Kongres Magazine talked to Dušan Borovčanin, Deputy CEO of Serbia Convention Bureau, who was recently named among the top 10 Most Influential Destination Representatives in 2021. Dušan shared his advice for newcomers in the meetings industry and expressed his opinion on the future of events.
Q1: What does the title of the industry’s most influential individual in the region mean to you?
I believe this is great recognition for Serbia as a destination, and I hope it will spark the curiosity of international meeting planners to explore the amazing destinations across Serbia in the days ahead. On a personal level, of course, it evokes a feeling of gratitude and pride, and it reaffirms my professional approach to business. I am very thankful to all industry professionals who recognised the efforts we have put in, and I want to congratulate all other shortlisted candidates and winners, of course.
Q2: Can we say that you are a newcomer in the meetings industry? What inspires you?
I was lucky. I had the privilege to start my professional career early, working in various hotel departments and learning from amazing industry professionals in Belgrade. Belgrade was developing rapidly at the time, and I soon got attracted by MICE, but only that time from a professional hotelier perspective. A hotel management company I was working for (Mona Hotel Management) was growing rapidly, and I was privileged that my senior colleagues had put trust in me to work on projects much more serious than what was my age at the time.
It was not very long until I got an offer from my university (Singidunum University, Belgrade) to start an academic career. I immediately fell in love with teaching and research, which I still do and enjoy doing. However, I always believed in the necessity of close connections between the industry and academia. In the past year, I was thus very pleased and honoured to receive the invitation from the Tourism organisation of Serbia to join the team of the Serbia Convention Bureau and help them in the process of destination marketing. I see myself neither as a newcomer nor as an experienced professional. My inspiration has always been the smile and joy on other people’s faces, and my mission is to see as many of those on people’s faces coming to Serbia.
Q3: You have contributed a lot to the development of the meetings industry. What would you say was your greatest achievement so far?
I believe one of my strong sides is communication. Perhaps my biggest achievement is that I was able to influence different stakeholders to understand the necessity of working together and not against each other. It is not easy, but it makes the likelihood of achieving strategic objectives much higher. I see this as a key component of our further development.
Q4: What changes would you like to see in the meetings industry in 2022?
Like most people from the industry, and in the whole world, I guess, more face-to-face meetings!
Q5: What is your prediction for the future of meetings?
It is not an easy question. I believe 2022 will be the year of the start to full recovery. However, the industry will not remain the same, and we will see who welcomed the end of this catastrophe with lessons learned.
I am hoping for a full recovery of small and corporate events and necessary business travel already this year. As for large-scale events, I think we will have to wait for two to three years until the participation numbers get back to pre-pandemic levels. Although this might be a downside, I think technology opened up the space for meeting professionals to build their community and thus increase the overall participation, event impact, and legacy. This was already a trend before the pandemic, but I see how this process was accelerated. I am worried that the economic downturn can shift the focus from sustainable practices, which is highly alarming. I will use this opportunity to urge every industry professional to stop for a moment and reassess their policies and strategies.
Q6: What is your advice for young colleagues making their way in the meetings industry?
Aim high, but always, always stay polite and humble. Learn as much as you can. If you find yourself in a position not inspired to learn more, look for change.
“Technology opened up the space for meeting professionals to build their community and thus increase the overall participation, event impact, and legacy.”
Q7: Were you more exposed in public after being placed on our list? Do you see this as an opportunity to reinforce the prominence of our industry in general?
Certainly. I got phone calls from people I had not heard for a decade 😊. Yes, I truly believe this is an opportunity to reinforce the prominence of our industry, and I hope we all use it wisely.
Q8: What are your thoughts on our selection of the influencers?
I believe that the work Kongres Magazine is doing for our industry, in general, is outstanding, and I was very happy to see the mix of well-established professionals and young professionals in the winning lists in every category. I think we are all tied with much higher responsibility now, which I always see as a good thing.
Q9: In your opinion, who deserves the title of the TOP influencer if you had to choose from the finalists yourself?
If I try not to be pretentious and choose someone from my team, I would honestly say that my colleagues from the Ljubljana Convention bureau are doing an amazing job. I will use this opportunity to congratulate friends from Ljubljana on receiving the Best destinations 2022 award. Therefore, my vote would go to Mr Jan Oršič.
