Category: International

In August 2012 the Ramada Apollo Amsterdam Centre is set to open. With a surface area of more than 33.000 m2 Apollo Hotels & Resorts will be the largest Ramada Hotel in Europe and the first one in the Netherlands. The Ramada Apollo Amsterdam Centre will be a comfortable 4-star hotel with 18 floors, 446 rooms, a Grab&Go counter, 6 board/meeting rooms and the spectacular sky bar Floor17. The hotel will be located on the Amsterdam ring, exit 105 (Geuzenveld). The imposing building can be easily spotted from the motorway and also from surrounding areas. The centre of Amsterdam is 3.5 kilometres away while Schiphol Airport is 13 kilometres or 10 minutes’ drive away.

The Vienna Convention Bureau supports sustainable action and environmentally friendly conference tourism. As a licensee of the Austrian EcoLogo, it is now authorized not only to assist conferences in matters relating to environmental impact, but also to certify them as “Green Meetings”.

The ecological footprint left by a congress has long been an important issue for congress organizers and congress destinations world-wide. For a long time now, the Vienna Tourist Board’s Vienna Convention Bureau (VCB) has advocated sustainability and responsible treatment of the environment. Now Nikolaus Berlakovich, Austria’s Minister for the Environment, has awarded the VCB the Austrian Green Meetings EcoLogo. This means that the bureau is now licensed to certify as Green Meetings conferences whose organizers take climate protection, regional value-added and social compatibility into account.

 

“Congresses of any size make an impact on the environment, whether it be due to their energy consumption, waste production, or CO2 emissions. The Vienna Convention Bureau has set itself the task of raising awareness of sustainable action in the conference industry, and supports initiatives and projects involving the themes of green meetings, sustainability and corporate social responsibility. As a licensee of the Austrian EcoLogo, we are not only pointing the way, but also aiming to enhance the competitiveness of Vienna as a congress city in the long term,” explains Christian Mutschlechner, Director of the Vienna Convention Bureau.

At a press conference on Monday, March 19, 2012, Vice-Mayor Renate Brauner, Director of Tourism Norbert Kettner and the Director of the Vienna Tourist Board’s Vienna Convention Bureau, Christian Mutschlechner presented the results of Vienna’s 2011 Meeting Industry Statistics. All key indicators were up: the number of congresses and corporate events by 7% compared to 2010, with bednights generated increasing by 6%, and national value-added growing by 9% to reach a new record level. This year the Vienna Tourist Board’s Vienna Convention Bureau became an authorized certification agency for “Green Meetings” and already has its congress calendar for 2012 crammed full.

 

“The trend in the international congress industry,” explained Brauner, “reveals that delegates are staying an appreciably shorter time and traveling increasingly seldom in company. We presented this trend at our congress press conference last year in the light of a survey, concluding that growth in bednights in the congress and conference business can be attained only if the number of events increases. Vienna successfully achieved this in 2011, as 3,151 congresses and corporate events were held last year, 7% more than in 2010. The resulting bednights rose by 6% to 1,412,133, equivalent to 12.4% of Vienna’s total volume of bednights last year. Throughout Austria, the Vienna meetings industry not only generated value-added in the amount of 838.4 million euros – an increase of 9% and a new record level – but also secured more than 16,200 jobs. Vienna has been successful as a meeting destination for decades now, and this success story continued in 2011 despite increasingly difficult conditions in the industry. My hearty congratulations to all those involved in this success.”

 

Director of Tourism Kettner explained the reasons behind this success, emphasizing that: “Vienna is in the fortunate position of enjoying a first-class reputation in the meetings industry world-wide for its entire infrastructure, its congress facilities, its hospitality sector, and its companies specializing in meeting services. Another very important aspect is its international accessibility, especially by air. Maintaining such an image for decades necessitates continuous improvement in all areas in order to ensure that one’s services remain ‘state-of-the-art’ at all times. In this respect, the latest additions to the hotel sector – many of which are tailored specifically to the modern, style-conscious business traveler – are very auspicious, as is the Central Train Station currently under construction and the urban development in the environs. The opening of Vienna’s new University of Economics and Business Administration in the winter semester of 2013 will also have an immediate effect. The Vienna Tourist Board was involved in the planning process, making it possible to ensure that the auditorium complex is ideally incorporated into the nearby facilities of Reed Messe Wien. This means that its infrastructure will be perfectly complemented during university vacations.

