There's a lot more to 2012 than the London Olympics, and from a Polish perspective it's the European Football Championship – UEFA EURO 2012 – that's getting people excited right now. The EURO 2012 will undoubtedly put to the test Poland's ability to organise major international sports events – will the national meetings and event industry be up to the challenge? Well, if Poland's track record of winning and running major conferences is anything to go by, the answer is a resounding Tak!
Over the past decade, Poland's stable economy, strategic location, competitive prices, natural and cultural attractions and strong traditions of hospitality have turned this country into a vibrant and successful destination for meetings both large and small. Polish cities are attracting a growing number of corporate meetings of foreign companies that have business interests in Poland. Year in, year out, the number of foreign investors in Poland is growing steadily (according to the daily Rzeczpospolita, Poland is the world's sixth most attractive country for investors). But, increasingly, international associations are also choosing Poland as the destination for their annual conferences, drawn to the country by its novelty-value, its fast-improving network of international air-links, its excellent value-for-money, and the skills and professionalism of its conference organisers and destination management companies.
One of the country's leading PCOs is the Trip Group, a company that has consistently risen to the challenges of successfully operating in Poland's event and conference market. Established in the southern Polish city of Zakopane 20 years ago by three partners, Trip now employs several hundred people, operates a number of hotels, runs a nationwide tour-operator business, and, through its PCO role, makes a vital contribution to Poland's international and national conference and event market. Going from strength to strength, Trip has recently received a further boost from its membership to ICCA (International Congress & Convention Association) which has helped it develop its conference services worldwide and promote its partnerships with local convention bureaux.
"ICCA's logo is on our website, although it's not just a badge," said Kuba Chechliński, CEO of Trip Group. "We want to take advantage of the international experience of this organization and use its energy and creativity; in this way, Poland will become an unrivaled destination."
Several examples of events managed by Trip serve to demonstrate the company's capabilities: the concert performed by the fado singer Mariza in September 2008 at the National Theatre, co-organized with the Embassy of Portugal in Poland; the 2nd Congress of Women held in Warsaw's Palace of Culture and Science in September 2010, with 4,000 attendees; and the Congress of the Polish Society for Vascular Surgery held from 22-24 April 2011 at the Hotel Ossa in Rawa Mazowiecka, a property owned by the company located about 80km from Warsaw – the 900 delegates attending the event used most of the hotel's 26 meeting rooms.
So, can Poland pull it off next year, with the eyes of the world on its capacity to organise a mega-event like the EURO 2012? Someone who's not losing any sleep over this is Rob Davidson, Senior Lecturer in Events Management at the University of Greenwich, London. As a consultant with a broad experience in working in the Polish meetings and event industry, Davidson has been following the country's progress as a conference and event destination over the past decade, and his conclusion is that the EURO 2012 will be an event of which Poland can be proud: "Ten years ago, I wouldn't have been so confident. But I've seen fantastic advances in the levels of professionalism and expertise of the people who work in Polish PCOs, DMCs and convention bureaux. This is a country known for the energy, resourcefulness and sheer hard work of its people, and that gives it a huge competitive advantage. I just met Davide Odella, one of the Trip managers, at an ICCA conference in Gdansk recently, and it's people like him who keep me convinced that the future of Poland's conference and events industry is in good hands."
