The Salzburg Convention Bureau (SCB) announces thatSalzburghas another extremely gratifying year under its belt as a conference and meetings host. In 2011 the SCB registered a seven percent year-on-year jump in requests for proposals. At the SCB general assembly chairman Georg Imlauer pointed with special pride to the steady growth in member businesses.
Meanwhile,the convention bureau responsible for promotingSalzburgas an event destination numbers 82 members. Newly signed up in recent months were the Hotel Goldener Hirsch, the Red Bull Arena, Ritzenhof – Hotel & Spa am See in Saalfelden and the Hotel Forsthofgut in Leogang. “As of January we can also welcome on board the Steigenberger Alpenhotel Kaprun, the Mavida Balancehotel & Spa in Zell am See and the Stieglkeller under new management in Salzburg’s Old Town,” Imlauer is pleased to report.
That the Convention Bureau’s collaboration with its membership and its strategic partner Austrian Airlines is paying off is evident in its high success rate: “Fully 43 percent of requests for proposals for events received in 2011 were actually placed inSalzburg,” Imlauer stresses. By way of comparison, in 2010 the percentage of inquiries realised was still just under 27 percent. That is clear proof of the good marketing strategy at the SCB, which has focused more strongly on the nearby marketsAustria,GermanyandSwitzerland.
The short-term outlook also promises many positives. The opening of the conference section at the exhibition centre before the end of this year is set to herald a new era forSalzburgas a conference destination. When construction work is completedSalzburgwill, for the first time, be in a position to host large conferences with accompanying exhibitions and congress expos with audiences in the order of 2,000 to 4,000 people.
