Only the most audacious ones would have imagined back in 2007, when Serbia Convention Bureau (SCB) was formed, that from being ranked the 69th congress destination in the world, with only 11 international conferences, Serbia would in the last five years solidify its place among the top 50 in the ICCA Country & City Rankings list with the score just shy of 70 events.
What has also contributed to these results is the establishment of the Ambassadors Programme a few years ago. So far 37 scientists, academicians and professionals from various fields have been awarded for their enthusiasm and work in fostering partnerships between the meetings industry and professional associations that are active internationally. Some of the names include worldwide famous experts in their professions, whose reputation, along with meticulous approach in the bidding process, has helped bring conferences like the European Congress of Pathology (Belgrade, 2015), the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) World Congress (Novi Sad, 2016), or the International Congress of Byzantine Studies (Belgrade, 2016), to name just a few.
In the week following this year’s IMEX, SCB will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a full-day gala event during which future ambassadors will be introduced, industry partners recognized for their cooperation, and global industry leaders identifying some of the future trends.
After the “IMEX climax”, it will be like an icing on the cake for the Serbia’s meetings industry that is going even stronger into the next decade with largely modernised infrastructure, revamped national airline and brand new hotels among other assets.
