From 2-5 October 2014 Osijek successfully held the sixth Congress of the Croatian Society of Radiology, organised by the Croatian Society of radiology of the Croatian medical association and led by its president, Prof. Ph.D. Damir Miletić, and Ph.d. Gordan Šarić, president of the congress organizing committee. Osijek, a city located in the heart of Slavonia, hosted a full 400 participants at the event and attracted an international participation, with ten percent being foreign guests. The technical organisation of the event was entrusted to PCO and DMC company Globtour Event, which was their first collaboration with the Croatian Society of Radiology.
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The congress involved a significant working element at the Hotel Osijek, through a series of expert and specialist lectures in the field of radiology and the poster presentations that usually accompany such gatherings. Equally interesting was the social component of the event, organised in Ilok and the beautiful Principovac estate, where after visiting nearby Vukovar and Ovčara a gala dinner and entertainment for the participants was arranged. The congress was officially opened at the Croatian National Theatre in Osijek, with an excerpt of the play „Lipa si, Teno performed after the organisers’ welcome speeches and the invited lectures, the evening rounded off with a special reception in the National Theatre lobby.
“The city of Osijek and its surroundings can offer a range of interesting tourist sites, which together with the professional part of the congress was a reason for the large turnout,” said Gordan Šarić. “Hotel Osijek is unfortunately the only hotel in town that can accommodate such a large number of exhibitors from many companies that participated in sponsoring the congress, while also providing enough rooms for smoothly organised scheduled lectures. I have to say that the hotel did everything in the organisation of event flawlessly. All the participants were delighted with the experience.”
This congress is held every four years in University cities, whereby all four major University Cities in Croatia are equally represented and regions get to host eminent foreign and domestic experts, such as Prof. Lorenzo Bonomo, President of the European Society of Radiology. The congress enables easier participation for doctors from nearby hospitals and medical centres as well as enhanced learning about the situation and development of radiology at home and around the world. The congress programme covered all areas of radiology, as well as protection against ionizing radiation.
Doctors impressed by Osijek
Based on their experience over many years of logistical and technical assistance at similar gatherings, the organiser recruited Globtour Event. “For the organization we used a new IT programme for the professional management of meetings, which is an innovation in our business,” said Vesna Pritchard, director of Globtour Event. “The tool allows us professionals an active online process control, from the preparations for the organisation of setting up a website, through online registration and communication with participants, cost management for invoicing and final billing. Since we are also a Destination Management Company, every new ‘exit’ in the micro destination represents for us an innovation in approach and continued active listening about the novelties the destination can provide, so our meeting would surpass the expectations of the participants and we could include all stakeholders in the whole process.”
The range of sponsors drawn to the event were companies directly related to the field and the theme of the congress, such as Siemens, Bracco, Mark Medical, Bayer and a number of others. In keeping with its purpose, sponsors only financed the working part of the events, while participants independently financed excursions and entertainment.
“I must emphasize that great credit for this successfully staged congress goes to Globtour Events, which was its technical organiser,” said Gordan Šarić in praise of his associates. “Every employee of the company involved in the organisation has been fully engaged and did not have the problem to answer our questions and requests, often outside working hours.”
The organisers were also extremely satisfied with the location of the congress. Despite Osijek having no convention centre and only being able to accommodate small and medium-sized gatherings, it is becoming a popular destination for congresses and symposia, especially medical. In addition to the city, which lies on the river Drava, the surrounding area also offers a range options for tours and teambuilding events and the wider region is also known for its culinary delights and the cordiality of its inhabitants.
“According to the feedback, the greatest satisfaction stemmed precisely from the human relationships, the professional approach from our organization team and the team from Hotel Osijek, which has done a superb job and can serve as an example to many hotel companies in Croatia dealing with congress tourism,” said Vesna Pritchard.
