The “Wide open” campaign is underway – a joint venture between the City of Krakow, Małopolska, and the Małopolska Tourist Organisation, under the “Małopolska – travel destination” project. Its main goal is to rebuild tourism in Krakow and Małopolska after the pandemic. At what stage are the activities related to the promotion of business tourism? What else is ahead?
Online campaign
on 1 August 2023, an online campaign “Wide open for meetings” was launched, aimed at activating business travel to Krakow and the surrounding area and promoting the region as an ideal place for business meetings. To reach its audience, it relied on comprehensive online promotion, which is carried out on dedicated profiles on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, with additional communication through exposure campaigns and spots aired on Google’s ad network. The activities are planned until the end of November, and expected to generate millions of hits in twelve foreign markets. The budget of the venture is nearly PLN 1 million, and the campaign is being conducted by Fabryka Marketingu.
Campaign in foreign opinion and industry press
A campaign in the foreign industry and opinion press has also been carried out since April. Advertisements promoting Krakow and Małopolska appeared in the renowned weeklies The Economist and WirtschaftsWoche. The texts also appeared in the industry press in two issues of CN (Conference News) and Punto MICE, as well as in MICE Benelux, HQ Magazine, Tendence Nomade and Boardroom. The publications appeared in paper and digital versions of the magazines. The final phase of the press campaign is scheduled for November and includes titles such as AMI, HQ Magazine, MICE BENELUX and CN. The cost of the campaign, which is being conducted by Mastermind, is nearly PLN 1.2 million.
B2B meetings and study tour
Promotion of our destination also includes direct marketing, such as B2B meetings at business tourism fairs and table meetings. Since the beginning of the year, the range of conferences held in the city has been promoted at events such as IMEX Frankfurt, The Meetings Space, and M&I Forum. IMEX Las Vegas and IBTM Barcelona are also scheduled to take place before the end of the year. At each event, the KCB team participates in an average of 25 meetings.
At the beginning of October, the Kraków Convention Bureau is additionally organising a study tour to Krakow and Małopolska, which is a fam trip entitled “Experience Krakow, Visit Małopolska” for ten planners from the markets covered by the project, representing professional companies that organise group business travel, including motivational and incentive travel. The program includes inspection visits to venues for congresses, conferences and trade fairs in Krakow and a short stay in Zakopane. There will be no shortage of opportunities to learn about local cuisine, the legends and traditions of Krakow, or for example a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mines.
Direct talks and presentations consistently build the city’s brand as an organiser of international events, and, under the long-term tourism development policy, they expand the area of promotion beyond strictly tourist aspects. Participation in the fam trip is a unique opportunity to see the potential for organising events that Krakow and the region have.
Comprehensive promotional activities
Campaigns in the press and on the Internet aimed at foreign tourists are part of activities conducted jointly by the City of Krakow, Małopolska, and the Małopolska Tourist Organisation as part of the “Małopolska – travel destination” project. The project aims to attract foreign visitors to the region and boost tourism after the pandemic. The domestic tourist is targeted with the slogan “Be our guest! Experience Krakow. Visit Małopolska”. The budget for the entire project is no less than PLN 24 million, of which PLN 8 million PLN has been allocated for the domestic campaign and PLN 16 million for the “Wide Open” international campaign. Importantly, this is the only project funded entirely from European funds.
The leader of the project is the Małopolska Tourist Organisation, which is responsible for the creative concept, and producing and broadcasting the materials, as well as the organisation of economic missions. The project is being conducted in partnership with Krakow and Małopolska, while the City of Krakow is focusing on promoting business tourism. The region is responsible for communicating products related to leisure tourism – cultural, culinary, active and spa and wellness.
Business tourism – important for the city’s economy
Campaigns aimed at promoting business tourism, which is strategic for the tourism economy in Krakow, are implemented by the Kraków Convention Bureau operating in the Tourism Department of Krakow City Hall.
The city’s full range of facilities – a variety of venues for conferences, hundreds of hotels, an airport close to the centre, an active academic community and a picturesque region – is a magnet for clients organising conventions, conferences or incentive trips. The campaign is run by the City of Krakow, and focuses precisely on this type of tourist.
According to the report “Meetings Industry in Krakow 2022”, in 2022, the number of MICE events increased by 25.73 percent compared to the previous year, while the number of attendees increased by as much as 154 percent. While these statistics are reason for optimism, the MICE industry is still not back to 2019 levels. This shows that the activities carried out are effective, but are also still needed.
“Wide open...” – Hospitality and openness encourage business tourists to visit
The project’s main slogan “Wide open...” refers to Polish hospitality and, above all, the openness for which Małopolska is known. After all, for centuries Krakow and its surroundings have been a place where representatives of many cultures met, lived together and traded. Activities target the British, American, German, Austrian, Swiss, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, French, Belgian, Spanish and Italian markets. For more information about the project, visit the Kraków Convention Bureau website.
