PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
PREDSEDOVANJE EU 2008 EU Presidency 2008 PREDSTAVITEV ...
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we all hope. As Mr Krajc says,<br />
most Europeans, including<br />
Slovenes, don’t know which<br />
Member State currently holds the<br />
<strong>EU</strong> <strong>Presidency</strong>. This is particularly<br />
a political project and a lot of people<br />
aren’t interested in politics.<br />
The <strong>Presidency</strong> will however,<br />
certainly be a good experience<br />
for service providers, who will<br />
organise new forms of events<br />
and reposition themselves in<br />
the European market. Perhaps<br />
they may in this way also get<br />
new events.<br />
Do you know how much effect<br />
the <strong>Presidency</strong>’s had on tourist<br />
points in any of the countries<br />
who’ve already presided over<br />
the <strong>EU</strong>?<br />
When I spoke to a representative<br />
of the Vienna conference bureau<br />
regarding the effect of the<br />
<strong>Presidency</strong> on the occupancy of<br />
meeting capacities, he surprised<br />
me by saying that they’d really<br />
seen a higher number of events.<br />
I should also point out that the<br />
scope of events in Vienna is much<br />
larger. The problem in Slovenia<br />
is mainly that hotel capacities are<br />
limited and if a larger event is<br />
held here, this has an effect on<br />
the whole Slovenian tourist scene.<br />
How do you assess the quantity<br />
and quality of our hotel and<br />
meeting facilities?<br />
The government quickly saw that<br />
our meeting capacities were<br />
limited, thus it decided to build<br />
a new congress centre in Brdo,<br />
something we welcome. For this<br />
centre to really thrive after the<br />
<strong>Presidency</strong> as well, it also needs<br />
accommodation capacity nearby.<br />
Right now the congress centre’s<br />
capacity and accommodation<br />
available aren’t proportionate,<br />
meaning that another hotel with<br />
a few hundred rooms has to be<br />
built in Brdo. That’s the only way<br />
the centre can be a candidate<br />
for international events in the<br />
long-term, the only type which<br />
could fill such capacities. For<br />
event participants it’s<br />
unacceptable that it only takes<br />
ten minutes to get to an excellent<br />
congress centre from the airport,<br />
but in the evening at the end of a<br />
trying day, they have a half-hour drive to their hotel. We simply can’t<br />
compete if that’s our offer on the international market. Political events<br />
are different of course, as they’re usually one-day events where people<br />
come in the morning and leave in the evening. Unfortunately there<br />
aren’t enough of these on the international level. There are many more<br />
international corporate events and expert association events which the<br />
centre in Brdo will be able to get, playing an important role in meetings<br />
that usually include at least one overnight stay. In this case, the capacity<br />
shortage would certainly stand out. Of course, there’s a question<br />
about whether the centre in Brdo will even market itself in such a way<br />
in the future.<br />
Is any additional capacity being built to ensure there’s enough during<br />
the <strong>Presidency</strong>?<br />
I don't have any information on this, but it can be seen in the<br />
accelerated investment in meeting and hotel capacity in recent years,<br />
also due to the <strong>Presidency</strong>. Most hotels and meeting venues have thus<br />
been promptly renovated, Cankarjev dom and Gospodarsko razstavišče<br />
to name but two, while renovations are also being speeded up on the<br />
coast. A short period of calm will probably follow this. We have seen<br />
10% growth in key players’ events which is above the Slovenian<br />
average. Once hotel occupancy in key destinations reaches<br />
international levels, we can also expect the arrival of foreign hotel<br />
chains and service providers, which we welcome in the sense<br />
of increased capacities.<br />
Can the Slovenian meeting offer measure up in terms of quality<br />
with offers in countries that have already presided over the <strong>EU</strong>?<br />
Slovenia has over 20 years’ experience in the area of meeting<br />
organisation, even the most demanding ones. In my experience,<br />
I can tell you that we Slovenes’ve always been superior hosts. If the<br />
right players are included in the organisation of the <strong>EU</strong> <strong>Presidency</strong>,<br />
we will show the world that Slovenia is also able to organise events<br />
at the highest level, while at the same time offering beauty and tourist<br />
destinations. I’m sure that given the number of people who will visit<br />
us in this period, there will be a certain number who return either<br />
on business or from personal interest, something that all of us want.<br />
Do you think the government should co-operate more closely with<br />
meeting activity experts when organising activities?<br />
To prepare for the <strong>Presidency</strong>, the government should form a close<br />
association with meeting activity experts. The implementation of<br />
meetings isn’t just the organisation of transport, the hire of halls,<br />
hotel reservations and perhaps a dinner or so, but a great deal more.<br />
The Slovenian Convention Bureau could offer suitable help as a<br />
non-profit organisation that also provides expert and impartial<br />
information on destinations, event venues and event providers.<br />
At the same time, the Bureau operates as a professional intermediary<br />
between event organisers, service providers and supporting<br />
organisations whose common objective is finding suitable solutions<br />
for the organisation and execution of events.<br />
The fifty-four members include meeting venues and hotels,<br />
professional congress organisers (PCOs) and destination management<br />
companies (DMCs), the Ljubljana Tourist Board and other service<br />
providers. In other words, all those professionally involved in<br />
meeting activities.<br />
Finland is a case where the representative office of the Convention<br />
Bureau was in the team preparing for the <strong>Presidency</strong> nearly a year<br />
in advance.<br />
Jakica Jesih<br />
28