The Festspielhaus Bregenz is looking forward to an excellent year's bookings. For 2012 the festival house expects 95 percent occupancy with roughly 350,000 visitors. It plans to work together with regional sales partner Convention Partner Vorarlberg to expand the congress and meetings division.
"Our bookings situation is excellent," Festspielhaus Bregenz managing director Gerhard Stübe is pleased to report. "We optimistically expect to achieve 95 percent occupancy this year." Cultural events, entertainment, congresses and meetings, and social functions feature prominently on the calendar of events for 2012, whose highlights will be the Bregenzer Frühling dance festival, the musical Grease, the Rocky Horror Show and international conferences such as the architecture symposium TRI, the 2nd international LED Symposium, the 10th International Blum Forum und the 29th international business forum Vorarlberg Wirtschaftsforum.
In all, firm bookings have been taken in 2012 for more than 250 events. 2010 brought the Festspielhaus 402 events with 383,000 visitors; the figures for 2011 will be available this June.
The festival house's popularity is based on the outcome of independent international customer surveys, to which it regularly submits. In 2011 the team proudly accepted the Best Center Award presented every two years by the European Association of Events Centres (EVVC).
Councillor Michael Rauth, chairman of the Festspielhaus supervisory board, takes a very positive view of the development in meetings business: "For 2013 we expect further growth in bookings. Conference goers' high satisfaction levels are testament to the festival house's superb quality."
In 2012 collaboration on conference marketing with the regional sales partner Convention Partner Vorarlberg is to be stepped up a gear. The scene was set for this in the Festspielhaus at the end of 2011, when Helga Ginzinger moved within the company from project management to sales, in a bid to canvass business more aggressively on the international market together with Convention Partner Vorarlberg. "Positioning the Festspielhaus more firmly in the meetings and congress segment will benefit the entire region," managing director Michael Diem insists. On average a meetings guest spends 80 percent more in the region than a holidaymaker. So businesses in Vorarlberg are also pleased when we have a 'full house'"
In addition to marketing, Convention Partner Vorarlberg handles other pivotal assignments at meetings and congresses such as accommodation service, producing fringe programmes, transfers, customer care, and delegate reservations and registration on site. A perfectly functioning service chain is very high on managing director Birgit Sauter-Paulitsch's list of priorities: "Besides deepening their knowledge during a congress, meeting guests should also enjoy their stay as an experience in its own right."