 

Visitors travelling to Vienna’s congresses and corporate conventions are particularly heavy spenders: they spend 475 euros per person and bednight, whilst the comparable figure for all visitors to Vienna is just over 260 euros.

 

The 638 international congresses made the biggest impact in the 2011 review of the Vienna meetings industry. Although they accounted for only 20% of all events, they produced 67% of bednights and 72% of value-added in this sector. Human medicine themes still dominate this sector (42%), though not as strongly as before, as the fields of economics and politics, other natural sciences, IT and communications made up a lot of ground in 2011.

 

Highlights of Vienna’s meetings industry in 2012

•European Congress on Radiology, 20,000 participants, 1.-5.3., Austria Center Vienna

•European Breast Cancer Conference, 5,000 participants, 21.-24.3., Austria Center Vienna

•European Geosciences Union, 10,000 participants, 22.-27.4., Austria Center Vienna

•European Congress on Periodontology, 6,500 participants, 6.-9.6., Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center

•European Respiratory Society, 19,000 participants, 1.-5.9., Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center

•World Congress on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, 1,100 participants, 5.-8.9., Hofburg Vienna

•European Society for Medical Oncology, 12,000 participants, 28.9.-2.10., Austria Center Vienna

•European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 7,000 participants, 13.-17.10., Austria Center Vienna

•European Resuscitation Congress, 1,900 participants, 17.-21.10., Hofburg Vienna

•World Congress for Intelligent Transport Systems, 8,000 participants, 22.-26.10., Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center

TAP, the Portuguese carrier, was voted best European airline by the readers of “Global Traveler” magazine.  This accolade was awarded following a survey of over 36,000 frequent and business travellers who were asked to nominate “The Best” in various travel categories.

 

TAP is strengthening European connections with Lisbon in June with the launch of two new services between the Portuguese capital and Berlin and Turin. 

 

The new route to the Milan will operate 4 times a week from the 3rd of June. TAP will then be operating a total of 93 weekly flights between Italy and Portugal, offering direct flights to five Italian cities. Currently, the national airline flies between Lisbon and Rome (28 flights per week), Milan (26 flights per week), Venice and Bologna (7 flights per week).  EasyJet also operates between the Portuguese capital and the cities of Milan and Rome, offering 6 and 7 weekly flights respectively.

 

Between Berlin and Lisbon, TAP will be offering five direct flights per week from the 5th of June on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.  This will make a total of 60 flights per week between Portugal and Germany in addition to existing flights to Frankfurt (21 weekly flights), Munich (14 weekly flights), Hamburg (13 weekly flights) and Dusseldorf (7 weekly flights). Previously the only direct connection between Lisbon and Berlin was run by EasyJet, with 3 direct weekly flights.

 

EasyJet has opened a new base at Lisbon International Airport from where it will operate five new routes in addition to existing ones: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Asturias, Venice and Bordeaux.

The new Maritime Museum is due to open in May 11th in the historic Estonian capital of Tallinn.  The vast, 6,500m2 space will be a treasure chest of marine history, presenting over 200 large-scale exhibitions. Among the attractions will be the 1936-era Lembit submarine, multimedia presentations on everything from water craft to naval weapons, and even a flight simulator. Areas of the hangars that not used for exhibitions will be made available for receptions and special events for up to 500 persons.

Next year Tallinn will see the opening of two exciting, new venues that will not only add to the list of worthy places for visitors to Estonia’s capital go, but will serve as unique meeting venues as well. The famous Tallinn TV Tower, originally inaugurated in 1980, will open its doors in April after an extensive renovation. In addition to breathtaking views of the city and the Baltic Sea, its observation deck at the 175-metre level will present interactive exhibitions on Estonia’s claims to world fame, sci-fi inspired interiors, a restaurant and café. An intriguing presentation on the tower’s history will be offered on the second floor, which is decorated in a retro, 1980s style. From October to April, the tower can be rented for special events. Its cinema hall and ‘cloud-level’ meeting area can each accommodate up to 100 people, and catering is available.