Conference call

Mazurkas Travel is due to open its MCC Mazurkas Conference Centre on May 2. The center is located at the Hotel Best Western Mazurkas in Ożarów Mazowiecki, 12 km from the center of Warsaw.

The conference center, combined with conference facilities within the hotel, comprises a total meeting space of 3,000 sqm, with 34 conference rooms. The main room of MCC is 744 sqm in area and is able to hold up to 1,000 people and can be divided into eight smaller rooms. The center also boasts a 340-sqm hall and a 200-sqm foyer.

"This is one of the biggest and most innovative conference facilities in Poland," says Mikołaj Bralczyk, Mazurkas' front office manager. The investors equipped the venue with state-of-the-art coordinated systems managing the sound, the light and presentation facilities, which can be individually adjusted to the needs of specific conferences. "These are the standards expected by both Polish and foreign organizers of conferences and congresses," adds Michał Kozak, sales and marketing manager.

Kozak says that the location of the center outside Warsaw is not necessarily a disadvantage. "Such a location ensures a good turnout of the participants of conferences and trainings, who otherwise might want to do their errands in the city. Moreover, it is a general worldwide trend to locate conference centers outside of large cities," he says. "We have already had several reservations for June," adds Kozak.

Patrycja Dzikowska, a consultant at Jones Lang LaSalle, says that the location and character of the center meshes very well with the profile of Mazurkas Travel, a tourist company. She agrees that the location outside Warsaw will be attractive for holding company trainings and conferences which require the constant presence of the participants. Moreover, after Warsaw's ring road is built, the center's access to downtown Warsaw will be much improved.

Alex Kloszewski, head of the hotel department at Colliers International Poland, stresses that although the investment will surely attract clients, this is not the size of a conference center Poland needs most right now. "We need centers that will accommodate 10,000-15,000 people, 3,000 sqm is definitely not enough for the largest events." He adds that Poland may expect such a project fairly soon.

However, it does not seem that Mazurkas will be the one to make that investment, as the company plans no new investments in the near future.