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Valuable experiences benefit future event organisers

Ferry Porsche Congress Center relies on flexibility, expertise and creativity during Corona pandemic

Aug 13, 2020

The Ferry Porsche Congress Center in Zell am See staged its first event – the Zell am See town council meeting – just seven days after the lockdown ended in Austria. The event was held subject to the very strictest safety and hygiene directives. Congress Center management was delighted to report in excess of twenty days of bookings at the venue up to the end of June 2020 – a success achieved due to the utmost prudence, flexibility and professionalism. The lessons of the initial weeks of the Corona pandemic, and the resultant development of innovative solutions, will now be of benefit to future event organisers.

Oliver Stärz

General Manager of the Ferry Porsche Congress Center

“Although the Corona crisis has shaken the congress and event industries to their foundations, from the start we knew how important it would be to guarantee a proactive approach to these challenges”, explains Oliver Stärz (Mag.), General Manager of the Ferry Porsche Congress Center (FPCC) in Zell am See. “The implementation of every event demands an immense degree of flexibility – a quality more essential than ever before. Spring 2020 was a key period in which we were able to learn how to deal with Corona and the new challenges it created. The pandemic will be influencing our activities for a long time to come, and we would like to dispel some of the fears felt by organisers. Due to the venue’s scale, and range of amenities available, we can guarantee all requisite conditions are met to ensure the safety of organisers, participants, performers, artists, the general public and our guests.”

“Requirements and regulations were adapted according to the respective legislation. The organisers placed immense trust in our expertise and professionalism, and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to gather these experiences together since they will also be to the advantage of other clients moving forward”, Mr. Stärz emphasised. “Consequently, we can be suitably optimistic as autumn approaches. We still have sufficient available capacity; the rooms, halls and technical infrastructure at the here enable us to guarantee events are implemented safely, while solutions such as the integration of online meeting tools or contactless registration open up new possibilities.” Indeed, for the first time this summer the FPCC will be hosting the Zell am See Summer Concerts.

The first post-lockdown event held here this year was the Zell am See town council meeting on the 6th May, occupying no less than 600 m² of floorspace; followed by AGMs, information events, the Pinzgau Mayors’ Conference, workers’ council meetings, and for four days the facility hosted the written matriculation exams of the Zell am See Gymnasium school.

Three of the venue’s team are now officially certified Corona officers. Over the past few weeks, as well as hosting the first events, the Ferry Porsche Congress Center has also focused on advertising and marketing activities, resulting in two amusing short videos in the spirit of the slogan: ‘By far the safest place to meet.’