was a festive dinner at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. In 1978, UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in Europe. Every year more than a million tourists from all around the world visit this famous mine, the pride of the Polish nation and the fruit of the labour of countless generations of Polish miners. With its nine levels the Wieliczka Salt Mine reaches a depth of 327 m and has over 300 km of mine galleries. A real treat for the eyes are the mighty halls; in one of them we enjoyed a breath-taking underground show and a culinary experience.

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POLISH HOSPITALITY The Polish style and personality developed through a millennium of turbulent history. At every step the participants experienced the unique atmosphere of Krakow, where the people’s warm welcome and hospitality stood out.

The Polish are proud of their culture and they enjoy and respect their tradition. The participants could even experience a part of this tradition, of which Krysztof Celuch, the Manager of the Poland Convention Bureau, is a paragon.

EMEC 2016 - COPENHAGEN EMEC 2016 will be hosted by Copenhagen.

Based on their congenial final presentation we can expect a sustainable and well-planned conference in the spirit of their Meetovation philosophy.

The conference will be held in the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel from 7 to 9 February 2016.

Poland is still a land of fascinating differences and contrasts. The Polish economy is the only economy in the EU which did not experience a downturn. The Polish meeting industry in Krakow showed its young and modern face as well as a lot of passion, which was experienced by the event’s participants. The Polish meeting industry is fresh, original, and modern; its actors are spontaneous, hospitable and open-minded.

All of this places Poland on top of the meeting destinations of New Europe.

Been There

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Meetologue

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Meetologue

VILLACH & THE CARINTHIA THE ALPINE LAKES EXPERIENCE

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he area around Villach, with its perfectly accessible location, is one of the most attractive meetings destinations in the wider region. Villach is an open minded city, especially well known for it‘s festivals and parties. It is blessed with romantic and picturesque lakes, trekking, endless bike tracks, golf and excellent meetings capacities. In the winter time it continues to reach out with snow-topped mountains for skiing, incentive programmes, wine and an excellent food offer.

Given its important geographic location, Villach has always been an attractive regional shopping centre and it continues to be so with the new Atrio centre located at the crossroads of Carinthia, Slovenia and Friuli, which acts as a completely new type of thematic shopping centre where it is also possible to organise events. With its thematic standpoint uniting three countries (Austria, Slovenia and Italy), languages and cultures, it is an ultra-modern incarnation of the regional spirit bringing together three cultural circles.

Villach – an Alpine-Adriatic centre is the Carinthian town that displays the greatest Mediterranean influence. This is not only true of the climate but also primarily of the architecture and people’s mentality. Hardly surprising when the town surrounded by lakes and mountains is only a few minutes’ drive from the Italian border. But it is also only a stone’s throw from Slovenia.

The Drau river Carinthia‘s main river is the Drava, which enters the wide valley at Villach. The best place to start a stroll through the town is the Drau bridge, a strategically important crossing over the river for centuries. From it you can also see the embankments with paths built on both sides of the river that have become very popular among walkers, cyclists and inline skaters. You can really get to feel the essence of the river by catching a boat that stops just beneath the Congress Centre Villach.

The red cube - Congress centre Villach Visible far and wide, the red cube that houses the conference centre’s stage facilities guides visitors to the popular venue, the biggest and most fexible Carinthian congress centre The Congress Centre Villach (CCV) was built in 1971 and totaly refurbished just a few years back. The prominent building by the river Drava is the central congress scene of the region, with its large Joseph Resch hall that can hold up to 1,100 participants. A major advantage of the congress centre is the direct connection to the Holiday Inn hotel and the city centre location. In total there are 20 different seminar halls available and a spacious lobby for exhibitions, with a surface area of 1,600 m 2.

For organising events in Carinthia you can also choose amongst various congress hotels. Kaernten Convention will help you choose the right location at their convention bureau, which has been successfullly working for many years. They are your first information point for the congress offer in Carinthia.

Villach – The Thermal Spa resort of Carinthia In 2012 came the long awaited "The Thermal Spa Resort of Warmbad Villach", which was the icing on the cake for the 69

whole Carinthian tourist offer. The most modern water park, alongside Hotel Karawankenhof (which is conected to the older, prestige Warmbaderhof hotel) can take pride in its good results and excellent visitor levels, incuding the congress guests.

Local events worth a visit – Advent time fair in Villach One of the prettiest (and also nearest) advent fairs has to be the one in Villach, which delights visitors from the end of November.

The Villach Traditional Advent, the traditional part of the fair, takes place on wooden stands around the city parish church.

On the Hauptplatz, the main square, a Villach Culinary Advent takes place. A cultural part of the December offer also takes place in the park in the front of Parkhotel.

Special Open Venue - Finkenstein Arena Above the Faaker lake you can find the best known Carinthian special venue with an open arena and an event hall. The arena was built on a castle garden in 1980 and quickly became a buzzing Carinthian concert scene. It offers space for up to 1,150 participants and a covered hall with excellent acoustics, should there be bad weather. The covered event hall can host 1,500 participants.

Land of lakes Carinthian lakes are known for crystal clear water, which is pleasantly warm because of the almost Mediterranean climate.

For over 40 years the closest city lake, Lake Ossiach, has hosted a series of concerts and events. Wide waterfront areas radiate liveliness and invite you to take a promenade. Woerthersee is Carinthia’s largest and most popular and famous lake thanks to numerous film shoots. It is the venue of the annual Beach Volleyball Grand Slam and Ironman Austria. Other nearby lakes with an interesting tourist offer are the Lake Faak (Faakersee), the Millstätter See. In a relatively small area there are a number of diverse and different lakes.

Back to nature - Weissensee A very special Carinthian lake, Weissensee (White lake) is the highest (930 m above the sea level) located lake in Europe, where you can swim during the summer as it gets warm up to 24 degrees celsious. In winter it turns into Europe‘s biggest natural ice area, which makes it an even more appealing tourist attraction. On an icy surface of 6.5 km 2 you will find ice-skaters from all over the globe, competing or just ice-skating for personal pleasure. The lake lies in the middle of the Alps, in a deep, narrow valley. It is a perfect example of a green destination.

Active incentive programes – Nassfeld: the best Carinthian Ski Resort Thanks to its location and microclimate the Ski Resort Nassfeld is not only the place with the highest guaranteed snow in the Alps, but also the place with the most sunshine hours (850 per season). It falls into the top ten ski resorts in Austria and offers the biggest sunshine terrace in the Alps. It is also rich in incentive programmes, which are attractive in the winter as well as in the summer.

Destination grade: QUALITY MEETING DESTINATION

3.96

Grades: 5 excellent convention destination 4 quality convention destination 3 recommendable convention destination 2 average convention destination 1 so so INDIVIDUAL GRADES: Natural and cultural factors 4.48 Carinthia is defined by its numerous waters, where over 1,270 rivers and over 200 warm lakes can be found, the biggest and the famous Woerthersee, near Villach. Adding to the experience is an interesting renaissance style architecture and the alpine spirit with a mediterranean touch.

General and transport infrastructure 4.32 Carinthia has a very well developed traffic network. Three highways go through the country: South highway (A2), Turska highway (A10) and Karavanke highway (A11). The most important railways are the South railway and Turska railway. The city of Villach is an important traffic intersection. From an airline accesibility perspective, Villach is closest to Klagenfurt airport, although Ljubljana and Graz airports are also an option.

Tourist infrastructure 4.85 Carinthia has a tourist season throughout the year. Whether its on the hiking paths, running tracks or nordic walking trails, on biking and horse riding roads or beautiful golf courses, if you like to be active you will find something for your taste. A great hotel infrastructure and a series of events are the final touch of a highly developed tourist product.

Meetings infrastructure 4.07 Carinthia has excellent congress infrastructure at its disposal. A central meeting point is the Congress Centre Villach, but apart from that Carinthia also offers a variety of excellent congress hotels, where you can organise events. The incentive programme offer is also very extensive and will satisfy everybody, from adrenaline lovers to classic congress organisers. It sets Villach at the very epicentre of the regional incentive offer.

Subjective grade 4.42 Villach is the centre of the Carinthian incentive industry, attracting congress organisers with its natural sense of openness and happiness. It is no surprise that the biggest Harley Davidson event in the world takes place at the Faaker lake.

In addition to that has an excellent culinary offer and a wide choice of hotels. In the direct vicinity of the city there are many excellent 5 star hotels, over 1,400 rooms in 4 stars hotels and 2,500 rooms in family hotels and pensions.

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Photo credits: Region Villach Tourismus GmbH

Meetologue

Meetologue

WHAT‘S NEW 2015

DID YOU KNOW Villach Conference on Global Warming The conference was held from 9 to 15 of October 1985. It was the first time that the world really started noticing the issues of global warming and the ozone hole. The conference was supported by the Austrian goverment, whilst a small team of expert scientists laid the path to permanent solutions in the future.

Marketing buzz 4.41 The Carinthian meetings industry is tightly knit into a very well working convention bureau, which connects the smaller destinations of Central Carinthia, Bad Kleinkircheim, Klagenfurt, Worthersee and Villach. They offer organisers free services for searching for venues and connecting with local congress providers. They also present the region as a whole, although it sometimes seems that Villach doesn‘t get adequate attention.

In the bureau you can find 47 of the best hotel providers in the region.

They create a lot of positive buzz for the local meetings industry.

Comparison with the region: Villach is the second largest city of Carinthia and its tourist sights attract an enormous amount of visitors. Villach has also become established as a small Silicon Valley in the Alps, with an international character reflected in the town‘s infrastructure. The main reason for a meetings industry in this part of Austria are the numerous incentive programmes, all of which you can engage with in a very clean enviroment. The most charming aspects are the Carnithian way of life, cultural diversity and a general sense of casualness. In our opinion the main advantages are the size and the feeling of familarity, along with a modern congress infrastructure.

Locals also like to emphasise the border location, sat at the crossroads of three nations, which hasn‘t been totally picked up in a congress sense. It is an inspiring mixture of meeting facilities, atmosphere, modernism and a high quality of life and services at any time of the year.

Cool meetings: Natural, homemade and traditional are the words to describe the culinary specialities of region. They are especially proud of their unique eating habits and dishes. The mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean air serves up smoked ham and cheese even more aromatic and delicious than usual.

You must also try the salmon from Ziljska valley, or the tasty meat of a Carinthian mountain Ox. 71

1. Carinthian Summer Festival – This classical music festival has been in existence for 40 years and alongside Salzburg and Bregenz has gained an excellent reputation in Austria. During the months of July and August the modern Congress Centre in Villach hosts major symphonies, music theatre for children and literary gems, while in the splendid Baroque abbey church in Ossiach there are concerts and in particular performances of what has become the festival’s hallmark: church opera.

2. IRONMAN Austria – Every year IRONMAN Austria attracts 3.000 athletes from 60 countries around the Known as one of the most beautiful races in the world, IRONMAN Austria has become legendary among athletes. After swimming, the athletes bike through the scenic landscape of Carinthia and run along the lakeside and across the city is mainly flat and shaded.

3. Alpe-Adria Bike festival – For the second year in June the Alpe-Adria Bike Trail will connect three countries, Austria, Slovenia and Italy.

3-days programme is indeed the biking festival with many side events with the epicentre in Villach.

4. European Bike Week 2015 – On of the biggest Harley Davidson events in the world takes place around Faaker lake at the beginning of September. More than 70,000 fans meet and celebrate for an entire week. The Harley Davidson Parade, which goes through the centre of Villach, forms the highlight of the event.

5. Villacher Kirchtag – Austria‘s largest traditional folk festival is a melting pot of traditions and ancient customs. During the one week celebration from July 26 to August 2, you can also enjoy a fun park and watch presentations and shows on several stages all over the centre of Villach.

BEST INCENTIVE IDEA RAFT BUILDING WORKSHOP - Raft building is a classic teambuilding exercise where teams construct a functional raft by themselves. It is up to the teams how to build it, as long as the raft carries them over water.

Everyone has to contribute to the planning and construction to make it work, putting a focus on the ability to communicate, forward-think and generate responsible action.

WHO TO CONTACT Convention Bureau Region Villach Region Villach Tourismus GmbH Ms. Martina Mayrhofer Töbringer Straße 1, A-9523 Villach Landskron Tel.: 0043(0)4242/42000-53 , Fax: 0043(0)4242/42000-42 mayrhofer@region-villach.at, www.region-villach.at

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•MEET BUSTERS• Heathrow is the world’s busiest airport for international passengers and the most intensively used airport in the world. Heathrow reportedly handled 68.1 million international passengers in 2014.

68.1

WOWED BY KONGRES MAGAZINE

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70.5

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Top Stories

TEN OF THE MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE MONTH ON WWW.KONGRES-MAGAZINE.EU Voice from the top, meetologues, hot news and much more!

