LJ Talks at IMEX Frankfurt
The final day included wrap-up conversations with Carina Bauer & Petra Stušek and Padraic Gilligan & Boštjan Horjak. Jan and Gorazd also hosted Yuliia Katynska and Olena Pavlyuk, who discussed the current event landscape in Ukraine.
Carina Bauer and Petra Stušek
On the final day, Jan and Gorazd were joined by industry stalwarts, Carina Bauer, CEO at IMEX and Petra Stušek, CEO at Ljubljana Tourism. They delved into sustainability, AI technology and the future of trade shows.
“We’re expecting to host somewhere between 12,000 and 13,000 people from about 100 different countries. There are about 300 stands on the show floor and just under 3000 exhibiting companies.”– Carina
“We’re talking about not only making less damage but to bring good, to make good and to make places better than before visitors came. Thus, the regenerative approach is basically contributing to improving our quality of living.”- Petra
Padraic Gilligan & Boštjan Horjak
Towards the end of Ljubljana Talks, Jan and Gorazd were joined by Padraic Gilligan & Boštjan Horjak, who explained why nothing can beat in-person gatherings and experiences – which is what incentives are all about. They also noted how IMEX and similar trade shows foster the trust that cannot be created through AI.
“Post-covid, in terms of content, we can see a huge increase in demand for sustainability which is a positive sign.”- Boštjan
“Tech companies are advocating for the digital experience, whereas the other corporations in the industry are very much into getting back to in-person meetings. It’s interesting to witness the discussions.”– Padraic
Yuliia Katynska and Olena Pavlyuk
Discussing the state of the meetings industry in Ukraine, Yuliia Katynska and Olena Pavlyuk both agreed there are new challenges for their industry.
“Last year, we had 593 conferences in Lviv, despite the war. We have this need of creating meetings and gatherings, inviting people from international organisations and, because of that, our conference industry is still alive.”
