Together with the Upper Austrian Tourist Board and industry representatives, the Upper Austrian Department of Economics and Tourism has developed a new funding model for congresses and conferences. In future, the province of Upper Austria will provide financial support for congresses organised in Upper Austria under certain conditions. An additional bonus will be granted for sustainable events that are certified as 'Green Meetings & Events'.
The funding is aimed at congress organisers or commissioned organisations such as travel agencies and professional congress organisers (PCO). It applies to non-public congresses, meetings, symposia and conferences that are scientifically or educationally orientated and address an external specialist audience. Further requirements are:
In addition, a sustainability bonus is granted for events that are certified as "Green Meeting & Event" in accordance with the Austrian Ecolabel UZ62. The funding is processed by the Department of Economics and Research of the Province of Upper Austria.
As a further incentive to organise an event as a "Green Event", the Province of Upper Austria, in co-financing with the Climate and Energy Fund, also supports up to 40 hours of consulting in connection with environmental and sustainability aspects in the planning and implementation of the event.
Info sheet
Info sheet
Funding categories, funding amounts and conditions as well as details on application and funding processing at a glance.
An extrapolation shows that 18 per cent of all domestic guests in Upper Austria are business travellers. 40 per cent of these are participants in congresses, conventions and conferences. (Source: Statistics Austria, results from the quarterly sample surveys on holiday and business travel).
As an innovation and technology-driven industrial location, Upper Austria benefits from a strong conference and congress industry. With the introduction of this congress promotion programme, we are pursuing the goal of increasing the number of congresses in Upper Austria, boosting regional tourism value creation and strengthening our province as a first-class location for scientific and education-oriented events.
Business tourism makes an important contribution to the objective of the Provincial Tourism Strategy 2030 to promote sustainable year-round tourism in Upper Austria. With the preferred event dates in spring and autumn, congresses strengthen capacity utilisation in the low seasons. At the same time, we want to promote environmentally friendly events in line with the sustainability principle of the provincial tourism strategy. Since June 2022, the Convention Bureau Upper Austria has been a licensee of the Austrian Ecolabel for 'Green Meetings & Events' and, as a driving force and hub for the meetings and events industry, is promoting awareness of this topic.
Contact us
Contact us
Mr Josef Madlmayr is the contact person for funding processing in the Business and Research Department.
e-mail: josef.madlmayr@ooe.gv.at
Phone: +43 732-7720-15678
Green Meetings
Green Meetings
What do I need to bear in mind when organising? How can I make my meeting "green"? Ecolabel event experts from all over Upper Austria will support you with the organisation!
Certified partner companies
Certified partner companies
From the location to the hotel to the catering - here you will find Upper Austrian businesses that have been awarded the Austrian Ecolabel.