Catching MICE

According to the 'Meeting and Event Industry in Poland 2013' report by the Poland Convention Bureau, congress attendees stayed for an average of three days in the places they visited and spent PLN 791 (excluding the fees for the event organisers). Trade fair participants stayed for even longer (3.5 days) and spent more - PLN 910 per person. "This is a profitable business for hotels as well as restaurants, shops and taxi companies, and of course for the organisers of the events. The development potential of this sector in Poland is still high," believes Krzysztof Celuch, the manager of Poland Convention Bureau, a government body set up to promote Poland as a business meeting destination. "The meeting industry has had a very significant influence on the hotel industry in Poland for several years," claims Magdalena Sekutowska, the development director of Hilton Worldwide. "Despite the turbulence resulting from the economic climate, continuing progress in the construction of conference infrastructure is evident. ICE, a modern centre with an auditorium for 2,000 people, is now being built in Kraków, as well as the International Conference Centre with a hall for 12,000 people in Katowice. Hilton Worldwide's DoubleTree by Hilton brand serves as an example from the hotel sector, with hotels in Łódź (with a conference and banquet area of over 2,000 sqm), Kraków (2,200 sqm) and Warsaw, which are now under construction. The Warsaw project will offer 30 conference halls, covering a total area of 5,000 sqm, making it the largest conference centre of the chain in Poland," Magdalena Sekutowska points out.

The potential is there, but...
"The meeting industry is the future of hospitality in large cities in Poland," says Alex Kloszewski, a partner and director of the hotel department at Colliers International. "In Germany the MICE sector is responsible for 37 pct of hotel overnight stays - much more than here. This means that we still have a long way to go," he adds. Attracting a suitable number of international conferences to Poland still poses a challenge. "Marketing is our weakest point. Polish members of international associations of dermatologists or orthopaedists prefer going abroad instead of lobbying to bring a conference over to us and then taking charge of the organisational matters as the hosts. You need to convince them that we have the required infrastructure and specialist companies to guarantee a high standard of organisation for the meetings," argues Andrzej Hulewicz, the vice-president of Mazurkas Travel Poland, a company that has been a pioneer on this market. Krzysztof Celuch also points out that acting together is necessary. "Instead of promoting themselves separately, hotel groups, private hoteliers and restaurant operators should act under a common campaign to promote Poland. Examples from all over the world show us that such promotional activities are more effective," declares the representative of Poland Convention Bureau.

Large or small?
Another issue is the lack of a showpiece centre in the capital city that could accommodate the largest congresses, such as one that is to take place in Warsaw in November. The COP19 United Nations conference on climate change, which is commonly known as ?the Climate Summit', will be held in a temporarily-built plenary hall at the National Stadium. The conference infrastructure, which will be prepared for 10,000 participants, is to be dismantled immediately after the end of the summit. "A lot of people would like Warsaw to get a grip on the situation and finally build a large, genuine congress centre. Our experience tells us that the entire industry would benefit from it," says Magdalena Sekutowska. Alex Kloszewski has a similar opinion, believing that the capital is the city with the largest potential when it comes to the meeting industry in Poland. International congresses are actually interested in visiting new places, because such changes stimulate participants' interest. Warsaw, as the capital city and an air transport hub, would make an excellent new location. "For us it is the practical argument that is important. Attracting large international congresses is the only way to fill the ever-increasing numbers of hotels in Warsaw. If we build the infrastructure needed, we could be attracting guests for an additional 400,000 rooms per year," believes the expert from Colliers International. However, bringing over large conferences for, let's say, 15,000 people is not easy. Between 15 and 20 take place in Europe each year. "First we need to cooperate effectively in order to win small and medium conferences, before taking the next step and trying to attract the large ones. Some well thought-out investment is needed," says Krzysztof Celuch, with some caution. He adds that smaller cities also stand a chance of winning a share in the meeting industry, but should rather promote themselves as destinations for staff motivational trips or corporate events.