KONGRES NEWSLETTER
Vol. 1, No. 1, March 2010

 

ARTICLES CHOSEN BY OUR GUEST MIHA KOVAČIČ

THE UNDISCOVERED SE EUROPE HAS NUMEROUS ADVANTAGES IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS ARENA

The Conventa 2010 trade show has united SE Europe’s meetings industry for the second time.

There were quite a few people who doubted the establishment of regional connections before we organised the first Conventa in 2009. All the Southeast European countries are facing similar challenges in the meetings industry. They are all rather small, the offer in the field of the meetings industry is not sufficiently developed enough and the funds for advertising and promoting this product are limited. They are aware of the meaning and profitability of the meetings industry. The main problem though is that their international recognition, which is of key importance for succeeding in the international meetings arena, is at a very low level.

This is a vicious cycle and successful progress can only be made through innovative solutions. Connections resulting in a complete region of Southeast Europe have been warmly accepted by both demand and supply.

It needs to be said that international meeting planners are searching for new and undiscovered destinations with a quality and affordable offer and professionally implemented services. The remoteness of the destination plays an important role in the current economic situation, as organisers are striving to cut travel costs and travel time.

Connected, the countries of Southeast Europe have the opportunity for more successful international recognition. What is more, we have the opportunity to present the region of Southeast Europe on the map of the international meetings arena as a new and interesting destination for meeting industry, something that the countries cannot do individually.

Miha Kovačič, Director of the Slovenian Convention Bureau

NEWS CHOSEN BY OUR GUEST MIHA KOVAČIČ

 

NEW MEETING INDUSTRY STANDARDS CONFERRED

New meeting industry standards were conferred on members of the Slovenian Convention Bureau at the 6th meeting of the Slovenian Convention Bureau at the Bohinj Park hotel

• Agencija Maya: incentive and teambuilding agency
• GO.MICE: professional congress organiser
• Hotel in dvorec Drnča: hotel with conference facilities
• Kempinski Palace Portorož: hotel with conference facilities
• Športni center Pohorje, Arena Hotel: hotel with conference facilities
• Športni center Pohorje, Bolfenk Hotel: hotel with conference facilities
• Teambuilding akademija: incentive and teambuilding agency
• Terme Krka, Balnea Hotel: hotel with conference facilities

More information is available from: www.slovenia-convention.com

 

WINNERS OF THE CONVENTA ACADEMY AWARDS

The first Conventa Academy Awards were conferred on bold inventive projects in the meeting industry.

The award was conferred in the Meetings Industry Innovation category for providers of meetings services and in the Creative Bid category for promising students. The recipients of the first Conventa Academy Awards are Ljubljana Tourism for innovation in promoting a destination, Koren Sports for innovation in promoting a convention venue and the MeetAdria DMC Group for innovation in the field of meetings services. The Conventa Academy Award in the Creative Bid category was conferred on Ms. Urška Počervina.

More information is available from: www.conventa.si
 

A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES SCHEDULED IN LJUBLJANA FOR 2010

This year’s largest international congresses in Slovenia will be the 7th International Congress on Autoimmunity and the International Apitherapy Forum organised together with the 2nd International Apiquality Forum.

On a global scale, the medical field generates about 20% of all scientific or professional meetings, including some mega-congresses that attract over 20,000 delegates (e.g. the World Congress of Cardiology). Ljubljana is no exception, as the most noted congresses in Slovenia are usually in the field of medicine or health care.

The largest event on this year’s list is the 7th International Congress on Autoimmunity, taking place from 5 to 9 May at the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre and host some 1,500 delegates from across the globe. The most noted event of last year, the 35th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD), took place from 2 to 5 September 2009 in Cankarjev dom, returning to Ljubljana after exactly 20 years. As many as 1,300 delegates from 65 countries attended the congress.

On its website, Ljubljana Tourism has been publishing a list of the most notable international congresses in its Events tab since 2005. The congresses included on the list have to meet the following criteria:

• meetings of a scientific or professional association,
• international events or events with predominantly international participants,
• events of several days of duration,
• at least 100 delegates.