5. News: 3 venues to watch in 2015

1. News: Crowne Plaza confirmed for Ljubljana 2. Who is who: Mojca Juhart, MICE Sales Manager at Terme Maribor

3. Voice from the top: Adion Cano, Operations manager at Albania-Experience

8. In focus: Adria to launch Maribor flights

6. News: Grand Hotel Union offers Bitcoin ATM 4. News: Grand hotel Union services in accordance with Islamic values

7. TOP 10: TOP Adriatic Luxury resort meeting hotels 2014

9. News: Dubai hosts 100 key decision-makers from Europe

10. News: The true BLU evening in Belgrade

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Behind the Scenes

Esplanade Zagreb Hotel – Emerald Ballroom – Conference Blue Ceiling

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Behind the Scenes

ESPLANADE ZAGREB THE KING OF HOTELS AND THE HOTEL FOR KINGS

Text by Gorazd Čad

Photo Credits ESPLANADE ZAGREB

THE CHARM OF CENTRAL EUROPE am walking down the street on a Saturday morning, past the train station and onward to the hotel Esplanade. Along the way, I stop in a zen-like park in front of the regional hotel.

Zagreb is bustling in its Saturday spirit and I am driven by a craving for the best coffee in town at the bar Esplanade 1925. Zagreb is worth a visit just for this, and also because the best Croatian barman, Srećko Šoh, and his team know how to take care of guests. Served in the old café manner with a freshly squeezed orange juice, it’s sure to ease the throbbing headache that follows a wild night out.

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Esplanade Zagreb Hotel- Blue illumination

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90th BIRTHDAY The hotel was built in 1925 with the aim of offering luxury accommodation to passengers of the legendary Orient Express, which travelled from Paris to Istanbul and back. From its very first beginning the hotel has had an important social function, as it was the epicentre of dance evenings for the elite, as well as of receptions and events reflective of the Croatian capital’s lively spirit. Built in the then popular Art Deco style, the hotel was renovated in 2004, maintaining its brilliant and elegant style.

Behind the Scenes

Reception Entrance

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Behind the Scenes

Boardroom

ORIENT EXPRESS The arrival of the railway in 1862 was an important event in Zagreb’s history. A few years later, in 1892, the main railway station was built. Hotel Esplanade was also built because of the guests on the famous Orient Express from Paris to Zagreb, such as Agatha Christie in 1928, which sometimes stopped in Zagreb. The train, which oozed luxury and enthralled the imagination of authors and journalists alike, last rolled along its tracks in 1977.

CELEBRITIES The long list of celebrities who have visited Esplanade includes many individuals who had a great impact on the 20th century: Josephine Baker, Charles Lindbergh, Orson Wells, Liv Ullman, Louis Armstrong, Woody Allen, Richard Burton, Elisabeth Taylor, Sofia Loren, Tina and Ike Turner, and the politicians Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev are just some of the many guests who have signed their names in the hotel’s guestbook.

Esplanade 1925 Lounge & Cocktail Bar – Piano

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Behind the Scenes

Emerald Ballroom – Wedding

ALWAYS FIRST In 1964, the hotel was one of the first hotels in a socialist country to be included in the InterContinental chain, and in 1988, it took its place in the association of “The Leading Hotels of the World”. It has been a member of The Regent hotel chain, as its only hotel in the Europe. This hotel also saw the opening of the first Croatian Casino and the first French style Bistro. Toda it’s operating independently and this year it received an award for the best luxury city hotel and best historic luxury hotel at the World Luxury Hotel Awards ceremony.

EMERALD BALLROOM The legendary Emerald Ballroom, which can host up to 300 participants and is supported by seven smaller halls, is unique and possibly the most exclusive congress hall in the region. It is, simply put, the most spectacular event space in Zagreb. With its soaring, dome-shaped roof and ornate feature windows, its unique style will forge a lasting memory in its guests’ minds, long after an event has finished.

Zinfandel's

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Behind the Scenes

Zinfandel's Restaurant detail

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Behind the Scenes

Boardroom

AN EXPERIENCE FOR ALL OF THE SENSES For many years, in fact even since it was built, the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel has been synonymous with fine cuisine and insistence on using only the finest ingredients, along with exceptional service. This remains the case today and the Hotel is always a step ahead of its competition. Delicacies are prepared that connect Zagreb with the Mediterranean and continental Europe by choosing and combining flavours that are constantly fresh and creative.

ANA GRGIĆ, Chef At just 34 years old Ana Grgić is already head of the kitchen of the prestigious Hotel Esplanade, responsible for “Zinfandel” and “Le Bistro”, as well as Esplanade catering. She came to this position from being deputy chef of a hotel where she began her career immediately after completing catering school. Ana continues to follow the Esplanade tradition of haute cuisine, but with her selection and combination of flavours in creating menus she puts her own signature on dishes on a daily basis.

The hotel is an excellent choice for business and congress guests and is probably the region’s leading hotel in terms of service quality, customer care and prestige. Staying at the hotel is a special experience, with a package that gives you a feeling of luxury.

ESPLANADE “ŠTRUKLI” This traditional specialty of Croatian Zagorje, derived from the hilly region of picturesque fields and pastures, has taken an important place in the range of delicious treats the hotel has offered since the very first day, especially at events and conferences. “Štrukli” were launched back in 1951, when they were found on the hotel menu for the first time, which to this day has kept the tradition of preparing and serving this irresistible delicacy.

Most interestingly, štrukli still receive the greatest fame and popularity ahead of all the other worldclass dishes – the majority of event participants immediately gallop toward them and they disappear in a flash.

Le Bistro – Winter garden

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Behind the Scenes

Presidential Suite

Bathroom

Suite

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Behind the Scenes

Esplanade Zagreb Hotel – Blue night sky

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Behind the Scenes

ESPLANADE ZAGREB Mihanovićeva 1, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia T: +385 (0)1 4566 666, F: +385 (0)1 4566 050 E: info@esplanade.hr www.esplanade.hr ACCOMMODATION 208 spacious and beautifully furnished rooms that capture the history of the building while seamlessly blending in contemporary touches • Rooms: Superior Room 28 sqm/147 rooms Deluxe Room 36 sqm/48 rooms Deluxe Suite 60 sqm/13 rooms Esplanade Suite 120 sqm/1 room • Free wireless extra high-speed internet access in rooms • In-room entertainment systems • Personal bars • Spacious and elegant marble bathrooms with heated floors and mirrors • Turn-down service with domestic products • L’Occitane luxury cosmetics • Free overnight shoeshine service • Luxury bath menu • 24-hour room, laundry, and concierge service RESTAURANT, BAR & LOUNGE • Zinfandel’s Restaurant: widely regarded as Croatia’s best restaurant, this fine dining restaurant with Ana Grgić, Chef de cuisine, promises a culinary journey with a contemporary take on traditional Croatian cuisine • Le Bistro: famous for its celebration of seasonal local produce and traditional favourites, Le Bistro blends Croatian cuisine with Parisian traditions • Esplanade 1925: an ultra-stylish art deco lounge and cocktail bar run by Croatia’s number 1 mixologist • Oleander Terrace: the very essence of high society, a popular dining venue with a champagne bar and stunning view TRANSPORTATION Zagreb Airport: 25-minute drive Central Bus Station: 10-minute walk Main Railway Station: 1-minute walk VISITOR INFORMATION Language: Croatian Currency: Kuna Electricity: The hotel operates on 220-volt power Visas: Visa requirements are determined by nationality.

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RECREATIONAL FACILITIES • Health Club with fitness area, spa therapies, facial and body treatments • Beauty salon SERVICES & FACILITIS • Outstanding conference facilities with a spectacular ballroom • Business centre with Regent Club • Free wireless extra high-speed internet access • PressReader Hot Zone (more than 2500 free newspapers & magazines) • 24-hour room, laundry, and concierge service • Bath Menu • Gift shop with Croatian design souvenirs • Valet parking and limousine service • “Very Important Dog” programme POINTS OF INTEREST • National Theatre · Botanical Garden · Archaeological Museum • Museum of Contemporary Art · Mimara Museum · Gallery of Naïve Art • Stossmayer Promenade · The main city square, “Jelačić plac” · The Upper Town • Museum of Broken Relationships · Lake Jarun urban resort

LOCATION The last Orient Express passed through Zagreb in 1977.

The legendary train, which travelled between Paris and Istanbul, was the main reason for the development of Hotel Esplanade near the Zagreb Train Station and the centre of the city, with a view of Zrinjevac Park.

With its central location the hotel is easily accessible and it offers all the comfort of a top-notch hotel. Air access to Zagreb is constantly improving and a planned expansion of the airport suggests that more and more air carriers will be choosing to fly to Zagreb.

Advertorial

110 YEARS OF GRAND HOTEL UNION Tradition in the Heart of the City

In over a century of existence, the Grand hotel Union has been an important cocreator of the political and social life of the capital and the wider Ljubljana region.

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ext year, the Grand Hotel Union celebrates its 110th anniversary, having first opened its doors in 1905. Way back then, Ljubljana boasted a total of 9 hotels and was visited by 43,000 foreign visitors. In over a century of existence, the Grand hotel Union has contributed significantly to the political and social life of the capital and the broader Ljubljana region.

Over the course of its rich history, the hotel has been witness to many important events and has hosted many famous people – including actor and director Orson Welles in 1979, American president Bill Clinton and his wife Hilary Clinton in 1999, the spiritual leader of Tibet the Dalai Lama in 2002, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband in 2008, King Harald V of Norway and his wife to name but a few.

Over the centuries, the Grand Union Café and Union Hall have also served as the centrepoint of the city’s cultural, political, and social life.

Well-known Slovenian intellectuals, artists and traders frequented the café to share ideas. In addition to painters Rihard Jakopič, Matija Jama and Maksim Gaspari, the café was the meeting place for writers such as Ivan Tavčar, Oton Zupančič, Josip Vidmar, and many others. In the period between the two world wars, Union Hall regularly hosted Ljubljana’s elite events, such as the Black-and-White Reduta and dances under the patronage of His Majesty King Alexander.

That tradition is still alive today, as the Grand Hotel Union continues to regularly host a wide range of interesting cultural events.

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Catering

DAVID MULCAHY, CRAFT AND FOOD DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AT SODEXO UK & IRELAND Relationships - relationships - relationships: Transitioning from a service provider to vital and trusted business partner.

Text by Ana Hotko

The physical experience is becoming more important, so providing interactive options for diners to engage in a different way with food and drink is a growing trend.

Molecular elements with liquid nitrogen and various other culinary techniques is becoming popular.

Q: Event catering has changed a lot over the past two decades. In your view what have been the key factors?

The days of a ‘pie and a pint’ have well and truly disappeared and event catering as we know it has changed beyond all recognition.

Key factors have included people’s expectations when dining out generally and the creativity at more exclusive events filtering into a wider arena. Hospitality offered by clients to key customers and guests also creates demand for a higher level of service and cuisine, where caterers must meet these expectations or face difficulties in retaining their contracts. Socially food and wine is a status symbol which when coupled with the often high costs of attending an event focuses guests on what they are eating and drinking.

These demands have encouraged catering providers to be extremely creative and offering an extra ‘experience’ in addition to the event.

Celebrity Chefs are now a regular fixture at leading events, taking their own restaurant to the venue as a pop up or acting as consultant for the event. Raymond Blanc or Michael Caines at Royal Ascot, along with casual dining experiences from Loch Fyne or champagne houses, have become synonymous with this particular racing event. In addition the food offer from Sodexo Prestige to support these chefs and the other restaurants is of the highest standards from the in-house team. This standard of food at events is not exclusive to those paying top prices, but is exciting and ‘on trend’. Street Food and tasting options are available to all. With such progress there is little chance of anything other than a great culinary experience at events for the future.

Q: How much have participants’ expectations changed?

All stakeholders within the event world have enhanced expectations. Clients demand more from catering providers - to be highly creative, dynamic, innovative and to bring to life many ideas that transfer from the high street or other parts of the world. Similarly, customers, used to dining out and attending other events run by different companies, have seen what is on offer 86

and begin to expect this at all events. All of this drives innovation and, ultimately, quality.

Q: How far can the top chefs’ concept be taken on at catering for events?

More and more showcase events and event venues are either using Celebrity Chefs or consultant chefs at some level. Where they are less visible it is to ensure style and standards are developed and maintained for an event. However, it is deemed to be a considerable attraction to guests and the paying public to have a wellknown chef cooking or involved in creating a bespoke experience.

Bringing a recognised chef or Michelin standard cuisine to an event adds to the excitement and creates a special ‘money can’t buy’ element to the guests’ experience, which is seen as adding significant value. In some cases the Chef concept can be taken further, into a profit share or franchise options also.

Q: What parts of the world are seen to offer the best growth potential?

Certainly the UK is seeing excellent growth where event catering, sports, music and the wider arts are concerned. Corporate hospitality is also regaining lost ground in Europe and the US after the financial crisis. There are tremendous opportunities still to be exploited, particularly with events that appeal to a mass audience, more accessible to families etc. ...

Opportunity and investment have also combined to dramatic effect in the BRICS countries where, over a 10-year period, they are hosting three FIFA World Cups, Olympic and Paralympic Games and a variety of other major events, providing a global platform and creating long-lasting economic and social implications for the region. For example, Brazil will have hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Copa America in 2015 and the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Asia’s growth and the emerging middle-class population will reach household incomes levels associated with increased travel and entertainment expenditure and consequently changing spending behaviours. Asia Pacific’s proportion

Catering

of the global middle class population explodes from just 22% to 66% by 2030 with spending due to increase from 23% to 59% by 2030.

