Conventa Addendum

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NEW EUROPE EXHIBITION FOR MEETINGS, EVENTS & INCENTIVE TRAVEL

• Its great value for money.

• You can meet and network with key meeting industry players of SE and Central Europe and emerging

destinations.

• One2One meetings will give you a chance to get personal.

• You will experience first-hand the South-East European hospitality.

• You can build and position your brand with Conventa year-

round promotion.

WHY CON- VENTA?

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A decade back the region of South East Europe did not feature heavily in the thoughts of the international meetings market. Then seven years ago Slovenia, one

of the smallest countries in this region, initiated the idea of regional marketing with the aim of positioning the region on the international meetings map. It was quite an ambitious plan for a small Convention Bureau and a small marketing agency to achieve, one they set out to do through a meetings show. With each passing year of Conventa, however, each trade show has contributed to the growing success of the region.

Conventa is not just a two-day tradeshow; it is much more than that. It is a marketing campaign running 365 days per year. It is also an event that remains alert to how important it is to understand client needs, market developments and market trends. Year after year it delivers on its promises to hosted buyers and exhibitors at the only meetings show where they are treated equally.

Through popular education sessions provided by world industry leaders the Conventa trade show also contributes to the professional development of individual suppliers, des-tinations and countries, but most importantly to the South East Europe region.

Over the years that it has been taking place Conventa has attracted and hosted 1716 meeting planners interested in the region, all of whom could personally experience the product, the people and the pleasure of South East Europe’s destination gems.

Conventa strives to unite the region and year after year presents its professional face to the international meetings market. The results received from hosted buyers and exhib-itors attending the shows bear testament to its continued success. We look forward to seeing you at the 8th Conventa in January 2016!

CONVENTA IS NOT JUST A TWO-DAY TRADESHOW; IT IS MUCH MORE THAN THAT!Conventa strives to unite the region and year after year presents its professional face to the international meet ings market.

text by Miha .RYDÄLÄ��Chief organizer of the Conventa

The number of countries meeting

providers come from doubled over the years.

Only at Conventa an investment of

55 EUR brings hosted buyers a VIP treatment

worth 1.200 EUR.

It takes around 3200 wooden crates

to set up all the Conventa stands.

In six years Conventa hosted 753 exhibitors and

1.436 hosted buyers.

Conventa is always the first!

The first to open the trade show season,

that is.

The farthest distance a hosted buyer will travel to come to

Conventa 2015 is 7.690 km.

Over the years 17.240 one2one

meetings were held during the show.

The idea of Conventa was not

born while drinking coffee, but while

drinking beer.

What you didn’t know about Conventa

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DISCOVERING NEW EUROPE WITH CONVENTA The organisers of Conventa believe in new, different, charming and yet undiscovered meetings destinations. Because of this, Conventa is the first trade show to represent on international market the destinations of South, Central and Eastern Europe, also known as New Europe.

text by *RUD]G�ÃDG

Once the term New Europe described all of the coun-tries of Eastern Europe or the former Eastern Bloc. Despite the many stereotypes this region now offers

exceptional conditions for the meetings industry. Stunning nature, rich cultural and historical heritage, excellent acces-sibility, affordability, a number of new convention centres, hotels and fresh creativity puts New Europe among the fresh-est and most desirable convention destinations out there.Emerging meetings destinations of New Europe are thus waiting to be explored. But what falls under emerging meetings destinations? Lisa A. Grimaldi, Senior Editor at Northstar Travel Media, defines them as:• Destinations that are just discovering how meetings, in-

centives and exhibitions can further boost a country’s economy

• A country with newly developed infrastructure for hosting events

• A country that, due to its strong economy, is developing a domestic meetings markets and even expanding its group business regionally and overseas

The organisers of Conventa firmly believe that it is neces-sary to go beyond the outdated ways of thinking and start with new forms of integration and cooperation. For them, New Europe is associated with the fundamental profession-al values of the meetings industry, with youth, energy and creativity that radiate from the destinations represented at Conventa.

A majority of Conventa’s exhibition floor remains reserved for the South East and Central European meeting providers; the rest is now also open to all emerging destinations that represent a novelty on the international meeting market.Only a few hours from Frankfurt or London lies a half of Europe that is open and waiting for you to explore it. This trip will be full of positive surprises, meetings with new conven-tion bureaus, new meeting venues and service providers, and last but not least opportunities for new connections between East and West, North and South.

Join us in discovering NEW European meeting destinations at Conventa 2016!

Conventa ExperienceConventa is not only a trade show that offers providers a business-oriented platform to develop individual business relationships with targeted meeting industry audiences in a cost and time efficient manner, but it is also a meeting point of New Europe filled with energy, warmth and great hospitality. It is a place where personal experience is what matters most, where business flourishes, knowledge is ac-quired and a good time is guaranteed.

