20 years of changes, challenges, and development of the city, the local MICE industry, and congress infrastructure. In 2004, the Kraków Convention Bureau was established as one of the first congress bureaux in Poland. Two decades ago, when Poland joined the European Union and the city saw the emergence of the first chain hotels, it was decided that business tourism in Kraków had a potential worth developing.

Kraków Convention Bureau

The Kraków Convention Bureau has been operating within the structures of the Municipality of Kraków since 2004. The main task of the team is to build the brand of the city as a business destination, a brand that is currently stable and enjoys interest both in Poland and internationally. Visit the website of the Kraków Convention Bureau.

The Kraków Convention Bureau is a partner connecting the business and scientific community with the local government of the city, and is the first point of contact for organisers of events, especially international ones. Most of the major congresses of associations carried out in the city are held with the cooperation and support of the Bureau.

Especially important, due to the specificity of Kraków and its position as a scientific hub, is the Kraków Congress Ambassador Club, operating within the Kraków Network group, run in cooperation with the Kraków Convention Bureau. So far, the title of Ambassador of Polish Congresses has been awarded to over 320 people, 64 of whom are associated with Kraków.

A consistent increase in the number of events in Kraków until the outbreak of the pandemic

The annual “Meetings Industry in Kraków” report has been providing detailed information on the meetings industry since 2014. Until 2019, the number of reported events had been steadily increasing. For comparison, in 2014 there were 3,976 events, while three years later there were 6,013. The pandemic interrupted this trend, but according to the latest report, 4,368 business meetings were organised in 2023, which is 66.15% more than the year before and more than double the numbers for 2021. It can be optimistically concluded that there is a growing trend in the organisation of congresses and conferences.

It is worth remembering that in 2014 Kraków was the first Polish city to estimate the economic impact of the meetings industry on the city’s economy, confirming its impact on the city’s budget. The report concerning 2017 indicates that the share of GDP generated by the meetings and events industry in the GDP of the Kraków economy amounted to 3.38%.

Elżbieta Kantor, Director of the Department of Tourism, comments:

“The increase in the number of events is a natural result of the fact that Kraków is in many ways a unique city. Centuries-old history and heritage, rich tourist offer, modern hotel facilities and congress infrastructure are the ideal setting and base for organisers of congresses and conferences. An important driver of attracting international congresses to Kraków is the local scientific community, with 23 universities and dynamically developing business.”

Professional infrastructure

The increase in the number of events is accompanied by investments in infrastructure. Looking back over 20 years, we can talk about changes on a massive scale. In 2004, there were 83 hotels in Kraków. Currently, there are 198 hotels, including 21 five-star ones. A significant part of them are used by event organisers and business guests, with two hotels strongly focused on conference clients – DoubleTree by Hilton Kraków Hotel & Convention Center and Metropolo by Golden Tulip. Both of them have 16 conference rooms each, and can accommodate up to two thousand guests.

In 2014, three large conference facilities were opened in the capital of Małopolska – TAURON Arena Kraków, Poland’s largest entertainment and sports hall, which can accommodate over 22 thousand people, the International Fair and Congress Centre Expo Kraków (hosting congresses for up to 5,000 participants), and the ICE Kraków Congress Centre.

ICE Kraków hosts a variety of events – both in terms of form, subject matter and scale. The first decade of its operation was full of business and cultural meetings that shaped ICE Kraków and established its position as a leader in the European congress and cultural scene. Since October 2014, it has hosted more than 1,400 events, during which time ICE Kraków was visited by nearly 1.7 million participants. Notable events include

• the 61^st ICCA World Congress
• the ECAI (European Conference on Artificial Intelligence)
• the International Congress of World Heritage Cities (OWHC)
• the 48^th World Surgical Congress
• the Open Eyes Economy Summit.

May 2024 marked ten years since the first event at TAURON Arena Kraków, Pixar in Concert.

Since then, over 2,400 events have been organised, and more than 6 million people have visited the venue! TAURON Arena Kraków hosted such legends as: Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, Björk, Robbie Williams, Metallica, Aerosmith, Depeche Mode, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Linkin Park, Justin Bieber and Harry Styles. In total, more than 430 artists have performed, 380 sports events and more than 100 congresses and conferences have taken place, such as the Musketeer Congress, Lyconet Elite Seminar, Jobicon Job Fair, Meetup and HackYeah Hackathon.

In 2004, EXPO Kraków was opened. With an area of 15,000 m², it is the largest trade fair and exhibition venue in Małopolska. The first event organised at EXPO Kraków was ConExPest, followed by Moto Show Kraków. Currently, EXPO hosts more than 100 thousand people from different parts of the world every year. Flagship events such as:

• the International Book Fair in Kraków®,
• the International Dental Fair KRAKDENT®,
• the International Trade Fair for Hotel and Gastronomy HORECA®,
• the BookGame Festival
• Board Games Fair and the TUNING SHOW EXPO for car enthusiasts have become permanent fixtures in Kraków’s event calendar.

