On February 8 10 it was the MCE Central & Eastern Europe 2026 event, which this year was hosted by the Bulgarian capital Sofia. More than 200 professionals from the congress and incentive tourism industry took part in the three-day programme, which combined B2B meetings, networking and destination presentations.Each supplier had up to 28 individual business meetings scheduled during the event, with "86% of the participants being suppliers who had participated in the event before, which reflects the high quality and efficiency of the meeting,” notes Sandra Jankotová, manager of the Czech Convention Bureau.
In addition to the Czech Convention Bureau MCE 2026, MCE 2026 was also joined by partners OREA Hotels, Panorama by Verdi, Hilton Prague and Cubex Centrum Praha.
At the beginning of March, representatives of the Czech MICE offer loosely followed up with an event in Budapest, which was specifically aimed at associations and PCOs (professional congress organizers). "Events Club Associations Forum 2026 is a unique opportunity due to its focus, suppliers meet here with event organizers representing international associations and PCOs, these are already buyers with very specific requirements. Therefore, being on the spot is essential for gaining an understanding of their needs– and of course for offering solutions in Czechia,” explains Tereza Hofmanová, Director of Product Management, Research and B2B Cooperation at CzechTourism. According to the available feedback, the event had a 100% satisfaction rate on the part of the participants.
The Europe Congress events offer attendees a traditionally format that is strongly focused on networking. The opening day always provides an opportunity for introductions and first networking during the welcome reception and dinner, while the following two days are predominantly in the business spirit of B2B meetings preceded by a morning block of destination presentations. However, there is always a supporting programme to encourage networking and strengthen business opportunities. Czechia impressed not only with its high quality infrastructure and accessibility, but also with the variety of regional destinations suitable for international conferences, corporate stays and experiential programmes at the event in Budapest, the regional offer was presented directly by representatives of the regions, namely Prague and South Moravia. From private entities, representatives of the Prague Congress Centre and – as buyers - Kuoni Tumlare Congress.
As Tereza Hofmanova sums up: ”The participation of the Czech Convention Bureau has once again strengthened the international awareness of the Czech Republic as a modern and competitive MICE destination. We established a number of new contacts and opened concrete business opportunities for the coming years. Both events also confirmed the growing importance of the Central European region not only in the European MICE market.“