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges?

Understanding the ‘value chain’ and expanding our service offerings in targeted areas to support our clients’ core activities.

Relationships - relationships - relationships: Transitioning from a service provider to vital and trusted business partner.

Global customer view and insight supported by technology, CRM and new sales and marketing channels to support clients in increasing attendance and optimising venue utilisation.

Continued re-investment to improve the customer experience.

Q: What will be the top catering trends for 2015?

Theatre is the name of the game. The physical experience is becoming more important, so providing interactive options for diners to engage in a different way with food and drink is a growing trend. Molecular elements with liquid nitrogen and various other culinary techniques are becoming popular. However, the provenance, sourcing, seasonality and expertly executed dishes is also expected and becoming a requirement on menus. Various influences from the high street and independent operators e.g. Peruvian or regional Asian food done to the highest standards, also make an appearance.

Retail offers at events catering for the public where artisan brands are is growing.

Q: Your advice for event organisers?

Look further afield, to other countries and other segments of the industry for ideas and inspiration. Shape concepts and innovate and invest in training and developing your staff. Explore relationships with experts, retail, chefs and small operators to add value to your portfolio.

PERSONAL: Q: Tell us about your career path. How did you get yours started?

I was always interested in cooking. Originally from Limerick in Ireland, cooking and baking with my grandmother is a fond early memory. I worked in various hotels and restaurants while attending college in Galway before travelling to London to work at the then Penta Hotel near Heathrow.

Q: Moments to remember?

Meeting the Queen Mother, who wished us luck as I represented the UK on the British Culinary Team before winning my first Gold medal at The Culinary World cup in Luxembourg. Then returning to win Gold as an individual at the Culinary Olympics and then again the Culinary World Cup four years later. Being National Chairman of The Craft Guild of Chefs and of The Cookery and Food Association, the largest Chefs organisations in the UK. Running the National Chef of the Year Competition and creating the Young National Chef of the Year Competition, both of which are now regarded as the most prestigious in the UK today. Receiving a CATEY award for services to the Catering and Hospitality industry in 2014.

I have helped run FutureChef, a young persons cooking competition, for the past 12 years. This year almost 8,000 young (12-16 year olds) took part. Meeting my current fiancée who will become my wife on August 1st.

Q: Favourite drink?

A delicious red wine, discovering wines of the new or old world depending on the occasion and location. And obviously a great Guinness, but only in Ireland in a country pub!

Q: Favourite food?

Anything done with care and passion - it’s bound to be delicious. Turbot for elegance and my grandmothers’ soda bread for nostalgia.

Q: Favourite event location?

Royal Ascot – it’s in a class of its own.

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Catering

ANA ROŠ, FIRST LADY IN SLOVENIAN CULINARY My catering menus reassemble more to eating in a restaurant then a huge and massive event. I am personally not interested what others do.

Text by Ana Hotko

Q: For some time now you have been considered as the culinary visionary of Europe.

What is your vision of catering at events?

I believe that we should understand every single event as unique, personalizing the food and wine story. We should be able to cook for 100, 1000 people as it was only 4 persons at the table.

Personal approach is crucial, it makes guests feel comfortable and welcome.

Q: Does the top catering also need talent and feeling? How is this feeling noticed at the events?

Talent is always just part of success. Talent helps resolve difficult situations but what is the most important in catering business is discipline and organization.

Talent helps resolve difficult situations but what is the most important in catering business is discipline and organization.

Q: What is the thing that you value most and is common to all chefs? What are you the most impressed with?

Passion and dedication are 2 characteristics of the most important world chefs. Superficial and “copy paste” do not belong to this world.

Q: Do the successful chefs get used to all the reviews or do you still care what they say?

A constructive critic or review is the biggest gift a chef can get. No one is absolute.

Q: On what ingredients do you swear by in your kitchen? Where do you get those ingredients?

Local, seasonal. I try to buy as local and as seasonal as possible. We created an interesting economic circle with local farmers and producers.

Q: Can we find Kranjska sausage on your catering menu?

Probably not, unfortunately I do not eat sausages. But you never say never.

Q: What do you prefer to eat and who do you value most on the Slovenian culinary scene?

In my everyday life I try to eat light, vegetable based food. Freshness is the most important. If I go out, I try to read the personality of the chef in single dishes. The food we prepare tells a lot about us. In Slovenia there is a whole genera88

tion of young chefs coming out. We need them to refresh our gastronomic scene.

Q: When is catering considered as personal and when does it become an industry?

I would never take a catering that I cannot handle in a personal way. There is no written number. It depends how much the chef is limited by the expectations and plans of organizers. Sometimes I would suggest to leave more freedom in decisions to those who practically face problems on events.

Q: How much of originality and quality can be transferred from the local cuisine to another location?

That is a question of organization. My husband is a fantastic organizer. He makes sure I can really express myself in the most difficult situations and locations.

ANA ROŠ DEFINING MOMENTS: Craziest destination: Ile aux Nattes (Madagascar) Craziest event: Sitting dinner we prepared in heavy rain for 250 guests in an island without electricity, water, public transport and no roof shelter. The guests were international, with Michelin inspectors in between.

Hotel to return to: Sofitel Metropol Hanoi.

Best concert: I do not go to concerts.

Best rock band: Whatever is louder then a sound of pans and knives in the kitchen.

During preparations and mis en place we always listen to rock music in the kitchen.

Catering

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TOPICS AND DATES / Published  times per year

Kongres Magazine is far from being just a magazine. It is the only provider of integrated congress marketing communications, with which you can make effective dialogue with the meetings industry audience. Because we know what meetings industry payers really need and how to ensure their long-term loyalty, we can make above-average, high-quality, relevant, independent, in-depth and interesting meetings industry stories.

In 2015 they will be dedicated to you and your customers even more.

EDITORIAL CALENDAR 2015 JANUARY

2015

CONVENTA DAILY

CONVENTA DAILY 1-2

Daily newspaper, which will be released during the Conventa trade show and which brings to exhibitors and hosted buyers daily news from Conventa.

SPACE CLOSE: 12.12.2014

MATERIALS DUE: DELIVERY: 19.12.2014 21. - 22.01.2015

2015

2015

In Focus: PERSONALIZATION

The old paradigm “size fits all” in the last year has radically altered in the direction of personalization in which the participants of your events are taking the initiative. In the issue, we are going to explore different methods of personalization - everything from CRM tools, match-making innovations and the creation of social and virtual communities for the events of the future. We will examine how to achieve events at which the event participants are in the centre.

Hot Spot: EVENT CREATION How to create creative experimental events

SPECIAL ISSUE 1

JANUARY

SPRING ISSUE MARCH

CONVENTA 2015

Special edition, published as a catalogue of Conventa together with extensive destination presentations and presentations of participating partners. In terms of content this is the most comprehensive overview of the meetings industry in the region of Central and Southeast Europe.

Themed supplement: CATERING SURVEY 2015

SPACE CLOSE: 13.02.2015

MATERIALS DUE: 20.02.2015

DELIVERY: 27.03.2015

SPECIAL ISSUE

MAY

SPACE CLOSE: 12.12.2014

MATERIALS DUE: 19.12.2014

DELIVERY: 21. - 22.01.2015

2015

MEETOLOGUE 2015

Since 2010, Kongres magazine has been publishing CONGRESS TRAVELOGUES, which were renamed MEETOLOGUES. International meeting planners 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 completely replace the tedious and irrelevant catalogues of meetings suppliers. Digital versions of MEETOLOGUES are currently the most read sections of the Kongres magazine.

SPACE CLOSE: 10.04.2015

MATERIALS DUE: 17.04.2015

DELIVERY: 15.05.2015

KONGRES MAGAZINE Stihova 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, T: + 386 (0)1 430 51 03, F: + 386 (0)1 430 51 04, M: +386 (0)40 530 112, E: gorazd.cad@go-mice.eu, www.kongres-magazine.eu

PRINT AUDIENCE

TOTAL AUDIENCE of 60.700 readers:

18.000

meeting planners

------------29,65 % of total number

SPECIAL ISSUE 3

2015

ONE2ONE AUDIENCE

meeting planners

34.000 meeting

1.200

------------1,98 % of total number

FALL 2015

KONGRES INCENTIVE GUIDE 2015

JUNE

TABLET AUDIENCE

SEPTEMBER

2015

Meeting planners wish for something new. You would like – for the same or lower price – to see the yet unseen places, taste un-tasted delicacies, unknown wines and experience undiscovered experiences. Central and South East Europe offers numerous pleasant incentive secrets in the worldwide meetings industry, waiting to be discovered.

In Focus: CO-OPETITION

One of the few truly outstanding destination strategies is the idea of strategic alliances which is a result of the realization that we live in a time of mutual co-operation and competition (co-opetition). We will investigate in what stages it comes to competition and co-operation for congress buyers and destination reputation.

Some practical examples will be presented which have survived the testing in practice.

Hot Spot: EVENT MARKETING How to make desirable events

SPACE CLOSE: 15.05.2015

MATERIALS DUE: 22.05.2014

DELIVERY: 19.06.2015

SUMMER 2015 JULY

2015

In Focus: CONTENT CURATION

Content marketing is changing understanding of the entire meetings industry. Through good content events communicate with the participants. We are going to examine the evidence on the effectiveness of content marketing in the organization of events. You will learn why top content is the core of positive experience of your congress participants Hot Spot: EVENT PRODUCTION How to organise viable events Themed supplement: ADVENTURE PARKS 2015 OUTDOOR VENUES 2015

SPACE CLOSE: 19.06.2015

MATERIALS DUE: 26.06.2015

Themed supplement: INNOVATIVE PEOPLE & EVENTS

SPACE CLOSE: 21.08.2015

MATERIALS DUE: 28.08.2015

DELIVERY: 18.09.2015

WINTER 2014

NOVEMBER

2015

In Focus: INDUSTRY REINFORCEMENT 2016

Who are the personalities that have marked the year 2015? What are the trends of the future, which controversial ideas will win in the area of event organization. In the editorial board of Kongres magazine we believe that the best way to predict the future of the meetings industry is to be inventing it.

Hot Spot: EVENT DIFERENTATION How to stand out from the crowd

DELIVERY: 24.07.2015

Themed supplement: KONGRES ANNUAL MEETING PLANNERS SURVEY KONGRES HOLIDAY & PARTY GUIDE

SPACE CLOSE: 16.10.2015

MATERIALS DUE: 23.10.2015

DELIVERY: 16.11.2015

(e-magazines and e-newsletters)

planners

------------56,01 % of total number

WEB AUDIENCE

appr. 7.500

meeting planners

------------12,36 % of total number

THEMED SUPPLEMENTS WITHIN THE MAGAZINE IN 2015

KONGRES GOURMET KONGRES WAW - WINES AND WINERIES KONGRES SPECIAL VENUES KONGRES ADVENTURE PARKS KONGRES OUTDOOR VENUES KONGRES INNOVATIVE PEOPLE & EVENTS KONGRES HOLIDAY & PARTY GUIDE

KONGRES MAGAZINE REGULAR SECTIONS

TELESCOPE – Congress destinations of the World according to the selection of our editor Robert Cotter MEETOLOGUE – Congress Meetologues of the New Europe VOICE FROM THE TOP – Interviews with key personalities of the meetings industry HIDDEN KONGRES GUEST – Hidden congress guests assess hotels, convention centres and catering providers WHO IS WHO – Presentations of meetings providers YOUNG TALENTS – Young promising meeting industry talents BEEN THERE – Reports from events TOP 10 - Rankings of the best in various categories CASE STUDIES - Examples of good practice

NEW CONTENT SECTIONS IN 2015

KONGRES BRIEFING – Short news from destinations presented in an interesting way DESTINATION SURVEY - In-depth collage presentations of congress destinations DESTINATION IN NUMBERS Infographics with data of individual destinations BEHIND THE SCENES - Extended reportages of the best congress hotels MEET THE TEAM – presentation of the PCO or DMC agencies and their greatest successful projects

At a time when campaigns are taken over by our buyers, apart from content marketing there are few tools available that enable communication through various channels.

