>> BALTIC STATES
DESTINATION
The hot states of the Baltic
are attracting the attention
of avant-garde organisers,
reports Robin Anderson
Europe's
Wild Cards
play their
hand
Inset from left:
Vilnius, Riga
and Tallinn are
becoming players
to reckon with
A
cross the waters of the Baltic
Sea from Finland and Sweden,
the ‘hot’ trio of Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania, have adopted
their new-found global-meetings
status with tremendous enthusiasm.
It’s almost two decades since they shrugged
off Soviet control and five years since they
gained membership of the European Union.
Since then, all three have made lots of progress
in attracting international association meetings.
Yet still they are marvellously undiscovered – a
fresh and alluring mix of colourful centuries-long
history and uncompromising high-technology.
It’s a chemistry that was summed up neatly
by Margus Pauts, managing director of the
Baltic states’ only dedicated meetings agency,
BalticEVENT.
“To be honest these are not yet the most
popular meetings destinations in Europe. Indeed,
they are often used as ‘wild cards’, because most
potential delegates have never been to the Baltics.
Today we offer fresh new facilities, unusual
activities, the best in high-tech conference
technology and a huge range of historic settings.”
Northerly Estonia is driving the region’s
global profile in all manner of directions. The
Estonian Convention Bureau has made great
progress since its launch in early 2008 with
a stack of promotional materials and a new
organiser-friendly website.
“We want to highlight just how e-advanced
and modern we have become,” said the
Bureau’s managing director, Riine Tiigi.
“Everything in Estonia is online and wireless,
so we’ve now made the site suitably cuttingedge. Event planners seeking new low-cost
destinations in Europe are finding Estonia a
convenient high-quality option.”
Riine added, “We are now working with our
government on a new incentive scheme, set
for a June launch, to grant financial support
to international conferences taking place in
Estonia – other cities like Tartu and Parnu are
also busy establishing themselves as significant
and charismatic conference destinations.”
Tallinn has just seen the opening of the
Meriton Conference & Spa Hotel, set close to
the Parliament and the medieval Old Town
which features on the UNESCO World Heritage
Tallinn's colourful old city
list. Other new properties include the Nordic
Hotel Forum and the Swissotel Tallinn, today
the city’s tallest building.
This autumn will witness the unveiling of
Solaris, a multifunctional centre capable of
hosting conferences for up to 1,800 participants.
Tallinn will become European Capital of Culture
in 2011. A year later it will host the Congress
of the International Federation for European
Law with 600 participants.
Neighbouring Latvia’s bustling capital Riga,
boasts its own atmospheric Old Town and
one of the world’s biggest arrays of wellpreserved Art Nouveau architecture. It is home
to the region’s largest conference hotel, the
refurbished Reval Hotel Latvija. The meetingsminded portfolio also includes names like
Radisson SAS, Kempinski and the opulent
Jurmala Beach Hotel and Spa.
The Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, one of
Eastern Europe’s biggest Old Towns, is this
year's European Capital of Culture activities.
Dubbed by many as Little Rome, it now features
a glistening glass-and-steel skyline along with
its Mediterranean-style cafes and bars.
A roster of international hotel names,
including Ramada, Radisson SAS, Novotel and
Best Western is complemented by places like
Le Meridien Villon Resort & Convention Centre
(capable of hosting 1,000 theatre-style). ami
June 2009 | ami_ 31
Baltic conventions.indd 1
14/05/2009 12:45