Passionate hosts
Austria is an excellent destination not only for dining, but also for meetings. Historical edifices and futuristic buildings make equally superb special event locations.
As far back as 1814/15 during the Congress of Vienna, Metternich and Co. partook with pleasure of the amenities Austria has to offer its guests. The Alpine republic can boast an enticing array of venues. In any and every ambiance, be it settings with a whiff of the historical or futuristic buildings, the Austrians are passionate hosts. Customer focus and service are not just marketing rant, they are really practiced.
The new exhibition centre MessezentrumWienNeu Exhibition & Congress Center, for instance, self-confidently presents itself as "The all-rounder". It has operated successfully since opening in January 2004. The Viennese put this down partly to its department for guest events, a second important business mainstay for Reed Exhibitions Messe Wien in addition to its proprietary trade fairs and consumer shows. More than a hundred guest functions - congresses, events, exhibitions, presentations and meetings - are held each year. As a result of these events alone some 235,000 visitors are expected to MessezentrumWienNeu in 2006. "The exhibition centre is one of the most state-of-the-art event and conference buildings in Europe. With its modular infrastructure, it can accommodate events of all types and sizes, from small but politically, economically or culturally important corporate and industry meetings to major international conventions with several thousand delegates," says Renate Dobler-Jerabek, who heads the department for guest events at Reed Exhibitions Messe Wien. In 2007 the city of Vienna is looking further to reinforce its position as a successful conference city on the back of the exhibition centre. Firm bookings include, for example, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress from September 1 to 5, 2007 that will draw some 29,000 delegates to the Austrian capital. Vienna, like Austria as a whole, scores with its richly contrasting range of meeting venues. Located in one of the oldest parts of the city is the Palais Ferstel dating from the Gründerzeit period of rapid industrial expansion. There, in the late 19th century Vienna's intellectual elite gathered in the legendary "Café Central". Today the property is again a meeting place, holding up to 500 participants at functions. Börsensäle and Vienna Hofburg are other magnificent buildings in the city's ample portfolio, likewise the Congress Casino Baden outside Vienna with capacity for 1,100 guests and the hotel accommodation to match. The city of Linz also puts its best foot forward in the bevy of Austrian venue providers. The Baroque Bergschlössl in a 30,000m2 park offers its services as a smaller meeting facility for training courses and seminars, its historical ambiance enhanced with perfect technical appointments. Tradition and modernity are also combined in Linz, where old buildings and modern design rub shoulders. The Design Center Linz, for one, features 10,000m2 of space encompassed by exceptional glass architecture. In Graz the Glockenspielhaus houses yet another unique meeting venue. The small cultural centre, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, can be hired. Mozart's birthplace Salzburg is much talked of in the meetings industry not only for its famous son. Schloss Hellbrunn is also world-famous. The premises in the neat summer residence create a splendid setting for smaller functions for up to 200 people. Antje Peters-Reimann
m+a report Nr.6 / 2006 vom 22.09.2006
m+a report vom 22. September 2006