The year got off to a good start for the Vienna Convention Bureau.

Two major events were successfully bid for in the first month of the year, which are set to generate some 47,000 overnight stays in the Austrian capital in 2007.

The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) will be holding its annual congress at the Austria Center Vienna from May 16-20, 2007 and attracting between 6,000 and 7,000 dermatologists.

In autumn, the international media scene gathers at the Reed Messezentrum (October 8–11) for the EXPO staged by IFRA, the international association for newspaper and media publishing.

The exhibition, accompanied by specialist lectures, will cover in the region of 25,000 sqm and boast an attendance of some 9,000.

Vienna was given an exceptionally high vote of confidence during the bidding process, being the preferred venue of almost two thirds of the organization’s decision-makers.

A significant factor in Vienna’s favor was the infrastructure and facilities that the Reed Messezentrum is now able to offer. Yet the city itself and the Vienna Convention Bureau were also enthusiastically praised.

Notably Reiner Mittelbach, Chief Executive Officer of IFRA, said in a press release: “The city appeals equally to the emotions and the intellect,” while the association’s exhibition organizer emphasized: “The services provided by the Vienna Convention Bureau were a major consideration in our choice of Vienna in 2007.”

According to Christian Mutschlechner, Director of the Vienna Convention Bureau, these two events will generate a combined 47,000 overnight stays for Vienna, resulting in an induced economic impact of some EUR 24.5 million.