Kraków's conference offer at trade fairs and events

The year 2022 is coming to an end, so it is time to list the most important international trade fairs and industry events during which we presented the City's rich conference offer as the Kraków Convention Bureau team. In recent years, the MICE industry has been grappling with the realities of the pandemic and, thus, new models of hybrid and online meetings. The crisis also affected the largest industry fairs, which were held virtually for most of 2020 and 2021, contradicting their nature. Therefore, we were delighted to welcome the possibility of direct meetings and face-to-face business talks.

As part of the "Małopolska – Travel Destination" project, we presented our offer of conference facilities at events such as IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX Las Vegas, IBTM Barcelona, three editions of table meetings - The Meetings Space, two editions of the M&I Forum, and a small gathering with event organisers from Scandinavia - the Nordic Summit. Moreover, we participated in 3 economic missions oriented towards the German and British markets and Conventa table meetings.

At each event, we conducted an average of 25 conversations, providing us with around 250 potential new customers. Direct talks consistently build recognition and the City's brand as an organiser of international events, and, in the long-term tourism development policy, broaden the promotion area beyond strictly tourist aspects.

Promoting Kraków's conference potential and establishing relationships with business meeting organisers and association members is one of the critical areas of KCB's activities. Direct talks, which coincided with another crisis, such as the war in Ukraine, brought an opportunity to familiarise foreign entrepreneurs with the actual situation in Poland, the scale and image of emigration in our City, and to calm fears about security.

We hope that the next year will be even better for the industry as a whole.