You’ll get the whole package: trade show, educational modules, social programme, fam trips and more. In seven years 888 exhibitors from 17 countries and 1,702 hosted buyers from 45 countries have conducted 20,668 meetings at Conventa. Do you dare to try this new trade show experi-ence? Join the crème de la crème of the meetings industry from 21 to 22 January 2016 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

More on www.conventa.info

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The development of Conventa:

2007• First Simex, predeces-

sor of Conventa show • The first trade show hosted 35 ex-

hibitors and 40 hosted buyers • Development of One2One system

for pre-scheduling meetings

2008• 50 exhibitors and for the first

time over 100 hosted buyers• Decision to expand the

project across borders • First catalogue Meet in SEE

2009• The launch of the Conventa brand• Over 3000 One2One meetings• The start of Academy Conventa

2010• Exceeding 100 exhibitors• Conventa starts to recog-

nise outstanding achieve-ments by granting awards

• The launch of the Meeting services spot

2011• 23 % more exhibitors

from 9 SEE countries • The launch of Conventa

Wild Card programme• Conventa Hall of fame award

granted for the first time• Record number of

hosted buyers (271) • Conventa wins Sustainable

Stand Award at EIBTM• Introduction of Eco day

and Eco Village • Conventa hosted first IMEX-MPI-

MCI Future Leaders Forum

2012• 10 SEE destinations pre-

sented at the show• Conventa TV – broadcast-

ing live for the first time• The launch of Conventa mobile site• Conventa hosts Meeting Star

Awards for the first time

2013• Expanding the borders – Turkey

joins Conventa exhibitors• Hosting SEEPCO meeting • Celebrating 5 year anniversa-

ry – Conventa give me five!• Inside award granted for the

first time at Conventa• Introducing Conventa mingling

2014 • Introduction of 6 Es (Experience,

Engagement, Education, Emotions, Energy and Entertainment)

• The largest number of interna-tional meeting planners in the history of the show (over 200)

• The highest quality hosted buyers (62,78 % were rated as good or excellent by exhibitors)

• Congress destinations were present-ed in the highest number so far (12)

• A record number of pre-ar-ranged meetings (3.158)

• The best and most exten-sive educational program was offered (over all 3 days)

• First Conventa Ambassador

2015• For the first time Conventa

invites emerging destina-tions of New Europe

• Congress destinations presented in the highest number so far (15)

• Adding another E to the mix• Introducing Conventa Valley • Exhibitors at Meeting Services Spot

get their own One2One system• More media partners than ever

CONVENTA 2009 – 2015 RESULTSSEVEN years or results1.716 HOSTED BUYERS FROM 45 COUNTRIES899 EXHIBITORS FROM 17 COUNTRIES21.160 BILLATERAL TALKS / 17.079 ONE2ONE PRESCHEDULED MEETINGS

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01 Conventa Academy02 Future Leaders

Forum03 Conventa in the

picture04 Conventa in the

picture05 Welcome reception

at Grand Hotel Union

06 Kevin Kelly – „Xceptional Execution - the key to breakthrough in the meetings industry“

07 Conventa Exhibitor – Roomz Graz

08 Ljubljana’s Dragon on Harley motorcycle

09 Conventa After party sponsored by Kongres Magazie

10 Conventa Catalogue11 Prize draw at Lunch12 Conventa Experts

Corner13 Ljubljana Fam trip14 Meeting friends at

Conventa15 Conventa team

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SATISFACTION SURVEY RESULTS

With new dimensions, new opportunities and a new per-sonal best, the seventh edition brought to Ljubljana the highest number of international meetings planners and meeting providers in the history of the show.

EXHIBITORS SHAREDMain reasons for attending Conventa are One2One meetingsThe core of the show, One2One meetings, is also the main reason why 92.3% of exhibitors decided to attend the seventh Conventa. More than half of exhibitors said their participa-tion absolutely met their expectations!

“61.5% of Conventa exhibitors would absolutely recommend this trade show to their meeting industry colleagues!”Great number of meetingsOn average exhibitors had a total of 34,5 meetings. More than half of exhibitors had 1-5 quality business leads.

“Conventa team, you know how to keep a promise and organise an event which can meet all exhibitor needs. Congratulations Conventa team, you’ve done a great job!” Conventa 2014 exhibitor

THE 7TH CONVENTA 2015 SURPASSED ALL EXPECTATIONS • largest number of international meeting planners in the history of the show (over 200)• highest quality hosted buyers (66.7 % were rated as good or excellent by exhibitors)• congress destinations were presented in the highest number so far (15)• the organisers took a record number of pre-arranged meetings (3.365) • the best and most extensive educational program was offered (over all 3 days)

HOSTED BUYERS SHARED

Hosted buyers felt welcome at ConventaThe main reason hosted buyers attend Conventa trade show are one2one meetings between exhibitors and buyers. Almost 89% of hosted buyers that attended Conventa 2015 said their participation absolutely met their expectations.

“72.3% of hosted buyers said they feel welcome at Conventa!”FAM trips offered an unforgettable first-hand experience of the destinationThe offer presented at the show was confirmed on fam trips, post tours to different meetings destinations in the region where hosted buyers experience the meetings offer first-hand. Hosted buyers were most satisfied with Ljubljana (5) and Portoro! (5), followed by Bled (4,82), Kranjska Gora pre- tour (4,75) and post-tour (4,67) and Zagreb (4,40). All in all, the fam trips were extremely educational and remain an im-portant part of the Conventa experience.*Rating: 5 – Excellent, 4- Good, 3 – Adequate, 2 - Poor, 1 – Very Poor

