MICE CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE

Vienna: fantastic art galleries, TOP meetings city, and Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”

Vienna: fantastic art galleries, TOP meetings city, and Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”

Vienna: fantastic art galleries, TOP meetings city, and Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss”
July 10
14:03 2017

At a press conference hosted by the Vienna Tourist Board (VTB) on 22nd March, VTB President and Vienna City Councillor for Finance, Economic and International Affairs Renate Brauner, Director of Tourism Norbert Kettner, and Head of the Vienna Convention Bureau Christian Mutschlechner presented the 2016 meetings industry performance results.

In comparison with 2015, the number of events organised in Vienna rose by 11 per cent, triggering a two per cent increase in bed nights and an induced economic impact increase of three per cent. As a result, Vienna’s meetings industry’s economic contribution passed the €1 billion-mark for the second year in succession.

“Compared with 2015, which exceeded the one-billion mark for the first time, the contribution of Vienna’s meetings industry to the national economy increased in 2016 by an additional three per cent to €1.072 billion,” Brauner said.

The economic impact includes direct expenditure by participants, conference organisers, exhibitors, and accompanying persons, as well as income from other associated areas of the economy that the meetings indirectly affect (e.g. food and beverage suppliers, printers, construction companies, banks, insurance companies, communications companies etc.)

 

Meetings industry secures almost 20,000 year-round jobs

 

“Vienna’s meetings industry once again proved to be a dependable employer, securing more than 19,700 year-round jobs nationwide,” Brauner noted. “The

records set in 2015 were surpassed with gains in all key indicators, with performances mirroring those of the capital’s thriving tourism sector in 2016.

 

Tax revenue approaches €300 million

 

Tax revenue from congresses, meetings, and incentive events in Vienna amounted to €296.59 million in 2016. Of this total, €194.34 million went to the federal government, €36.15 million to Vienna, and the remainder to the other federal provinces and municipalities. Induced economic impact and tax revenue is calculated according to the Event-Model-Austria, a

constantly-updated method developed by corporate advisor and Vienna University of Business and Economics lecturer Dr. Martina Stoff-Hochreiner.

 

Vienna: a global meetings star

 

For many years, Vienna has been at the TOP of ICCA’s rankings for numbers of meetings and it maintains its position as a leading city for meetings and as one of the industry’s biggest stars.

 

This peaceful city on the Danube River is renowned for combining beauty, art, and charming Central European architecture that is visually pleasing, comprising several inspirational buildings, corners, small and large squares, and various statues, in perfect harmony.

 

An incredibly welcoming destination, it is easy to get to by plane and offers excellent MICE infrastructure. The city boasts stellar attractions both inside and outside the Ringstrasse – the ring road lined by the City Hall, the Vienna State Opera house, the Palace of Justice, the Austrian Parliament Building, and top class hotels such as the Hotel Imperial.

 

The largest of Vienna’s venues is the Messe Wien Exhibition Congress Center that includes an exhibition centre with more than 55,000 square metres of space that can host up to 30,000 people and a 7,000-square metre congress centre with room for up to 3,000 delegates.

 

The city offers MICE groups many quality hotels and venues with great services, such as Hilton Vienna, Steigenberger, Marriott Vienna, NH Danube City, Melia Vienna, The Ritz-Carlton, InterContinental, and others.

 

When one hears the word “Vienna”, one of the first things that comes to mind is a plethora of great art galleries containing collections by incredible world-renowned painters. These include Palace Albertina; Kunsthistorische Museum; Belvedere Museum Vienna, where you can see Gustav Klimt’s work exhibited; the Dorotheum, one of the world’s oldest auction houses; the Academy of Fine Arts, where you can see works by Hieronymus Bosch; and more. The Gustav Klimt collection is an absolute must-see. It includes “The Kiss”, the famous painting he created between 1907 and 1908, which was later considered as the high point of his “golden phase”. You might find that this gorgeous painting, now more than 100 years old, still has something to say to us today.

 

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