Aiming to accelerate the business events industry development in Lithuania and the Baltics, the Vilnius Convention Bureau (VCB) held its inaugural meetings tradeshow, Convene, on 13-14 February at LitExpo.
The exhibition was attended by 116 hosted buyers from 21 countries, and drew the attention of important global event agencies such as HelmsBriscoe and BI Worldwide, alongside corporates such as Shell, Microsoft, and Allianzbank, all of which sent representatives to the show. The bureau claims its idea of joining regional forces and launching what it claims is the first regional exhibition for meetings and events, attracted 58 exhibitors from countries including Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, including a large contingent from Finland, the only Nordic exhibitor. The show’s strategic business consultant Paul Kennedy MBE, said that in the world of international meetings, Lithuania is unknown despite good efforts by the VCB. The reality, he said, is there is tough competition for meetings business from elsewhere.
“This show, as it grows, will help establish the country as a gateway to the world of international meetings and events in the Baltic region,” Kennedy said. He added that the show was a “perfect example of a public and private partnership in practice”, whereby the state, city and industry stakeholders have clubbed together to create an event that is well received by the international meetings industry. It demonstrates that the time and resources invested into creating a new international marketplace, “will help accelerate awareness of what the region has to offer”.
Jolanta Beniulien, director of both the VCB and the exhibition, said: “The global meetings industry business is changing. Regional cooperation has become increasingly important. We need to acknowledge the Baltic Sea Region is still ‘undiscovered’ and has a lot to offer,” she said.
Beniulien added that the show is a great motivation to get approval for a conference centre in the city centre, and to develop a national airline. Kennedy said the re-introduction of national carrier airLituanica in June 2013 makes a strong economic statement to the international community that the region is ready to do business.
Convene next takes place on 12-13 February 2014.
This was first published in Issue 2/2013 of EW. Any comments? Email exhibitionworld@mashmedia.net
