Conventa conference ups sustainability efforts
Ljubljana, 21 February - Ljubljana is hosting Conventa, a three-day business-to-business conference for the meetings industry featuring 120 exhibitors from 16 countries and 160 event organisers from 31 countries. The organisers say this is the first event in the world organised under the new EU standards for sustainable reporting.
Ljubljana
Meetings industry conference Conventa opens in Ljubljana.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
Ljubljana
Meetings industry conference Conventa opens in Ljubljana.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
Ljubljana
Meetings industry conference Conventa opens in Ljubljana.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
Ljubljana
Minister for Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han delivers address at the opening of Conventa.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
The 16th iteration of Conventa that began on Tuesday brings together exhibitors and event organisers from Europe, the US, Middle East and elsewhere, Conventa co-founder Gorazd Čad said at a press conference on Wednesday.
"We especially emphasise the term "meetings industry" as it is a sector that fills tourist accommodation facilities with its multiplicative effects and has great benefits for destinations where it takes place," said Čad.
Conventa has been measuring the event's carbon footprint for years. This year they will also organise and evaluate the event in line with the new EU sustainable reporting standards. "This stresses the commitment of Slovenia's meetings industry to sustainable development," said Čad.
The conference has become "indispensable and an important contribution to the improving tourism results of Slovenia's capital", said head of the Ljubljana tourism office Petra Stušek.
It has become a trend-setter for the industry which is constantly facing new challenges, added Karmen Novarlič from the Slovenian Tourist Board. She believes education and talent development will be key for the future development of the sector, along with sustainability and environmental responsibility, where Slovenia is already proving to be successful.
"We are entering a new era which is and will be highly dependent on security," said Novarlič, adding that regulation at EU and national levels was crucial.
Slovenian Convention Bureau director Fredi Fontanot said Conventa's development had been revolutionary and optimistic but also full of tradition. "It would be ideal to expand the meetings industry across all of Slovenia as it is highly suitable for such events," he said, adding that the bureau would draft strategies for individual regions.