Meeting Stars of New Europe

The highlight of the second day of Conventa was the reception for attendees at Cankarjev dom, following an intensive first day of business meetings and six afternoon experiences across Ljubljana. The participants were first addressed by Matevž Fijavž, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, and Boštjan Koritnik, Vice-Mayor of the City of Ljubljana. Both emphasised the strategic importance of the meetings industry to the development of the economy, tourism, and science, and highlighted its role in the regenerative transformation of destinations – towards greater quality, resilience, and long-term sustainability.

The speakers also recognised Conventa’s pioneering role in developing the events industry across the wider region. The organisers thus describe it as the central business platform “between Helsinki and Istanbul and between Milan and Baku”. Within this geographical framework, the best meeting destinations, hotels and convention centres are selected each year. This year, special venues were added to the award categories for the first time, expanding the range of locations for unique, more experience-driven meetings.

For more than 16 years, the independent, transparent evaluation of meeting destinations, hotels, and special venues has set standards of excellence in the meetings industry. The award and quality certificate enjoy a high level of trust among event organisers, as they are based on clear, well-defined criteria and internationally comparable standards. The quality of meeting destinations is measured using the Meeting Experience Index, which includes 75 key macro criteria. Hotels and convention centres are evaluated using the Hidden Congress Guest, which assesses the guest experience against 654 detailed criteria. Hidden guests assess special venues against 541 criteria, ensuring a comprehensive and objective evaluation of their quality.

Gorazd Čad, the founder and conceptual father of the project, emphasised: “The core methodology of the selection has stood the test of time and represents a solid, credible foundation for the entire project. With minor adjustments, we have successfully applied it to the evaluation of special venues, which has been received extremely positively by the professional community. One of the key novelties is also the so-called “Olympic” announcement of the top three in each category, enabling more transparent, realistic and comparable evaluation of the results.”

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Photo: Luka Detiček

At the special reception for award recipients, Meeting Stars were presented in three main categories. The top three in each category were also introduced during a ceremonial catwalk at the award ceremony before all Conventa participants, underscoring the prestige and importance of the recognitions.

A. Best meeting destinations in 2025/2026
A total of 149 destinations participated in the selection. Awards were presented in four main categories (XL, L, M and S), as well as in a special regional category, Best in New Europe.

B. Best meeting hotels and convention centres in 2025/2026
Among 303 certified hotels and venues across 24 New Europe countries, winners were announced in five categories: city, resort, spa and boutique hotels, and convention centres. In addition, two special awards were presented to the most sustainable and the most creative venue.

C. Best special venues in 2025/2026
In the first evaluation season, 38 special venues were included in the selection. Awards were presented in two overarching categories: built special venues and natural or experiential venues, enabling a fairer, more comparable evaluation across different types of locations.

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Photo: Luka Detiček

For the third year in a row, organisers also presented special recognitions to the best Slovenian providers, highlighting the quality, reliability, and long-term excellence of the local business sector.

On this occasion, Fredi Fontanot, Director of the Slovenian Convention Bureau, emphasised: “The Slovenian Convention Bureau was among the first in the world to introduce a standardisation system for its members, which is crucial for ensuring consistency and comparability of the offer. The Meetings Star project builds on this foundation with an independent quality assessment and significantly contributes to the overall raising of standards. In this way, we not only confirm the excellence of the best, but also actively encourage the development, professionalism and competitiveness of the entire Slovenian meetings industry.”

A total of 491 certificates were awarded for the 2025/2026 season. Since the start of the evaluation process, 721 hotels, 56 convention centres, and 149 destinations have been assessed.

The first part of the Conventa programme concludes today, while the event will continue through the end of the week across eleven destinations, with the legendary Conventa site visits. Within the professional community, these are regarded as one of the largest and most important fam trips in the European meetings industry.

The organisers are also following developments at Conventa through a special podcast series, Ljubljana Talks. On the Kongres Magazine YouTube channel, listeners can enjoy engaging conversations with prominent representatives of the meetings industry and discover a range of inspiring ideas and best practices.

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Photo: Luka Detiček

European Unicorn Awards

At the event’s closing, Conventa also announced a redesign of the competition for the best events. The reimagined European Unicorn Award will connect the European events industry on 7 and 8 September 2026, with the ceremonial awards presentation once again taking place at Ljubljana Castle.

Conventa is organised by the Slovenian Convention Bureau and Toleranca Marketing agency in cooperation with Ljubljana Tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board and 21 strategic partners.

Explore more about Conventa here.