Austria at the IBTM World in Barcelona

From 19th to 21th November, the Austrian National Tourist Office presents at one of the world’s most important MICE trade fairs, the IBTM World in Barcelona, with 54 representatives from 40 companies. In addition to Convention Bureaux and destinations, congress centers and event locations, hotels, DMCs and PCOs as well as the Lufthansa Group are at the fair stand together with Austrian Airlines. For the first time this year, Hotel Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere, Meliá Vienna, MICE at MQ and Project Spielberg / Red Bull Ring are representing. This is also the premiere of the new stand concept, which was developed together with the Convention Bureaux Vienna, Tyrol and Salzburg.

Austria at the IBTM 2019

#meetinaustria

Extensive meeting facilities countrywide and exciting incentive programs, along with unrivalled professional service and excellent value for money, guarantee Austria’s place among the top destinations for various meetings and incentives in Europe and worldwide. From the snow-capped peaks of Salzburg and Tirol to the lovely banks of the river Danube at Wachau valley near Vienna, Austria offers stunning sceneries of mountains, lakes and rivers that prove an ideal all-year-round setting for incentives and events. From snow-shoe trekking and horse sleigh riding to paragliding and river rafting, the choice of sports and outdoor activities is endless. Austria is also well-known for its cultural heritage, reflected in a great variety of festivals throughout the country all year long. Austria has a wide range of meeting and congress venues, different in size and style, professional suppliers of any kind, and a large number of well-established four and five star hotels and resorts.

Take a look at Austria as a meeting destination.

Convention Austria to premiere in Linz

The new platform of the future for the Austrian MICE branch, Convention Austria, will celebrate its premiere in Upper Austria’s state capital from 17 to 19 September 2020. Besides the sales platform, product experiences and networking with hosts from all over Austria are scheduled for the event.

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Design Center Linz set sustainable course for Green Meetings

The Design Center Linz has been pursuing Green Meetings, saving energy and conscious use of resources for several years now – and was honored for this: The efforts of the event location were recently rewarded by the Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism and re-certified the Design Center Linz First time with the Austrian Ecolabel.

One of the plus points of the Design Center Linz in terms of green events is the glass-and-steel construction of the building, which helps to save energy. Thanks to the new well water cooling, the Design Center Linz can be optimally heated and ventilated at any time of the year. Other examples include two electric filling stations and motion detectors in the underground car park.

Design Center Linz

Welcome to Austria’s largest conference centre!

Surrounded by contemporary architecture, just 7 minutes from the city centre and a few minutes’ walk from the Danube and the Donaupark. Austria’s largest conference centre has a total capacity for 20,000 delegates and offers 24 lecture rooms for between 100 and 4,320 participants, 180 meeting rooms and 22,000 m² of exhibition space.

The wide range of halls, rooms and outdoor spaces at the Austria Center Vienna is unrivalled in Europe, and the versatility of the rooms means event concepts can be tailored to both conventional and innovative meeting formats. The dedicated team works closely with event organisers to meet the needs of all of their participants. Because successful events bring people together.

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Carinthia: Incentives in the world's first Slow Food Destination

Carinthia is the world’s first Slow Food travel destination which focuses on a reliable, sustainable and healthy food culture. When it comes to MICE, guests can taste the specialities at the meeting hotel’s buffet or during coffee breaks. Kärnten Convention has started diverse and authentic Slow Food incentive programs, such as visits at traditional Carinthian bakeries, cheese factories or bacon production. The most typical Carinthian dish is the “Kärntner Kasnudel” (Carinthian pasta pockets).

Kärnten Convention

Artificial Intelligence - Key to the future of MICE

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been engaging with our lives since we have entered to the age of digital economies. The challenges for the MICE’s value chain—organizations, corporate travel, travel suppliers, MICE travel or visitor as well as government and association—are about how to satisfy the changing needs of travelers and what are the best ways to meet those needs. The MICE Intelligence Center displays a few examples of how AI could influence the future of MICE as follows:

• AI-powered Chatbot Creates Personalized Attendee Experiences
• How Facial Recognition Becomes a Ticket for an Event
• AI Matchmaking Changes the Way to Communicate

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"Austrian Congress Award" for special commitment

The Austrian Convention Bureau (ACB) has been awarded for the”Austrian Congress Award” for the 23rd time for special commitment in the domestic conference and convention industry. In the category “Organizer”, the award went to the organizing team of the IONICA and in the category “Industry Representatives” to Monika Scheinost of the Hofburg Vienna.

The “Austrian Congress Award” is an award by the meeting industry for honoring innovative and deserving personalities in the congress and conference industry. The prize is awarded annually as part of the Convention4U. This year, the award was handed over by Congress President Christian Mutschlechner.

ACB

The Power of Personalization

There’s no denying that attending at professional events allows a deeper understanding of various topics of interest. Yet, personalization of an event is still developing. In the study “Inside the Mind of Event Attendees”, Edelman Intelligence and Cvent surveyed 3,000 (1,000 people from each the United States, UK, and Germany) people via a 15 minute online quantitative survey from August 9-21, 2018.

The report provide an insight into the thoughts and feelings of event attendees. One of results displays that more than 50% of German attendees of B2B events ask for personalized experiences before, during and after an event. Moreover, the study examines some differences regarding the Attendee Journey among the generations in the USA, UK and Germany and draws specific recommendations for action from the study results.

Vienna in 4th place in the UIA International Meeting Statistics

Following the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) 2018 ranking, which placed Vienna as the second most popular destination for international meetings, the UIA (Union of International Associations) has now published its own meeting statistics: As last year, Vienna once again comes in 4th place worldwide.

Of the international meetings hosted in Vienna in 2018, 401 met the UIA criteria for inclusion, placing it 4th in the list topped by Singapore (1,117). In second and third place came Brussels (733) and Seoul (431) respectively. Amongst the top ten Vienna is followed by Tokyo (313), Paris (259), Madrid (190), London (183), Barcelona (148), and Geneva (145).

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Vienna Convention Bureau

ICCA announces Tirol as destination for 2020 Association Meetings Programme

The International Congress and Convention Association announced today during the Closing Ceremony of the fourth edition of the ICCA Association Meetings Programme, which was held in Durban, South Africa from 18-20 June 2019, that the 2020 edition of the event will be held in the Tirol region of Austria. The destination of Tirol and cities of Innsbruck and Alpbach will act as joint hosts.
The four hosts of the ICCA AMP 2020 are Convention Bureau Tirol, Convention Service Innsbruck, Congress Messe Innsbruck, and Congress Centrum Alpbach.

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Convention Bureau Tirol