KONGRES MAGAZINE Stihova 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, T: + 386 (0)1 430 51 03, F: + 386 (0)1 430 51 04, M: +386 (0)40 530 112, E: gorazd.cad@go-mice.eu, www.kongres-magazine.eu

Hidden Congress Guest

HILTON IMPERIAL DUBROVNIK ★★★★★ LUXURY DALMATIAN HOTEL ICON

4.84

Photo credit HILTON IMPERIAL DUBROVNIK

OPENED SINCE 1895, completely renovated in 2005 MEETINGS STAR City meeting hotel STANDARD Hotel with conference facilities NUMBER OF ROOMS 147 rooms (of which 8 suites) PRICE INTERNET 105 EUR (BB) March 2015 ADDRESS HILTON IMPERIAL DUBROVNIK Marijana Blažića 2 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia P: +385 20 320 220 E: sales.dubrovnik@hilton.com www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/croatia FACILITIES Porat restaurant, The Lobby bar, The Lounge bar, Fitness and wellness, Parking garage, Business centre and office rental, Fitness and indoor pool, Spa EXTRAS Guests staying in Executive Rooms and Suites enjoy access to the hotel’s Executive Lounge RESULTS OF ANALYSIS Location Accessibility First impression Lobby Employee attitude Reception Hotel room Hotel bed Bathroom and restroom Hotel breakfast Bars and restaurants Congress hall Additional offer Total: FINAL GRADE Luxurt hotel Luxury Premium Business Economy Budget

5.00 4.39 4.98 4.78 4.96 4.94 4.92 4.81 4.95 4.96 4.78 4.77 4.63 4.84

4.84 ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★

LOCATION It is difficult to describe a hotel that is something of a tourist icon in an exceptional site and in an exceptional place without leaning on superlatives. The hotel continues the tradition of the hotel that broke ground at this location in the tourist boom in 1895. Now the Hilton Imperial, it is the oldest hotel in Dubrovnik, which this year celebrates its 118th birthday. The timeless views over the Dubrovnik walls has been impressing international guests since 2005, when the hotel began to shine in a new incarnation under the Hilton hotel brand.

ACCESSIBILITY Situated just metres from the Pile Gate, the Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik hotel is ideally located for exploring Dubrovnik Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition, the bus hub is at the hotel’s doorstep, allowing you to easily explore other parts of Dubrovnik. In recent years, Dubrovnik has become an aviation destination and hardly a week goes by without the announcement of new air routes into the city. More problematic is car accessibility, since the planned highway has now been postponed, although the problem of accessibility is only in high tourist peaks in mid-summer. For those making it by car the hotel has its own hotel garage.

MAIN DISH - The hotel’s congress services Hotel Imperial was the first Dubrovnik Hotel with electric lighting, central heating, running water, a lift and all the luxury of the time. After a thorough renovation, it’s now back in top form. The rooms have an average area of 32 m2 and all of the equipment is in line with Hilton standards. This includes the executive floor and lounge, where guests can enjoy snacks, international newspapers and other superior services.

Top business centre possesses seven meeting rooms and a large conference hall for up to 260 participants.

DESSERT - Extras Indoor pool with fitness centre.

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and Aesthetics An elegant hotel in a prime location with an outstanding tradition. It is modern and traditional whilst at the same time being very tastefully designed. With clever housekeeping details and discreet lighting it seduces guests into the world of top-quality hotels. When you enter the hotel, it is clear that every detail is carefully planned and thought out. The Lobby bar is an institution that transports you to the era of the golden cafes.

The architecture exudes warmth and a sense of wellbeing is guaranteed.

FLOP – negative surprises Perhaps just the high prices in high season, which are not in accordance with the policy of fourstar hotels of some corporate clients.

WARM APPETIZER - Personnel and cuisine Some things never change, and the welfare of guests always takes pride of place in this hotel. A personalised service and attention to the smallest details is especially noteworthy. Breakfast on the terrace - freshly squeezed orange juice and espresso better than in urban cafes - overlooking the city walls is a priceless moment. The diversity and at the same time consistency of the offer along with incredible tastes are qualities that are memorable.

Overall impression and credibility Last year the hotel won the award for the leading hotel in each brand of the Hilton Worldwide chain – Connie Award. It has convinced us with its luxury and superior level of customer service. A hotel with a soul that speaks for himself is also an excellent choice for congresses, if your budget allows it. The hotel has witnessed many historic congress events and banquets, which will not disappoint you even today. It is a hotel institution with a soul.

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TOP – positive surprises The above average friendly and professional staff of the hotel.

The HIDDEN CONGRESS GUEST section is not paid for. The selection of hotels, which are evaluated by the hidden congress guest, is left to the editorial board. The hidden guest visits the hotels without prior notice.

CATEGORY ★★★★★

Final Score

Hidden Congress Guest

HOTEL CUBO ★★★★ LUXURY BOUTIQUE HOTEL PURE HOSPITALITY

4.76

Photo credit HOTEL CUBO

CATEGORY ★★★★ OPENED SINCE 2011 MEETINGS STAR BOUTIQUE HOTEL STANDARD Hotel with conference facilities NUMBER OF ROOMS 26 rooms PRICE INTERNET 114 EUR single use BB ADDRESS HOTEL CUBO Slovenska cesta 15 1000 Ljubljana P: +386 1 425 6000 E: luka@hotelcubo.com www.hotelcubo.com FACILITIES - Cubo Restaurant - Smaller conference room EXTRAS Surprise in the mini bar, which is free of charge for guests

RESULTS OF ANALYSIS Location Accessibility First impression Lobby Employee attitude Reception Hotel room Hotel bed Bathroom and restroom Hotel breakfast Bars and restaurants Congress hall Additional offer Total: FINAL GRADE Luxury Boutique Hotel Luxury Premium Business Economy Budget

4.94 4.25 4.94 4.95 4.99 4.99 4.56 4.67 4.87 4.77 4.73 4.56 4.60 4.76

4.76 ★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★

Final Score

LOCATION The hotel is located in a prestigious location, just a short walk from the old town and many important institutions, such as the Drama SNG Theatre and the Cankarjev dom Cultural and Congress Centre.

The history of the original building dates back to 1830, when it became a family residence of an influential local lawyer and was used for this purpose for more than one hundred years. After a complete reconstruction and investment worth 2.4 million Euros, from 2011 the Cubo Hotel has been representing a new chapter in the building’s history.

MAIN DISH - The hotel’s congress services The Hotel has 26 rooms/suites, furnished in a modern, discreet style with a touch of sophistication, which is reflected in the choice of superior materials and in the room furnishings and fixtures. To name just a few – luxury Rivolta Carmihnani bedding, which can be found in luxury hotel chains such as the Hilton, Ritz, Four Seasons, and L’Occitane toiletries and accessories.

The well-equipped conference room can accommodate up to 50 participants at business meetings and can also host private events. .

ACCESSIBILITY Hotel Cubo prides itself on a privileged location near the old town and many important institutions. Despite the central location, the hotel is easily accessible by car and Ljubljana is an ideal base for day trips to all of the popular tourist spots. The hub of cultural, educational, political and business life of the country is within walking distance from Hotel Cubo or by the Bicikelj public bicycle service. Hotel Cubo is also close to one of the largest Congress centres, Cankarjev dom. Two garages and public parking are nearby.

DESSERT - Extras Free and extremely fast Wi-Fi.

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and Aesthetics The hotel is a solid blend of contemporary design and innovation in a traditional Ljubljana house. A minimalist design concept was used for the interiors employing top quality materials, subdued grey shades and pleasant room lighting. Each room is decorated slightly different but all prioritize their guests and their comfort.

And despite being on a main town centre road you can hardly hear any noise from the main street.

WARM APPETIZER - Personnel and cuisine This ‘Boutique Hotel’ not only builds its profile and reputation among modern nomads through design trends and comfort, but it also focuses on an excellence of service and the attention given to each guest. In addition, it provides the free use of wireless in the hotel and the content of mini bar is already included in the room price. Due to all of this, Cubo has already been awarded many times.

In Ljubljana the name Cubo is primarily recognised by gourmets, as it is originally the name of one of the most popular restaurants developed by Chef Boštjan Trstenjak. The concept has been successfully transferred under the roof of the Cubo Hotel, which in its restaurant offers seasonal menus inspired by modern Mediterranean cuisine and based on selected fresh local ingredients.

93

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FLOP – negative surprises There is nothing major; maybe, if we were being picky, the slightly small lobby immediately at the entrance to the road could be noted. However, in the summer the lobby is extended to the street by the garden.

+

TOP – positive surprises The personal approach of the incredibly friendly staff who are always smiling and helpful, including the director, who is always available to guests.

Overall impression and credibility It is no surprise that Ljubljana’s Cubo Hotel is among best-rated 4 star category hotels at Tripadvisor. The personal approach of the extremely friendly staff has been a major factor in this recognition. The Cubo restaurant is also a delight, with the breakfast selection of local products, jams and other surprises.

Hidden Congress Guest

BLUESUN HOTEL KAJ, MARIJA BISTRICA ★★★★ PREMIUM PRESERVED IN TIME

4.19

Photo credit BLUESUN HOTEL KAJ

LOCATION Marija Bistrica is probably among the most important Croatian shrines. The pilgrimage sanctuary stands on the “Calvary” hill in the middle of the picturesque market and with the miracles that happened over the years it attracts many visitors each year. The divine energy attracts more than 800,000 pilgrims every year. Religious tourism and wonderful green natural environment are the reasons that the Blusun Group bought and renovated a former Salve Regina Hotels from the Archdiocese of Zagreb in 2008.

CATEGORY ★★★★ OPENED SINCE 1980, redecorated in 2009 MEETINGS STAR City meeting hotel STANDARD Hotel with conference capacities NUMBER OF ROOMS 65 rooms PRICE INTERNET 52 EUR (BB) march 2015

FACILITIES - Academia Restaurant - Bistriza Restaurant - Lobby bar - Wine boutique - Wellness & Spa centre EXTRAS Fusion gastronomy of Zagorje

4.06 3.25 3.98 4.15 4.96 4.82 4.09 4.12 4.14 3.98 4.75 4.05 4.12 4.19

4.19

FINAL GRADE Premium City Meeting Hotel Luxury Premium Business Economy Budget

rooms. The beautifully manicured surroundings of the hotel offer many options for organising events outside the hotel.

DESSERT - Extras Superb cuisine of chef Tomislav Kožić in both restaurants, accompanied by a selection of over 200 wines from the world’s key wine regions.

ACCESSIBILITY When you realise that Croatia is not only Istria, the sun, sea and the islands, you will immediately be surprised that after Zagreb, there is a largely unexplored world. To get to the town of Marija Bistrica it is approximately 40km of winding scenic road from Zagreb (or exactly 52km to the Zagreb airport). You will need a good half hour to reach your target, but when you do you will find yourself in an interesting tourist destination that doesn’t lack spas or attractions (Krapina Neanderthal Museum, Veliki Tabor Castle). There are no parking problems, because they are accustomed to large crowds.

ADDRESS BLUESUN HOTEL KAJ Zagrebačka bb 49246 Marija Bistrica P: +385 049 326 600 E: kaj@bluesunhotels.com www.hotelkaj.hr

RESULTS OF ANALYSIS Location Accessibility First impression Lobby Employee attitude Reception Hotel room Hotel bed Bathroom and restroom Hotel breakfast Bars and restaurants Congress hall Additional offer Total:

Final Score

★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and Aesthetics The Bluesun Kaj Hotel was first opened in 1980 in the typical style of the time. The architecture doesn’t dominate, but rather blends perfectly into the surrounding with its brick facade elements.

WARM APPETIZER - Personnel and cuisine Croatian Zagorje and Kotel Kaj offer genuine hospitality, which is a home to one of the best Croatian restaurants – Academia. A boldly designed restaurant with direct sight of chef’s, it offers traditional Zagorje cuisine with a modern twist. First class delicacies are prepared by head chef Tomislav Kožić. We found the innovative names for dishes amusing, bringing a smile to the fortunate diners’ lips. The hotel only underperforms at breakfast, that does not reach the first class cuisine otherwise on offer.

MAIN DISH - The hotel’s congress services Tested standard rooms are pleasantly decorated, although maybe by today’s standards a little bit small.

The furniture in brown shades and pleasant pastel colours is positive and pleasant. The rooms have all the amenities expected for a 4-star hotel.

An integral part of the story is a multi-purpose conference hall with a capacity of 150 seats and 3 meeting 94

+

FLOP – negative surprises Tidiness of wellness centre.

TOP – positive surprises Value for money

Overall impression and credibility This hotel in a very special location could be described as a romantic hotel in the middle of the picturesque Croatian Zagorje. The hotel team is sincerely trying to achieve excellent results.

A big surprise is the ambitious cuisine, which one would not expect at this location. Due to the proximity of Zagreb, Marija Bistrica is an ideal location for congress tourism. It offers a lot of content and calls for the development of attractive incentive programs.

Hidden Congress Guest

REMISENS PREMIUM HOTEL METROPOL PORTOROŽ ★★★★★ PREMIUM SOUTHERN COMFORT

Photo credit REMISENS PREMIUM HOTEL METROPOL PORTOROŽ

LOCATION The concept and architecture that makes the Hotel a recognisable part of Portorož is the work of renowned Slovenian architect Edvard Mihevc. The design was carried out between 1968 and 1971 and the hotel was completed in 1972. It is located on an elevated position on the Sv. Lovrenc hill, at the point where the Villa of San Lorenzo with the casino once stood. After nearly two decades, the hotel was thoroughly renovated in 2010. The resort now consists of the luxury Grand Hotel Metropol and the hotels Roža, Lucija and Barbara, which offer their guest a complete tourist offer and are suitable for all ages.

