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ECB Newsletter October 2009 |
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ECB Launches Estonia's First Ambassador Programme in Tartu |
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The Estonian Convention Bureau has launched an ambassador programme in the country's main university city, Tartu. The first project of its kind in Estonia, the programme will recruit local academics and business people to act as partners in attracting international conferences to the city. ECB chose Tartu as the location for its first ambassador programme because of its high potential as a conference destination thanks to the presence of Tartu University and several other educational institutions. A reception for the launch took place on Wednesday, October 21 at the city's prime conference venue, the Dorpat Centre. The ECB organised the event in cooperation with the Tartu City Government and the Tartu Convention Bureau. It was attended by over 130 guests, including many university faculty. Invitations for the launch were sent out by the city's mayor, Urmas Kruuse.
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ECB hosted four fam trips this year |
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The Estonian Convention Bureau has given Estonia's profile a boost by hosting four familiarisation trips for international meeting planners this year, the most recent in September. Participants came from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany and the UK. The programme included highlights of Estonia's Medieval capital Tallinn, as well as visits to Tartu, Pärnu and Lahemaa National Park. The visitors toured meeting venues, hotels and restaurants, and got the chance to mix and mingle with ECB members. The attendees were positively surprised by the high quality of the hotels, the level of professionalism they experienced and the fact that so much of the country is covered by free, wireless Internet. Anyone interested in joining next year's fam trips should send an e-mail to info@ecb.ee.
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Tartu connected to the world at last |
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Tartu, Estonia's prime university city and its second largest city overall, is now connected to the world at large thanks to the introduction of two international air routes. Estonian Air and AirBaltic have both recently started to serve Tartu's airport, offering connections to Stockholm and Riga respectively. Estonian Air launched Tartu-Stockholm flights at the end of August, which operate four days a week. The Latvian carrier AirBaltic began its popular Tartu-Riga service this summer and now plans to triple its number of flights to 13 per week at the end of October. The new routes are expected to raise the city's attractiveness as a conference destination, since they eliminate the need for a 2.5-hour bus trip from Tallinn or Riga.
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Estonian Air opens new route to St. Petersburg |
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In late July Estonia's national carrier, Estonian Air, began a regular service from Tallinn to Russia's exotic cultural capital, St. Petersburg. The flights are code-shared with Rossiya Russian Airlines and depart four days per week. Located just 300km from Tallinn, St. Petersburg is a popular incentive and post-conference destination for groups visiting Estonia.
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ECB to introduce Estonia at EIBTM trade fair in Barcelona |
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The Estonian Convention Bureau will be showing off Estonia's best side at this year's EIBTM fair, to be held in Barcelona December 1 - 3. Anyone interested in hearing all about what this can-do country has to offer is welcome to visit the stand i112 and sign up for a country presentation. In addition, there will be a number of representatives from event companies, DMCs and hotels at the Estonian stand, so anyone who wants to talk to these service providers directly should definitely drop by.
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Solaris Centre lights up Tallinn |
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The most modern conference hall in the Nordic and Baltic countries, capable of accommodating large, up to 1830-delegate international conferences opened in the heart of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia this Saturday, 10 October. The new Nokia Concert Hall opened in Tallinn's new entertainment and lifestyle centre Solaris and will not only be used for conferences but also for high-profile concerts and theatre performances.
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The first conference bookings as well as the first international red carpet events for this new facility have already been made, with the European Film Academy Awards, the top event of European film industry, for example taking place in Solaris in 2010.
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ECB receives 'Tourism Innovator' honours |
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The Estonian Convention Bureau was named one of the nation's top three "Tourism Innovators" of 2009 at an Enterprise Estonia (EAS) awards ceremony held in September. The ECB, along with two other organisations, received nominations for the prize. Enterprise Estonia said the nomination was based on the fact that although the ECB was launched only last year it has already taken conference tourism promotion in the nation to a new level. It also called ECB's efforts the largest-ever cooperation between private and public sectors in the Estonian tourism industry.
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Tallinn 2011 names winners of 'ethical souvenirs' competition |
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The Tallinn 2011 foundation, organiser of the European Capital of Culture events, has named the winners of its Ethical Estonian Souvenirs competition. The contest was held in cooperation with the Estonian Association of Designers and was "inspired by the lack of contemporary souvenirs in the country expressing its modern lifestyle and environmentally friendly ways of thinking" according to the foundation's website. First place went to 'Brooch', a glass design object made from the bottoms of broken wine glasses; 'Estonian Stubbornness', a palm-sized wooden ball wearing an Estonian hat, came in second; and 'sprats' made of chocolate and marzipan took third. The souvenirs will available for purchase at the European Capital of Culture's online shop. For more information and news about events leading up to 2011, visit www.tallinn2011.ee.
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Estonian Convention Bureau is a national convention bureau. ECB is a member-based non-profit organization made up of Estonia's top hotels, conference organizers and conference cities. ECB is your partner for any and all meetings, incentives, conventions and events you plan to hold in Estonia. For further information, please check our web site www.ecb.ee or contact as at -372 6 450 086 or info@ecb.ee
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