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The Czech Republic was, until relatively recently, little-known as a major destination for international conferences. Today though, it regularly ranks in the top 3 first-choice preferences for such in business surveys. Why is that and what has changed? Political and Commercial Geography Prague is, quite literally, at the centre of Europe. It’s therefore a long-established mid-continental meeting point. Historically, different cultures, civilizations and even empires from all points of the compass, have met here to conduct many different forms of business – sadly, not always amicably! Some of that may have been purely commercial and some political, but it means that welcoming and providing excellent facilities for business travellers is a great tradition, which remains the case today. Service and client satisfaction are a huge motivational force here and that is something that many businesses find a welcome change from what they encounter in some other major cities. Choice At the time of writing, there are more than 40 major conference centres in and around the city. They offer a wide range of facilities and backdrops, ranging from ultra-modern architectures (such as Forum Karlin) to stunning city-centre ancient buildings of inspirational traditional form such as the National House of Vinohrady. As you might imagine, with such choice also comes a wide range of options in terms of budget spend – something that’s very attractive to modern cost-conscious business operations. All the centres have excellent technology support and supporting infrastructures and are highly customisable in terms of their configurations etc. The recreational facilities in Prague, furthermore, are amongst the best in Europe, which means that delegates will have plenty of scope for extra-conference activities in what is widely accepted to be one of the continent’s most beautiful cities. Accessibility Prague has been relatively easily accessed by air for several decades now, but the recent arrival of budget airline travel has also been a substantial factor in boosting its popularity for conferences. Cheaper flights into Prague’s excellent airport and its easy and fast connections into the city centre are very influential for event organisers – and attendees! It’s also worth noting that Prague is a year-round capital city. Each season here brings its own attractions and yes, the winters can be very cold but the local environment and infrastructure (business and social) is very much a 24x365 operation. So, ‘downtime’ in terms of things to do or conference support just isn’t something to worry about. Overall Cost While location and support facilities rank highly in the selection of venue processes, in practice, cost containment is regularly cited as the top priority for many budget controllers. Fortunately, Prague is one of the most cost-effective destinations. Statistics show it to have one of the lowest cost economies in the European Union and that can make a very big difference to the affordability of an international gathering. Is the City for You? Prague always scores exceptionally well on post-conference surveys and that’s why its reputation has continued to grow over many years. As stated at the outset, it now regularly out-performs many if not most other international conference destinations in terms of overall satisfaction. Given that these business benefits are delivered in the heart of such a beautiful city, it’s hard to see why this should be anything but an ideal destination for businesses seeking an appropriate venue. Lukas Johannes is a driver for Shuttle Direct, the number one provider of private and shared airport transfers all over Europe and northern Africa. If you’re looking for business transfers to conference centres in Prague, Lukas and his colleagues can make sure that you and your luggage get to and from the airport surely, swiftly and safely.
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