CATEGORY ★★★★★ OPENED SINCE 1971 renovated in 2010 MEETINGS STAR RESORT HOTEL STANDARD Hotel with conference facilities NUMBER OF ROOMS 104 rooms INTERNET PRICE 148 - 248 EUR ADDRESS REMISENS PREMIUM HOTEL METROPOL Obala 75A, 6320 Portorož P: +385 51 710 444 E: reservations@remisens.com www.remisens.com FACILITIES Grand Casino Portorož, Grand Salon Hotel restaurant, San Lorenzo à la carte Restaurant, Lobby Bar, Night club, Aqua Relax Centre/ Wellness & Spa, Outdoor pool, Metropol Beach, Hotel Garage EXTRAS Sports Park Lucija and Marina Portorož, in close vicinity of the hotel, to carry out interesting incentive programmes RESULTS OF ANALYSIS Location Accessibility First impression Lobby Employee attitude Reception Hotel room Hotel bed Bathroom and restroom Hotel breakfast Bars and restaurants Congress hall Additional offer Total:

4.85 4.06 4.11 4.32 4.45 4.52 4.39 4.58 4.55 4.23 4.53 4.45 4.52 4.43

FINAL GRADE Premium Resort Hotel

4.43

Luxury Premium Business Economy Budget

★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★

ACCESSIBILITY The hotel is close to the centre of Portorož, which is primarily an automotive destination, as the Italian motorway is 32km away and the Slovenian motorway just 16km. For train travellers the railway station in Koper is 15km away and for those coming by plane Ljubljana Airport is 145km distant, although the Ronchi airport is much closer, just 80km from Portorož. For smaller groups, access is possible via the Portorož Airport, which is aiming to improve aviation connectivity. The hotel is in close vicinity to Portorož Marina, which also allows arrival by boat.

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and Aesthetics The hotel’s shiny, brown facade is a trademark of the hotel in Portorož. In addition, the hotel and the city is full of trademark elements of domestic architect Edvard Mihevc: walls and scarps lined with stones, painted facades, columns, windows with white stone frames (jerte) and window shutters, picturesque chimneys, open staircases and corridors covered with roof tiles. The ensemble performs as a nice Mediterranean resort, which gives the feeling of a small coastal city.

Whilst some like the architectural collage on offer, others do not, but over the years the ideas of Edvard Mihevc have been steadily rising in value.

WARM APPETIZER - Personnel and cuisine The friendly staff is definitely one of the advantages of the hotel, foremost being their responsiveness and carrying out any requests rapido. The hotel also makes you feel welcome and appreciated, perhaps brought about by the new owners who have given it a fresh wind and new sense of energy.

The hotel has built a team that wants to cook traceable and local food at the highest level, which comes across in the very wide selection of dishes for breakfast. Their wine list is not extensive, yet modern and with an em95

4.43 Final Score

phasis on local wines. The a la carte restaurant has a few extras in it, however.

The offer in the Lobby bar is excellent, especially the coffee, which is among the best in Slovenia. The hotel bar is considered a real classic hotel institution.

MAIN DISH - The hotel’s congress services The essence of the hotel lies in the rooms, which have a sense of prestige. The fine materials, solid square footage and a thorough renovation in 2010 has really freshened up the rooms, with the new equipment and furniture being classic but with a touch of modernity.

The hotel beds are extremely good, well deserving of a high score.

The Metropol congress centre includes five modern, multi-purpose halls, reception, office and a large lobby designed for exhibitors and socialising during breaks.

The congress centre is standardized in accordance with the Slovenian Convention Bureau and is very popular among corporate conference clients.

DESSERT - Extras The resort has a very comprehensive offer that enables a variety of incentive programmes to be carried out on the beach. The extensive sports offer is particularly noteworthy.

-

FLOP – negative surprises The price/quality ratio during the high season.

+

TOP – positive surprises The offer of other hotels in the resort, as Roža, Lucija and Barbara nicely round the hotel part of the offer and allow congress guests to choose from among the hotels.

Overall impression and credibility In our opinion, the Metropol Hotel is certainly worthy of consideration, but everything would depend on organiser wishes and expectations. The hotel’s history is illustrious enough that it is a pity only to be used for the classic casino guests. After a rather long-awaited renovation in 2010, the hotel is now slowly gaining a reputation as one of the best in Portorož, around which future tourism in the city will revolve. With the arrival of new owners and the re-naming, the hotel can expect a tourist season in high demand. It fulfils all of the necessary requirements for its placement among the best Slovenian hotels with conference facilities.

Hidden Congress Guest

RADISSON BLU OLD MILL HOTEL, BELGRADE ★★★★ PREMIUM OMG EXPERIENCE

Photo credit RADISSON BLU OLD MILL HOTEL, BELGRADE

LOCATION The hotel’s location in Belgrade city centre is convenient and one can easily get to nearby attractions, such as the Belgrade Arena and the fairgrounds, as well as palaces, museums and temples. In addition to this, the hotel is also just minutes away from New Belgrade, the city’s up-and-coming corporate area, with its variety of businesses and Serbian government offices. On top of this the airport is located just 16km away.

CATEGORY ★★★★ OPENED SINCE December 2014 MEETINGS STAR City meeting hotel STANDARD Congress hotel NUMBER OF ROOMS 236 rooms including 14 suites INTERNET PRICE 163 EUR (BB) ADDRESS RADISSON BLU OLD MILL HOTEL, BELGRADE Bulevar Vojvode Mišića, 15, Belgrade T: +381 (0)11 6 357 357 E: info.belgrade@radissonblu.com www. radissonblu.com/hotel-belgrade

ACCESSIBILITY Hotel Radisson gave the industrial area along one of its main thoroughfares in Belgrade a new lease of life.

It is just a stone’s throw away from Belgrade Fair and forms a new event point for Belgrade. Link this in with the work of the planners of the »Belgrade Waterfront« project and its location on the edge of the new town centre will be a part of a completely new image in the future.

4.82 Final Score

The arrangement of the conference rooms is such that it should encourage innovative thinking of the participants, best exemplified in a special room, ‘Brainbox’, which enhances creativity through its choice of colours, special chairs and general ambience. The larger, daylit congress room can host 220 delegates and is currently one of the most beautiful congress halls in the city. The designers have managed to marry overall well-being with the beautiful old mill’s rooms renovated with a touch of the modern.

DESSERT - Extras A culinary celebrity team – the Belgrade hotel scene has acquired a passionate, dedicated and experienced culinary team in a new hotel that was born under a lucky star.

COLD APPETIZER - Architecture and Aesthetics There are few hotels in Europe whose location leans so heavily on the former industrial heritage. However, through the revitalisation of such facilities we get a high-quality hotel architecture, in which it can at times seem as time has stopped, whilst at the same EXTRAS time expressing a modern lifestyle. The task of archiAn integral part of the story is the central market, which in the warmer months tectural renovation was entrusted to the famous Berlin turns into a very special event space.

Bureau Graft Architects, who created a new copyright hotel architecture that excites at every step.

FACILITIES OMB Larder + Lounge Restaurant, Lounge Bar, Radisson Blu Super Breakfast, Grab & Run Breakfast, Fitness centre, Indoor parking, Conference centre (6 meeting rooms)

RESULTS OF ANALYSIS Location Accessibility First Impression Lobby Employee Attitude Reception Hotel Room Hotel Bed Bathroom And Restroom Hotel Breakfast Bars And Restaurants Congress Hall Additional Offer Total:

4.95 4.05 4.98 4.99 4.98 4.99 4.79 4.82 4.91 4.98 4.79 4.78 4.69 4.82

4.82

FINAL GRADE Luxury City Meeting Hotel Luxury Premium Business Economy Budget

★★★★★ ★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★

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WARM APPETIZER - Personnel and cuisine What a surprise! We have not experienced such a culinary and personal experience in regional hotels for a long time. The new culinary concept is modern and crazily trendy, integrating new taste combinations and food textures of both Serbian and international cuisine. The hotel cuisine’s many promises come through a strictly minimalist menu that is in both Cyrillic and English. Less is more, and Old Mill really knows the balance.

TOP – positive surprises Imagine that you find yourself in a house from a futuristic movie. Here the architects have created a space that combines history, technology, art, fun and relaxation, with exquisite cuisine that works to be both very modern but also very traditional.

MAIN DISH - The hotel’s congress services Radisson truly understands the needs of business and congress guests. Elegant hotel rooms prove that this hotel belongs in the premier league. With the use of materials and the concept of ‘less is more’, it will delight even the most pampered congress guests.

The paintings on bare concrete in the hotel rooms, by Strauss & Hillegaart, are really striking in that they are a mirror image of the rooms themselves.

Overall impression and credibility Radisson Old Mill took a risk and it has succeeded.

It seems they have captured just the right aesthetic balance. Top quality ingredients are never wrapped with ballast and the new space is balanced with the story of the former mill. The result is an elegant concept of an authentic hotel, a cult restaurant and a dynamic lounge bar, which gives a new dimension to Belgrade tourism and sets new standards.

96

FLOP – negative surprises Awkward access to the hotel, which requires some ingenuity from guests arriving by car.

+

Advertorial

97

Global Village

YOUNG TALENTS always looking forward to fulfilling expectations and the needs of our customers, which will make them return to Slovenia.

1. Who are you?

By owning so many hotels in so many different destinations in Slovenia, Sava hotels&resorts is my favourite meeting brand.

When offering customers the necessary things for their events, they can choose between highand middle-class accommodation and congress halls, which makes the decision much easier.

With that kind of infrastructure, a great attitude to tourism industry and innovative approaches and activities, we can assure best results and happy customers.

2:

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?

JANETTE POGLAJEN

When I started working in Sava hotels&resorts it wasn’t long before I was doing one major event, which included different types of programmes that had been offered to a customer. I do not take this as a brave action, but more of education, which taught me how to become better in this industry. Being self-confident, reliable, motivated and innovative are in my opinion some of the most important characteristics of how best to work with other people working in tourism. And I am proud to say I am managing it successfully.

3:

Sales manager MICE, Terme Ptuj, Sava Hotels&Resorts

Having the opportunity to express myself through my work keeps me extra motivated and ready for new challenges.

My name is Janette Poglajen. I am a sales manager for MICE in the hotel chain Sava Hotels&Resorts, the umbrella brand of Sava Turizem d.d., the largest tourism company in Slovenia. Ever since my elementary school, I was inspired by the tourism industry and the hospitality of people working in it. When I started high school, I decided to work in tourism and in some way help people find the best combination of spending their working and free time in it.

Being a very diligent and dynamic person I am 1:

T •• ET EE •• M ME

S RS ER TE B ST US BU

I would have to say my alternative career fantasy would be to work with people in the same way as I do now – consulting with them and then organising the whole event. Not one day at work is the same as any other and that makes this job so unique.

4:

I cannot really say I am obsessed with anything. I am just doing the best I can in everyday life. Having the opportunity to express myself through my work keeps me extra motivated and ready for new challenges.

5:

Hannover Exhibition centre was the largest in the world, with a gross hall capacity of 448.900 square metres.

448.900m2

Frankfurt Messe is in second place, with 358.913 square metres by gross hall capacity.

358.913 m2 98

CONFIRMED!!!

Prekmurje Report

PREKMURJE FOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS One of Slovenia’s strongest features is the diversity of its landscapes, from the Alpine and Karst landscapes to the coast and its north-eastern uplands and lowlands. The most recent to come on the visitor’s radar is perhaps the least well-known of Slovenian destinations, but it is one that you really shouldn’t miss! With fascinating authenticy at every step the Pannoinan lowlands, called Prekmurje, is a sleeping beauty of a destination that is now slowly awakening. It is a place where you get the feeling that time has stopped still for a while – and in visiting you can do the same thing too.

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Prekmurje Report

PREKMURJE FOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS Prekmurje – Slovenia’s most eastern region, bordering Austria and Hungary Prekmurje is geographically defined by the Mura river. A tourist spots linked to the town’s thermal water. Some 50 years ago ‘black gold’ seekers unexpectedly stumbled across geothermal water instead of oil and found that bathing in it invigorated their organs, improved their blood circulation and lessened nervous tension. Not just the water, but the people you meet in Prekmurje are also special: warm, hospitable and welcoming guests with a sincere smile that really makes you feel at home.

TOP 5 PLACES WHERE PEOPLE MEET The best places to meet, stay and incentivise in Prekmurje Hotel Livada Prestige at Terme 3000 Hotel Livada Prestige, the only 5 star hotel in the destination alongside the neighboring 4 star hotel Ajda, offers 6 conference rooms, the biggest plenary hall of them able to host 190 participants. It sits next to the 18-hole Livada Golf course.

What is truly special about Hotel Livada Prestige is the black thermal water in every room! This is the only hotel in Europe to offer thermal water baths in the privacy of your own room.

Hotel Radin – Radenci Health Resort The Radenci Health Resort in Slovenia welcomed its first guests as early as 1882. It is still known for the beneficial effects of the Radenci mineral water on the cardiovascular system. The Radenci Health Resort Hotel conference centre comprises eight multi-purpose conference halls and rooms, the biggest of them being the auditorium with its 230 seats. Under one roof you can find conference facilities, 419 comfortable hotel rooms and a range of health and wellness services that will enhance your business meeting.

Terme Lendava

Terme Lendava has several halls and rooms suitable for smaller events and meetings. The conference hall in Hotel Lipa can accommodate up to 40 delegates. Rather than spending time inside the hotel, the focus here is on outdoor activities, which makes Lendava the ideal location for teambuilding events and incentive programmes. One thing you should not miss is the bath in the unique paraffin thermal water.

