“We will make all our know-how and the best resources of the region available”, says the director of the Riviera di Rimini Convention Bureau, which operates the new Palacongressi conference and exhibition centre.
Stefania Agostini is determined to offer Rimini’s best resources to ensure Italy’s trade show for the meetings industry is a success: “For the Riviera di Rimini Convention Bureau, BTC has always been the sector’s most important national event, and we have now fully embraced the call Be there to demonstrate; we will not therefore just be in attendance, but will take part in an active and proactive manner, which will allow us to show the Italian and international meetings industry gathering for BTC what Rimini has done and can do in this business”.
The new Palacongressi which will host BTC is already a tangible demonstration of the city’s commitment to strengthening and exploiting to the full its vocation for hosting events that began forty years ago. “It is a flexible venue, which allows a dynamic use of space, fulfilling BTC’s need to bring innovation to the traditional trade fair format,” continues Agostini. “Of course, we are also highly suitable for traditional exhibitions, but our experience lies in events, and we therefore offer our spaces in a way that enables people to meet in the freest and least conventional way possible. BTC will be able to capitalise fully on this opportunity”.
As an event destination, Rimini is highly coordinated and cohesive: the city’s conference hotels have formed the AIA Palas consortium a shareholder of Palacongressi through which they manage the accommodation for events hosted at the conference centre in order to provide guests with the best possible service. “We are also working very closely with Aeradria, which manages Rimini airport, with a view to improving links with the hubs of Milan and Rome and optimising those with Munich”, says Agostini.
Rimini is therefore preparing to give a united demonstration of its event-hosting capabilities. “We want to take BTC into the city, creating meeting places that supplement the networking activities that will occur within Palacongressi”, Agostini adds. “We are still working on it, but one such opportunity is the Notte Rosa (the Pink Night) on 2 July, a festival of music, dance, entertainment and performances throughout the city, which can be exploited for BTC buyers and exhibitors wishing to attend, creating an organisational synergy that adds value to the show”.
Another way in which BTC is being integrated with the city is ensuring that Palacongressi can be reached on foot or by bicycle, with routes and services that will offer BTC guests a truly alternative experience of the destination. “We really believe in this event, we are proactive, and are making available to BTC all our know-how, our supplier network and partnerships with local institutions. We hope that in Rimini, BTC will be able to truly innovate, grow and thrive” concludes Agostini.
