Meeting
planners have said they have a poor knowledge of south east Europe
and will be attending Conventa to make up for it.
The
meetings trade show will be held once more in Ljubljana,
the capital of Slovenia
on January 18-19 and hosted buyers have been admitting they are ignorant about
the area.
“I
am not at all familiar with the region, I’ve never travelled to south east
Europe,” says Stéphanie Dewez, HelmsBriscoe,
Belgium. “At
Conventa I will try to get more information about the hotels in the south east
European region, what they have to offer my clients, what are the capacities
for groups… I cannot sell them properly if I don’t know them. I will also be
attending the fam trip to Dubrovnik.”
Shai
Tekoa,of Kenes International, Switzerland
will be taking fam trips in Ljubljana
and Portoroz. ”I see the region of south east Europe
as a great potential destination for future MICE business,” said Tekoa. “At the
trade show I will be looking for meeting spaces and venues.”
The
organisers of Conventa have been carefully selecting meeting planners who have
shown an interest in discovering the region during the run up to the show. They
believe it is the right approach to ensure a high quality of hosted buyers. As
Paul Kennedy, MBE, of Kennedy Consulting said: “The hosted buyer is a future
client not a commodity.”
For
the suppliers, Roko Palmic of Lošinj Hotels & Villas, Croatia, believes
that the most important way to see and meet potential partners is still a face
to face meeting. “We are, unlike some other industries, the industry that sells
experience, and what better way to sell that than to offer the experience
‘live’, in person, face to face - at a trade show?”
The
day before the show opens will be devoted to education. Students will be able
to take part in the IMEX-MPI Future Leaders Forum while the rest of the
delegates can attend the Academy Conventa module. Here the keynote speaker,
‘information contextualiser’ Paul Bridle from Bridle International, will speak
about “Effective leadership in the modern global economy”. Other guest speakers
will include Penilla Gunther, MP at the Swedish Parliament, and Linda Pereira,
executive director, CPL Events, Portugal.
Pictured: keynote speaker Paul Bridle
