Several among the key meeting industry suppliers in the Slovenian capital have recently invested into new developments, aimed at upgrading their functionality and increasing their competitiveness on the national and international markets.

CANKARJEV DOM CULTURAL AND CONGRESS CENTRE, the venue with the largest auditorium-style seating capacity in Slovenia, is in the middle of a dynamic investment process, which began with the total refurbishment of the 2nd Foyer, completed in late 2006. It continued with the refurbishment of the CD Club, a designed function space set on the top floor of the building, which welcomed its first guests in early 2008. The most recent achievement of this autumn is the reopening of the 204-seater Kosovel Hall, which has undergone substantial cosmetic restoration. Special attention was paid to selecting environmentally friendly materials for the wall and ceiling panelling and the floor, and to several innovations in the hall's technical equipment (sound, multimedia, and lighting).
Further plans in the next two years will focus on a soft refurbishment of the two largest halls with a seating capacity of 2,000 and 615, respectively.
www.cd-cc.si/congress

THE LJUBLJANA EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION CENTRE, whose local acronym is GR, has expanded its meeting facilities this autumn by creating new function space within the Marble Hall complex, which now consists of a plenary and five flexible breakout rooms, named Urška.
Four smaller halls, with a surface area of 580 sq m, complement the state-of-the-art convention space that was renovated in 2005, and are designed to provide a multipurpose solution for a range of events. Their maximum capacity is 500 seats theatre-style or 250 for a banquet, while in terms of individual room size, they range from 108 to 212 sq m.
With this new development, the Marble Hall, which can be partitioned in two equal sections, has been upgraded into an independent congress centre within the GR complex. Its maximum plenary capacity of 1,400 seats theatre-style is complemented by a total of nine breakout rooms under the same roof. The possibility of using a separate entrance from the GR courtyard is especially attractive for evening functions.
The four new halls are called “Water Man”, while the nine breakouts altogether are named “Urška and the Water Man”, taking an inspiration from two fictional personages who became a legend in the verses of the major Slovenian poet, France Prešeren. Even the lovely fountain in the GR courtyard bears the same name, as a memento of the same legend.
www.gr-sejem.si

THE BEST WESTERN HOTEL SLON, a 4-star property with an excellent downtown location, has this year restyled the majority of its guest rooms and public areas, and is proceeding with investments aimed at improving its quality. Three flexible seminar rooms, which can welcome up to 120 delegates, are currently being revamped to step into the year 2009 with a completely new, stylish look. The modernisation also includes new technical equipment to support the organisation even of more demanding events. The Slon Hotel, with its excellent hospitality, stands as a symbol of more than 450 years of tradition: its location is where the oldest hotel in Ljubljana was once built.
www.hotelslon.com

The Ljubljana Tourist Board's Convention Bureau has issued, in cooperation with the Kongres Magazine, a new edition – »Ljubljana Tips for Incentives«. Its distribution will start at the EIBTM show.
The publication showcases an array of individual products that can be combined to create rewarding incentive programmes. Part of the contents focus on the capital, while another section is dedicated to a choice of activities out of Ljubljana, since many attractive locations – from the Adriatic coast to the Alps, can be reached within 1.5 hour's drive.
Due to the small size of Slovenia, meeting- or incentive planners are warmly recommended to give diversity and added value to an event by combining different experiences within short distances from Ljubljana.
www.visitljubljana.si/en/meeting_planners/ www.kongres-magazine.eu/

Refurbished three-star hotel and newly built four-star hotel will have a capacity of 120 rooms all together. Wellness centre with exquisite services and treatments will also be a part of this new story. You are kindly invited to visit our gastronomic facilities and to treat yourself and your darling in à la carte restaurant or in a wine cellar. For all of our guests who would like to stay fit or be amused and entertained during their stay at hotel Špik we will be offering diverse sports facilities. Hotel Špik will not offer the typical conference facilitates, but will instead feature two distinctive meeting rooms (50 and 75 m2), a banquet room (70 m2) and a seminar room (260 m2) in order to accommodate company meetings, outings and events. The two meeting rooms are also ideal for smaller gatherings, interviews or executive retreats, whereas ample banquet room and seminar room will keep any group comfortable. Make your event even more unique in one of our conference facilitates.

