Results of the 2016 edition of Conventa

The eight Conventa hosted 174 international and more than 100 Slovenian and regional meeting planners that came to Slovenian from a record number of countries. Organizers of Conventa were happy to find out that 89,6 % of hosted buyers attending the show said their participation absolutely met their expectations. On a scale from 1 to 5 their overall satisfaction with Conventa was rated with 4,59, while the reputation of Conventa got 4,52 points.

One of the hosted buyers wrote: “A great show where you meet the movers and shakers of Central and Eastern Europe and the right people who are shaping the right experiences that allow us to design a great travel journeys for our esteem customers.”

The majority of meeting planners attended Conventa because they were personally invited by the organizers of the show. Almost 90 % of hosted buyers stated One2One meetings between exhibitors and buyers is the main reason why they attended. They believe the success of their attendance depended mostly on networking opportunities (rated with 4,51), as well as on the quality of visitors (quality of companies exhibiting received 4,5 points) and educational opportunities offered during the show (4,22).

They were very satisfied with several aspects of the show; from trade show itself to networking lunches and evening receptions. On a scale from 1 to 5, they rated friendliness and effectiveness of the show organizer with 4,67, quality of service and efficiency throughout their trip with 4,63 and Conventa sustainable measures with 4,49. Among Conventa publications the best score was given to the Conventa catalogue (4,15).

Although hosted buyers agree to a minimum of 15 One2One appointments, the realized average number of meetings was much higher than that. Out of 29 conducted meetings, 20 were pre-scheduled appointments, 5 were realized additionally on spot at stands and 4 during social events. The satisfaction with content of meetings was rated with 4,44, while web application for pre-scheduling One2One meetings was given 4,12 points.

Conventa highlighted personal experience making sure hosted buyers enjoyed themselves from start till the end while creating their own Conventa experience. Extremely well rated were the fam trips where hosted buyers were given a chance to personally explore some of the best congress destinations in the region. The highest score was given to Ljubljana pre-tour (4,73) that was closely followed by fam trips to Bled (4,62), Zagreb (4,61), Portorož & Piran (4,6), Maribor and Pohorje (4,45) and Kranjska Gora (3,9).

Hosted buyers attending the 8th Conventa are most likely to place future business in the destination (4,46), hotels (4,26), venues (4,21) and activities (4,08).

The organizers of the show are well aware of the improvements that can still be made to better the hosted buyer experience. The biggest challenge remains the lack of flight connections to the host destination. The problem is being solved by directing passengers to nearby airports and ensuring a first-class ground transfer so that their travel is as comfortable as possible.

Another important part of the business experience is a user friendly system for pre-scheduling meetings. In 2016 Conventa introduces a mobile app for One2One meetings that will be improved and upgraded for the 2017 edition.

“I had never been to Slovenia before I attended Conventa. All I can say is WOW. What a magical, beautiful place with so many possibilities for my MICE groups to enjoy such an incredible place. The Tour Guide, the wonderful staff from the Convention Bureau were very much part of what made the experience special. The history, the architecture, the amazing foods and delicious wines which were so plentiful were incredible.” said Annette Fitzgerald, Marketing Director at Top Events Limited, Ireland and hosted buyer at Conventa 2016