SLOVENIA - Nine countries from South East Europe will send business tourism representation to the Ljubljana Conventa trade show next week.
They will be among the 116 suppliers signed up to exhibit, just over half of which will come from host country, Slovenia.
A further 28 per cent of exhibitors will come from neighbouring Croatia, while the numbers released by organisers 11 January show that 46 per cent of exhibitors will be presenting hotels with conference facilities.
The show, to be held at the Ljubljana Convention and Exhibition Centre 19-21 January, will boast as a key feature an EcoVillage, offering environmentally friendly products and services specially designed for the meeting industry. The show organisers say they hope to make big strides towards the aim of putting on a green show next year.
Nearly 400 hosted buyers have been invited with 224 confirmed acceptances to date, most coming from France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia and Slovenia.
Of those registered, 65 per cent are agency buyers and 20 per cent association buyers.
Over half of the hosted buyers attending will have the responsibility of final decision-making for their organisations, Conventa organisers claim.
The show’s education programme includes a Conventa Academy module, ‘Old Wine: New Bottles’ presented by CPL Events’ Linda Pereira on the morning of 18 January at the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The module will investigate the state of the meeting industry after the wake-up call of the global economic crisis. Insights on what various destinations are doing to attract business and the strategies they are using will also be offered.
International industry guru Paul Kennedy will also lead a panel discussion, ‘Buying and Selling in Today’s Meeting Industry’, while IMEX-MPI will run a full day Future Leaders Forum at this year’s Conventa.
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