Negova Castle Hotel Vivat – Terme Vivat

Close to the city of Murska Sobota you can find the Hotel Vivat****Superior hotel with its seven conference rooms. The biggest of these has enough space for 250 guests. As Terme Vivat hosts many athletes and sport clubs they also have all the facilities for great sport incentives.

Another reason to choose Terme Vivat is the unique healing white and black thermal waters.

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Whilst the castle was first mentioned in the 12th century, it was most probably already settled in the Stone and Bronze Ages. With renovation in 2012 it became a superb venue for cultural events, concerts, social events and conferences.

The main room can be used as a ballroom for banquets and receptions for up to 120 guests.

If planning an incentive, you can make a deal with the castle witch, Apolonija, known for her magical potions from the castle herbal garden.

Prekmurje magazine

ESSENTIAL MEETING EXPERIENCES STAY LOCAL

Gastronomy Prekmurje, a land of friendly people presents itself to the guests also through exciting aromas and flavours of its specialities recognizable by a regionally distinctive taste. “Scent of Prekmurje” is a collective trademark bringing together manufacturers, sellers and lovers of quality food products. Two dishes that you cannot miss in Prekmurje are Prekmurska gibanica (layer pie of Prekmurje) and Prekmurska šunka (Prekmurje ham). Both are protected products with a certificate.

FEEL THE NATURE

Stork nest White storks, the biggest birds in Europe, are returning every spring to their Prekmurje nests.

Their huge nests (more than 1m in diameter) can be found in the middle of the villages perched on the electrical posts or an old chimney. The village of Velika Polana, with nine nests, was proclaimed as a ‘European stork village’. Storks

are used to living close to people and they don’t even mind if generous local people take to fixing their nests whilst they’re on winter holiday in South Africa!

ESSENTIAL INCENTIVE EXPERIENCES Chef challenge at the Kodila Farm Kodila farm is not a place for those who don’t like meat. For those who do, however, they will be in heaven. Three generations of the Kodila family have been taking care of the quality of the “prekmurska šunka”, a naturally dried ham, that has been awarded “protected designation of origin” status. The Kodila family will welcome you in a traditional house with a romantic kitchen, full of local herbs and ingredients from their garden, where you can create your first Prekmurje dishes!

Get ready for the wedding

Rafting down the Mura

Rafting on a usually calm Pannonian river can be called “river wellness”. During the drift down the Mura you will be amazed at the nature and enchanted by the stories told by the local rafters who will prepare a traditional snack for you, food typical for the men working on the banks of the river. On the open fire you will toast a piece of rye bread, rub it with garlic and spread the traditional minced lard. It is recommended to then wash it all down with a sip of home-made spirit! Before the start of the river adventure it’s a good idea to visit the only running-water mill on the Mura river, where they still grind different sorts of cereal in a time-honored way.

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“Pozvačin” is a traditional figure known only in Prekmurje. When the couple announced they were to get married, pozvačin was the person in charge of inviting the relatives and neighbours to the wedding. Dressed in a colorful costume he went from house to house, surronded by an entourage of musicians. The old saying goes: “the more colorful he is dressed, the bigger the wedding is”. Today we are able to awaken this old tradition with your team, the task being how to make the “pozvačin” as attractive as possible.

You will also learn a typical traditional dance to be fully ready for the wedding…

Prekmurje magazine

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Radgonska klet - the cellar of the first slovenian sparkling wine Radgona Gold is the first Slovenian sparkling wine made by the famous French method of in-bottle fermentation.

Sightseeing train takes you along the wine road in the Radgona and Kapela wine district.

WHEN IN PREKMURJE MUST TASTE – GASTRONOMY

CARRY ME HOME – GADGETS

Gibanica

Flour from the Babič Mill

‘Prekmurska gibanica’ (Prekmurje layer pie) is a unique dessert listed among the Slovenian national specialities. It takes its name from the word “güba”, which means “fold”, and refers to the characteristic layered composition that gives the gibanica its colourful look. Prekmurska gibanica is distinguished by a rich array of aromas and flavours, including four different fillings: poppy seeds, curd cheese, walnuts and apples.

They are dedicated to traditional recipes, combining tradition with modern culinary trends.

In Hotel Livada you will be spoiled by the homemade pralines made of first-class dark chocolate and pumpkin seeds.

On the river Mura and located near Verzej, Babic Mill is the only floating mill on the Mura river.

The floating mill is a unique invention that efficiently uses the natural energy of water and allows farmers to make ground whole-wheat products. Once over 90 mills operated on the Mura river, but today only the Babič mill in Veržej is still functioning and is where you can buy different sorts of freshly milled flour.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

69/1 69 floating mills on the river Mura at the end of 18th century, 1 still in function

Energetic spots in Prekmurje in Hotel Livada they will equip you with a picnic basket and show you the route to special, secret places accessible by walking paths. In the village of Razkrižje you will find special energetic spots stimulating the flow of energy in your body.

ROOMS in 4 STAR HOTELS

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ROOMS IN 5 STAR HOTELS

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62-73°C 62- 73 degrees Celsius the highest temperature of the mineral thermal water at the source in Slovenia (Terme 3000)

more than 100 stork nests in Slovenia, 9 of them in Velika Polana, the European Stork Village

38 certified producers of “Prekmurska gibanica” in Sovenia

PRO PREKMURJE ✔ HEARTY AND AUTHENTIC ✔ STILL UNDISCOVERED ✔ RICH IN THERMAL WATER

✔ PANNONIAN LOWLAND IS EXCELLENT FOR BIKING ✔ IDEAL FOR GREEN MEETINGS

More information Špela Horvat, Sava Hotels & Resorts, MICE department Phone: +386 2 520 27 18 / +386 2 512 23 42 E-mail: spela.horvat@sava.si; www.sava-hotels-resorts.com; www.prekmurje-slo.com

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Croatia Addendum

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Croatia Addendum

CROATIA ADDENDUM 105

1 Kristina Ercegović BUSINESS CAFE NETWORKING EVENTS 2 Jasmina Bilać and Andrea Turić SOCIALISE YOUR EVENT! 3 Tea Krpan EVENTS THAT ENHANCE NETWORKING RULE THE MICE WORLD 4 Interview with Katarina Šprljan Marin NEW HOTEL WITH EIGHT CONGRESS HALLS IN VODICE

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BUSINESS CAFE NETWORKING EVENTS ‘Not working? Try networking’ - Richard Branson

text by Kristina Ercegović, MBA

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any of us still remember our parents telling us ‘watch out for who you spend time with’, because they knew we might just become like those people.

Jim Rohn has said that we become an average of the five people we spend the majority of our time with.

So far I have started three businesses and sold two of them.

Business Cafe started spontaneuosly. People I met and spoke to were telling me that I inspire them to start their own business. Then I summed up what I knew and put it into a workshop called ‘Be your own boss’. After about 300 people finished this course they wanted to hang out with me and with each other much more, so they started inviting me for a coffee, but this took up too much of my time. At the same time I came across data that 57% of all business in Croatia is negotiated over coffee, so I put 2 and 2 together and that is how Business Cafe started.

The first event was held in March 2011 and it was about 30 of us. By December 2014 there were 230 of us. Last January we had simultaneous events in Belgrade, Serbia and Skopje, Macedonia, and we connected via Skype. Our first guest, Mr Čoban, a regional media king, was in Belgrade, so participants in Zagreb listened to him. Previously we also had some guests in Zagreb using Skype from Belgrade and Dame DC Cordova, the author of Excellerated School for Entrepreneurs and the Money and You programme, connecting from Hawaii.

Over time the quality of guest speakers has risen, as well as guests and our performance. But one thing remains always the same –our energy, and my intention to inspire and connect people.

Floowing all of this I sold a first franchise to Macedonia, then to Bosnia and Serbia. Now I want to spread it wherever the road takes us, because I believe our dreams also choose us, and God is the best marketing department.

Business Cafe is a place of inspiration where we show it is possible to succeed, no matter what, where and how, regardless of your age, gender, economical situation... We show that entrepreneuship is the way to make people happy, to serve and improve the world, a way to realise your potential, to follow your dream, to be happy, to leave a legacy, to make the world a better place than it was when we came into it. In the beginning about 70% of the people who came to the Business

Cafe owned their own business and 30% were still thinking about it. Now almost all are entrepreneurs. They come regularly and there is also 20 to 30% new people every time.

It is a place of networking where people meet their new business partners and friends. We all know how important the support of like-minded people is from the start to the end.

Entrepreneurs are people who are not understood by others, their ideas seem crazy, leaving their ‘secure’ jobs seems crazy. They need someone to say – ‘hey, great, awesome, go for it!’ And that is what we do at the Business Cafe.

Photo credit: Inka Pinka Foto.

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Kristina Ercegović is a serial entrepreneur, writer and business teacher. In 2002 she started Heraklea, the first mystery shopping agency on the Balkans. Ten years later, after achieving many professional awards, she sold it. In 2013 she started Milda, a dating agency for ex YU business people, which she sold in 2014.

Since then she has been holding classes on how to start and run a small business, as well as founding Business Cafe events.

To date Kristina has written three books, teaches often and is a mentor/member of jury at numerous StartUp projects.

107 It is also a place of action – more than €3 million was made by networking at the events in the past 4 years. For small countries in recession and micro-entrepreneurs, this is a good return.

In terms of format, the event lasts for 3 hours. During first hour I talk to our guests and entrepreneurs, who share their own story of how they started, what success is to them, how they got where they are now... Then we have organised ‘speed-dating networking’, which sometimes also transforms into an after-Business Cafe party.

If someone wants to start a Business Cafe in their town/ country, they can easily contact me. I’ll be glad to share this idea with other places and continue motivating people to chase their dreams! www.kristinaercegovic.com www.businesscafe.info

Photo credit: Inka Pinka Foto.

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SOCIALISE YOUR EVENT! Live posting during the conference keeps attendees up to speed and interested, but also creates a resource for people who are unable to attend. Don’t forget: they are the target group for your next conference!

text by Jasmina Bilać and Andrea Turić, ProConventa

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ith the development of social media, the meetings industry has acquired endless promotion and sales channels that are practically free of charge, yet planners are still not taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by them. We keep forgetting that conferences are no longer confined to the actual conference room.

Rather, the conference goals can reach a much wider public, as every single participant who attends our conference is a channel through which we can reach tens or even hundreds more followers!

Social media has also changed the duration of the conference experience by enabling conferences and their planners to have long-term interactions with attendees, including before and after the conference. In doing so, they have developed a stronger connection with every follower.

Before the conference Whatever other marketing actions you may be taking, try to connect them with your social media strategy. Don’t forget to determine your target groups well, as they can differ from one social network to another.

Newsletters, e-mails and dedicated online “forums” are still the most popular online methods used to generate interest prior to the conference, but utilising social media can help increase brand awareness and overall engagement of your conference attendees. For example, start a Facebook or Twitter contest, or do something as simple as posting a poll to your fans or followers. It could be anything from type of music that should be played at social events to where to go on an excursion, or even what keynote speakers the attendees would like to hear from. You may get some insightful responses to help you in your conference planning and personalising parts of your conference to attendees’ specific wishes.

When you promote the conference, include links to social media so that people are able to find each other even before the conference starts. Display a tweet stream on your website home page, by doing which you will be inviting people to join and give their personal contribution to your conference planning. Besides early engagement, you will also be marketing your conference without any expense.

During the conference Make people follow the conference.

The on-site experience is where social media really adds impact and gets people talking. Live posting during the conference keeps attendees up to speed and interested, but also creates a resource for people who are unable to attend. Don’t forget, they are the target group for your next conference.

Designate a hashtag or open a discussion on any of the social networks you are using, so speakers and attendees can talk about their experience, while allowing individuals not attending to follow the conversation.

Get your attendees engaged in the programme It is not enough just to get participants listening to speakers. Today, one of our main aims is to have them interact, so instead of the traditional Q&A model apply modern technologies. The traditional form used to face problems – discouraging shy audience members from asking questions – and there was no way to moderate the questions. There are often a lot of questions that attendees want to ask the speakers, but there isn’t always an appropriate time or means. Today, many conferences have adopted using social media platforms, especially Twitter, to encourage attendees to tweet in their questions with the conference hashtag. It makes it easier for attendees to ask questions in real time, increasing the social reach of the conference and allowing moderators to select the most engaging and appropriate questions to display one-at-a-time.

Monitoring and responding Monitor and track your social media profiles during the conference. Also, make sure to respond quickly with an appropriate answer. This requires time, but your conference attendees will appreciate the attention and recognise your efforts. Learning about your audience is much more important than the number of ‘’likes’’ and ‘’shares’’. Find out who is important by analysing the account types, gender, profession, interests and location of those talking about your brand and competitors.

Croatia Addendum

Jasmina Bilać and Andrea Turić run ProConventa, a company specialised in organising all kinds of corporate events, business meetings and conferences. Their work in the congress industry focuses on implementing new technologies and modern processes, including active marketing through social media. They are active members of the Croatian Meeting Professionals Association.

