“We are seeing growth on the corporate events and MICE segment, be they local, multinational companies or international organizers interested to come to Bucharest,” Lior Bebera, the German executive put in charge of five-star Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest at the beginning of the year, told ZF.
Efforts are being made to promote and put Bucharest on the MICE map, so building a new conference center has become mandatory for the development of the city, not just for the private sector companies, he added.
Events and conferences are now organized in hotels and at the Parliament Palace. Bucharest does not have a big conference center like other European countries do, despite promises.
The number of foreign tourists traveling to Romania on business is on the rise and 80% of Intercontinental’s guests are foreign tourists, 62% of them on business trips and 38% on vacation, Bebera says.
If Romania had the promotion it deserves, that would make a significant difference, he added.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)