The possibility of placing future business in the destina-tion, hotels, venuesThe organisers hope the 2015 edition was successful in promoting the SEE region as a great meetings destination. Looking at the survey results the organisers of Conventa are optimistic. Hosted buyers that attended the 2015 show stated that in the future they are most likely to place business in the destination (4.41) and likely to place business in the hotels presented at the show (4.0). Ratings: 5- Very likely, 4 - likely, 3 – Moderately likely, 2 – Slightly likely 1 – Not at all likely

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“The fact that I come to the Conventa show and find all the partners in the region at the show, means I can do in an hour, maximum two days, what would take me five days or even more to do as I would have to travel among other countries in the region. So in this way I can bring the South East European countries together; all the partners are at the table and I can seal the deal in a couple of hours.” Linda Pereira, Senior Partner and CEO of the L&I Communications Group (2011)

“Conventa is a top quality event to meet prime part-ners at. The trade show lets you know the potential South East Europe has to host future meetings.”Efrain Pardo, HelmsBriscoe, Czech Republic (2012)

“As a professional meeting planner I’m being contin-uously asked for something different, value-centred. I firmly believe that South East Europe can provide answers to many of these needs. Go there and check it out. I know you will be more than satisfied!”Patrick M Delaney, Director at Ovation Global DMC (2012)

“I would like to thank you for the invitation to be your guest in the city. I know I postponed my visit for a long time, but I am glad I was there. You are great people, with an amazing and charming approach, and you made me fall in love with the country, city, and the people. I am glad I made the decision to stay here for an extra 2 days so I could also walk around and have 1 or 2 more meetings. I am sure I will be able to bring congresses to you - you are unique.”Eyal Halevy, Paragon Group, Switzerland (2014)

I was delighted to attend Conventa - one of the best-or-ganised events. Everything was outstanding: people, business opportunities, attractions, networking, food, wine. The highest quality in a small country. Congratulations! I will come back with my clients!Malgorzata Maleszewska, MICE manager, FCM Travel Express, Poland (2015)

Thanks to exceptionally good organization, content, meetings and most of all attitude of whole team around Miha Kovacic, Slovenia is becoming leader and leading destination of Southeast European region in tourism. Michal !íma, IITours, Czech Republic (2015)

I have attended many ‘hosted buyers events’ during my many years of organizing meet-ings and events for the Telcos in Europe, but this was one of my best, may be The Best. Terje Tondel, Managing Director, ETIS (2015)

“I would like to thank you all ( staff & management ) for the great efforts and cooperation that shown during Conventa 2015.Without your good arrangements and high ethics this event would not succeed … actually I enjoy a lot with program and team building activities ..As well Ljubljana is a great distention. I made a lot of business contacts and friends.Thank you so much. Hope to see you again next year! Wish you all the best and Good luck!”Rasha Mashal, General Manager, Creative Tours –Part of Al-Munjed Group, 2015

HOSTED BUYERS ABOUT CONVENTA“I would like to warmly thank you for giving me the opportunity to discover both your wonderful city of Ljubljana as well as attend Conventa. It was really a great experience and I am very enthusiastic about all I have seen, heard, tasted and experienced. I can’t wait to come back and to bring ESC sub-specialty congresses to Ljubljana!”Valérie Thiollet, Specialty Congress Production, European Society of Cardiology (2014)

• largest number of international meeting planners in the history of the show (over 200)• highest quality hosted buyers (66.7 % were rated as good or excellent by exhibitors)• congress destinations were presented in the highest number so far (15)• the organisers took a record number of pre-arranged meetings (3.365) • the best and most extensive educational program was offered (over all 3 days)

Conventa Addendum

8The Conventa wild card programme is designed to help new or emerging meeting providers to enter the global meeting industry market and therefore increase the competitiveness of the entire region of New Europe. The Conventa free wild card in the past focused on South East European countries and granted the meeting industry providers coming from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey, who had never before exhibited at Conventa, an op-portunity to present their offer at the Conventa show free-of-charge. This was a chance for the winners to build important contacts through pre-scheduled appointments and numerous networking opportunities at Conventa, thus building poten-tial partnerships for the future. In 2015 Conventa opened the wild card programme to all New European countries with a lower trade per capita.

Conventa wild card winners through the years

2011The Tourist Service Municipal Enterprise, Bulgaria

“Winning the Conventa wild card gave us the opportunity to learn about the global meetings market and exchange best prac-tices with other participants.” Stoyan Lazarov of the Municipal Enterprise.

The Novi Sad Fair – Congress Centre Master, Serbia “We met hosted buyers with real buying power at Conventa and learnt about our competitors and best practices in the meeting industry.” Dragana Baturan of Novi Sad Fair

2012SC MC Transylvania SRL, Romania

“Winning the Wild Card Programme presents a great op-portunity for a small DMC like us to make itself known and promote a “product” that deserves to be exposed in the MICE business. When it comes to promotion, our work is endless! Participating at a trade show like Conventa in only “acceler-ating” the process!”Jean Michel Corbet, SC MC Transylvania SRL, RomaniaFortuna Trade Tours, Bosnia and Herzegovina

“Participation gave us the chance to present our products and services to potential clients and make new long-term business cooperation (and follow-up after attending Conventa), as well as present new packages to our already existing partners which are exhibiting at Conventa.”Mili Bijavica, Fortuna Trade Tours, Bosnia and Herzegovina

BOOSTING NEW EUROPE THROUGH THE CONVENTA WILD CARD New European countries are one of a new breed of destinations attracting interest from the meeting and events industry. To present the entire region of New Europe with a wide range of meeting industry providers, the Conventa trade show from 2011 onwards offers meetings industry providers coming from countries with a lower trade per capita the opportunity to apply for the Conventa wild card.

