Prague launches specialized campaign in June in the international printed media in an effort to promte congress tourism.
PRAGUE – One of the main promotional activities of Prague this year was an extensive campaign in the international printed media specializing in congress tourism. From June, the campaign took place in a total of 15 specialized media. Every advertisement was also supported by other PR activities. It is the first ever campaign of this kind realized by the capital city.
The campaign, which included the media such as Conference and Incentive Travel Magazine, Voyages d’Affaires or EIBTM Show Daily, was completed with a year-long program for foreign journalists from the area of both conventions and conferences, and leisure and tourism. More than 50 representatives of trade press, travel agents and conference organizers from 32 countries were invited to Prague where they enjoyed varied programmes, from a welcome by the representatives of the City of Prague, a tour of selected sites, hotels and various city organizations to social and leisure activities.
The activities that are popular throughout the world met with a very positive feedback from the participants who appreciated both the organization and the range of offered opportunities. All participants agreed that Prague has a lot to offer to its visitors, both in the field of leisure activities and the perspective of quality background for congress tourism. When asked whether Prague will be included in their portfolio, A.R. Revsbech from the Danish office of the JTB travel agency, for example, responded: “Of course, you showed us a lot of options that your beautiful city has to offer.” The entire event was evaluated by the councilor Prague Mr. Vaclav Novotny: “Presentation of Prague from the perspective of its history, culture, gastronomy and infrastructure in this attractive form greatly contributed to the awareness of foreign tourists and their motivation to visit our capital city.”
This activity of the City of Prague was also welcomed by the Prague Convention Bureau, which has long been in cooperation with the City Hall trying to increase the number of congress and conference events in the capital. According to its statistical data, Prague has seen a significant increase in the number of these events earlier this year; in the third quarter, i.e. the period just after the start of the media campaign, the number of congress and conference events increased by approximately 20%, compared to the same period last year. This positive trend is also confirmed by the CSO (Czech Statistical Office) statistics, according to which there has been an increase of these events by about 11% in the first three quarters of this year, and the number of conference participants has increased by 15%.
Prague Convention Bureau expects that the impact of this year’s campaign will result in growth of the congress industry, especially in the high season of the next year.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.