A few weeks ago, I accompanied our colleagues from Vienna, Austria on sales call appointments. Today, as I write this blog, I realize face to face interaction is no longer the norm. Our face to face meetings were critical opportunities to connect North American meeting planners with Vienna Convention Bureau, Austria Center Vienna, Messe Wien and Austrian Airlines.
We traveled from New York City to Baltimore, drove through the monuments of Washington D.C. before returning to the (then) busy streets of the Big Apple, NYC. A typical hectic schedule for a sales mission!
I am an extroverted person; so, promoting Vienna was bound to be my mission as my first name is Austria. I have always valued face-to-face meetings as the connections made are unlike any other. During such challenging times, I am grateful for today’s technology that allows us to continue those face-to-face interactions from anywhere in the world.
The executives we met were all responsible for global events. They shared some of the key deciding factors when they choose a destination:
• Sustainability efforts: What are sustainable efforts are happening beyond the Convention Center?
• AV options: Do you have a required AV vendor? Is it in-house/included?
• Space flexibility: Are you able to accommodate general sessions and break out room concurrently for the same event?
• Airlift: How connected is your city to the rest of the world, specifically North America?
Our Vienna team members were thrilled to match these criteria with what Vienna has to offer:
• The World Economic Forum named Vienna the most livable city in the world for the 10th year in a row.
• According to the Arcadis Sustainable cities Index 2018, Vienna has been ranked #5 overall best city and #4 most environmentally friendly.
• The Austria Center Vienna is a purpose-built congress center with all AV equipment already in place.
• Messe Wien which translates to “Trade Fair of Vienna”, has flexible walls which move to create the room space or break out rooms needed to fit your program.
• Austria Airlines has 7 gateway cities from North America, is happy to announce the launch of direct flights from Boston to Vienna.
Looking back at these memories during the sales mission further solidifies my love for the Business Events industry and captures what makes it so special:
• It’s the human interaction
• The connections made with a simple handshake and the support that comes with it
• Those shared special moments that become incredible memories
As we look to the future for better days, Vienna with such a professional and positive team, will be ready, delighted and more than capable to host your next meeting. Our current industry challenges will unite us in creating new memories that will strengthen us for future obstacles.
