Dubrovnik has once again been awarded the title of the best meetings destination in Central and Southeast Europe for medium-sized events at this year's Meetings Star Awards ceremony during the Conventa trade fair. Proudly holding this title for nearly 14 years! In addition, numerous contacts have been established with international hosted buyers interested in organizing events in Dubrovnik.

Conventa took place this year from February 20^th to 22^nd in Ljubljana, bringing together 112 exhibitors from 15 countries and 160 carefully selected hosted buyers from 33 countries. Celebrating its 16th birthday, Conventa once again proved to be an excellent venue for gathering and networking in the regional MICE industry, exchanging valuable ideas, and making new business contacts.

The program started on Tuesday, February 20^th with the first edition of the Conventa Decision Makers Forum - Conventa Crossroads, held in the recently opened special event space, Center Rog, in Ljubljana. The event brought together some of the most influential figures in the business travel and events industry, who discussed burning topics and trends in the industry.

The meeting capacities and offerings of Dubrovnik ideally match market demands

The next two days were reserved for the business part of the fair and 1-on-1 meetings. Dubrovnik has been participating in Conventa since its inception and is one of its most sought-after exhibitors. So, this year too, during the business part of the fair, there was a great interest in Dubrovnik, with high potential for organizing events from 2025 onwards. Among the interested buyers were representatives of associations, as well as organizers of corporate meetings and incentive trips, mainly from European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, UK, as well as distant countries such as the USA, UAE, and South Africa. Primarily, 5-star hotels were sought after, but also 4-star hotels, especially for pharmaceutical gatherings. The meeting capacities and offerings of Dubrovnik ideally match market demands for events with up to 1,200 participants.

In addition to the Convention Bureau of the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, the Croatian MICE offer was presented at the trade show by the Convention Bureau of the Croatian National Tourist Board, the Convention Bureau of the Zagreb Tourist Board, the Croatian national airline Croatia Airlines, and hotel companies Plava Laguna d.d., Arena Hospitality, Lošinj Hotels&Villas, and Le Meridien Lav.

Once again this year, the Conventa trade show was marked by flawless organization, a balanced distribution of time between scheduled meetings and additional networking opportunities, i.e. social events, and careful selection of quality buyers, which enabled the creation of new contacts for presenting the meeting and incentive offer of Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik once again shines brightly with the award for the best meeting destination

Apart from meetings, the Conventa program also included an interesting educational and social program, including the prestigious Meetings Star Awards ceremony for the best destinations, hotels, congress centres, events, and individuals in the industry. The official awards ceremony was held at Cankarjev dom on February 21^st, and among the Croatian laureates were the city of Dubrovnik and the hotel Grand Brioni Pula, Radisson Collection Hotel.

Dubrovnik was awarded the title of the best meetings destination in the M category for up to 1,200 participants in the Central and Southeast Europe region, or the New Europe region as the organizers of this award call it. According to the jury, Dubrovnik won the award because, among other things, it systematically develops incentive programs that maintain responsibility towards the environment, society, and participants, continuously invests in tourism and transport infrastructure, and remains a destination capable of hosting the most demanding events in the region in 2023/2024.

Meetings Star Awards have been awarded for 14 years, and Dubrovnik has always been presented as the flagship of the MICE offer in the Adriatic since the very beginning. This is undeniable proof that Dubrovnik successfully defends and justifies the title of the best by continuous upgrading and regular enrichment of its MICE offer and services and that it successfully fulfills and exceeds the expectations of international organizers year after year.