Jan 19, 2009
Tourism and Leisure Show, Boat Show and Conventa at GR Ljubljana
On Thursday at 11 a.m., the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre is set to open the Tourism and Leisure Show including the Boat Show, which, as their respective names already point out, represent the entire Slovenian tourism offering next to global tourist destinations, while this year will see a special focus on ideas for quality free time. A novelty of the events is the magazine Oddih (Relaxation), which each visitor is set to receive when purchasing a ticket. 22. January 22 and 23 will also see the Exhibition and Convention Centre hosting Convent, the first conference sector exchange for SE Europe. The event is of a business nature and is closed to the public, with the tow-day event set to play host to meetings of event organisers and business conference services providers.
DETAILS
- Tourism and Leisure – a guide through the tourist offering, a guide to experiencing Slovenia and getting to know the world, ideas for active and quality free time; the organiser is the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre, together with our partners. This year's Show is set to stretch across 7.000 square metres of indoor and outdoor exhibition space and will play host to 142 exhibitors from eight countries.
- The 5th Boat Show – show featuring smaller sports and tourist boats, organised by the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre. This year’s Show will include 2.00 square metres of exhibition space in the “Cube” hall with 24 companies from three countries taking part.
- Conventa, the first business conference for the conference sector operating in SE Europe, organised by the Slovenian Convention Bureau. Conventa, which is the follow-on from the national project Simex, will take place this year on over 1.400 m2 (in 2008 this figure was 770m2), namely in the lower floor of the Marble hall. The show is expected to draw over 130 foreign guests in addition to domestic participants, with arrivals anticipated from various countries, mostly EU, including conference services providers from SE Europe (besides Slovenia, service providers are also expected from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Bulgaria). Conventa’s aim is to enhance the profile of the region’s conference services offering.
CONTENTS.
The Tourism and Leisure Show represents the latest tourism trends in the coming year under a joint motto Ready for new adventures?, offering a concrete range of destinations and activities, with ideas for active free time. The event’s sponsor is the Ministry for the Economy of the Republic of Slovenia.
The exhibitors’ offer has been broken up thematically into the following sections:
- Presentation of Slovenian tourism offering by individual destinations
Projects by the Slovenian Tourism Organisation, the Tourism Association of Slovenia and other individual stakeholders present a holistic offer of tourism services available in our country. STO will present visitors with their award-winning project Stepping out – byways are more seductive than highways, while local tourist organisations and societies are set to present themselves by showing off home crafts, traditions and cuisine. With its 100 years of tradition, the Tourist Association of Slovenia combines almost 700 tourist societies and local tourist associations with ten thousand members, mostly volunteers. Every year, these organisations prepare for numerous events which both local and foreign tourists are very fond of. Their diverse work will be put on display by around one hundred tourist societies and associations in the Jurček pavilion, with stalls and an animation corner. They are set to be lightened up by tasting of culinary goodies, displays of old customs, habits and crafts, with displays of souvenirs, presentation of promotional material, performances of folklore and musical groups, etc.
- Presentation of international tourist destinations and various tourist service providers (travel organisers and travel agents, spas, hotels, carriers, camping & caravanning, etc.)
The show will play host to presentation of eight foreign countries (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Turkey), including several domestic agencies who market global destinations. This year, the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre will devote particular attention to attracting international exhibitors and becoming a member of ITTFA, the renowned international tourism fair organisation. They hope to take advantage of membership in the organisation to raise their profile as a tourism event on an international level.
- Ideas for quality leisure activities (biking, hiking, surfing, golf)
This year, special attention is set to be devoted to ideas for quality leisure activities. The biking tourism activities on offer will include a range of bikes and equipment, specialised offer and services, biking trails and expert literature.