The portal also provides an online form to submit congresses, inviting organisers to provide information about the upcoming events that they are organising.

If we look at the year 2009, we can see that the segment of scientific and professional association events has remained stabile in spite of the recession, which has predominantly hit corporate meetings. Numerous foreign media have used the adjective ‘tenacious’. In some cases, the numbers of anticipated delegates are smaller and the organisers have cut costs but there has been no drastic reduction in the number of meetings. In this year’s dynamic calendar of congresses, there are 25 events as listed below.

11 – 12 January 2010

International Scientific and Expert Railway Infrastructure Managers Congress

Slovenian Railways, Glass Hall
(150 delegates)
rimc2010.si

18 – 19 March 2010
13th Meeting of the Slovenian Family Medicine Society
Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre
(350 delegates)
drmed.org

6 – 11 April 2010
25th Forum for European Journalism Students – FEJS Meeting
City Hotel
(120 delegates)
fejs.org

19 – 23 April 2010
13th Annual Conference of the European BioSafety Association
Grand Hotel Union
(250 delegates)
ebsaweb.eu

5 – 9 May 2010
7th International Congress on Autoimmunity
Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre
(1,500 delegates)
kenes.com

13 – 14 May 2010
Changing the Social Organisation of Care and its Implications for Social Politics 2010
City Hotel
(100 delegates).

20 – 22May 2010
4th Austrian, Italian, Slovenian and Croatian Medical Physics Meeting – AISCMP
Hotel Mons
(120 delegates)
aiscmp2010.com

24 – 30 May 2010
The 5th Euroschool on Material Sciences
Hotel Mons
(200 delegates)

euroschool-cma.ijs.si

27 – 29 May 2010
5th International Symposium on Novelties in Graphics
41st International Symposium on Novelties in Textiles
45th International Congress IFKT (International Federation of Knitting Technologists)
Cankarjev dom
(150 delegates)
ntf.uni-lj.si

2 – 10 June 2010
54th Annual Meeting of the Collaborative International Pesticides Analytical Council –CIPAC
Grand Hotel Union
(100 delegates)
cipac.org

18 – 23 July 2010
16th European Symposium on Fluorine Chemistry – ESFC 
Cankarjev dom
(250 delegates)

11 – 16 July 2010
ICOTS-8 International Conference on Teaching Statistics
Cankarjev dom
(500 delegates)
icots8.org

2 – 12 August 2010
56th International Pharmaceutical Students Forum – IPSF World Congress 2010
Hotel Mons/ Faculty of Law
(300 delegates)
ipsf2010.org

17 – 18 August 2010
METCASH Meeting
Grand Hotel Union
(130 delegates)

1 – 4 September 2010
8th International Congress on Cerebral Palsy
Cankarjev dom
(350 delegates)
cpljubljana2010.eu

7 – 10 September 2010
The 17th Colloquium of the Comité International de Paléographie Latine
National Gallery of Slovenia
(150 delegates)
palaeographia.org

15 – 18 September 2010
1st EAA EUROREGIO 2010 – Regional Conference on Sound and Vibration
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
(250 delegates)
fs.uni-lj.si/

22 – 24 September 2010
8th Biennial International Conference “Policing in Central and Eastern Europe: Social Control of Unconventional Deviance”
Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security
(200 delegates)
fvv.uni-mb.si

23 – 26 September 2010
7th IUFRO International Conference on Uneven-aged Silviculture
 21st Century Forestry: Integrating Ecologically-Based, Uneven-Aged Silviculture with Increased Demands for Forests
Biotechnical Faculty
(130 delegates).
web.bf.uni-lj.si

26 – 29 September 2010
International Criminal Law Bureau – ICLB 2010
Grand Hotel Union
(300 delegates)
internationallawbureau.com

28 September–2 October 2010
3rd International Forum on Apitherapy and 2nd International Forum on Apiquality
(the Apiexpo exhibition takes place at the same time)
Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre
(800 delegates)
apimedica.org

