Prague was presented at the 50th Congress of the International Congress and Convention Association ICCA

27/10/2011

26 October 2011, Leipzig, Germany – Prague was presented as a unique congress destination at the jubilee 50th Congress of ICCA in Leipzig, Germany, which is a prestigious meeting of the members of the international association ICCA (International Congress & Convention Association) regularly attended by 900 to 1000 professionals from more than 86 countries of the world.

Since its foundation in 1963, ICCA became one of the most important organizations in the field of the international congress tourism; its members are composed of organizations specializing in organizing and arranging international events. The purpose of the annual international meetings of these experts is primarily creating new business opportunities, exchange of information and experience concerning congress industry and education. The international ICCA congress is held annually and rotates in all world continents, and it is intended for top management of member organizations.

„Prague City Council strongly supports congress activities in Prague and for this reason it cooperates with a number of entities within the tourism industry, such as the Prague Convention Bureau and CzechTourism, as well as associations, chambers of commerce, hotels, travel agencies and others,“ said Jan Kalousek, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations and Tourism of the Prague City Council, in his speech.

Prague was presented In a non-traditional way – beat boxing depicting the sounds associated with the conferences in Prague and electric boogie by the group of Martin Pořízek - during one of the lunch for all congress participants as a significant congress destination, as well as to present local culture and gastronomy and to attract the present representatives of travel agencies focusing on congress tourism to organize their future events in Prague. The presentation included the unique advantages of Prague as an important capital city in the middle of Europe, such as transport

accessibility, cultural and historical heritage, developed congress and convention infrastructure, high standard of services, attractive supporting and incentive programmes and, last but not least, the gems of Czech cuisine prepared by the Zátiší Group.

„Prague is an inspiring city not only from the leisure point of view as a beautiful historical city, but also as a developing and outstanding congress destination. Today you can see, hear and and taste Prague – and enjoy the food inspired by Bohemian cuisine from 1918 to 1938,“ said the president of the Prague Convention Bureau, Sanjiv Suri.

Due to the fact that the Congress was held in the region of Central Europe, Prague had the chance to confirm its competitiveness to other congress destinations and change the opinion shared by some of the representatives of international congress agencies that Prague is not only unique leisure destination, but also a congress destination. The presentation of Prague was prepared by the Prague Convention Bureau, Prague City Hall, Czech Convention Bureau, CzechTourism, Prague Airport, Zátiší Group and Prague Congress Centre.

Photo ICCA1: from left Director of the Prague Congress Centre Michal Kárník, Managing Director of Zátiší Group Petra Kandertová, Managing Director of the Prague Convention Bureau Lenka Žlebková, President & CEO of Zátiší Group Sanjiv Suri, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations and Tourism of the Prague City Council Jan Kalousek, Director of Czech Convention Bureau Zdeněk Giormani
Photo ICCA2: Martin Pořízek