Together with the Golfing Association of Slovenia and the Slovenian Golf Courses Economic Interest Association, a joint
presentation of the Slovenian golfing offering has been organised, in particular for those with no experience in the field, but who are eager to get new experience. This will provide visitors with a one-stop-shop for all information on how and where to become a golfer, what equipment is needed for the sport, while they will also be able to try out the game itself on an improvised course at the exhibition centre. Surfing enthusiasts – this includes windsurfing, kite surfing and surfing – should not despair either, as the show will provide them with information on surfing gear, surfing schools, surfing trips, etc. This section will include consignment sales of used surfing equipment, presentation of clubs, competitors and specialised websites.
The show will be livened up in a large part by the organisation of the Chamber of Mountain Centres, with an extraordinary presentation of
the first organised ski slope in Ljubljana – Kindergarten on snow, where kids will be able to ski down the Exhibition and Convention Centre makeshift slope. Visitors will also be presented with the
benefits card Active Slovenia, which allows visitors to purchase ski passes at a knock-down price of 20% off.
Boat Show:
The first-ever boat show was organised at the Ljubljana Exhibition and Convention Centre in 2005, while the event follows on from the once prominent Alpe-Adria Fair and later the Holiday Fair.
The Show will feature boats of various dimensions and purposes (family cruisers, fishing boats, rubber boats, speedboats – sports boats for various water activities, etc.), among them: Chaparral 250 sig (cruiser), Vista 278 (family cruise), Quicksilver 640 WE (fishing boat – big game fishing), Sea Ray 195 (speedboat – sports boat). Novelties on the market are set to include presentation of the rubber boat series K7 – Eros.
AUXILIARY PROGRAMME
The associating activities always give the show an air of liveliness. The conference halls and lecture halls, stages and exhibition space will all feature various popular and expert lectures, round tables, various presentations and feasts (round table on the Suitable form of environmentally-friendly tourism in parks organised by the Triglav National Park, a series of lectures by Kompas d.d., the traditional fancy-dress “kurentovanje” festival, presentation of oriental dances, swing, etc.). Ultra-marathon runner Marko Baloh will take part in a 10-hour charity spinning marathon together with visitors. The bikers’ club KD Rajd is taking part with their presentation of the Funsports Rajd park, including mountain-biking and BMX-biking, while monocyclist Jože Voroš (Gulliver Sports Team) is presenting his traffic-preventive project entitled Attention drivers, slow driving will also get you far. The Slovenian Tourist Organisation will hold a round table entitled The Financial Crisis as a Challenge for Slovenian Tourism.
Visitors will have the opportunity to renew their knowledge on diving. Aquas d.o.o. is set to organise a lecture on underwater fishing. This will include various fish-catching techniques, the diverse and quality equipment required for the sport, advice for save free diving, etc., hosted by Robi Podgoršek, a 13-time national champion.
CATALOGUE.
When buying their tickets, visitors will also receive the magazine Oddih (Relaxation), i.e. the endorsed leisure and tourism magazine, as well as a catalogue featuring the exhibitors at the Leisure and Tourism and Boat Show. The magazine was published as a supplement to daily newspaper Dnevnik on January 20, 2009.
OPENING HOURS:
10.00 - 19.00
10.00 - 17.00 / Sunday
ENTRANCE FEE
Regular ticket (adults): 5,00 €, concessions 3,00 €
(children from 7 to 16, high school and university students, OAPs); children up to the age of 7 and disabled visitors on wheelchairs, including their company: free of charge.
Ticketing offices will be open from January 22 to January 24, 2009 from 9.45 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., and on January 25, 2009 from 9.45 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
OPENING.
The grand opening of the Tourism and Leisure Show and the Boat Show will take place on January 22, 2009 at 11 a.m. in the Glass hall of the Ljubljana Exhibition and Conference Centre. The event will be opened by Darja Radić MA, state secretary at the Ministry for the Economy.
PRESS CENTRE.
The press centre at the Ljubljana Exhibition and Conference Centre (Dunajska 18, 1st floor) will remain open during both of the events from 9.45 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., with the exception of the concluding day, when it will close at 4.30 p.m. Journalists will be provided with all current information on the fairs. They may also get their
accreditations there if they have not previously done so on GR’s website.
More on the events:
www.ljubljanafair.com