CONVENE challenges technology events to set up In Baltic Region

The Baltic Sea Region’s leading meetings and events industry trade show CONVENE is just four months way, and the eighth edition of the Hosted Buyer programme promises to deliver access to a bunch of destinations, world-class venues and top-notch services under one roof.

However, these are a part of a much bigger picture and CONVENE 2020 will aim to bring attention to the characteristics that differentiate the Baltic Sea Region from other parts of Europe. Chief among them is the fact that the entire region is highly tech-savvy, which provides a certain direction for the meeting planners. 

“Our region’s meetings industry benefits from thriving startup hubs, a collaborative spirit between business and scientific institutions, and associations active in global networks, which is especially important for association events,” says Inga Romanovskienė, Director of Vilnius business development agency Go Vilnius. “For example, Vilnius is experiencing a rapid development of knowledge-based sectors like FinTech, biotech, ICT, medtech, and others. Moreover, Vilnius was recently named by FDI Intelligence as no 1 city globally for attracting tech startups.” 

According to the ICCA, the number of technology-based events hosted in the Baltics has almost doubled since 2016, with a  growth of 90% by 2018.  

“The Baltics have strong universities and active academic societies, a growing number of startups for enterprises, and everyday modern technologies for both organisers and delegates, which makes it easy to do business in these countries,” says Mia Lahtvee of the Tallinn Convention Bureau. 

CONVENE’s Hosted Buyer programme is designed to reveal these regional features and includes a number of exclusive benefits, such as as complimentary return flights, transfers, accommodation, and a full package of networking events, as well as an interactive tour of Vilnius and the opportunity to take part in one of several post-event tours to Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Poland.

Organised by Go Vilnius, the city’s dedicated development agency, CONVENE is a business marketplace with non-stop B2B networking opportunities for meeting professionals. Over 165 Hosted Buyers from Europe and beyond are expected to attend and take part in some 2,600 pre-scheduled business meetings with 80+ Exhibitors from the region during the two-day event on 12-13 February 2020 at the Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Centre, LITEXPO, in Vilnius.