In September 1961 Belgrade was host to the First Non-Aligned Movement Summit. A large group of heads of states and governments, representatives of 25 out-of-bloc countries, gathered in the capital of the then SFR Yugoslavia.

The capital of Serbia was preparing for days to meet the delegations of heads of states and governments of the 24 countries participating at the Conference, but also to host about 850 journalists from all over the world who were provided with the most advanced devices of the time and good conditions for work.

At the entrance in Zemun there were flags waving to greet the guests, and at the entrance to the city the unofficial motto of the Conference was inscribed in several languages – „All People In The World Want Peace”. Today the Non-Aligned Movement numbers 118 countries, which is almost two-thirds of the United Nations member states (192).

Representatives from more than 100 countries from all over the world took part at the two-day ministers meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, so that over 700 diplomats, representatives of the whole world, visited the capital of Serbia. The most luxurious Belgrade hotels got the chance to host members at the meeting and we spoke to several representatives of the most distinguished Belgrade hotels.

The fact is that the biggest hotels in Belgrade were completely full with guests, and the delegates mostly were accommodated in the Hotel Hyatt Regency and Continental Hotel Beograd. Asked about occupied capacities, the representative of the Continental Hotel stated that the hotel could boast to have been the true host to the jubilee summit of the Non-Aligned Summit, as the hotel accommodated more than 50 foreign delegations.

The full capacity of the Continental Hotel is 415 rooms and suites, booked for months in advance for the participants at the Summit. The big ceremonial dinner for the Summit participants was also organized here at the hotel. The Hotel Hyatt Regency was traditionally booked full, it was the foreign diplomats and participants the first choice.

The representative of the hotel Holiday Inn Beograd point out that the capacities were almost full during the Non-Aligned Summit in Belgrade. The same goes for hotels Balkan and Moskva, where the journalists and other guests stayed, and there were also a few waiting lists.

As for foreign delegations, the whole protocol concerning their accommodation had to be at the highest level. Regarding the security measures, the hotel representatives claim that a direct cooperation between the hotel security officers, the Ministry of Interior, and the personal body guards of the hotel gusts was taken for granted, so that everything went smoothly.

Any special request by a guest was also satisfied. As the delegations came from various places around the world, with specific gastronomic tastes and international cuisines, the Belgrade hotels proved to be ready to meet requirements in any situation and enable the guests to have a pleasant stay in the hotel.

The delegates were rather busy during their brief sojourn, so they stayed the least amount of time in the hotel.

But it is certain that everybody, from the management to the hotel staff, was engaged to the maximum and dedicated to the goal of making the good word about Belgrade go around the world.

As a proof that the goal was reached, there are written comments, all positive of course, and words stating that they would certainly like to come again.

In the end, representatives of the biggest Belgrade hotels agreed upon one thing – organization of such conferences greatly contributes both to the meeting industry in Belgrade and in Serbia, but also in the region.

“This event is a very good reference for the meetings & events industry in Belgrade & Serbia, due to that Belgrade is quite unknown as Congress or Event Destination for International Meetings and this meeting has shown, that we are able to offer easy access from all over Europe and Internationally to Belgrade. As well we are able to offer different Hotel Categories and great venues for Meetings. I believe that we were able to show to all participants that we were the perfect host for this meeting and Belgrade is the best place to meet.“ – Hotel Hyatt Regency Beograd.

“This kind of event is of great importance to Serbia in regards to meeting industry. By organizing successfully such a complex and mass convention, Serbia has put herself onto the map of destinations relevant for business gatherings, thus gaining real possibilities to be ranked well on the World Congress Association list. With their efforts in improving the service quality and education of work force in the hotel sector, as well as in other segments of congress offer, it is plausible to expect that Serbia will soon become an important destination for that branch of tourism.” – Continental Hotel Beograd.

“The importance of organizing such international conferences is immeasurable for meeting industry in Serbia and Belgrade. Serbia was given chance to prove herself in the field of meeting industry. This is a perfect way to promote our country and create a conviction that Serbia can meet any requirement related to the organization of such large and important events.” – Hotel Holiday Inn Beograd.

“Our opinion is that the meeting industry is still making its first steps in Serbia. For the hoteliers like us such an event is important as the demand exceeds the offer, at least concerning hotels within the inner city limits, which also means that the hotel occupancy is high, i.e. one-hundred percent.” – Hotel Balkan.