April 20, 2021 - The five-star hotel resort Le Meridien Lav has invested 5 million euros for the renovation of its premises and puts congress tourism in Split in the spotlight.

As hrturizam.hr reports, Split resort Le Meridien Lav, the only five-star hotel resort in the Split area, confirmed that the crisis should be seen as an opportunity, and welcomes the season with 180 renovated rooms in two hotel blocks and public hotel rooms: lobby, reception, hotel bar in the lobby, as well as at the entrance to the hotel, in which 5 million and 150 thousand euros have been invested so far.

This is only the first phase of the renovation of the Split resort out of three, which will include the renovation of all accommodation facilities, modernization, and expansion of the marina within the resort, additional arrangement of beaches and business premises in the marina, which should be finalized by summer 2022.

‘‘I am proud of the fact that despite the new challenging times, we are following our business and investment plan. At Lav, we look at the challenges with great enthusiasm, so we used this ‘quiet’ period for the first part of the hotel renovation. To many, this investment will seem like an unusual move at the moment, but this is the best way to show how much we believe in our resort and destination”, said Arnoud Zaalberg, CEO of Le Meridien Lav.

Credits: Atellior

This investment is a continuation of the investment in Le Meridian Lav, which began in 2019 with the renovation of the RE: CUPERA spa & wellness center worth just over 2 million euros.

The resort has five thousand square feet of convention space.

In addition to the current renovation, more than two million kunas have been invested in accommodation and public facilities in the congress content - more precisely the renovation of congress halls and meeting rooms, the complete renovation of the tennis center, and the opening of new restaurants and bars.

‘‘Congress tourism, the event industry, as well as the organization of special ceremonies such as weddings are a significant part of our business. Today, the Le Meridien Lav resort has a total of 12 congress halls and event rooms, with two smaller halls on two floors primarily intended for smaller meetings and presentations. At the end of last year, with the conversion of the space, we created three new congress halls. The resort currently has five thousand square feet of convention space that includes a central, largest convention hall with amazing sea views. All halls are equipped with state-of-the-art audio and video equipment”, said Zaalberg.

Credits: Atellior

At Le Meridien Lav, they are especially proud of the fact that despite the pandemic crisis and much weaker tourist results last season, as well as announcements of an uncertain next season, they still managed to keep all employees, and these days are actively working to hire seasonal workers.

‘‘In tourism, the key to success is people! Employees are our greatest strength and we have really made extraordinary efforts to keep all permanent employees despite all the challenges of last year and this year. I am extremely grateful to them that we are all going through these challenging times together with understanding. We are currently, according to the plan, in the process of hiring seasonal workers. My team and I love challenges and share this attitude with our owners from the Odien Group, so we are looking forward to the upcoming season and believe that our efforts will bear fruit’’, said Zaalberg.

Credits: Atellior

Le Meridien Lav is the only 5-star resort in the Split area, located in Podstrana, 8 kilometers south of Split. It has a total of 378 accommodation units and 12 modern conference halls in an area of ​​5000 square meters. Since 2015, it has been owned by the private Czech equity fund Odien Group, more precisely its subsidiary Odien Hotels N.V., whose portfolio this year also includes the Blue Orange Business Resort in Prague.

You can find more information about tourism in Split HERE, and the latest information about flights to Croatia HERE.

For more news about travel in Croatia, check our dedicated page.

May 20, 2020 - According to the annual statistics of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), in 2019, Croatia recorded an increase in the number of international meetings of associations.

Namely, HRTurizam reports that after 114 congresses were held in Croatia in 2018, 123 were held in 2019, which put Croatia 34th in the ICCA rankings in the total number of congresses held in the world.

Croatia has thus progressed four places on the prestigious scale, which is the highest position occupied by Croatia so far, which also confirms the status of our country as the leading congress destination in the region.

"This is great news for Croatian congress tourism, which is recording excellent results from year to year. After being named the best business tourism destination in Europe by the British magazine Business Destinations in 2018, according to the new ICCA ranking in 2019, we have become the leading congress country in the region. We are also pleased with the fact that our capital Zagreb achieved a record 48th place in the ranking of congress cities, jumping by as much as 20 places compared to the year before," said Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board.

Split recorded a jump for 81st place, so with 15 meetings held, it shares 191st place with Sarajevo. Dubrovnik, with 33 meetings held, is in 88th place, and Opatija is in 424th place with five meetings. As for the neighboring countries, Slovenia recorded a drop from 41st to 44th place in this year's statistics, while Serbia climbed the rankings by three places and took 50th place with 58 rallies.

