2024-09-17 17:59:41
“The event industry is important for the development of both the state and the regions. It represents one of the best advertisements for attracting visitors, helping to see the beauties and opportunities that serve to promote the country. Furthermore, the development of this industry positively affects the economy and promotes the overall development of tourism”. This was said by the Deputy Minister of Tourism Pavlin Petrov during the first forum of its kind for innovations and sustainable environmental practices in the event business Event PRO Forum.
According to the data of the Ministry of Tourism, by the end of August, more than 770 thousand visitors came to Bulgaria for the purpose of business and organization of events, and last year the number reached nearly BGN 1.3 million.
The industry provides a great structure for development that can be achieved through additional collaborations between individual ministries, non-governmental organizations, municipalities and private business. Given that everyone is working in the same direction, the events in Bulgaria will continue to develop in other cities, apart from Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas, which are currently leaders in the event industry.
Thanks to digitalization, the distribution of events becomes easier and faster. It is through digitization that the industry has managed to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. Although going through a number of problems during this period, the industry is regaining the resilience it had in the years before the pandemic, commented Petrov.
The first edition of the Event PRO Forum was dedicated to the current trends and challenges in the event business and is entitled “The Future of Sustainable Events”.
The host and organizer of the event is Sofia Tech Park, where Bulgarian and international experts from various sectors of the industry gathered.
The forum brought together some of the most successful professionals in the event industry to share knowledge and experience, create connections and promote sustainable practices for green business development.
In order to maintain the positive development of the sector, it is important that all organizers and attendees of events comply with the good example of separate collection of waste and carbon neutrality, commented Boyko Takov, the executive director of the SME Promotion Agency, during the Event PRO Forum. And explained that sustainable practices promote and support the economy. According to him, the rapid recovery of the industry after the pandemic is due to the desire of people to be together, and this need continues to drive the industry forward. It is important to avoid event overload because this can adversely affect the content, which should be the main focus of the event organization.
It is necessary to implement new technologies and train young people to work with them. Digitalization provides what is needed for the development of a given product, says Takov.
The challenges of the new era require constant attention, time and effort to adequately generate content and maintain the desire of people to attend the events, believes the executive director of Sofia Tech Park, Todor Mladenov.
One of the main causes of the industry is to emphasize the ecosystem approach, by means of which it counters the negative effect of the production of waste and the use of natural resources. There are three main directions in which the industry needs to develop: quality content to attract attention, more control of the ecological and carbon footprint, and industrial sustainability to increase the economic effect of an event.
Bansko is one of the brightest examples of a city that develops thanks to tourism. The municipality there works hard to establish it as a year-round tourist destination through various events. The event calendar of Bansko is conditionally divided into two seasons, with well-established festivals taking place in the city, to which there is constant interest.
Along with the organization of numerous accompanying events, they acquire a festival dimension. The dynamic cultural and sports environment, in addition to the wonderful conditions that the city offers, such as air quality, water, infrastructure and tranquility, are advantages that attract young people, said Elka Obecanova, who is the main PR expert of Bansko municipality.
The events, which show that it is possible to lead a full life in the small town, bring highly qualified people with fresh ideas and different visions of life, which has a positive effect on the profile of the municipality, she also believes. Sports and cultural events are the main focus of the city.
Despite the constant development of Bansko, the municipality has found that there are events that are more profitable to organize together with the neighboring municipalities. In this way, tourism in the entire region is simultaneously improved, and the potential for large-scale cultural, business and sports events also increases.
The four participated in the opening discussion of the Event PRO Forum, which was on “Shaping the future of the event industry in Bulgaria”.
The second discussion of the Event PRO Forum was on “Industries today and prospects for development”.
The events industry is going through a constant transformation, which is a consequence of the many things that have been happening in recent years on a global scale. One of the most key changes is precisely the digitization of the entire business. Events around the world are massively becoming hybrid, as people can attend them, but also follow them online through livestreams, commented Diana Stoyanova, Matti’s marketing expert.
At the moment, online events continue to be imposed, which requires the most modern electronics, which includes the stage mechanization used in television. For this purpose, however, there are no event centers with good infrastructure and communication in central locations, commented Plamen Bosev, CEO of Protechnica Event. In addition to being located in inconvenient locations, access to the halls is also difficult, which is due to problematic logistics.
In Sofia, as well as in the country, there is a lack of event halls that have the capacity for small groups (from 50 to 100 people), but also those that can accommodate more than 500 people, said Veselin Dimov, director of “Toplotsentrala “.
During the third discussion, the importance of the event leaving a memory in people’s minds and the main ways to turn it into an experience was discussed.
Adequate planning of each event is very important, because the experience for the guests starts from “hearing” about it and could last for the rest of their lives, commented Prof. Desislava Boshnakova, who is a lecturer in “Public Relations” at NBU.
Technology allows the event to never end because through it people can retain the same emotion they felt at the beginning of it.
Organizing an event depends on the people, as everyone becomes a part of it and contributes to its smooth running.
If each person is 5-10 minutes late for the start, or comes at the last moment, entering the venue becomes complicated and thus the entire organization is delayed, commented Prof. Boshnakova. Meeting new people solidifies the experience and makes it even more impactful.
The first part of the event ended with the discussion on “Beyond logistics: management of large-scale events”.
The most important factors in successfully running large-scale events are flexibility and communication. With such an organization, you have to be able to adapt and change according to the conditions, which includes the constant communication with the partners of the event and the resolution of possible problems, commented Vanessa Steiman, program manager at FMX Conference, Germany.
Everyone involved needs to know that whatever they do will help solve the challenges along the way. It is very important to ensure the safety of the venue, make sure it can hold the intended audience and so on. You have to know how you want to present yourself, Steiman added.
In Bulgaria, an event attended by 10,000 people is considered spectacular. The organization of such events in our country requires a very experienced team and a long time to perfect the details, which can be a big logistical challenge, said Stefan Elenkov, founder and CEO of Fest Team.
In our country, there are not enough large halls that can be used for organizing large events. There are halls and stadiums, but most of them are not suitable for this purpose, he further explained. He also talked about the difficulties surrounding the organization of Ed Sheeran’s large-scale concert, which was held at the Vasil Levski National Stadium. The national stadium, although suitable, is not well-equipped for such events, and the same can be said for the newly constructed ones in other big cities in the country, Elenkov said.
The most important thing we need to do to be able to hold events with so many people is to ensure their safety and security and improve our infrastructure. This will also bring more popular artists, he explained.
Over 20 leading Bulgarian and international speakers, dozens of representatives of companies from the sector were guests at the Event PRO Forum. Visitors also had the opportunity to explore a special expo area.