After a voting campaign, which reached more than 167.000 travel professionals, Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana has been voted Slovenia’s leading Spa Resort. Hailed as »the Oscars of the Travel Industry«, The World Travel Award is without doubt the most prestigious and comprehensive awards programme for the travel business. Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana, a member of the leading Austrian hotel group Austria Trend Hotels & Resorts and one of the leading congress-business hotel in the city, can praise itself with 214 rooms & sutes, including 2 Presidential sutes, conference & congress centre facilitating from 5 to 450 participants and equipped with the most advanced technology, 2 restaurants and a bar. The additional offer like Spa with sauna and massages as well as Casino with its entertaining programme give an integrated offer and enables business clients to mostly enjoy their stay at the Austria Trend Hotel Ljubljana.

This year the Slovenian Convention Bureau in collaboration with the Slovenian Tourist Organisation and members of the Slovenian Convention Bureau will again be in evidence at one of the most important International Trade Fairs in the world to be held in Barcelona between 2 and 4 December. Slovenia will for the first time also feature as part of the South-Eastern Europe stand with the goal of attracting international attention to the range of facilities on offer from South-Eastern Europe. New attractive convention and incentive destinations are increasing the competitive position of all included destinations both in the European and international arena. More information on the trade show: www.eibtm.com

This year the Slovenian Convention Bureau in collaboration with the Slovenian Tourist Organisation and ten members has again taken part in the largest Italian International Trade Fair BTC, which run from the 6 to 7 November 2008 in Rome. More information: www.btc.it

The company Terme Radenci, d.o.o. (Ltd.), operating under the umbrella brand name Panonske terme (Pannonian Spa) in the business group Sava, is renovating the oldest Terapija hotel, which symbolises the beginning of the health spa business in Radenci. The goal is to strengthen the health spa business. With the hotel’s renovation, Terme Radenci will place even more stress on the importance of the rich health spa business operation and continue the 126-year tradition of effective treatment of cardiovascular diseases, kidney and urinary tract diseases, rheumatic diseases, motor system disorders and metabolic diseases.
With 3200 m2 the hotel will offer accommodation in four suites, 58 double rooms and seven single rooms in the nursing wing. Hotel and daily guests will be offered various culinary dishes in the renovated restaurants with 160 seats. And in the new confectionery area, which will have a garden with 40 seats, those with a sweet-tooth will be offered a variety of home-made desserts. And with the renewed wellness offer extending over four new massage salons the hotel personnel will provide their guests with perfect relaxation and pampering. www.terme-radenci.si

New in Cankarjev dom, Culture and Congress Centre, is the renovated Kosovel Hall which has undergone substantial cosmetic restoration.. There is new wall and ceiling panelling in cherry and walnut brown, the floor is made of bamboo, an environmentally-friendly material. Visitors will have 203 comfortable grey-coloured conference chairs at their disposal. There are also some innovations in the hall’s technical equipment (sound, multimedia, and lighting). With the renovated hall, Cankarjev dom wants to address the scientific and economic market, while its multi-purpose nature enables it to be included in the rich programme of Cankarjev dom. www.cd-cc.si/kongres

The City Hotel Ljubljana thought about guests with hearing difficulties. To enable them to listen and follow unimpeded what is going, the hotel has built in a so-called induction loop (a special amplifier for guests with hearing problems) in the congress centre. They have thus added yet another stone to the mosaic of adaptations for guests with special needs and proved they are worthy of the recognition which they received as a hotel friendly to and aware of the needs of the handicapped. www.cityhotel.si

DMAI is the largest world-wide association of convention and tourist bureaux and was formed some 90 years ago. The association has more than 1,500 members from 625 destination organisations spanning 25 countries. The main mission of the association is furthering education, the sharing of knowledge and experience among members as well as establishing ties between them. With the Slovenian Convention Bureau’s entry into this association we will gain the opportunity to master the necessary knowledge and expertise in marketing destinations together with direct access to the latest ideas and current trends as well as the opportunity to develop a network of contacts among specialists in the field of destination marketing. More information: www.iacvb.org

At a workshop which the Slovenian Convention Bureau in conjunction with its partners organised in Belgium in March, we became acquainted with Madame Vranken-Marteaux, a representative of the Colipa Association. On her own initiative Madame Vranken-Marteaux decided to undertake a study visit to Slovenia in August. Following an inspection of destinations and locations, and the organiser getting to know them, in September the decision was taken for Slovenia to host a Colipa event for 200 people in 2009. The event will be hosted by one of the members of the Slovenian Convention Bureau.