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2013Zira Hotel Beograd, Serbia

“The Wild card programme gave us a chance to explore the market outside of Serbia. It gave us a chance to connect with both clients from the region and our colleagues from the meeting industry in order to expand and improve our services.”Milena "olakovi#, Zira Hotel Beograd

ExploringMacedonia.com, Macedonia “Conventa, as the leading business-to-business event in the area, is a valuable opportunity for every business tourism ori-ented company from the region. We are glad that Conventa supports and gathers industry professionals at an event that is building tradition, know-how and expertise for a global compe-tence of the South East European region on the business travel world map. We perceive Conventa Wild Card Programme as an outstanding possibility to increase our brand awareness not only to Exploringmacedonia.com as a tourism portal, but in general for Macedonia as the unexplored MICE destination in the region. Following Conventa in the last years, we really appreciate the opportunity to be the first Macedonian PCO on Conventa broad-ening the networking possibilities and enriching Conventa’s re-gional list of participants.”Despina Kozarovska, Exploringmacedonia.com

2014Tourist Organization of Subotica, Serbia “We perceive the Conventa Wild Card Programme as an out-standing possibility to increase the awareness of Subotica as the unexplored, emerging MICE destination in the region. To present our offer to the wide audience of international buyers in only two days is something that we could only dream of but could not afford. With the Conventa Wild Card Programme we can put Subotica on the business travel world map.” Branka Banjanin, Subotica Tourist Organisation

Radon Plaza hotel, Bosnia and Herzegovina “Wild card gave us a possibility to establish ourselves as a per-manent exhibitor at Conventa in the upcoming years.” $enan Rikovi#, Radon Plaza Hotel

2015Caranet de Voyage, Croatia

„Carnet de Voyage tailor made Croatia is very proud to be se-lected as Conventa wild card winner for 2015. Although Carnet de Voyage is a new brand on the market, we appreciate that Conventa team recognized our potential and fresh approach to our clients. It is a great push forward for our agency. We believe Conventa 2015 is beginning of a great friendship and partnership.“Katarina Mari#, Managing Director at Carnet de Voyage

Thessaloniki Convention Bureau, Greece“Participating at a trade show like Conventa is an outstanding opportunity to take advantage of the platform that Conventa offers to us to increase brand awareness in order to place Thessaloniki in the international map of the MICE industry .”Efi Koudeli, General Manager of the Thessaloniki Convention Bureau

Tourist organization of Budva, Montenegro

“The Tourism organisation of Budva is very pleased to gain the opportunity to present the region of Budva municipality as an attractive and interesting destination for congresses, meetings and incentive trips organisers. We share Conventa’s philosophy that face to face meetings provide the best and most effective way of informing prospective buyers and media about the des-tination and the possibilities it offers in terms of hosting events of any kind. Since Conveta represents one of the most important events of its kind in this part of Europe, we hope that our par-ticipation will help us accumulate more interest in Budva as a MICE destination.”Jelena Glu%&evi#, Manager at Tourism Organisation of Budva

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CONVENTA AWARDS OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS

CONVENTA HALL OF FAME AWARDConventa wants to encourage stakeholders in the field of tourism to contribute to the development of the meetings in-dustry of South East & Central Europe through their work, knowledge and ideas. With the “Conventa Hall of Fame” award organisers annually recognise an individual who, through his or her extraordinary and invaluable efforts, has made a significant mark and has affected the development of the meetings industry.

The Conventa Hall of Fame award went to: Toma! Kru"i#, CEO of Intours DMC (2015)Andrea Leitner, Director of Conventionland of Kärnten (2014)Barbara Vajda, former Director of the Ljubljana Tourism (2013)Bogdan Lipov"ek, Director of Union Hotels (2012)Nikica Ra#i$, Director of Croatian Convention Bureau (2011)

AMBASSADOR OF CONVENTAIn 2014 the Conventa Academy for the first time honoured a promoter of Conventa and granted him the title of ‘Conventa Ambassador’. The award was dedicated to Conventa’s long-standing partner and the greatest ambassador of the trade show, Rok Klan&nik (1966 - 2013). From the beginning Klan&nik took care of the promotion of the trade show as Head of the Slovenian Tourist Board representation in Brussels and he was the greatest ambassador of Conventa.The first international ambassador of Conventa was Timo Heinaro from the Finnish Agency Fincentive. The second international ambassador in 2015 was Paul Kennedy, MBE - Director and Owner of Kennedy Integrated Soultions.

MEETING STAR AWARDSince 2012, Kongres Magazine, media partner of Conventa, has been acknowledging outstanding contributions in the field of marketing communication of destinations, congress-es, events and meetings industry suppliers in South East Europe. The Meetings Star award is a visible recognition of creativity, knowledge and effort based on team-work and ex-periences that brought clear and measurable results.

