ACB History

The Austrian Convention Bureau (ACB) was founded in 1992 by the Austrian Convention Association (ÖKV) and is thus a successor organization to the ÖKV. The duties of the association were transferred to the new organization and the statutes of the ACB were formulated based on the ÖKV. At the same time, however, these were also adapted to new challenges, as the aim was to be able to better support the development of the Austrian conference industry. The members of the ÖKV were transferred to the new organization. In 1993, the organization was renamed – since then, the association has been called the Austrian Convention Bureau.

30 years of ACB

“We are delighted that we have been able to celebrate 30 years together as an association and that we have always served the Austrian meetings industry as a learning laboratory. We need this for the future because the future means: empathetic encounters.” – Gerhard Stübe, ACB Past-President

Former ACB Presidents

The ACB now has its sixth president, Renate Androsch-Holzer, who has held this position since 2024.

Her predecessors were:

Gerhard Stübe

2019 – 2024

Christian Mutschlechner

2009 – 2019

Rudolf Kadanka

2001 – 2008

Georg Lamp

1998 – 2001

Walter Straub

1993 – 1998

ACB Management

In November 2015, Petra Scherzer-Zwinz handed over operational management to Michaela Scheldbauer-Zippusch. The managing directors/general secretaries of the ACB at a glance:

Michaela Schedlbauer-Zippusch

since 2015

Petra Scherzer-Zwinz

2007 – 2015

Elke Siedler

2001 – 2007

Petra Gloss | Ursula Müllner

1998 – 2001

Dr. Eva-Maria Häfele | Dr. Petra Stolber | Gerlinde Jahn | Petra Gloss

1993 – 1998

Mira & Green Meeting Eco-Label

Two further milestones were reached in 2009: Firstly, the Austrian congress statistics “Meeting Industry Report Austria” (mira) was launched together with the Austrian National Tourist Office. These statistics underline Austria’s great importance as a meeting destination and highlight interesting developments in the industry. Secondly, the ACB became a licensee of the Austrian Ecolabel in that year. The Green Meetings Eco-Label was developed as a flexible tool for sustainable events. It is not the companies that are certified, but the events themselves.

Training

Since 2007, the ACB has also been actively involved in training students for the meetings industry. Since then, a practice-oriented specialization in “Congress and Conference Management” at FHWien der WKW with lecturers from the ranks of the ACB has been training young talents for the industry every year. In 2023, the association received the “EuroCHRIE Regional Industry Award” from the European Association of academics in the field of hotel and tourism education for its commitment to promoting young talents in the context of teaching at universities, the annual organization of the “Best Meeting Thesis” and the conscious involvement of young professionals at the Convention4u.

ACB Annual Convention

Until 2010, representatives of the Austrian congress and meetings industry met at the annual ACB General Assembly. From 2010 to 2021, this took place as part of the umbrella organization’s annual congress (Convention4u). Since 2022, the ACB General Assembly has been held online, except in election years when it takes place during the annual congress.

The first Convention4u at the Festspielhaus Bregenz, which was of course still organized as a Green Meeting, opened a new chapter for Austria as a conference destination. From then on, the congress for the convention industry was held annually and also welcomed non-members and organizers to exchange expertise. The Convention4u & General Meetings took place at the following locations:

Convention4u

General Assemblies

Best Meeting Thesis Austria

The Best Meeting Thesis Austria Award was presented for the first time at the fourth Convention4u in 2014. This award invites students from all tourism-related universities and universities of applied sciences in German-speaking countries to submit bachelor’s or master’s thesis on topics relevant to the meeting industry. In 2016, the award was separated from Convention4u for the first time and since then has been held as an independent event.

Austrian Congress Award

The first Austrian Congress Award was presented in 1997 to Walter Frenes, back then Director of Tourism in Seefeld. Until 2019, this award was presented annually by the ACB in the two categories of organizer and industry representative to personalities in the congress and conference industry for their special achievements. Here you can see the former award winners.

ACB Communication

The first ACB website with a congress calendar went online in 2003. One year later, Christopher Norden (T.A.I.) took over the production of the Austrian Convention Business Magazine together with John F. Edmaier. After a complete relaunch, the second website went online in 2014. The magazine’s online platform was published in 2021. In 2023, the association logo was refreshed with the “bridge”, the corporate design was revised and a new website was launched. The association reached 2,000 followers on LinkedIn for the first time this year.

Provincial Convention Bureaus

With the establishment of the Burgenland Convention Bureau in 2013, all nine federal states now have their own convention bureau. The success story of Austrian convention bureaus began in 1969 with the founding of the Vienna Convention Bureau. Salzburg, Styria, and Vorarlberg followed in 2003. The positive trend continued in the following years with the founding of additional bureaus, such as Convention Bureau Tirol in 2005 and Convention Bureau Niederösterreich and Kärnten Convention, 2006; Convention Bureau Oberösterreich, 2008).