14 – 15 October 2010
The Slovenia Umbrella Association for Patients with Chronic Diseases: Slovenian Lymphoma Patient Association Conference: “Together We Can”
Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre
(120 delegates)
patients-conference.si

27 – 30 October 2010
32nd Conference of the European Piano Teachers Association – EPTA
Ljubljana Music and Ballet Conservatory
(100 delegates)
epta.si

2 – 4 December 2010
5th Symposium of Youth Sport 2010
Faculty of Sport
(250 delegates)
youthsport2010.si

8 – 12 December 2010
8th Slovenian Congress on Ophthalmology 
Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre
(150 delegates)

More information is available from: www.visitljubljana.si

SELECT ARTICLES FROM KONGRES MAGAZINE

 

(CONVENTION) TOURISM AS PART OF THE SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS

When the pharmaceutical industry catches a cold, the meetings industry gets pneumonia.

Is tourism in a crisis? Especially its aristocratic sector of the meetings and incentive industry? The answer is plain and simple: No. International and, with it, subalpine tourism are bravely defying the depression that has overcome a wide range of economic branches, especially the construction and automotive sector.

Tourism is facing the current year with careful optimism and an anticipation of positive results. This is partly the case because these results are anticipated by the experts of the World Tourism Organisation, because we are following last year’s slightly worse results and better results will be easier to achieve and slightly because we are usually in a good mood anyway as we are employed in the friendliest of all sectors. However, we cannot neglect the fact that meeting industry is much more vulnerable than leisure tourism. It generates more revenue but it is also more dependant on the political climate and the general health of the national, regional and international economy. When they are doing well, we are doing really well. When the pharmaceutical industry catches a cold however, the meetings industry gets pneumonia.

This awareness is useful and welcome. It is much better than snuggling up to a stove, tearing our hair out and wondering what is wrong. What is more, meeting industry is much more aware of this sensitivity precisely because of its exposure and it is thus better at overcoming it with constant learning, flexibility and good cooperation practices. In many aspects, meeting industry is the engine behind the general development of tourism: its protagonists are the first to point out eventual mistakes in the tourist policy, they facilitate intelligent investment cycles and implement new knowledge. A good example is sustainable development: the need for “green tourism” was introduced to Slovenia in February 2008 by Kongres magazine.

As we can read in the new book recently published by GO.MICE, Crisis Management, Risk Management and Crisis Communication in Tourism, tourism is part of the solution for the national economy and is by no means part of the problem. As the most adaptable branches of tourism (alongside sport, cultural, city and littoral tourism and other branches of this sector), it was the first to point out remedial management for strategic alleviation and relief of the external and internal effects of the economic crisis. In meeting industry, the general concern that the majority of tourist workers, from the management to the technical personnel, simply do not read, as they are not interested in anything other than the current dog scandal is simply not true. Meeting industry is undoubtedly the most dynamic sector, whose vivacity and inquisitiveness can and must influence others. This is why it should receive even more support and trust, both on the political and the concrete or material level.

By the way… Does anybody ever think about how we used to be scared of the new flu virus this autumn? “Don’t panic,” said the Good Soldier Schweik.

Rok Klančnik

HOTEL CROATIA, THE NEW MEMBER OF ICCA

The Hotel Croatia from Dubrovnik Riviera has recently become a member of International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), the largest global community for the meetings industry. ICCA was founded in 1963 and today has over 850 respectable suppliers to the international meetings industry and members in over 85 countries of the world.

More information is available from: www.hoteli-croatia.hr

SHORT NEWS FROM KONGRES MAGAZINE ON SOUTHEAST EUROPE

THE MS SEASTAR ADDS A DYNAMIC DIMENSION TO ANY PROGRAM ALONG THE CROATIAN ADRIATIC COAST

Dubrovnik Travel has partnered with a local passenger ship company to bring to the Adriatic the first event boat of its kind. The SeaStar, a 45 m long and a 10 m wide motor boat specially designed to be a floating venue, will be arriving this spring after a full facelift and will be available on the market for the 2010 summer season.
This unique ship will operate along the whole of the Croatian Adriatic.

