The HOFBURG Vienna has already hosted some 40 conferences and meetings for 16,000 delegates this year, despite cancellations and rescheduling caused by the volcanic ash cloud. International banquets and exhibitions are showing strong potential, while a surge in inquiries points towards a bright future.
“2010 has been a turbulent year for the event industry due to the volcano eruption in Iceland and the subsequent lockdown of European airspace,” explains HOFBURG Vienna Managing Director Renate Danler. In all, six international conferences and banquet events were rescheduled from April to June and autumn 2010.
The First High Level Meeting of the Africa-EU-Energy Partnership will now take place on 14 and 15 September. Overall, Mrs Danler is very satisfied with the year so far. With around 40 conferences and meetings attracting 16,000 delegates, the conference centre is close to matching last year’s outstanding success. “We expect this segment to generate 35,000 to 40,000 overnight stays for the city’s tourism industry,” she notes. Like the spring, autumn is a particularly busy time.
The 27th Congress of the German Speaking Professional Association of Arthroscopy (AGA) (9-11 September) will overlap with the International Association for Literature and Art’s Study Days (10-11 September). During this period the former imperial residence will be welcoming around 1,600 delegates.
The AVUS meeting (23-24 September) and the Austrian Dental Conference (30 September-2 October) will each draw 600-800 delegates.
The IACA Conference (2-3 September) and the 3rd Annual Dialogue on Multi-level Protection and Promotion of Fundamental Rights (26 November) will transform the Hofburg into a global political forum.
This year demand for gala evenings and banquet events is strong. “We expect this segment to account for 14-15 percent of revenue, up two or three percentage points on last year,” says Mrs Danler. Traditional events such as Una Notte Sportiva (24 September), Entrepreneur Of The Year (14 October) and the Falstaff Rotwein Gala (7 December) will this year be joined by the inaugural Initiative Nein zu Arm und Krank (No to poverty and disease) matinee (3 October). Christmas parties are also extremely popular, accounting for 15 bookings in total. Other highlights include the numerous trade-only and public fairs such as access 2010, the leading platform for congresses, meetings and incentives (4-5 October), the Wohndesign furniture show (14-17 October), and the Fair for Art and Antiques (6-14 November). Including LUXURY, please (19- 21 November), these events will see around 40,000 visitors converge on the Hofburg. Revenue for the current year is forecasted at almost EUR 10 million, with added value of about EUR 190 million.
Although the overall trend in the event industry is towards short-notice bookings, Mrs Danler is optimistic about the future. “We have taken bookings for ten large scale conferences and meetings in 2011 and are fielding increasing numbers of inquiries,” she points out. The latest acquisitions include a Russian conference for January and the Austrian Ear, Nose and Throat Congress in September 2011. Meanwhile two further medical conferences have been booked for the years after that. In September 2012 the HOFBURG Vienna will host 1,000 delegates of a neurological conference, followed by around 1,400 physicians at an immunology conference in autumn 2015.