Winners in 2015Istanbul – Top Destination of 2014Salzburg Congress – Top Convention Centre of 2014Park Hyatt Vienna – Top Luxury city meeting hotel of 2014Crowne Plaza Belgrade – Top Premium city meeting hotel of 2014Hotel Bellevue – Top Luxury resort meeting hotel of 2014Valamar Lacroma – Top premium resort meeting hotel of 2014

Winners in 2014 Prague - Top Destination of 2013Cankarjev dom - Top Convention centre of 2013Metropol Palace Belgrade - Top Luxury city meeting hotel of 2013Kempinski hotel Zoografski - Top Premium city meeting hotel of 2013Kempinski Palace – Top Luxury resort meeting hotel of 2013Hotel Dubrovnik Palace – Top premium resort meeting hotel of 2013

Winners in 2013Ljubljana, Graz and Zagreb – The Best SEE Meetings Destinations of 2012Hotel Esplanade (Zagreb) - Luxury city meetings hotel of the year 2012Hotel Dubrovnik Palace - Premium meetings hotel of the year 2012Kempinski Palace Hotel Portoro! - Luxury meetings resort hotel of the year 2012Grand Hotel Union Executive - Premium city meetings hotel of the year 2012

Winners in 2012Milo" Milovanovi$, Serbia Convention Bureau - Kongres Marketing Personality of the year 2011Centre of Business Tourism, Daniela Kos - Meeting Industry Marketing Agency of the year 2011An!e %okl, Bohinj Park EKO Hotel - Young Meeting Industry Creative Professional of the year 2011Jezer"ek House Catering, product campaign Taste the world - Best Overall Product Marketing Campaign of the year 2011

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10 FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CONVENTA EXPERIENCE

10. Tradition, trust, high

standards and high satisfaction rate. In

seven years 888 exhibi-tors from 17 countries and 1,702 hosted buyers from 45 countries have conducted 20,668 meet-

ings at Conventa.

9. Friendly and

professional Conventa staff available to every guest 24/7.

8. Social events where

exhibitors and hosted buyers can mix and

business match even further in a more

relaxed atmosphere.

7. Educational modules

tailor-made for exhibi-tors and hosted buyers.

6. Personally experienc-

ing meeting destina-tions on fam trips.

5. Pre-scheduled One-

to-One meetings were you get to know every

potential business partner in person.

4. Never just a number. An individual approach is what Conventa swears

by. You will find the personal touch at

every step of the way.

3. A place filled with energy, warmth and great hospitality!

2. A closed event that is an essential meeting point of cherry-picked buyers

and New European meeting providers.

1. A trade show organised

in a cost- and time-ef-ficient manner.

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MYTH: CONVENTA IS THE WORLD’S VERY FIRST TRADE SHOW. PARTLY CONFIRMED: Conventa is always the first - the first to open the annual trade show season, that is, as it is tra-ditionally organised every January.

MYTH: OVER THE YEARS CONVENTA HAS HOSTED AROUND 1,000 HOSTED BUYERS AND FACIL-ITATED 10,000 MEETINGS. BUSTED: In seven years Conventa has hosted 888 exhibitors and 1,702 hosted buyers. Over the years 20,668 one2one meet-ings have been held during the show.

MYTH: CONVENTA HELPS MEETING PLANNERS AND MEETING PRO-VIDERS SAVE MONEY. CONFIRMED: Only at Conventa does an investment of 55 EUR brings hosted buyers VIP treatment worth 1,200 EUR, while ex-hibitors pay only 9 Euros for a lead, which is one-tenth of the price paid by the ex-hibitors at other major trade shows.

MYTH: CONVENTA ACCEPTS ONLY MEETING PROVIDERS FROM SOUTH EAST EUROPE. BUSTED: In 2015 Conventa also opened its exhibition floor to meeting providers coming from New Europe and immediately attracted exhibitors from Greece, Azerbaijan and Russia.

MYTH: COFFEE AT CONVENTA IS ON THE HOUSE. CONFIRMED: Conventa invites all guests for a good cup of coffee. In 2015, around 2,500 cups of coffee were served by the Bernardin Group Resorts & Hotels.

MYTH: CONVENTA IS A HOST-ED-BUYER DRIVEN SHOW. CONFIRMED: Conventa is solely a host-ed-buyer driven show where each exhib-itor on average concludes 24 One2One meetings with quality hosted buyers.

MYTH: THE NUMBER OF DESTI-NATIONS AT CONVENTA HAS NOT INCREASED OVER THE YEARS. BUSTED: The number of countries meeting providers come from has doubled over the years.

MYTH: HOSTED BUYERS AT CONVENTA ARE ALWAYS THE SAME. BUSTED: Every year around 82 % of buyers are new at Conventa.

MYTH: THE IDEA OF CONVENTA WAS A STRATEGIC DECISION MADE AT A PARTNERS MEETING. BUSTED: The idea of Conventa was born in a more relaxed atmosphere, not while drinking coffee, but while drinking beer!

MYTH: CONVENTA EXHIBI-TOR STANDS ARE MADE OUT OF WOODEN CRATES. CONFIRMED: Conventa stands are made of wooden crates from naturally dried do-mestic pine that are being re-used each year. It takes around 3,200 wooden crates to set up all of the Conventa stands.

