Voices Of Salzburg – Gregor Gritzky, Messezentrum Salzburg

Q: In your opinion, what makes Salzburg special?  

The city of Salzburg is world-renowned for its beauty, cultural sights and culinary delights, the province of Salzburg for its wonderful scenery, mountains, and lakes. However, it’s still not that well-known as an ideal base for larger congresses or events for up to 5000 participants.

International event and congress organizers are often pleasantly surprised that Salzburg Exhibition and Congress Center offers around 40,000m² of hall space, as well as newly-built, state-of-the-art-infrastructure for conventions and congresses with accompanying exhibitions.

What makes this combination so compelling is the possibility to round off a business trip perfectly with leisure activities in one of the most charming places on earth.

Q: Where would you take someone to ‘feel’ the vibe of Salzburg and what is your best incentive idea in Salzburg?

I would take any guest up one of the old town’s main ‘city mountains’ for a marvelous view of Salzburg, or up to the rooftop bar of the new ‘Cool Mama’ hotel next to Salzburg Exhibition and Congress Center for a stunning sweeping view of the city and the Alps in the background. Views like these inspire an almost endless range of incentive ideas to suit every personal preference.

Q: What do you see as crucial marketing elements to lure meeting planners?

One absolutely crucial element is the need to put Salzburg on the map for bigger events, above all by enhancing the city’s international presence at congresses, exhibitions, forums and workshops. If you are not seen, you do not exist. Size matters, too. We have to ensure that people know Salzburg is the perfect size and can provide excellent venues to host a wide range of events. There are large plenary halls and auditoriums, dividable hall spaces and open-air areas, plenty of smaller breakout-rooms, generously proportioned catering and backstage areas.

Recurring events often grow steadily, so it is important to emphasize the diversity and flexibility of our venue, while underlining the advantage of minimal on-premise distances and short travel times to the city centre, hotels and airport. Our key advantage is being able to provide appealing architecture and modern infrastructure that keeps up with the fast pace of the technological development within this industry.