PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...

performed professionally and quite
enthusiastically and our whole
team is emotionally involved in
the Presidency. We can look at the
project from two angles, either as
a large burden or as a personal
challenge, which is how we see it.
I’m sure our ideas are good and
the fact is that our work is being
done in line with the time plan.
I will never forget the words of
an Austrian colleague who said
that the Presidency can’t be
‘described’, one must experience
it and feel it. I think it’ll be a
successful Presidency, especially
if we manage to successfully
present it as our joint project to
the Slovenian people, so people
accept a road being closed for a
few minutes with understanding
and with pride that something
important is going on, rather
than with complaints.
Are any promotional campaigns
being prepared to inform the
people of Slovenia?
I hope so, yes. I, Franci Kodela as
a person, would certainly start with
that. We should implement a first
round before the holidays and then
a second in the autumn. That's my
personal opinion, because it often
happens that highly educated
people and experts ask me what
our Presidency even means.
This makes me think that we
really know too little about what
awaits us.
The Finnish government employed convention experts for almost a
year to help prepare for the Presidency. Are you planning anything
similar?
Currently, we’re still making all the preparations for the organisation
and implementation of events independently, both at plenary level and
the social and tourist levels. However, we don’t rule out the possibility
of seeking the help of the appropriate agencies if the need arises.
Jakica Jesih
The EU Presidency
is a political project
Miha Kovačič,
President of the Slovenian Convention Bureau
What does the EU Presidency mean for Slovenian tourism?
As a representative of the Slovenian Convention Bureau, I’m aware that
the EU Presidency is a political project. The initiator is politics and the
participants are politicians, not economists or expert associations, thus
events are also organised in this sense. The Presidency will certainly
bring with it other events which may also be of an economic nature.
As yet, we don’t have a view of the latter, but with regard to the first,
we’ve obtained information about the plan, number of and course of
the events from government representatives. From the viewpoint of
the Slovenian meetings industry, the EU Presidency means promotion,
as more events will be carried out then; about 7,000 events are held in
Slovenia annually, while the Presidency will add a further 300, which
isn’t a considerable extra scope. The fact is that they’ll happen in
a short time period, which could lead to a shortage of space.
Meeting service providers are eagerly awaiting the Presidency as
they’ll get business, as will the Hotel Kokra and Brdo near Kranj
which with its new capacity will certainly be fully occupied.
Other providers – members of the Slovenian Convention Bureau –
will fill their capacities, getting somewhat more business. I’m a bit
sceptical that the Presidency will involve a great promotion on the
international level. I don’t think that promotion will be to the extent
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