In the ranking of congress countries, the United States has been in first place for more than two decades, including in 2019, during which 934 meetings were held. Germany is in second place, followed by France, Spain and the United Kingdom. Of the cities in 2019, Paris leads, followed by Lisbon and Berlin. It is interesting to note that a total of 13,254 gatherings of associations were held worldwide last year. Of that, 53 percent was held in Europe, making it by far the most popular region for international gatherings, while Asia is increasingly increasing its market share.

Every May, the international association ICCA publishes its annual statistics on the international market of association gatherings for the last year. The figures are based on their database, which covers a specific segment of the congress industry, i.e., only gatherings organized by international associations, provided that they are held regularly, rotate between at least three countries/regions and have at least 50 participants.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

October 28, 2019 - We know that orchestrating your company’s conferences, meetings or team building events can take time and test your patience, but it doesn’t have to be all that bad in the end - that is, if you choose Marvie Hotel & Health. 

Marvie Hotel & Health opened its doors back in 2017 as the first hotel specializing in health tourism in Dalmatia, with each segment of its offer focused on quality self-care. Located in Split's residential area of Zenta, known as one of the city’s poshest neighborhoods, Marvie is spacious and modern, boasting an underground garage on three floors, 74 rooms and two suites, and modular halls that can accommodate up to 65 people. Your team will turn on relaxation mode from the moment they walk through its doors. 

With wellness at the forefront, Marvie has always kept companies in mind, and in doing so, they’ve set the bar high for team members visiting the hotel, offering a variety of morning exercises as a foolproof way to get the day off to a good start -  like yoga, tai-chi, hydro gymnastics, or physiotherapy training. And if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you can take your team to the nearby tennis courts or stroll along the coast, which you’ll find just minutes outside of the hotel. 

But that’s not all. 

Marvie offers a tranquil work environment to ensure a fruitful and productive day among colleagues - and once the work is done, the fun begins. Namely, your associates can gather at the hotel restaurant Da’Mar, or the Renevie Wellness next to the indoor pool, for music, drinks, and mingling once the business hours have passed. 

If you’re looking to wind down with food, the Da’Mar restaurant is a paradise for gourmands and offers carefully crafted creative, clean, and mostly gluten-free dishes. But if you’d rather dive headfirst into leisure, the extensive Renevie wellness area boasts an indoor pool and relax zone, jacuzzi, Finnish and Turkish saunas, and a gym. Apart from the various types of massages and beauty treatments, dermatological services and effective but non-invasive skin rejuvenation methods, you can also tap into the full range of medical wellness and physiotherapy methods for faster recovery and better overall health. 

Or, visit the Aqua Med Medical Wellness - Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic and MediDerm Clinic - a dermatological clinic for cosmetic medicine. Guests can even receive a physical examination at the MediDerm Clinic, where vital functions, lab tests, and specialist medical examinations are at your disposal. Better yet, this can all be done in a day. 

However, if the weather abides, you can take your team to the inviting rooftop terrace and network at the outdoor swimming pool where evening entertainment or relaxing programs will help team members unwind after a long day. The rooftop views of Split are unparalleled. 

If you want to give your team even more, Marvie can coordinate casual team building activities such as a gluten-free cooking workshop or classic Mediterranean cuisine - or have them learn from a cocktail master, barista, or sommelier with the drink workshops available. You can even opt to stimulate your employees further with a corporate seminar led by renowned lecturers.

If your team spirit thrives outdoors, you won’t be disappointed by the excursions on offer, like trips to Croatia’s most famous national parks, horseback riding, ziplining, island hopping, or connecting the Game of Thrones fans’ in the group for a tour of the Croatian filming locations. 

Marvie has done its part to ensure its wellness climate and overall offer are designed to balance business minds. It’s not hard to see why this hotel is chosen for congress tourism in Croatia. 

You can read more about Marvie Hotel & Health here. 

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Dubrovnik shows off its capabilities as a desirable congress destination.

Dubrovnik received a total score of 4.27 out of the possible 5, making it the best in the region.

Hotel Kvarner in Opatija will host the third edition of the Franchising Exhibition Croatia (FEC) - The Fair of Franchising, Financial and Consulting Services

Today in Zagreb as part of the 5th Forum of the Croatian Congress Industry, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli presented an action plan for the development of congress tourism.

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