More information is available from: www.dubrovniktravel.com

THE NEW VALAMAR RIVIERA HOTEL & RESIDENCE OPENING IN POREČ

In May, a new hotel with suites is planned to open in Poreč, making it the thirteenth Valamar facility.

The hotel will offer its guests 96 rooms and 9 suites. A special characteristic of the facility is the Villa Polesini, which is perfect for organising exclusive events. There will be 4 conference rooms in the villa, along with a terrace for receptions of up to 300 guests.

More information is available from: www.valamar.com

HOTEL AND VENUE NEWS

A NEW CONGRESS CENTRE IN LAŠKO OPENING IN SEPTEMBER

A new congress centre located in the Laško Wellness Park hotel will open its doors in September 2010.

The congress centre will offer 8 halls with a total surface of 3,700 m2. The largest hall can accommodate 462 delegates and the ceremonial banquet hall up to 90 guests. There will be six seminar halls for smaller meetings. The congress centre will meet all the standards required from hotels with conference facilities as determined by the Slovenian Convention Bureau. The new centre will mean a new Slovenian congress destination with a comprehensive tourist offer based on the authentic and autochthonous offer of the town of Laško.

THE REFURBISHED GRAND HOTEL UNION

The refurbishment of Grand Hotel Union, including the refurbishment of 70 rooms, concluded in October 2009.



In the heart of the very centre of Ljubljana, Grand Hotel Union is continuing its centennial tradition of quality and perfection. In October 2009, the newly refurbished part of Grand Hotel Union Business presented its completely new image. The refurbishment was partially financed by the European Union (the European Regional Development Fund) and represents a combination of modern and elegant design with superlative comfort. The rooms will provide guests with a pleasant atmosphere, comfortable beds, large working surfaces, LCD screens and a novelty – massage chairs. Everything that a guest requires after a day full of business or holiday challenges…

ANNOUNCING

THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME OF THE CONVENTA ACADEMY

This year, the Slovenian Convention Bureau is preparing a training programme that will be provided by the Conventa Academy and with which it wishes to contribute to the professionalisation and further development of the meetings industry.

The programme will represent a meeting point of knowledge and good practice examples used to develop the key competencies required in the meetings industry. The programme will be organised within the frameworks of the following modules:

- GENERAL, 20 – 21 May 2010
Aimed at acquiring the operative knowledge to manage congress projects.

- MARKETING, 10 – 11 June 2010
Aimed at disclosing the background of successful marketing tools and techniques for obtaining an competitive advantage and at learning different purchase habits.

- MANAGEMENT, 10 September 2010
Aimed at getting to know the opportunities for generating increased profitability and improving the quality of congress products.

- DESTINATION, 14 – 15 October 2010
Aimed at acquiring knowledge on co-shaping and marketing a destination.

Additional information available from:
Slovenian Convention Bureau, miha.kovacic@slovenia-convention.com
www.academy-conventa.com

MEASURING THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS


Is it really possible to measure the financial return on investment for any meeting or event?
Learn from ROI specialist dr. Elling Hamso.



Is it really possible to measure the financial return on investment for any meeting or event? Can you convert all kinds of event results to money values? The Phillips ROI Methodology is becoming an industry standard based on thousands of financial ROI impact studies done in many different industries and types of applications. But this is only half the story. The ROI Methodology is also a powerful event planning tool. Because you have to define the business impact and a set of objectives at different levels, the structure and content of the event will be tailored to maximising ROI.

After attending the session you will be able to:
• Explain the Phillips ROI Methodology and its potential and limitations
• Plan meetings and events which achieve much better results than the industry average
• Design a really useful and very different feedback questionnaire for your next event
• Evaluate any kind of event against objectives at different levels

Who should attend?
Anyone who is involved in the planning of meetings and events, including corporate, association and Government meeting planners, event agencies and suppliers of products and services.

Lecturer: dr. Elling Hamso
Date: 22 April 2010
Place: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Language: English
www.academy-conventa.com