Montenegro is steadily gaining traction as a favored destination for business travelers, with the Montenegro Convention Bureau (MCB) playing a pivotal role in bolstering capacities for business tourism development and promoting Montenegro as an attractive hub for hosting diverse corporate events such as conferences, congresses, business meetings, incentive trips and more, according to its director, Aleksandra Maksimović.
As per the announcement, the Montenegro Convention Bureau, in collaboration with the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro and the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, is showcasing the destination’s offerings for business travel at the IMEX 2024 fair in Frankfurt.
“Alongside the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, MCB members, representing tourist agencies, hotels with conference facilities, and the local tourist organization of Budva, we’re participating once again in one of Europe’s largest specialized congress fairs, IMEX in Frankfurt. This presents a valuable opportunity to engage with professional event organizers (hosted buyers) from across the globe and further cement Montenegro’s status as a premier destination for business tourism. The substantial number of meetings and group presentations at our booth underscores the growing demand, indicating Montenegro’s increasing popularity. We anticipate that our participation in the fair will translate into a higher volume of business events hosted in our country in the foreseeable future,” highlighted Maksimović.
In addition to numerous individual meetings, representatives from the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro conducted presentations for agent groups from the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Germany.
Luka Bulatović, Deputy President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of the Chamber of Economy and owner of Explorer Ltd., expressed that the Chamber of Economy, alongside the NTO at IMEX, has brought together tourism industry stakeholders, agencies, and hoteliers specializing in MICE tourism.
“The fair has seen robust attendance, and this year, the tourism industry is once again offering incentives, thanks to the Chamber of Economy’s subsidy of 15,000 euros, which has eased costs for all tourism entrepreneurs in Montenegro showing interest in participating in IMEX. The bustling activity at our booth reflects keen interest from fair participants in our destination. The success of the offerings we present this year, as well as the results we achieve, will largely hinge on the accessibility of our destination by air,” stressed Bulatović.
During her stay in Frankfurt, MCB Director Aleksandra Maksimović participated in the 2nd Global Forum of National Convention Bureaus organized by the Strategic Alliance of National Convention Bureaus of Europe (SANCBE), in collaboration with industry leaders such as ICCA, IMEX, and PCMA. At this forum, an introductory conference on the sustainability of the global business events industry, named Convene 4 Climate, was announced to take place in Barcelona on October 2nd and 3rd this year, aiming to promote responsibility, leverage technological advancements, and offer transformative solutions to the ongoing challenges posed by climate change.
At the Montenegro Convention Bureau booth, representatives from the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro, the local tourist organization of Budva, hotel groups Montenegro Stars and Beppler&Jacobson Montenegro, and various tourist agencies presented the destination’s offerings.
The IMEX fair in Frankfurt, in its 22nd iteration, brought together over 3,800 global event organizers and more than 2,900 exhibitors, representing service providers in the field of congress tourism from across the world, including national and regional convention bureaus, hotel groups, special event venues, cruise companies, airlines, spa resorts, and more.
