A convention bureau is typically responsible for providing information regarding a location and for supporting event planners. The Prague Convention Bureau, a non-profit organisation established in 2008, is Prague’s official convention bureau, with a mission to strengthen positive awareness of the city of Prague as a convention and incentive destination, to increase revenue and stimulate economic growth for the municipality.
The Bureau works alongside the CzechTourism Agency and offers advice and support in acquiring components that will make any event memorable and successful, be it a conference, meeting, seminar, exhibition or sport or cultural event. “Convention Bureaus operate in some form in all developed cities of the world, with the purpose of promoting those destinations for major international events,” says Managing Director Roman Muška.
“These Bureaus are often part of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) which in our case is Prague City Tourism. While they promote Prague as a suitable destination for mainstream tourism, we promote the city as a destination for meetings of professionals. However, although we cooperate with our DMO, we are an independent entity.”
He further explains that there are 14 Convention Bureaus in the Czech Republic, and that Prague is one of the oldest and the most developed. This also sets its position. “Given the scope of activities and the international nature of Prague, we don’t compete with the national Bureaus but with the most popular destinations from around the world.”
Why Prague?
Speaking about the role of the Convention Bureau, Roman Muška affirms that it is not event organisation but destination promotion. “The objective is to get an event to Prague, to make Prague win as a venue. The actual organisation is, as a rule, bestowed upon a different entity, be it a global organiser or a company’s internal team. Any such entity can, of course, rely on our support.”
“If we do organise an event, it has a very specific focus. For example, we invite selected organisers from around the world, or from specific markets, and show them what our destination has to offer in terms of facilities, infrastructure, services and similar.”
The most significant event of this nature that Prague Convention Bureaus has organised was the Annual Congress of the International Congress and Convention Association, the global meetings industry network. The event, held in 2017, achieved record participation that has so far not been exceeded.
“Prague is a popular destination for these type of association events, with participation traditionally exceeding other destinations in terms of participant numbers. The city has many advantages: location in the heart of Europe with direct flights to 170 destinations, cultural and historic heritage, a multitude of high-quality conference venues, excellent public transport. It is also compact and walkable, and one of the safest countries in the world.”
“Still, there are factors that could be improved, such as direct long-distance connections to North America and Asia and a fast rail connection from the city centre to the airport. The enhancements to the Prague Congress Centre also need to speed up.”
On the other hand, the Czech Republic boasts high environmental and sustainability credentials and Prague offers an attractive destination support package, while enjoying sound support from the City Council – for example, congress delegates can enjoy municipal transport free of charge.
The destination package
Muška reflects that Prague Convention Bureau primarily targets global association congresses. “The largest association congresses tend to be medical, but we target others as well. Our specialism lies in the research and active sales of the destination. As a rule, you need to secure an expert, a professional who is well known in the community, such as a renowned cardiologist, for example, if you hope to be a successful candidate for a congress.”
“Competing for an event destination really is pretty much the same as competing to be the Olympic Games host city. You need a functioning local team, partners, to find spaces, accommodation, incentives from local councils… the whole package is then submitted, hoping to be selected as the winning destination,” he says.
Roman Muška himself has ample experience and knows the process inside out. For several years, he acted as a Board Member and Vice President of the Prague Convention Bureau on behalf of his employer, an event organiser that became a member of the Bureau. In 2016, he was offered to enhance the Prague Convention Bureau’s performance as its Managing Director and since then has led the organisation to grow in size and activities.
“In the pre-pandemic year of 2019 we reached a record number of conferences and congresses held in Prague, only to fall to the bottom during the pandemic. However, since 2022 we have been slowly growing again, hoping to catch up with our record year in 2024, winning more business for the coming years.”
Reaching for the top
Interestingly, the pandemic has not ultimately changed the conference format, he reflects. “We were one of four destinations to set up a Hybrid City Alliance, believing this would be the future trend, but it has not happened. Requirements for hybrid conferences are minimal now. Personal meetings have continued to be the preferred choice.”
“Online contact clearly cannot replace the benefits of face-to-face meetings. After all, congresses and conferences are not only about transferring the content but, primarily, about informal networking. This is something that cannot successfully be achieved online.”
Looking ahead, he says that Prague Convention Bureau will continue to work closely with its DMO to promote Prague as a premium destination, targeting high-standard business clients. “A congress delegate spends 2-3 times more than the average tourist,” he notes.
“In line with the business trend, we would like to promote Prague as a modern, pulsing destination where changes happen. As a city suitable for investment, start-ups, headquarters of global corporations. In terms of completed association congresses, Prague currently ranks amongst the top five destinations. We want to be amongst the top three, and will strive to achieve this with the financial backing of the stakeholders,” he affirms in concluding.
