The 8^th Congress of the Croatian Society of Cardiology will be held in Opatija, Hotel Ambasador, in the period October 21-24, 2010.  According to the number of participants registered so far, almost 900, this congress shall be the largest gathering of experts from the domain of cardiovascular medicine in Croatia until now.

A specialized division of the agency SPEKTAR PUTOVANJA, in the capacity of PCO (Professional Congress Organizer), specializes in the organisation of congresses, symposiums, conventions, events and all other kinds of meetings, securing with its longstanding experience and knowledge support, expertise and professional services in all segments of the organization of expert meetings.

The coordination between organizational boards and the expert team, via the conference secretariat, is an extremely important segment with the help of which one can achieve remarkable results.

Mrs. Sanja Vukov-Čolić, from the Congress and Incentive Division of SPEKTAR-PUTOVANJA, has shared her experience with us related to the organization of such important and demanding congresses.

Mrs. Sanja Vukov-Čolić emphasizes that the organization of large international expert meetings, especially of congresses, represents a sublimation of all activities of the travel industry and unites them into one whole. As she explains, “apart from organising accommodation and transportation, as well as special events that form part of the programme of the congress, the organisation of the expert part, necessary for the successful flow of the congress, makes the whole organisation of a congress the most complex and delicate activity in the travel industry. This includes the organisation of technical equipment, socialising programmes, protocol events, protection measures against unforeseen conditions, solving visa-related processes, design and print of necessary materials, transportation of necessary equipment, space signalling with needed signalling marks, organising the registration of participants and distribution of materials to the same, VIP treatment for the most important participants and a lot more tiny details“.

„In particular, I would like to point out the necessary preparations that must be executed in order to secure the successful organisation of a congress. These preparations can last even up to a couple of years before the event. The usage of excellently developed software programmes for the registration and accommodation with data bases, a sophisticated programme for the receipt of papers that will be presented, so that the scientific boards can at any moment check and control all received papers, which must always be ready for print, design, further the development and updating of web pages, the automated sending of reminders and confirmations to addresses from the data bases, tracking registrations and collection of charges online via bank cards, marketing activities and communication with sponsors, the complete management of the event, especially monitoring of expenses and revenues, and services on site, are necessary steps in the realization and coordination of the Congress. These make Spektar putovanja the largest travel agency in the meetings industry market in Croatia.“

„The largest event that we organised during our longstanding work on the MICE market was the EADV SPRING SYMPOSIUM (EUROPEAN ACADEMY OFDERMATOVENEROLOGY), i.e. the Spring Symposium of the European Academy of Dermatovenerology, in cooperation with the Croatian Society of Dermatovenerology. This one was held from May 13-16, 2010 with around 2000 participants, which ranges this event into the very top of the largest events of that kind held in Croatia “, says Sanja Vukov-Čolić.

Mrs. Vukov-Čolić recalls the issues involved in the organisation of such a large meeting: “Although our congress capacities were limited, we managed to organise the expert part, which took place in 9 parallel halls, with a multitude of satellite-transferred symposiums of pharmaceutical companies from Croatia, Europe and the whole world, with workshops, a large exhibition of companies related to the pharmaceutical industry, as well as from the industry of equipment used in dermatovenerology with more than 40 stands with large dimensions distributed over the whole hotel Croatia, Cavtat, in Dubrovnik. There were more than 400 posters for which we needed a special well-arranged space in the basement of the hotel. The participants were accommodated in the Hotel Croatia, the surrounding Cavtat hotels, as well as in more than 20 hotels in Dubrovnik.  We organized bus transfers for them two times daily every day from their hotels to the Congress Centre in Cavtat. We organized the arrival for more than 80% of the total number of participants that came by plane from all European cities, as well as their transfers from the airports when arriving and departing, but also a multitude of one day trips and excursions, as well as sightseeing tours in Croatia before and after the Congress.”

„From the reference list of the congresses we have organised so far (only in the last couple of years), one can conclude that most of the congresses we organized were from the domain of medicine. The reason for this lies in the fact that medicine is a science that is developing extremely quickly, and the pharmaceutical industry continuously produces new medications, so that these congresses are the ideal place for the presentation of such achievements“, says Sanja Vukov-Čolić.

SPEKTAR-PUTOVANJA cooperates with a large number of medical societies in Croatia, such as: the Croatian Society of Psychiatry, the Croatian Society of Dermatology, the Croatian Society of Gynecologic Oncology, the Croatian Society of Traumatology, the Croatian Society for Hypertension, the Croatian Society of Toxicology, the Croatian Medical Association, the Croatian Association of Nurses in Cardiology, and since 2003 we are partners with the Croatian Society of Cardiology and follow it in the organization of almost all events under its authority.

This year again, from October 21-24, Croatia shall organize the 8^th Congress of the Croatian Society of Cardiology, traditionally held in Opatija, with Prof. Dr. Sc. Davor Miličić heading it, in the capacity of President of the Croatian Society of Cardiology and President of the Organisational Board of the Congress. At the same time, we shall have the 2^nd Congress of the Croatian Association of Nurses in Cardiology, led by Mrs. Ana Ljubas, Bacc. M. S., in the capacity of President of the Association and President of the Congress.

The Congress was preceded by vast preparations, as well as presentations of it at the end of August 2009 and 2010 in Barcelona and Stockholm, during the European Congress of Cardiology, within the exhibition space of the Croatian Society of Cardiology.

M.Š.

Some of the Congresses in 2010 in the organisation of Spektar Putovanja d.o.o.:

IBM FORUM 2010 /400 pax/
Hotel Le Meriden Lav, Split
05.-07.10.2010.

5. hrvatski psihijatrijski kongres s međunarodnim sudjelovanjem/ 400 pax/
Hotel Solaris hotels resort, Šibenik, Croatia
29.09.- 03. 10. 2010.

CROZ- Quality in Enterprise Development
Primošten, Hrvatska
12.-14.09.2010.

COMBIS KONFERENCIJA/250 pax/
Novi Vinodolski, Croatia
16.-17.09.2010.

4th  Symposium of Croatian Doctors’ Chamber (300 participants)
Hotel Adriatic , Opatija
19.-21.03.2010.

7th Croatian Conference of Psychiatry (300 participants)
Hotel Ambasador, Opatija, Croatia
25.-28.03.2010.

EADV 7th Spring Symposium (2000 participants)
Hotel Croatia, Cavtat, Croatia
13.-16.05.2010.