Croatian Meeting Experience Summit - MEETEX is a national MICE B2B trade show that connects international buyers with key stakeholders of the Croatian business tourism industry. This year's edition of the trade show, MEETEX 2023, after two hybrid editions, will again be held entirely live - from March 28 to 30 at The Westin Hotel in Zagreb.
More than 5,000 held B2B meetings so far
The MICE trade show has been held since 2019, and already after the first two editions, it gained the status of one of the 10 best European B2B trade shows in the meetings and incentive industry according to a survey conducted by the magazine Kongres among almost 80,000 international professionals of the meetings industry. What makes it different from other similar events in the region is that it presents only one destination - Croatia. During the pandemic, two editions of the trade show were successfully held in an innovative hybrid format in two parts. Thus, 1-on-1 virtual meetings were held in March 2021 and 2022, followed by study trips of international buyers to Croatian meeting destinations in the warmer days in order to experience their offer live.
During the four years it was held, more than 5,000 business meetings were successfully held, and MEETEX hosted more than 240 foreign meeting planners from specialized agencies, corporations and international professional associations.
Great interest of international buyers in Croatia
The organizers point out that this year, around 60 representatives of the Croatian MICE industry will present their offer, consisting of tourist boards and convention bureaus, DMC and PCO agencies, meeting and event spaces, hotel chains with congress facilities, boutique and luxury hotels, but also providers of all related services such as technology companies, carriers and numerous other specialized suppliers.
The quality of invited hosted buyers is very important for the success of any B2B event, and the organizers of MEETEX pay the most attention to this. This year, the emitting markets from which buyers come have been expanded, including the North American market, among others, and for those markets from which buyers have already come, a total of 8 pre-recruiting agencies have been hired to perform pre-selection. The process of selecting buyers is very comprehensive and care is taken to ensure that the invited buyers are qualified, having previously been carefully checked that they really have an interest in Croatia. According to the organizers, the number of planners applications received is extremely high, and they come both from agencies and directly from the event’s website. This is an additional confirmation that MEETEX has become a very recognizable brand in the international business tourism industry.
In addition to pre-planned business meetings, those agreed on the spot and pleasant socializing and networking during breaks, a rich and entertaining social program is also planned with the unmissable MEETEX themed evening, as well as an educational keynote lecture by an international expert on the latest trends in the event industry.
Post MEETEX FAM trip to Dubrovnik
In order for the invited customers to really get to know the richness and diversity of Croatia as a MICE destination, four study trips (fam trips) were organized before and after the MICE trade show itself. Thus, from March 25 to 28, buyers will have the opportunity to get to know Zagreb and Split, and after the trade show, from March 30 to April 1, Kvarner and Opatija and Dubrovnik. A very diverse and interesting program has been organized in Dubrovnik in order for interested buyers to get acquainted with all the possibilities of organizing events in this charming, centuries-old Mediterranean city.