109 Include Social Media Functions in Your Mobile App The majority of conferences now have a mobile app available to attendees. It usually includes the schedule, map and general information about the conference, and might include social media integrations. It is so important to make it easy for attendees to connect with each other, and since people are frequently in the app anyway, that is the perfect place.

This way, your conference is more interactive and has a larger social presence.

Post conference The last day of your conference is not a good time to stop talking about it. Share the outcome of the conference and thank everyone that was involved in making it happen. This is a great opportunity to learn what attendees enjoyed and to invite them to suggest ideas for your next conference. Did you use the conference surveys and session polling before and during the conference? If so, publish the results. Get testimonials from your attendees and share them on your conference social media channels.

Share photos from the conference and encourage your attendees to share them on their social media profiles. The more people tagged in the photos, the more visibility the photos will have. If you are sharing photos, try and make sure that these photos are high quality and represent the conference well.

Basic steps: PRE-CONFERENCE • Set up pages for your conference on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (don’t forget to match the profile and background pictures and make them consistent) as well as groups on Facebook and LinkedIn • Set up profiles on other social networks (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, SlideShare, Pinterest, Instagram...)

• Set up an email newsletter list with MailChimp or other newsletter tool • Add social sharing buttons to your conference web page • Choose an official hashtag to use when talking about your conference on Twitter • Add your conference to free online conference directories

• Announce through each channel when your registration opens • Capture photos and videos of the planning process and share on social networks • Record interviews with speakers, guests and others on your planning team and share online • Promote special offers online (earlybird discounts, group deals, etc.), share news updates and announcements on social networks • Start and promote discussion among attendees and guests/ speakers through social channels by asking questions and responding to feedback • Use social media to collect mail addresses for sending news and teasers DURING CONFERENCE • Encourage people to ‘check-in’ to your conference and share it on their network profiles • Share updates of news and activity on social networks • Live-blog/tweet/stream the conference • Blog updates or highlights of the conference during breaks • Capture photos and videos of the conference and share online • Record interviews or talks and upload to social networks POST-CONFERENCE • Collect highlights and sum them up as a story • Post a wrap-up blog • Get feedback from your audience • Send wrap-up email to newsletter subscribers • Post wrap-up to social networks • Publish presentations and slides (e.g. SlideShare) and make them available MOST COMMON MISTAKES: • Posting too little or too much • Making your posts too long • Ignoring comments and questions • Posting about issues not relevant to the conference • Favouring certain people (e.g. keynotes or VIP guests) • Using text without photos, sketches or graphics • Not including others in discussions

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EVENTS THAT ENHANCE NETWORKING RULE THE MICE WORLD Key elements of a good event: content, communication, organisation, performance and networking text by Tea Krpan

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he way we do business constantly changes, driven by current industry trends, business development and by changes in people’s perception and their engagement levels. Nowadays communication isn’t limited solely to the pre-event period – the communication momentum has to be maintained throughout the whole year to heighten a participant’s level of interest and transform this into his/her event attendance. Communication methods have changed as well: in the nineties we used to rely on billboards and paper ads.

Today we rely on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, the internet. We live in the connected world. Event participants are now able to comment, like, share and question just about everything. If we have a well developed concept of an event and a ‘good story’, we turn this to our advantage. Today we use participant feeback to improve our approach, content and side activities of event. We can measure and track their interest and transform it into new, exciting activities and proposals. Quite simply, we live in a world of endless possibilities. It is our job to channel these into good business opportunities.

All of this sounds easy – you have a good idea, turn it into a good project, inform potential participants and… nothing happens, unless you’ve developed a fully integrated 360° approach. Today it’s not enough just to have ‘good’ content to make a ‘good’ conference or a congress that will bring together a certain industry community to create great networking opportunities. Ideas count, but only if they’re precisely shaped into a well balanced project. What does all of this mean? It means that event organisers have to develop a multi-platform strategy. The key elements of a good event today are content, communication, organisation, performance and networking.

Good content, well known expert speakers, a mix of interesting topics… Yes to all of those, but one of the key elements is to convince the community you’re targeting that you’re preparing a relevant event for the industry. Your topics have to be relevant to the moment and to the market you’re addressing, speakers have to be convincing and prominent, the time and place has to fit with the industry needs. Even if the content is great, the event can easily become a failure if you don’t address the people interested for the topics you’re engaging. Communication messages must be clear and straight

to the point. Your language must show that you thoroughly understand the topic. You have to use proper channels of communication. We combine different channels depending on the event. We create an interactive communication environment that enables people to speak and comment freely, knowing that their ideas and suggestions count. In other words, we provide everything needed to enable people to communicate and network. Even still, that’s not enough unless we make that extra effort to design a friendly and open environment that will enable participants to connect with industry colleagues. There are several concepts for doing this –most conference organisers just leave it to chance by providing programme coffee breaks, but others go further in creating tailor-made concepts similar to speed dating (although, as far as I know, that doesn’t work in Croatia and the region – our people are not of that kind).

Our approach is different. We analyse our target and develop tailor-made concepts for different types of events.

Some communities are so small and so connected that you just have to gather them in order for the networking to happen (think of the media and advertising people attending Weekend Media Festival – they seem to be ‘the natural born networkers’, certainly when you pass by the bars during the Festival!). Some communities have their own rules of engagement and it’s our job to figure it out and develop the best possible communication platform for them. Sometimes it’s more formal – like a communication channel for all conference participants via official web – while sometimes we just open up some mingling opportunities through parties, cocktails or gatherings. Of course, we use every social network available and appropriate for the event to make communication happen. We aso provide meeting corners to enable participants to develop new contacts during the conference. It’s important for us to maintain curiosity and to always investigate new ways of connecting people. Why? Because events are made for people and because of people. A good event doesn’t need a billboard, TVC or leaflets. It needs satisfied people who’ll reccomend it to others. And they’ll certainly do it if they’ve learned something new, met some new contacts and opened up some new space for potential business.

Croatia Addendum

Tea Krpan is the Head of Mozaik Grupa, a company that manages the Hypo Congress Centre in Zagreb. She is experienced in the management of large projects and organisation of business and entertaining events, such as the Microsoft WinDays conference, Hospital Days and Whisky Fair ZG015.

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MANAGING CONNECTIONS AND EXPERIENCES: SOCIAL DISCOVERY SOLUTIONS FOR TOURISM

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ne of the major trends in the meetings industry is a need to better understand the people coming to your events so that you can personalise and tailor the content and experience specifically for them. Also, events today are moving from a few days’ long conference experience to a 365 days’ long experience for attendees, where past, current or future attendees are engaging in a series of experiences that are shaping the agenda and helping organisers to better prepare the conference, but also helping the attendee to be better prepared and to have the best possible return on investment from it.

Different business discovery platforms today generate significant interest that gives additional value to attendees, partners and sponsors of your conference where one can use the value of the professional network through the automatic people discovery. New solutions in this field enable people to build their new networks and automatically suggest the people and groups that should meet each other. But that is not all – you actually get to engage with those future attendees’ months in advance, through the use of social networks, message posting, pictures, exchanging ideas and topics – all things that are very valuable to you when you are building your agenda or schedule of the event. People also suggest their interests and expectations, so you have a clear view on what is expected and what needs to be delivered.

Connecting people on-site is not easy. Research studies showed that the bigger the conference, the more people tend to stay connected to people they already know, thus limiting possibilities of new business connections or business opportunities. This, of course, is wasted opportunity, since more than 72% of people are actually coming to an event to meet new, interesting people and create new business networks. Also, current business to business match solutions are not doing their job properly, being limited to only specific details that need to be entered by an attendee and a very poor experience that comes later with the management and execution of those meetings.

Advanced software solutions are using artificial intelligence, machine learning and decision-making algorithms to automatically find best matches for you, grouping them into interest groups and working with you to establish those connections.

One of the regional examples of software that is following these principles is CONNECT360, a Croatian startup that can be found at www.connect360.me, but is really a part of a bigger solution package that is driving personalisation, connectivity and insight with event or conference guests, but also people that want to be connected in different scenarios.

Ratko Mutavdžić, Projektura

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KATARINA ŠPRLJAN MARIN, HOTEL OLYMPIA: A NEW HOTEL WITH EIGHT CONGRESS HALLS IN VODICE

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otel Olympia opened back in 1972, was and remained the leader in the development of tourism in Vodice, and construction of a new, modern and technologically advanced hotel opens a new chapter for their business.

It will expand the congress capacities and options in Vodice, along with the hospitality and cordiality of native residents, which make business guests return and organize events in this hotel. With hard work, the head of sales and marketing Katarina Šprljan Marin, got the chance to lead this hotel to new achievements. We discussed with her about current events and future plans for the success and development of Olympia.

Q: You have been working in hotel Olympia for years, but it was only last year that you were named for the hotel director. How did your business trip in Olympia flow?

I have had the function as a director of Olympia for three months, where I have previously been the head of sales and marketing. My beginnings in Olympia go back to 2007, when I worked in the hotel tourist agency and proved to be a humble and trustworthy worker. The hotel management extended my contract for a whole year, so I worked as a sales manager.

I spent the 2008 season in the tourist agency and then got permanently employed as the head of sales and marketing.

I remained on this position since last year and became the director in December.

Q: Hotel Olympia is almost a family hotel, namely because many generations in Vodice have spent their working days here. How does that function from a managing perspective?

I assume you are addressing the communication problems, because of the small community and mutual acquaintanceship.

However, in our case, I can say that this is exactly what makes things easier. Vodice are a small community and everybody knows everyone, so that means they also know me. I come from an easy hearted and honest family, which is respected in Vodice. My parents spent a lot of their working life in Olympia hotel, the then Vodičanka factory. I think that my position as a director came from the respect between co-workers.

Q: Three years ago an investment from the owner was announced, regarding a completion of it’s capacities and a new five star hotel build in your hotel. In which stage of this agreement are you right now?

It remains the same unfortunately. We announced the build as a part of Olympia three years ago, but we are currently still in the “jaws” of the bureaucratic standstill. It took us a long time to get all the necessary documents, but we also waited for arrangements of the spacious plans of Vodice city. Looking at the size of the project, we plan to apply EU

founds, but we are currently waiting for tenders announcement. We have already started to prepare all the necessary documentation.

Q: What facilities will the new building have?

Block C is already in the building plan and will be classified with 4 stars. Eight congress halls will be built and hotel with 125 rooms. Restaurants, bars, sport facilities and pools are also on the list. The already standing Olympia Life wellness will be extended with an added indoor pool.

Q: In the seventies when Hotel Olympia was opened, it was known as quite avant-garde, “Ahead of time” with it’s architecture. Will that also be the case with your new hotel?

Absolutely! Olympia can still take pride in it’s spacious, airy and clean design. The same will be with our new building, which will have a cascade shape and will not block the view of the sea.

I also want to point out that the Olympia complex will use renewable energy sources Q: You are planning to expand the hotel’s conference facilities. By now, you’ve hosted many conferences and business events, whereas your business groups often return. What do you offer them in comparison to other hotels in the area?

First of all, we are the only hotel in the area which is open 365 days in a year. However, we are very proud of our MICE department, which has so far gathered numerous conferences and seminars. What makes us different, and what our guests and business partners constantly point out, is our flexibility and efficient respond to all organizational desires of our clients. In addition, we are known as good hosts.

Q: Although Vodice are seasonal, summer destination, your hotel is open all year around. What do you offer to off-season and winter guests, when the town is “asleep”?

As I have already stated, we have a very good occupancy in out of season. Indeed, it is sometimes a problem that the city is “asleep”. Nevertheless, we have very good hotel offer. Guest can go to Tavern Barba Mate and from this year on, to a nightclub, where we organize various events and parties.

As for the daily content, we work with local travel agency and sports associations, so we can always organize free time of our guests through a variety of excursions and activities.

Also, during the year we organize events associated with specific dates such as Valentine’s Day, in which we prepare dinner for couples who are celebrating 50 years of marriage or carnivals.

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Q: What should Vodice in your opinion develop better in its tourist offer, what to offer and to which guests?

I think that we lack the synergy of local communities and private subjects. We are a private company and we strive towards achieving maximum business plans. I am proud to say that in recent years we successfully fulfil our goals.

However, the information we get from business partners are that the interest in Vodice as the destination is decreasing.

In that sense, I think that all of us need to work to improve the image of Vodice as a destination and finally turn to destination management.

I would here refer to the Tourist Board Vodice and Ĺ ibenik-knin County, and the City of Vodice. Unfortunately, I must point out that they have never organized a constructive meeting to solve the problems, which I stated above, while at the moment, Olympia Vodice d.d. is the main carrier of the accommodation offers in Vodice, with the exception of private accommodation owners.

Q: How do you manage to align personal and professional lives? Is to live and work in a small town an advantage?

I think the size of the place where one lives is irrelevant, if you have a family at your side. My family always supported me in everything. My parents, retired tourist workers have always been my support and help. My husband and my two sons will tell you how proud they are of me, and I of them.

They are my three musketeers without whom I would never be, what I am today!

