Prague, 4th May 2012 – Last night, eminent scientists and leading experts were awarded for their efforts in the field of Prague congress tourism development in the Mayor’s Residence. The awards were handed out by the Mayor of the City of Prague, Mr. Bohuslav Svoboda and the President of Prague Convention Bureau (PCB) Mr. Sanjiv Suri. The festive evening culminated in presenting of the award for long-term contribution to congress tourism to prof. RNDr. Václav Pačes, who significantly contributed to the popularization of genetics.
„I know the importance of congress tourism for the city and the importance of each congress Prague hosts, because as a doctor I actively participate in international congresses as well. Not only it improves the overall image of the city and its international position in industry and research, but it also provides enormous economic benefits. Every congress participant spends on average CZK 6.200 per day in Prague, which is almost double compared to the normal tourist,“ the Mayor of the City of Prague, Mr. Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) said, adding that every year a number of international congresses is brought to our capital due to the help of Prague Convention Bureau.
To win such congress for Prague often means long-term effort and considerable investments. The candidacies of mostly periodical events are decided several years prior to the event and the preparation takes the same time, e.g. three years or more. The city’s objective therefore is to attract more and more congresses every year. This resulted in last year’s approval of a groundbreaking step in the support of candidacies, which is common in the competing destinations – free public transport for congresses with more than 500 participants who spend at least 2 nights in Prague and at least 20 per cent of them come from abroad. This year, the city has also decided to implement the largest marketing campaign ever focused on the promotion of this segment in the most significant foreign media.
„According to the international association ICCA, an international congress delegate spends in the hosting city on average 560 Euro per day. Total accumulated income in Prague is around 20 billion CZK per year. The largest congress in the history of the Czech Republic, ERA-EDTA with almost 11 000 participants, which took place in Prague last year, for example, brought more than 25 million CZK to the city’s budget“, said President of PCB, Mr. Sanjiv Suri.
The celebration was attended by nearly 50 eminent scientists and leading experts who were accompanied by Prague Convention Bureau’s member agencies and Prague Congress Centre, whose representatives efficiently cooperate with these scientists. The event was also attended by the director of CzechTourism, Mr. Rostislav Vondruška, sales and product management director of Prague Airport, Mr. Stanislav Zeman, Mr. Aleš Hozdecký from Ministry for Regional Development, or the counsellor of the City of Prague for culture, heritage preservation and exhibitions Mr. Václav Novotný.
The awards were presented to winners in 5 major categories. This year, for the second time, the award for the corporate event of the year was handed out. The winner was Škoda Auto a. s. who was awarded for theirŠkoda World Dealer Conference 2011, one of the largest and logistically most demanding events in the field of automotive industry in the last few years. The preparations took about six months.
The award for “Candidacy of the Year 2011” was handed out to the president of the Czech National Committee of geodesy and geophysics – IUGG RNDr. Vladimír Čermák DrSc. for the candidacy for 26th General Assembly of the International Geodetic and Geophysical Union (IUGG) which will take place in Prague in 2015. The conference brings together 8 associations and is the largest event focused on geodesy and geophysics. That is why its duration is 11 days, which is really unique in the field of congress tourism. The participation of more than a hundred national delegations from all over the world and more than 5000 delegates is expected.
The award for the “Congress of the Year 2010” was handed out to the president of the Czech Society of Nephrology prof. MUDr. Vladimír Tesař, DrSc. for one of the largest European congresses, 48th Congress of European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplantation Association ERA – EDTA. The total number of its participants in Prague exceeded 10 600 persons and it became the largest scientific congress held in the Czech Republic in history.
A special award of the Prague Congress Centre was handed out by the Mayor Mr. Bohuslav Svoboda together with the director of the Prague Congress Centre Mr. Michal Kárník to Prof. MUDr. Jiří Raboch, DrSc., the president of the Czech Psychiatric Society and regional representative of the World Psychiatric Association for Central and Eastern Europe. During his long practice in the field of psychiatry, many international congresses were held in the Czech Republic due to his activity, the most significant of them being the Congress of European Psychiatric Association held in 2000, the 14th World Psychiatric Congress held in 2008, or the Congress of the World Psychiatric Association to be held in October 2012.
The evening culminated in the presentation of the award for the long-term contribution to congress tourism. The award was handed out to prof. RNDr. Václav Pačes, DrSc. Professor Pačes significantly contributed to the popularization of genetics among the public. Both at home and abroad he is thus seen as an authority of society-wide importance. His personal references in the field of congress tourism date back to 1988, when he was a member of organization committee of the Global Biochemistry Congress IUB in Prague which hosted 6000 delegates. Since then he participated in candidacies and organization of dozens of international meetings.
The awards will continue in future years. The number of congress ambassadors should continue to grow in future. Prague Convention Bureau is also planning to develop more activities within its Ambassadors Program, for instance regular educational meetings. The objective of this program is to stimulate interest of other Czech representatives in the international organizations in order to bring other international meetings to Prague. Within the program, new congress ambassadors can expect free professional advice from experienced ambassadors, or specific assistance from the Prague Convention Bureau and its members.
