The Regional Tourism Organization (KOCR) Trenčín Region prepared a professional conference on Friday 15 December 2017 under the title "The Future of History - How Does Marketing Work on Medieval Castles?". Representatives of the monuments from Slovakia and the Czech Republic have approached the management of historic buildings, their revitalization or use for marketing purposes in tourism.

The conference, which was held in the congress premises of the Trenčiansky samosprávny kraj (TSK), opened the chairman KOCR Trenčín region Juraj Gerlici : "The regional organization of tourism Trenčín region is trying to raise awareness of cultural monuments through various activities. I firmly believe that this conference will "bring fruit" not only to the listeners, but also to the lecturers themselves. " His words were supplemented by KOCR Executive Director Trenčín Region Eva Frývaldská , who presented several projects aimed at increasing the visitation of castles in the Trenčín region. "Under the trademark of the Trenčín region, in 2016 we started the geocaching game Šturizmus, where the contestants searched for hidden references to 11 castles, castle ruins and castle in our region. In 2017 we organized a similar competition - Playful Castles of the Trenčín Region, where it was basically to collect the full number of points through a mobile application directly on the castle or castle, " Frývaldská said.

The first lectures of the conference focused on the activities of civic and interest associations in castle ruins. The medieval castle, standing on a high limestone floor, and events that yearly enjoy rich visitors, was presented by the director of interest association Beckov Castle, Peter Pastier . In the contribution, he also addressed the problems he faces at work. "At present, there is so much activity for regular visitors that creating a program on a daily basis is almost unprofitable. Therefore, it is often necessary to look for a way of distinguishing itself from other cultural facilities. " The long-standing work of the civic association (OZ) Tematín Castle was approached by its chairman, Mojmir Choma . In the presentation, he made a contribution to Peter Pastier's contribution and stressed that it is increasingly challenging to meet the visitors' demands for activities related to the rescue of castle walls. Different view of the issue was offered by the administrator of Brumov Castle, Miroslav Obadal . The lecture focused on the influence of the ownership of the historic building on the policy of implementing cultural events or various advantages in the management and restoration of the castle. "It is a big difference when you have the resources from the municipal budget allocated to the repairs and you do not have to deal with financial or personal problems, as is the case with the rescue of castles," Obadal said.

Marketed by the other lecturers, they were more pronounced. The first joint calendar of events of the ten castles of northeastern Slovakia - Letohrad 2017, from the Rákoci cesta civic association, was presented by the chairman of the OZ, Martin Sárossy . He highlighted a number of important aspects of the perception of monuments and "underlined" the importance of co-operation with associations and other organizations. The essence of marketing in the promotion of cultural heritage and the building of a positive image was also emphasized by the representative of the Ľubovnian Museum, Jakub Ondrej . The last post, Marketing and Event Management at the Valtice State Chateau, said the couple - Zbyněk Šolc and Lenka Beránková . The presentation focused on the experience of organizing cultural events, renting the castle for marketing purposes, or selling souvenirs under a common brand.

Experts, lay people, or students could listen to different opinions. How to manage the castle? how to implement marketing? What is appropriate for the restoration of ruins and what is not? "The purpose of the conference was to offer inspiration to the castellan, the castle manager, and to bring about the possible direction of our cultural heritage not only for the experts but also for the uninterested listener," Frývaldská said.