MYTH: CONVENTA STRIVES TO BE AS SUSTAINABLE AS POSSIBLE. CONFIRMED: Conventa is fully committed to reducing the negative environmental impacts of the trade show by implementing sustainable practices that add value to every participant and to the local community. In 2011, Conventa won the Sustainable Stand Award at EIBTM.

MYTH: HOSTED BUYERS AND EXHIBITORS ARE SATIS-FIED WITH CONVENTA. CONFIRMED: On a scale from 1-5, average satisfaction with the show is 4.42 (hosted buyers) and 4.27 (exhibitors).

MYTH: HOSTED BUYERS TRAVEL SHORT DISTANCES TO COME TO CONVENTA. BUSTED: The farthest distance a hosted buyer travelled to come to Conventa 2015 was 7,690 km.

CONVENTA MEET BUSTER

MYTH: IT NEVER SNOWS DURING CONVENTA. BUSTED: Conventa loves winter time. Did you know that in Ljubljana the snow is typically at its deepest on January 25, with a median depth of 12.5 cm, and that the depth exceeds 30.9 cm only one year out of ten? The snow-iest Conventa was the 5th Conventa.

MYTH: ONCE IN A WHILE PEOPLE ALSO FALL IN LOVE AT CONVENTA. CONFIRMED: Conventa is a matchmaking platform in every sense of the word. A hosted buyer from Italy who met a buyer from Russia at Conventa 2015 is now getting married to her in Slovenia.

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In 7 years 1,702 hosted buyers from 45 countries have attended Conventa in search of the new and as yet undiscovered meetings destinations of New Europe.

In 2016, meeting planners will be able to meet face-to-face with the more than 140 meeting providers from New Europe coming to Conventa to present their meetings offer.

CONVENTA OFFERS THE FULL PACKAGE

Conventa Experience = Endless business opportunities + Emerging destinations + Education + Entertainment + Energy + Emotions The hosted buyer programme is a VIP, tailor-made programme careful-ly put together to satisfy even the most demanding of meeting planners’ needs. All meeting planners have to do is apply for the programme. The Conventa team does the rest - planning, booking and organising. No fuss, no muss.

THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

The satisfaction survey conducted after Conventa 2015 showed:

21.6 pre-scheduled meetings per hosted buyer on average

34.5 actually realised meetings throughout the show and social events per hosted buyer4.29 out of 5 rating of hosted buyers’

satisfaction with the content of the meetings4.35 out of 5 rating of hosted buyers’

satisfaction with networking opportunities 5 out of 5 rating for 2 out of the 6 fam trips

organised for hosted buyers

WHY EVERY SERIOUS MEETING PLANNER SHOULD TRY FOR A HOSTED BUYER STATUS AT CONVENTA

HOSTED BUYER STATUS OFFERS :Complimentary air ticket Economy return ticket from select-

ed destinations within Europe.

Overnight accommodation In one of the Ljubljana’s finest congress hotels.

On-ground transfers Airport, venue, hotel.

Gourmet meals The best catering companies present their culinary masterpieces at working lunches & evening receptions.

Networking opportunities All the Conventa social gatherings are designed in a way to bring together exhibitors and hosted buyers and offer them new opportunities for networking in a more relaxed atmosphere.

One2One meetings Personal itinerary of appointments that can be pre-scheduled.

Fam trips Study tours to different meetings desti-nations are organised before and after the show. It’s a personal experience of the destination one simply must have in order to understand the destination in full.

New knowledge Fresh educational modules organised throughout Conventa are a great way to acquire new knowledge and catch up with the trends in the meetings industry.

Support of the Conventa team

A professional team always ready to make hosted buyers feel like they’re at home.

Meeting planners can apply for hosted buyer status at www.conventa.si/hosted-buyers.

74.6% yes, absolutely25.4% most likely

88.9 % yes, absolutely11.1% yes, partly

Did your participation meet your expectations?

Did the itinerary meet your business objectives?

The destina-tion 4.41

The hotels 4.19

The venues 4.00

The activi-ties 4.02

How likely are you to place future business in: (1 – not at all likely, 5 – very likely)

Almost 89 % of hosted buyers said that their participation absolutely met their

expectations.

Three quarters of hosted buyers agreed their itinerary fully met their business

objectives.

In the future, hosted buyers will highly likely place business in the destination.

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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Conventa Addendum

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COMPANY DESCRIPTION in One2One system and the Conventa Catalogue Write a good presentation of your company that will help you establish quality contacts with hosted buyers and will contrib-ute to your successful perfor-mance at the trade show.

SHORT INTERVIEW – Who is Who at ConventaGenerate further interest in you and your company. Give in-teresting and fun answers to the questions in the ‘Who is Who at Conventa’ section of the catalogue.

NEWS in Conventa DailyIntroduce yourself in the print and digital version of Conventa Daily, the trade show newspaper that is read by every participant.

ADVERTORIAL - Conventa Guide in the Conventa Catalogue Short and sweet: thematic presentations of partners and their offer.

ADVERTORIAL - Good practice example in the Conventa CatalogueShow you’ve got what it takes! Select an example of good practice that will highlight your advantages.

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Conventa Chat RoomBecome a TV star and be the guest of a 120 second interview recorded in a studio at the event. The video will reach a wide audience, as it will be distributed across all of the Conventa and Kongres magazine’s channels.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – Voice from the TopShare your thoughts and opinions. Choose the in-depth in-terview where meetings industry leaders present their own story of success.

