A Polish branch at the MICE by Melody workshop in Germany

For many years, the German market has been one of the most important markets contributing to foreign tourism in Poland.

It is estimated that about 10 percent of all visits to Poland by Germans are business trips. From August 31 to September 2 this year, workshops will be held in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main and Munich, and during the workshops the Polish Tourist Organization – Poland Convention Bureau – locally supported by the ZOPOT in Berlin, together with Polish exhibitors, will present the Polish offer of the meetings industry.

The meetings industry is one of the industries most affected by the pandemic. Due to the restrictions and two cancellations of the IMEX fair in Frankfurt due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organisation of a joint exhibition on the German market by the Polish Tourism Organisation was not possible until now.

Currently, the German government is loosening travel and stay restrictions. From May 30, Poland is not considered a high-risk area. The purchasing decisions and attitudes of German customers have changed as restrictions have been loosened. Poland, as a neighbouring country close nearby that is interesting and at the same time safe, may become a beneficiary of higher tourist traffic from Germany.

With the safety of participants of company retreats and conferences at the forefront of our concerns, we have returned to live meetings. Representatives of the Polish meeting industry spent the long months of lockdown on developing standards and procedures for events organised according to new sanitary requirements. The largest conference and congress centres have implemented appropriate solutions in this respect, and most hotels as well as DMC and PCO companies have followed suit.

The following Polish parties were invited to participate in the workshop: convention bureaux, Professional Congress Organizers (PCO), and Destination Management Companies (DMC). Exhibitors were accepted on the basis of applications and positive verification of the exhibitor participation criteria by the Polish Tourism Organisation.

As part of a roadshow in Germany planned for August 31 to September 2 this year, together with the Poland Convention Bureau of the PTO, the following organisations will present their offer:

Convention Bureau -Wrocław

DMC Poland

Gdańsk Convention Bureau

Krakow Convention Bureau

Mazurkas DMC Poland

Poznań Convention Bureau

Travel Project DMC Poland

Warsaw Convention Bureau

During the 3-day roadshow, the exhibitors will have the opportunity to meet about 180 selected planners from Germany, Austria and Switzerland who we believe may contribute to maintaining and strengthening the demand for business tourism services, strengthening Poland's competitiveness on the international arena as a meeting destination and building trust among meetings and events planners in the times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The organiser of the MICE by Melody workshop is the marketing and communication agency PeC-Kommunikation that was founded in 2010. The agency is based in Hamburg and has been dealing exclusively with MICE marketing since 2012. The MICE by Melody workshop is intended exclusively for international exhibitors, with the target group being German-speaking event planners who organise international events.

Additionally, as part of the event, an on-line promotion is planned, which results from the agreement with PeC-Kommunikation that runs the industry portal https://www.miceboard.com/willkommen-zur-online-site-inspection-in-polen/

The following organisations will also participate in the roadshow: Visit Britain, Meet Ireland, Visit Estonia/Estonian Convention Bureau, Zurich Tourismus, Convention Bureau Davos, Graz Convention Bureau, Cannes Convention Bureau, Visit Brussels, Monaco Convention Bureau.

Prepared by: Aneta Książek