Only two months set us apart from the beginning of the leading business-to-business event in the area of meeting industry in South East Europe, Conventa 2012. The preparations for the upcoming trade show are going well and the number of attendees, both hosted buyers and exhibitors, is growing day by day.

All year long organizers have been carefully selecting meeting planners interested in discovering the region of South East Europe. Carefully selecting meeting planners who can influence or make budgetary decisions for international meetings and events has proven to be the right approach to ensure high quality of hosted buyers.

Thus far, Conventa team selected 35% of the received applications for the hosted buyer status. The biggest part of the selected hosted buyers currently comes from the United Kingdom and Russia (16%), followed by Belgium (11%), Netherlands (10%), France, Austria and Germany (5%).

Hosted buyers decide to set aside their valuable time and attend Conventa mainly to get to know and personally experience the region of South-East Europe. “I am looking primarily to extend my knowledge and network with destinations in South East Europe. We get progressively more requests for East Europe (primarily Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary). I expect South East Europe to pick up on this trend over the next 3 to 5 years,” said Simon Dufaur from Global Conference Organisers.

On the other side of the coin, especially strong interest among meeting suppliers has been shown by providers coming from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Austria which have almost reached the exhibitor’s quota for their countries. Of the expected 140 exhibitors, 115 meeting providers or 82 % have already registered to exhibit at Conventa. Among those registered the largest part is coming from Slovenia (48 %), followed by Croatia (32 %), Austria (6 %) and Serbia (5 %). Meeting providers decide to exhibit at Conventa primarily to meet hosted buyers in person and lay the basis for acquiring new business. “Taking part at Conventa is important to Hilton Sofia as this trade show is focused exclusively on the region of South East Europe. Hosted Buyers are interested in our region and consequently they represent our potential buyers. That is why at Conventa my destination cannot be lost amongst bigger players and destinations,” said Konstantin Yonchev from Hilton Sofia, Bulgaria.

Showcasing Sustainable Solutions in Eco Village
EcoVillage presents our inspiration to raise awareness of the importance of environmental protection and social responsibility in the meeting world of South East Europe. “EcoVillage presents our commitment to integrating sustainable development and respective sustainable products in the meeting industry,” stated Miha Kovacic, organiser of Conventa trade show.

Conventa therefore invites eco providers to present their eco products and services for hotels and event planners as well as eco tourist products and services to a targeted audience of meeting professionals. EcoVillage offers eco providers a unique opportunity to personally meet actors in the meeting industry and conduct business with public interested in their products and services.

In 2011 EcoVillage hosted providers of eco products (Medium, Antalis,...), institutes, associations and NGOs active in the field of sustainable development (Umanotera, Institute for Sustainable Development, ...) and eco tourist products such as Bio Istra.

As in previous year, EcoVillage 2012 will present a number of sustainable solutions through which meeting professionals can add value to their products.

Reducing Regional Disparities Through Conventa Wild Card
Conventa offers a wild card programme to all meetings industry providers, coming from destinations of South East Europe with lower trade per capita (WTO, October 2011), the opportunity to apply for a free exhibition place at Conventa. “Conventa wild card programme wants to help new or emerging meeting providers to enter the global market and thus increase the competitiveness of the entire region,” said Miha Kovačič, organiser of Conventa trade show.

The Conventa free wild card grants the meeting industry providers coming from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, who had never before exhibited at Conventa, an opportunity to present their offer at the Conventa trade show free-of-charge – an opportunity worth of EUR 3.400.

“Winning the Conventa wild card gave us the opportunity to learn about the global meeting market and exchange best practices with other participants,« said Stoyan Lazarov of the Tourist Service Municipal Enterprise from Bulgaria – winner of Conventa free wild card in 2011. At the same time Conventa wild card gives the winners a chance to build important contacts and potential partnerships for the future.

Eligible applicants should submit the application form by December 7, 2011. Decisions will be announced by December 15, 2011.

Welcoming Techno and Event Solution Providers to Meetings Services Spot
Meetings services spot welcomes providers of information technologies and systems, technical equipment, congress and promotional materials, marketing and event production to meet over 440 key business partners at Conventa trade show.

Providers of technology and event solutions can reach new clients from the meeting industry of South East Europe and develop personal relations with them. They can position their brand, products and services in the expanding market of South East Europe and thus generate new business leads.

“Conventa trade show provides a business-oriented platform for techno and event solution providers to make connections with meeting providers from South East Europe and the international and regional hosted buyer community,” said Gorazd Cad, technical organiser of Conventa.