Ljubljana Life

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Ljubljana comes to life as a convention city

by tatjana radovic, march 2006

Although it has been present on the European conference map for about twenty five years, many foreign meeting planners still regard Slovenia as a relatively new destination yet to be fully discovered and appreciated. In the latest documents published by the UIA (Union of International Associations) and ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), however, Ljubljana has entered the list of the top 50 meetings cities in the world, while Slovenia itself was ranked 38th. The UIA statistics also feature Slovenia as one of the "tigers" of the decade from 1995-2004 – countries worldwide that have shown a greater-than-50% growth in the number of meetings held.

So when did it all really start? Taking a glimpse at history, Ljubljana’s tradition in hosting meetings of international importance stretches back to the year 1821. The Ljubljana Congress of the Holy Alliance, which took place in the first years following Napoleon’s downfall, welcomed Europe’s rulers for several months, including the Austrian emperor, the Russian Czar, the King of the Two Sicilies, as well as high-ranking statesmen from many other nations. As a curiosity, some streets, squares and inns in the city are now, via their names, a living memento of that important political meeting (Kongresni trg / Congress Square, Cesta dveh cesarjev / The Two Emperors’ Street, gostilna Pri ruskem carju / At the Russian Czar’s Inn).

And jumping back to modern times after a long intermezzo, we step into the early 1980s to find a new milestone – the opening of the Cankarjev dom Cultural and Congress Centre. Both its large auditorium and total seating capacity made it the largest conference venue in Slovenia, and it still is today. Since Cankarjev dom entered the market, the Slovenian capital gradually gained a solid reputation as a venue for European and world association congresses. A difficult period then followed the independence of Slovenia in 1991, but some years later the line took an upwards curve again, with continued progressive growth since then.

Becoming an EU member brought with it a stronger (and more credible) image of the country, which makes the marketing process easier for the leisure travel and meetings industries alike. The present trend indicates more intergovernmental meetings and a further increase in the corporate meetings and incentive travel segment. Both Slovenia, as the first among the ten new members, and its capital are already starting to gear up for the EU presidency in the first half of 2008, which is expected to generate a host of conferences in a concentrated time bracket.

Since the end of the 1990s, an increasing awareness of the potential generated by the conference and incentive travel segment has spurred a cycle of investments aimed at enhancing the quality of these products, both in Ljubljana and throughout Slovenia. First came a major extension and the refurbishment of the Grand Hotel Union Conference Centre in 2002, worth 8 million Euro. The Union was thus transformed into a true convention hotel, being today the second in the country according to auditorium size and total seating capacity.

The year 2004 brought the opening of two new convention hotels: the high-tech Royal Media Ljubljana and the designer Mons Hotel. Other recent investments include additional meeting & seminar rooms at the M Hotel and Lev Hotel. The refurbishment project of the City Hotel, to be completed by next summer, also features the construction of a flexible, 200-seat function space. Last, but not least, the extensive renovation of the Exhibition Grounds has added a new value to Ljubljana’s conference offering. The two largest halls can be transformed into a functional setting for a variety of meetings, being most suitable for larger intergovernmental events. They successfully passed the first test in December 2005 as the venue for the 13th OSCE Ministerial Council.

And what about the advantages or positive features of Ljubljana for hosting international meetings? Mr. Riccardo Jannoni Sebastianini, Secretary General of the World Beekeepers Association that held its Apimondia 2003 congress in our city, summarised it very well, quoting: “Ljubljana is large enough to provide all the services that a major congress may require and, as with an elegant lounge, small enough to make the delegates feel at home during their stay. Easily accessible from abroad and conveniently located in the centre of the country, the capital is also an ideal departure point to discover all the diverse features of Slovenia and its attractions. The unique Karst region, the Adriatic coast, the Alps & lakes region, the hilly wine-growing areas, the natural spas and several historic towns are all within a two-hour drive.”

Apart from this, other factors can be stressed, and are often valid for Slovenia as a whole: it's considered a relatively new destination, and meeting planners are often looking for that; the country has a convenient location in central Europe, offers a good price / quality ratio, plus reasonable prices in general, which is important for association meetings’ organisers wishing to attract more delegates from economically less privileged countries; a good standard of hospitality infrastructure – most of it refurbished in the recent period (& harmonised with EU standards); a countryside that is ecologically preserved, green & active – lots of adventure sports options for incentives and team buildings; a good mix of history/culture and outdoors activities; compact – i.e. giving the possibility to create a very diversified incentive programme while staying in one locality, due to the short driving distances within Slovenia.

We should also not neglect the good cuisine & wines – it often comes as a pleasant surprise to many foreign business & leisure visitors, and that can't be said of all cities or countries. Many foreign delegates would also quote the genuine hospitality of the local people, their good fluency in foreign languages and the dedication of those working in the tourism /meetings sector – defined also as a mix of German efficiency with a more relaxed Mediterranean style.

In terms of accessibility, most conference delegates travel by air, and for Ljubljana each newly opened route or an increased number of flights to an established destination is a plus. The situation has been improving considerably over the last several years, and the arrival of the first low-cost airlines in 2004 represents an advantage for the meetings industry too. The industry is also looking forward to seeing the expansion plans of the Ljubljana airport brought to life by 2009, as the project timeline forecasts.

On the minus side, Ljubljana has not been able to fully exploit its potential as a meetings destination due to a limited number of hotel rooms. A congress with 2,000 delegates blocks up a significant share of the available accommodation facilities. Often a solution has been to propose shifting a portion of the hotel rooms to nearby locations, or alternatively even to Bled (nearly an hour's drive from Ljubljana's center), but this is not always an ideal solution. Still, with two new hotels opened in 2004 and other smaller properties that followed, more youth accommodation, a hotel expansion plan underway and some realistic announcements of new hotel developments in the coming two to three years, the situation has already visibly improved and promises an even brighter outlook ahead.