The Tourism Board of Bale is developing a new approach to tourism
If you were roaming around Istria these days and decided to visit the little town of Bale near Rovinj, you probably weren't allowed to enter. Bale was experiencing a takeover by 220 IT experts who came from 27 countries of Central and Eastern Europe to participate in Dell EMC's 4th CEE Distribution Forum, Jutarnji reported on June 10, 2017.
Between June 6 and 8, the charming town turned into a big open office where the professionals shared their ideas and experiences and presented the latest technologies, and they've also been joined by colleagues from Microsoft and Intel. This is the first time the Town of Bale is trying out a new concept of transforming the whole Old Town into a large-scale accommodation unit, a plan they mean to carry out entirely before 2019.
"This is the first time in the history of Dell EMC that an event was organised in a whole town. Everything is running smoothly, the response of the partners is excellent, they haven't even complained about having to travel from faraway countries – when they arrived to the main square and saw what we prepared for them, they all said it was worth the journey", said Dell EMC's marketing manager Filipa Petrović.
Their previous events have been organised at various extraordinary destinations in Europe: a ski resort in Greece, a salt mine in Poland. For a couple of years now, Dell EMC has been trying to come up with an innovative type of conference to avoid the concept people are used to. According to the organising team, they got more than they asked for in Bale. All of the participants are staying in town in private accommodation, the reception desk is situated at the main square, and the lectures and presentations are taking place all over town – in the castle, at the square, and in the sports hall.
The company has leased the whole town, so there were no other tourists mixing with the IT crowd. Only the locals were present, and they were directly included in the project. The Tourist Board of Bale has hired a group of retired citizens to work part time, guiding the visitors around town, telling them stories about the history of Bale and getting them acquainted with traditional Istrian crafts.
The global tech company was torn between having the conference in Bale, Rovinj or St. Nikola island near Poreč. Them deciding on Bale means a great deal for the picturesque town, as they can't compete with Rovinj and Poreč in terms of tourism. "We offer what others don't have; a different sort of tourist offer", said the director of the tourist board Sandi Drandić. They've been developing the concept of a hotel-town located inside the historic centre for a while now, and the Dell EMC Forum presented them with a great opportunity to realise the idea. "It's fantastic marketing for us, and a chance to brand ourselves worldwide", said Drandić.
Image source: Flickr