ADVERTORIAL – different options to choose fromA little promotion goes a long way, from destination presenta-tions and product presentations to classical PRs and ADs. The Conventa catalogue is the best publication to attract further attention and maximize your presence at Conventa.

A SIMPLE GUIDE TO MAXIMUM EXPOSURE AT CONVENTAConventa offers 365-day marketing support to all those exhibiting at the show. The basic steps to increasing visibility and creating a buzz before, during and after the show are:

Exhibitors at Conventa are granted special discounts for all of the above mentioned services, while the Conventa team will gladly offer them free advice and help with preparing their individual marketing mix. For further infor-mation please write to gorazd@conventa.info.

Conventa, New Europe exhibition for meetings, events and incentives, has opened its doors today. With new dimensions, new opportunities and a new personal best, the seventh edition brings to Ljubljana the highest number of international meetings planners and meeting providers in the history of the show.

into the project over the years, the decision to remain a boutique show and the per-sonal approach Conventa swears by, has placed the show among the top European events for the meetings industry. Zdravko Po!ival"ek, Minister of Economic Develop-ment and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia said: “Over the past six years, Con-venta has proven to be the leading business-to-business event in the meetings industry in the region, and the best event for meeting prime partners in the MICE business.”

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CONVENTA, SEVEN YEARS OF SUCCESSFULLY CONNECTING THE REGION

7TH NEW EUROPE EXHIBITION FOR MEETINGS, EVENTS & INCENTIVE TRAVEL 21. 01. 2015

CONVENTA 2009 - 2015 IN NUMBERS

1702 Hosted Buyers

from 45 countries

888 Exhibitors from 17 countries

20,668 one2one meetings

137 Journalists /

87 Media partners

4.27 Overall satisfaction with show (exhibitors on a scale 1 - 5)

4.42 Overall satisfaction with show (hosted buyers on a scale 1 - 5)

The slogan of Conventa is Explore, Meet, Create. With a reason. Conven-ta offers you fantastic opportunity to explore the New Europe, Meet solution providers from the region and Create new relationships that will enable you to offer new programs to your clients. Miha Kova!i!, Exhibiton Organiser

Only a few hours away from Frankfurt or London lies half of Europe that is open wide and is waiting for you to explore it. This trip will be full of positive surprises, meetings with the new convention bureaus, new meeting venues and service provid-ers and last but not least opportuni-ties for new connections between East and West, North and South. Gorazd "ad, Head of Marketing

Enjoy in discovering NEW Euro-pean meeting destinations at Con-venta 2015!

Miha Kova!i!, Director of Slovenian Convention Bureau and Organizer of Conventa: “The 7th edition calls itself New Europe and it comes big. More than 130 exhibitors from 15 countries are presenting their offer to more than 160 carefully selected hosted buyers from 31 countries.  Although we exceeded all expectations, Conventa is all about quality, not quantity.”

From the outset Conventa has strived to connect the region and encouraged the growth of Central and South East Euro-pean meetings industry. The hard work put

Don’t miss the leading business-to-business event for NEW EUROPE!

See you in Ljubljana, at Conventa, from 20 to 21 January 2016.

CONVENTA 2016

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CONVENTA GAINED NEW DIMENSIONS AND WELCOMED THE NEW WORLD2

WELCOME RECEPTION

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7th EXHIBITION FOR MEETINGS, EVENTS & INCENTIVE TRAVEL21 - 22 january 2015

7 years of

results

887exhibitors from

17 countries

21.240 One2One meetings

1.686 hosted buyers

from 45 countries

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Conventa Addendum

16 ROI OF EXHIBITING AT CONVENTA

ROI CRITERIA INDICATOR RESULT ACTIVITY 2016

SAVING MONEY On average an exhibi-tor gets 15 sales leads.

Conventa guarantees 250 hosted buyer con-tacts worth 3,250 EUR.

With stricter criteria for hosted buyers Conventa will generate more profitable contacts.

SAVING TIME Time needed for preparation and checking the contacts (60 minutes per meeting).

An exhibitor conducts on average 22 meetings and therefore saves 60 hours of precious time

Increasing the number of meet-ings with an additional calendar

ALMOST NO ADDITIONAL COST

Little additional costs for attending the show.

Exhibitor package includes fully equipped exhibition stand, meals and entrance to networking social events.

Upon request Conventa ensures special accommoda-tion prices for exhibitors.

CHERRY-PICKED BUYERS Exhibitor survey results show that 14 % of meet-ings are fruitful.

A minimum of 2.5 meet-ings are successful, which means per exhibitor a busi-ness worth 54,540 EUR.

Strict criteria for meet-ings planners to be granted hosted buyer status.

YEAR-ROUND PROMOTION - DIGITAL

Statistics of the web page (monthly).

Views: 9,500Unique visitors: 7,450.

Integration of exhibitor’s stories on Conventa page and social media channels.

YEAR-ROUND PROMOTION - DIRECT

Statistics for direct mar-keting (yearly).

Open rate: 141,000Unique opened: 55,000.

Integration of exhibitor’s stories in e-marketing campaigns.

FREE NETWORKING Cost of Social networking. All social events that bring together exhibitors and hosted buyers are in-cluded in the package.

