Serbia Convention Bureau (SCB) takes great pride in the fact that Serbia is the fastest growing meeting destination in Europe as per latest ICCA statistics. The figures show that Serbia has made a tremendous jump in terms of the number of events organized, taking into consideration three main criteria: number of participants, rotation and regular occurrence. This sharp increase, especially in Belgrade as the major congress destination in Serbia, is mainly through the common efforts of all industry partners who have been united in one common goal – promotion and marketing of destination.
Since its establishment in 2007, the SCB has been progressively marketing Serbia as MICE destination, with the main goal to position it as a leader in South East Europe. ICCA statistics reveal that Serbia is climbing the ranks faster than any other European destination. In 2010, Serbia hosted 46 meetings to take the 43rd position in the world. Just three years earlier, Serbia had only 11 meetings and was in 64th place.
Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, now ranks 28th among the approximately 200 convention destinations listed for Europe with 33 international congresses in 2010. Belgrade is now hosting a similar number of meetings as cities like Glasgow, Florence, Goteborg and Hamburg – Appendix 1.
Bureau CEO, Milos Milovanovic said that the marketing efforts and the visibility of the Serbia destination team have shown that Serbia is on the right track. “The convenient location, with excellent accessibility; perfect facility package (the main convention center is connected to major hotels); good value for money; growing number of new hotels; a variety of incentive programs and tours; Serbian versatile and organic gastronomy; hospitable people, and fun – these are just some of the attributes Serbia has already been acknowledged for”, said Milovanovic.
Keeping pace with the latest IT, the SCB has been widely promoting Serbia destination using digital and social media tools. At the ICCA Congress held in Leipzig, Germany, the presentation of “Serbia Destination” Mobile Application was highly acknowledged, while Serbia has been recognized as a leader in applying the latest IT in the destination promotion, and developing the first Mobile App for meeting planners in Europe – Appendix 2.
The recently published Serbia Meeting Planner’s Guide had served as a starting point for developing of “Serbia Destination” Mobile App, optimized for all platforms. Once downloaded, the App operates off-line, and it helps meeting planners and delegates understand all capacities and potentials while planning, organizing and attending their event in Serbia. The Easy-to-use interface and search engines help browsing the contents for suitable solutions. Special feature provides planners with possibility to inform the delegates according to the specific requirements of the event. “Serbia Destination” Mobile App has been integrated into the official SCB Facebook page, and together with the mobile website, represents a step forward in digital destination marketing.
The MPG guide is a must have document not only for the meeting planners, but for an average visitor, too. It is available and fully downloadable from the SCB website at www.scb.travel. And for the App, well look for the QR codes – they are everywhere!
