Meet Estonia

Meetings with a difference

Closer than you thinkGetting to Estonia is easy. Most major European cities are less than two hours away by air. Tallinn is only 1 hour from Stockholm and Copenhagen and 2 hours from Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt.

Hassle-free bordersEstonia is an EU member and part of the Schengen visa zone, so most delegates won’t have to bother with customs or passport checks when arriving and departing.

It’s a new destinationBeen there? Done that? Why not surprise your delegates with a novel destination that will show them a side of Europe they’ve never seen?

It will keep them talking for months. Estonia is still a relatively undiscovered country. That means you’ll be giving conference goers their first glimpse of an exotic, new destination that’s chock full of surprises, from the historic, fairytale charm of Tallinn’s Old Town to the natural beauty of the country’s primeval forests and rugged seacoast.

TIme zone EASTErn EUrOpEAn, GMT+2

esTonIaTallInn

oslo

HelsInkI

london

parIs

berlIn

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sToCkHolm

sT peTersburg

russIafInland

laTvIa

sweden

norway

germany

unITed kIngdom

franCe

flIgHT TImes To TallInn

Helsinki 0.5 hour

stockHolm 1 hour

Riga 1 hour

st PeteRsbuRg 1 hour

coPenHagen 1.5 hours

oslo 1.5 hours

beRlin 2 hours

bRussels 2.5 hour

amsteRdam 2.5 hour

PaRis 3 hour

london 3 hours

CopenHagen

denmark

brussels

belgIum

amsTerdamneTHerlands

populaTIon: 1.36 million area: 45 000 km2

offICIal language: estonian CapITal: Tallinn eu member SInCE 2004 sCHengen vIsa zone CounTry SInCE 2007

medieval and modern - a blend of old and newFirst-time visitors are amazed by Estonia’s historic ambience. Imagine strolling past Medieval walls and gates, Gothic churches, curious little lanes lit with old-fashioned lamps and a man in 16th-century merchant’s garb selling his wares from a cart. At the same time Estonia’s cities are surprisingly modern, with the latest high-tech conveniences always at hand. It’s this combination of old and new, Medieval and modern, that gives Estonia its unique flavour.

Tallinn – european Capital of Culture in 2011The capital, Tallinn, is best known for its unforgettable, UnESCO-listed Medieval Old Town, a fairytale neighbor-hood of cobblestone streets, gabled houses, picturesque lanes and Gothic churches that was built up from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Here culturally-minded visi-tors can explore a vast range of museums, churches and handicraft workshops, or visit the KUMU art museum, named Europe’s best museum in 2008. Tallinn will be packed with events as it takes on the title of European Capital of Culture. In 2011, Europe’s best stories will be told in Tallinn.

Compact - everything within walking distanceSize matters, and when it comes to hosting events for large groups, smaller is definitely better. Distances in Estonia are conveniently short. After landing at any of the international airports, delegates can be in their respective city centres in ten just minutes. The cities themselves are built on a very human scale, with ma-jor hotels, event venues, sights, restaurants and shop-ping concentrated the same central area, all within easy walking distance. That means there’s no need for delegates to waste time waiting for transfers, fig-uring out public transportation or sitting in traffic.

unique event venuesFor conferences, gala dinners and receptions, Estonia offers the kind of venues that aren’t available in most places. Imagine holding your event in a spectacular, renaissance-style guild hall, a Medieval manor house or in the mysterious ruins of a 15th-century monastery.

TallInn capital of Estonia

population 407 000

European capital of culture in 2011

Old Town on UnESCO’s World

Heritage List since 1997

Other choices include a 1950s-era airport, a cutting-edge art museum, an opera house, theatres, historic university buildings and libraries. Some locations are also used as backdrops to one-of-a-kind incentive pro-grammes, everything from nighttime treasure hunts through the national art museum to breaking out of a Soviet-era prison.

brand new hotel facilities, low ratesEstonia’s major hotels are all either newly built or newly renovated, so they’re as modern and high-quality as they come. nowadays it’s hard to find a guest room or conference room that’s more than five years old. Better still, prices are reasonable and rates for 4- and 5-star hotels are easily among the lowest on the continent. In the centres of Tallinn and Tartu you’ll find a good mix of hotels all within walking distance from each other, providing excel-lent access to the larger, downtown conference venues.

free wireless internet is a human rightFree wireless internet is available in nearly all hotel rooms, not to mention at the airport and in restau-rants, pubs and cafés throughout the cities. Dele-gates can check e-mail and stay in touch wherever they are. Estonia is one of the most wired-up – and wireless – places on the planet. This is, after all, where Skype was invented. not only will delegates have an easy time staying connected, conference organisers can rest assured that top quality online registration systems are in place and that essentials like AV and interpretation equipment are state-of-the-art.

Quick getaways50% of Estonia’s territory is covered by forests and 20% by bogs. That means nature areas in Estonia are never far away, no matter where you are. If you want to escape civilization and hold an incentive program in the middle of the forest, you can be there in as little as ten minutes.

Top baltic country in ICCa listingsThe word about Estonia is definitely out: Event organisers have discovered what this fascinating, little country has to offer, and its newfound star-dom has made it one of Europe’s fastest growing conference destinations.

english widely spokenEnglish-speaking visitors will have no trouble com-municating in Estonia. As residents of one of the smallest EU nations, Estonians have embraced the international language and proficiency levels are quite high.

Credit/debit cards accepted Thanks to the Estonians’ love for high-tech con-veniences, payment by card is extremely popular here. Visa and Mastercard accepted in all shops and cafés.

estonian Convention bureau at your serviceAnyone planning an event in Estonia will have the added bonus of assistance from the Estonian Con-vention Bureau. Established in 2008, the ECB is a non-profit organisation made up of the top players in the industry and is your partner for putting to-gether any conference, meeting or other corporate function in the country.

TarTu the oldest town in Baltic states

second largest city in Estonia

population 100 000

22 000 students

home to Tartu University (founded in 1632)

estonian convention buReauViru 19, 10148 Tallinn, Estoniatel + 372 645 0086 e-mail info@ecb.eewww.ecb.ee

The estonian Convention bureau is your partner for any and all meetings, incentives, conventions and events you plan to hold in estonia.

We provide the following services free of charge: helping you find the most suitable conference venues

and hotel accommodation assisting you in choosing local partners and acting as your

first point of contact with Estonian suppliers - conference venues, hotels, professional congress organisers (pCOs) and incentive agencies

coordinating site inspection visits that are tailor made to your requirements

preparing bid documents for decision makers providing promotional material

publIsHer Estonian Convention Bureau

pHoTos EAS Image Bank, Tallinn Image Bank,

Karel Koplimets, Toomas Tuul, Toomas Volmer

Copy Steven Q roman

Information updated in February 2010. Despite

careful processing, contents are subject to change.

neither the Estonian Convention Bureau nor its

members are responsible for inaccuracies herein.