VIP entrance pass for ad-ditional representative.

FREE EDUCATION Cost of Education. Educational programme is free of charge.

More tailor-made educa-tional modules extend-ed over three days.

INTEGRATED MARKETING Media publications, media part-ners, Kongres/Conventa TV.

In seven years more than 70 media and 140 journalists have visited Conventa.

Exhibitor promotion through Conventa media partners. On-the-spot exclusive interviews.

BUILDING YOUR BRAND THROUGH THE CONVENTA BRAND

Loyal partners and exhibitors. 98 % of exhibitors return to Conventa.

Co-branding with Conventa – extensive promotion.

IS IT WORTH IT? RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF EXHIBITING AT CONVENTA

In 2015, more than 55 percent of exhibitors said their participation absolutely met their expectation and more than 60 percent of them would recommend the show to their industry colleagues!

A tradeshow is a marketing and sales investment. As with any investment one should expect a return on investment. This table includes a series of simple tools to assist exhibitors in planning for a trade show and to measure performance in delivering a return-on-investment of exhibiting at Conventa.

Conventa Addendum

17

The Ljubljana Tourism & Convention Team, as well as the whole destination, perceives Conventa not only as an established region-al Show, but primarily as The Experience of New Europe. Next year, our city holds the prestigious title of ‘European Green Capital 2016’, which gives us the privilege to further enhance Ljubljana’s reputation as a fresh destination and a hub for creative ideas. We recognize the high value of the Conventa Show by endorsing its development and con-tributing to its originality as an important partner since its very beginning, adding that over the years it has evolved into one of the most relevant regional meetings industry business events on the European market. Through Conventa’s constant growth, which also embodies quality and innovation, we recognize our partnership as one of our major marketing projects at the destination level, which helps in boosting Ljubljana’s brand and visibility on the international meetings industry market and wider.

PETRA STUŠEK, Managing Director, Ljubljana Tourism

“After Conventa’s 7th year the CD Congress Centre recognises this exhibition as one of the key events of its kind by reason of its lo-cation (venue located in our home town of Ljubljana) and high quality, with a distinc-tive mark of being environmentally friend-ly and highlighting a part of Europe (New Europe) which previously was not so well recognised in the world of the meetings industry.”

"2%$!�0%²/6.)+, Congress & Event Management, CD Congress Centre Ljubljana.

‘’Conventa offers many new opportunities and by that it unlocks new sources of busi-ness connections. Let’s face it - no type of advertising can be a substitute for face-to-face meetings and the Conventa concept of offering this is a simple and most effective one. Conventa changed the MICE world in Slovenia!’’

4/-)3,!6�²%(, General Manager, Union Hotels

“We have collaborated with Conventa from its very beginnings. The seventh show in a row, it speaks of tradition and development, especially regarding geographic expansion to South-East Europe, this year for the first time among the convention services pro-viders from Greece, Azerbaijan, and Russia. We are deeply honoured that each year it has taken place at our venue, the GR - Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. Here we present ourselves with our exhibition space, promoting the largest convention centre in Slovenia with 20 multipurpose halls. Actually, we are ahead of other providers, because buyers get to discover us live as the Conventa venue. At the same time, they can see our innovative sustainable stands, the building blocks of Conventa. It is a system made of wooden boxes that has been re-marked upon in the meetings industry as a huge opportunity for decreasing costs and creating unique sales and marketing oppor-tunities. The model of the stands already won the Sustainable Stand Award at EIBTM 2011, a global meetings & events exhibition, and it became one of the finalists for the prestigious AIPC Innovation Award 2015. Conventa = GR!”

IZTOK BRICL, M. Sc. Econ., CEO, GR – Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre

“The Conventa Trade Show has been known among key providers and clients of busi-ness or congress events at the European and global level for a long time. The annual event, whose reputation grows by the year, particularly among the professional target public, is a meeting place for more than one hundred providers of congress services in South-Eastern Europe and clients from right across Europe and the world. The Conventa trade show is one of the key business events of Slovenian tourism, which places Slovenia at the top of professionally organised events and thus strengthens the image of the country as an excellent host of important business and tourist events. In 2016, when the Conventa trade show will again be held in Slovenia’s capital, the sus-tainable aspect of the show will be another factor in the positioning of the event and Slovenian tourism, which is acquiring a special importance. Some years ago, the or-ganisers of the Conventa realised that the orientation of the event towards sustainable development and marketing is essential for the attainment of the desired image among the domestic and foreign public. The com-mitment to going green will have added sig-nificance in 2016, when Ljubljana will hold the title of the European Green Capital. The Conventa trade show again proves the importance of personal communication between providers and potential clients, which remains indispensable, despite growing digitalisation.”

+!2-%.�./6!2,)², MSc, Head of the Tourism Division at SPIRIT Slovenia

PARTNERS ABOUT CONVENTA

20 - 21 JANUARY 2016, Ljubljana—Slovenia

NEW EUROPE EXHIBITION FOR MEETINGS, EVENTS & INCENTIVE TRAVEL

TH8Explore the emerging destinations of Europe over a cup of co!ee

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FOTHE BOUTIQUE MEETINGS MARKET IS BACK AND THIS TIME IT’S PERSONALOnce you’ve seen what CONVENTA can do for you in two days you’ll never want aything else.