Busy autumn – the Vienna Convention Bureau resumed its in-person international sales activities
The months during which it was only possible to communicate with organizers, agencies and partners online seemed to last forever. In late summer, the time had come: industry events and meetings with customers could finally take place live again. This marked the start of numerous international sales activities of the Vienna Convention Bureau.
Flying start to the fall and back to the Future in London
September provided an exciting start to the fall season with the ICCA France & Benelux Chapter Summit in Hasselt, Belgium. The training program, which was the first in-person gathering for the Associations Team, provided a great opportunity for them to compare notes and network with their European industry colleagues. Our experts could also be found at associations meetings in Paris, Brussels and Geneva, each of which were accompanied by sales calls. At all of the events, there was a palpable sense of excitement about meeting again face to face.
A nomination as Best Overseas Convention Bureau at the M&IT Awards saw two colleagues from our Corporate Team travel to London at the start of October to attend one of the industry’s first major live events in person. Afterwards, the trip continued with sales calls and a musical customer event involving selected key accounts from London and the surrounding area. Back to the Future: The Musical not only set the scene for a great evening, but also provided the perfect inspiration for a joint look at what’s to come.
Strong signals from the international meeting industry
As part of the PCMA’s Convening EMEA, around 300 international meeting experts came together in Switzerland at a gathering headed Simply Connecting. The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is one of the most important international associations for event organizers. Its annual meeting provides a chance to discuss the latest developments, network and talk about the future of organizing business meetings. After the industry get-together there were meetings with customers of agencies and corporates as well as key accounts in the associations segment in Switzerland.
US meeting and incentive power in Vienna
At the same time as the activities in Switzerland were going on, we welcomed the first corporate famtrip from the USA since the outbreak of the pandemic. Meeting planners, as well as representatives of influential event and incentive agencies spent four days in Vienna where they were guided through a packed and highly varied program staged in the meeting and incentive destination in cooperation with Austrian Airlines. In addition to site inspections which revealed the diversity of Vienna’s meeting locations, participants also had the chance to get hands on with the city’s culinary highlights. Inspired by the motto of “Now.Together”, the famtrip was supported by numerous industry partners.
ICCA Paris & IMEX America
After the cancellation of the 2020 ICCA Congress, one of the most important meetings for associations, this year saw a special solution makes its debut: in addition to the main event in Colombia, there were various hubs in different continents. In Europe, our colleagues from the Association Team were in Paris where they were able to meet fellow industry professionals face to face once again.
IMEX America, by contrast, took place as usual this year, in Las Vegas. The Vienna Convention Bureau was represented at the event by the Corporate Team. After a two-year intermission, customer and exhibitors alike were delighted to meet up again – and interest in Meeting Destination Vienna was undiminished!
Another highlight is just around the corner: ibtm World in Barcelona at the end of November. The Vienna Convention Bureau will also be at this leading fair and can be found at Stand D80.