Daniela Kos

D. Rostuhar

Arhiv TZGZ

Arhiv MSU

M. Vrdoljak

G. Vranić

D. Rostuhar

D. Vurušić

ZG

Arhiv TZGZ

M. Vrdoljak

Croatia Addendum

A SMART PLACE TO MEET

ZAGREB

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Advertorial

50 YEARS OF THE HOTEL LEV Half a century of top-notch service, a pleasant and inviting ambience, and scores of extraordinary guests.

Important people from all over the world have chosen the Hotel Lev and departed feeling very satisfied!

H

alf a century ago, back in October 1964, the Hotel Lev first opened its doors to welcome guests. Right in the heart of the city, where the renowned restaurant Pri Levu was once located, the cornerstone of the modern and luxurious hotel was set in 1961, following the architectural plans of Emil MedveĹĄÄ?ek. Building on the tradition of its predecessor, the hotel was aptly named Lev (Lion).

Even before it was officially open for business, the first guests had arrived from America to stay at this brand new hotel. Soon after the grand opening, the then President of the Republic of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, also paid Lev a visit. In the course of the first few years, the hotel hosted a banquet organised by the famous Japanese company Mitsubishi, a fashion show by the Milanese clothing manufacturer Rhodiatoce, and also had journalists reporting on the Ice Hockey World Championship held in Ljubljana in 1966 ...

Over time, the range of top class hotel and culinary services has made the Hotel Lev increasingly popular among both business and leisure guest and those traveling for pleasure. After more than 30 years running the hotel, the management concluded a contract with the InterContinental hotel chain. In 2004, Union Hoteli d.d. entered into hotel ownership and enlarged their share over the next few years. In 2012, Hotel Lev joined the hotel group Union Hotels.

Important people from all over the world have chosen the Hotel Lev and checked out feeling very refreshed, well-rested and satisfied!

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Agatha Christie, Orson Wells, Louis Armstrong, Janet Jackson, Bob Dylan, Sting, Claudia Schiffer, Luciano Pavarotti, Ivo Pogorelich, Josipa Lisac, Eros Ramazzoti, Seal, 50 Cent, Valerij Gergijev, and Zubin Mehta are just some of the many renowned guests to have helped create this hotel’s history.

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THE TRUE BLU EVENING IN BELGRADE

N

o one felt “blue” at the official opening of Hotel Radisson Blu Old Mill Belgrade on March 25. More than 500 eminent guests from Belgrade and abroad were welcomed by the general manager Thomas Swieca, who presented Belgrade as one of the most attractive business destinations in the region. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić has addressed the guests and expressed his appreciation to the investors, especially to the Soravia group.

Radisson Blu Old Mill Belgrade is unique and authentic, keeping the spirit of Old Mill live in design as a respect to heritage. The architects created a space which combines history, technology, art, fun,

and relaxation with exquisite culinary art, and which seems to be both very modern and very traditional at the same time.

The opening reception was focused on the traditional local cuisine with the show-cooking experience at hotel’s courtyard. The official part of the opening continued in the relaxed atmosphere where guests were entertained by the local female musical quartet The Frajle. www.radissonblu.com/hotel-belgrade/

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Face2Face

BRATISLAVA vs. KRAKOW A current comparison of the closest competitors on the 2013 ICCA scale according to the methodology of Kongres travelogues – meetologues.

BRATISLAVA Population: 491,061 ICCA Country and City rankings 2013 99th place, 24 meetings Mercer Quality of Living 2013 83 Sunshine hours: 2,042

✚ One of the smaller and more likeable European capitals, it is compact and you can explore its beautiful parts by foot.

Bratislava is an undiscovered European congress capital that is slowly and steadily making its mark on the congress market. It represents a novelty for the market and impresses with the warmth of its city centre, as well as not having succumbed to excessive commercialisation.

Bratislava has long been in the shadow of its neighbours of Vienna and Prague, but today this fresh city full of new energy is heartily inviting international congress organisers. It operates intimately with organisers due to a more personal congress experience -the city is very friendly for both congress organisers and participants.

Bratislava meetings flashpoints: 1. Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel - located directly in the heart of the city with 9 conference rooms 2. Incheba Expo Bratislava - area of more than 165,000m2 contains a proportion of event space 3. Slovak National Theatre near the banks of the river Danube, this new building provides space for events and receptions 4. Hotel Sheraton Bratislava - 700m2 of flexible conference space, including a unique ballroom 5. Reduta - Slovak Philharmonic - one of the most famous and most beautiful historic buildings and a really popular place for events STAY: Kempinski hotel River park / 5*****

AND THE WINNER IS

4.27 / 5

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KRAKOW Population: 755,546 ICCA Country and City rankings 2013 79th place, 32 meetings Mercer Quality of Living 2013 NA Sunshine hours: 1,489

✚ Of all the Polish cities Krakow is the one with the greatest soul and is the one most fraught with history. Being the main tourist city it has excellent conditions in place for the development of congress tourism and with the construction of the new convention centre it has also received a real affirmation of this. In Poland Krakow will be the destination of the new generation, which will soon be recognised as a high quality, compact and most versatile meetings destination due to the cultural heritage, new meetings capacities and because of its huge scientific potential. The activities of the Convention Bureau are a good indicator of what the destination is capable of and what expectations it can meet. Krakow’s recipe is successful and a case of good practice for other, more traditional central European destinations.

Krakow meetings flashpoints: 1. ICE Kraków Congress Centre – brand new Congress centre with a view of the Wawel 2. Krakow Opera – modern building opened in 2008 with three halls, the largest one for 760 people 3. Folwark Zalesie – a large conference complex on a hill, 25 km from the centre of Krakow 4. Wielliczka Salt Mine – event chambers located over 100m deep in the mine can host from 40 to 600 people 5. Under the wings – the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego offers its new building and hangars for 100 to 900 people.

STAY: Radisson Blu Hotel Krakow

4.19 / 5

Been There

TRAVEL ZOOM ONCE AGAIN SHOWED US WHAT GREAT MARKETING IN TOURISM LOOKS LIKE Travel Zoom, the biggest conference for strategic and creative marketing in Alpe-Adria region Text by Polona Simšič

T

he 5th Travel Zoom that was for the first time ever held in Croatia ended on March 20. Although there were many marketing events taking place at the same time in Zagreb, Travel Zoom managed to attract more than 100 key tourism players from Croatia, Slovenian and Serbia. For two days participants listened to the best marketers, creatives and storytellers in tourism industry. Ideas, tips and learned knowledge will now help them become the true Icons of tourism. www.travel-zoom.si

1 – Become the Icon 2 – Travel Zoom main hall at Sheraton hotel Zagreb 3 – Kevin Kelly talking about experience marketing 4 – Workshops are the best 5–W ho are national campaigns really addressing discussion

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»This is an excellent event, highly recommended for travel brands of all sizes!« 2

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»I found the event very stimulating and beneficial.«

Photos made with Fujifilm X-M1

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Andraž Štalec, CEO and co-founder, Red Orbit, Slovenia: From dreaming to sharing - consumer decision journey in travel

Damjan Obal, UX Crafter, hobby magician & Chief Storyteller, Edgar, Slovenia: Tell them a story

Eric Doré, Managing Director, Côte d’Azur, France: How Lilliput is reaching the world?

Matthew Barker, Founder, I&I Travel Media and OutBounding.org, UK: Has the »influencer marketing« bubble burst?

Advertorial

15th IN THE SERIES

The educational and networking event of the year for International and European association professionals.

International & European

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Sa pr ve ior ity 2 co 0 de % ‘ko ng

res ’

CONGRESS

Incorporating:

5-7 May 2015 Lausanne, Switzerland

CEO MEETING

Tec hno lo gy fo r

CONGRESS

1-2 July 2015 July, London, UK

Why attend?

A unique opportunity to hear from and spend time with other Association Executives, tapping into a rich resource of relevant expertise Craft your own programme from a selection of 4 streams developed alongside Associations focusing on the issues you are facing right now, from social media to event strategies Hear expert insights into the role and situation with PCO’s in 2015 Themed networking events: grow your community of association contacts for future expertise sharing Attend the 1st ever International Association Awards developed by and for Associations to recognise and reward talent Join a group of Chief Executives to discuss, confidentially, how you can develop and grow your association with a precise approach to development

Themes for 2015 include: Membership: Developing member communities for sustainability Events: Strategic alliances and partnerships Strategies for Global growth & development Business models: Reinvention, growth and impact in Europe Working with PCOs: What’s the latest?

Challenges faced by Medical Associations Workshop stream: Interactive sessions focused on specific topics

#ACIE15

SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR Kongres READERS 20% discount on current delegate rates Quote priority code: kongres HOST SPONSORS:

SPONSORS:

SUPPORTING PUBLICATION:

www.associationscongress.com/ie 122

Associations speakers include: Sébastien Houzé Secretary General, Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing Gregoire Pavillon Executive Director, EASL Katarina Sipic General Secretary, European Projects Association Dr Viktor Joergens Executive Director, European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes Alessia Mora ESMO Congress and Meetings Director, ESMO Alexander Schubert Executive Director, European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Annalisa Ponchia Executive Director, European Society of Organ Tranplantation Dr Christian Feichtinger IAF Executive Director, International Astronautical Federation Paul Finglas President and Managing Director EuroFIR Aisbl Denis Bonvillain Deputy General Secretary, European Ventilisation Industry Association Susie Hide Executive Director, European Association Neurosurgical Societies Malgosia Bartosik Deputy CEO, European Wind Energy Association

Advertorial

AUTHENTIC BELGIAN PRALINES

F

inally available in Slovenia! Chocolate pralines coming from the chocolate kingdom itself, namely Belgium.

Pralibel Belgian Chocolatier is the sole company in the Republic of Slovenia offering genuine Belgian chocolate. Each praline is hand finished and carefully packed into a prestigious package. Variety of different packages from 95g to 560g, always expressing stylish and prestigious design, are the ultimate choice for a business gift.

www.belgijske-praline.si • info@belgijske-praline.si • Tel: +386 70 789 442

SLOVENIAN CONVENTION BUREAU INVITES YOU TO VISIT THEIR NEW WEB SITE Text by Polona Simšič Slovenian Convention Bureau launched a brand new web site www.slovenia-convention.com in Slovene and English language.

Feel the people, taste the fresh ideas was the main idea behind the new web site that will undoubtedly attract more visitors and persuade them that Slovenia is the perfect meetings destination for them.

interactive TV,... It also gives you an insight of which services the bureau offers to international meeting planners and which to its members. But we won’t reveal all the details. Come and look for yourself. Welcome to Slovenian Meetings, welcome to www.slovenia-convention.com , the central communication channel of the Slovenian meetings industry.

T

he idea behind the re-design was to make the web site more colourful, lively and urban as well as to better integrate social media web sites. You can now more easily follow Slovenian Convention Bureau on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The responsive web design enables you an optimal viewing experience - easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones).

In terms of content the web site offers fun fact about Slovenia, extensive information about its meetings offer, meeting guides, RFP form, news, 123

7

th

TRADE SHOW OF SPA AND WELLNESS TOURISM IN CENTRAL EUROPE

Where new ideas for relaxed and g healthy way of livin come to life!

“

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1 – 3 October 2015 |

info@spa-ce.si

|

T: 386 1 430 51 03

Partner

www.spa-ce.si

Technical Organiser

Information for exhibitors and hosted buyers:

Organiser

Heviz, Hungary

W O H S E D A R T D N th TRAVEL A 9 S Y A D I A L O H , SLOVENI E Y E V L L I A V T OF ACOBER 2015, SAVINJA AND ŠALEK T 15 – 17 OC

E U Q I T U O B

B2ENBT EV

TOUR? TTEND NA WHY TO A enues n of best v o ti ta n e s · Pre enia and ies in slov it v ti c a d n s a ng countrie neighbouri rsonal way e p a in s s e in s u b · Making our time al use of y ic m o n o c

E · e at the experienc d n a h t s ir · F study tours new ity to gain · Opportun e knowledg hospitality t n e · Excell

Organiser

Information for exhibitors and hosted buyers:

www.natour-alps.eu | info@natour.si | T: +386 1 430 51 03

Local partner

Technical Organiser

Partner

Advertorial

The Pucić Palace Od Puča 1, 20000 Dubrovnik Tel : +385 20 326 222 Fax : +385 20 326 223 email: reception@thepucicpalace.com FEEL THE SPIRIT OF DUBROVNIK ARISTOCRACY IN PUCIC PALACE

•MEET BUSTERS• The biggest European underground congress centre is located in the Wieliczka salt mine.

Its biggest hall, the Warszawa Chamber, is 125 metres below ground and covers an area of 680m2. In a perfect congress arrangement it can hold up to 600 participants, offering a stage and catering, along with complete event infrastructure.

IN LOVE WITH KONGRES

680m2

MAGAZINE

#$BUSTED!!!

Postojna cave, in Slovenia, has the biggest European underground concert - congres hall, with a surface of 3,000m2 and a volume of 50,000m3. It can hold up to 10,000 participants and has hosted a series of events and concerts.

3,000m2

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SLOVENIA MEETINGS Feel the people.

Taste fresh ideas.

www.slovenia.info

www.slovenia-convention.com

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www.visitljubljana.com/meetings