In 2021, Fabryczna Conference Centre (CKF_13) was opened, a multifunctional facility located in the historic part of the Fabryczna City complex, on the site of the former Polmos vodka factory. The complex also includes a four-star Mercure hotel, a selection of fine restaurants and the Vodka Factory Museum.

To meet the needs of visitors to the capital of Małopolska, the number of flight connections is systematically increasing, with Kraków Airport currently offering over 160 regular connections. Passenger traffic at Kraków Airport is growing steadily, with almost 9.5 million passengers served in 2023 – the best result in the airport’s 60-year history.

The city of Krakow supports events.

A huge role in building the brand of Kraków as Host City is played by the consistent policy of the city and the awareness that the development of the meetings industry is very important for the economy of our city. The “Kraków Sustainable Tourism Policy for 2021-2028” defines business tourism as one of the strategic key areas.

Congresses and conferences are among the products that have the highest value in terms of competitiveness and attractiveness.

“Kraków is focused on acquiring international congresses and conferences. These efforts aim to strengthen the brand of Kraków as a city of congresses, which the Kraków Convention Bureau has been doing for 20 years now. We focus not only on acquiring events, but also support the organisers at every stage of the implementation. We believe that having a positive image of the city, events will be its best advertisement”, concludes Małgorzata Przygórska-Skowron, Head of the Kraków Convention Bureau.

The benefits of organising congresses and conferences have an economic dimension – their beneficiaries are companies associated with the organisation of events, but also hotels, restaurateurs, transport companies as well as museums and tourist guides. The meetings industry generates jobs and the city receives taxes paid by companies operating in the industry. We should not forget about the promotional and image aspects, either. Events generate articles in international trade press, information on congress websites, and social media posts by organisers and participants.

Large international events are accompanied by campaigns geared towards the local community as well as CSR efforts. These can be free examinations for residents during medical events, charity runs and free entry to the event for students. These activities show that international events are not closed sessions for specialists, but they enter the fabric of the city and resonate with the inhabitants. In Kraków, we promote thinking about congresses in terms of “heritage”. We believe that they do not constitute an episode in the life of the city, but have the potential to have a positive impact on the local community. The organisation of congress events is a strategic development market due to the transfer of knowledge.

Support for organisers can take various forms – from study visits, providing access to professional promotional materials, involvement of the city authorities in the process of obtaining a meeting, and finally promotion of the event. It also happens that the city becomes the organiser or partner of a selected point in the meeting agenda. In Kraków, organisers of conferences, congresses, cultural and sports events can take advantage of special rates for public transport. Pursuant to a resolution of 2014, the Kraków City Council introduced the so-called “conference ticket”. Discounts, depending on the group size and event duration, range from 10 to 30 percent of the ticket price.  The city is considering further amenities for event organisers.

Actively obtained grants support the development of business tourism and the activities of the Congress Bureau itself. It was thanks to EU funds that the ICE Kraków Congress Centre was built, a Swiss grant enabled impact studies, and the years 2022-2023 in Kraków and Małopolska passed with the “Wide Open for Meetings” campaign, implemented as part of the project “Małopolska – a destination of travel”, financed from European Funds, under the Regional Operational Programme of the Małopolskie Voivodeship for the years 2014-2020.

The budget of the whole project amounted to 24 million PLN, of which 8 million PLN was allocated to the national campaign and 16 million PLN for efforts abroad, including 4 million PLN for MICE promotion. Multi-channel promotional activities were carried out in a complementary way, with an emphasis on the internet – using the latest products and online marketing tools. As part of the campaign, among others, videos and banners were prepared, highlighting the richness of the tourist offer of Małopolska and Kraków, and ads promoting Kraków and Małopolska appeared in renowned weeklies such as The Economist. We estimate the total reach of just one of the elements of the project – the online campaign – at almost 30 million, meaning that the campaign in social media reached  such a number of people. On Facebook alone, the total reach in all markets is estimated at over 10 million!

Kraków takes an active part in international business tourism fairs such as IMEX Frankfurt Krakow, IMEX America, IBTM World in Barcelona, and Conventa Trade Show.

Kraków belongs to international associations such as the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), which currently brings together 900 entities, companies and organisations operating in business tourism all over the world, or the City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA), an organisation facilitating the exchange of information and experiences related to the subject of urban tourism between the members of the association.

Challangers and opportunities

Trends in tourism and the meetings industry over the last few years clearly indicate that travellers are increasingly paying attention to the environment and sustainability. Hotels and congress centres around the world are taking measures to reduce CO₂ emissions, produce less waste and obtain independent certification.

As one of the most popular tourist destinations in Poland, Kraków is also part of this trend by promoting the organisation of sustainable events. It was the first Polish city to join the GDS-Index in 2022.

The GDS-Index is a benchmarking initiative that compares cities based on their sustainability performance, and ranks them based on seventy criteria. Joining initiatives is a catalyst for local initiatives, joint activities of the tourism industry and the city and, consequently, long-term changes in the ESG field. In 2024, the Congress Bureau created a strategy for sustainable business tourism in Kraków and a Declaration on Diversity and Equality in the Congress Industry.

#Kraków #krakowthehostcity #EventprofsPL

source: Kraków Convention Bureau