Austrian Convention Bureau
Austrian Convention Bureau is a non-profit umbrella association for Austria's congress and meeting industry, serving regional bureaus, venues, hotels, PCOs, and meeting professionals with networking events, industry research, and advocacy since 1994.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersVienna, Austria
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Austrian Convention Bureau does
The Austrian Convention Bureau (ACB) is a non-profit membership-based umbrella association (Dachverband) for Austria's congress and meeting industry, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Vienna's 5th district. It functions as a coordinating body and information hub for the country's fragmented meeting ecosystem, serving regional convention bureaus (Tirol, Steiermark, etc.), congress centers, meeting hotels, professional congress organizers (PCOs), destination management companies, and individual meeting professionals. ACB operates a portfolio of branded programs organized around three pillars — Community (networking events such as Convention4u, know.how, Beginners Lounge, and Insights), Wissen/Knowledge (the MIRA Meeting Industry Report Austria produced with Österreich Werbung since 2009, the Green Meeting sustainability initiative, and the MEET IN AUSTRIA national convention strategy), and Lobbying (advocacy for the Austrian meeting industry). Distribution is via the acb.at website with member portal, the Brainfood newsletter, a YouTube channel, LinkedIn, a Flickr archive, and in-person events; the most recent addition is meetUP by ACB, a purely digital video magazine launched in March 2026 distributed across YouTube, the website, LinkedIn, and newsletter.
ACB has no proprietary technology platform — its digital presence is built on a WordPress website, standard email/newsletter tooling, and YouTube. Revenue is generated through three streams: annual membership fees from venues, convention bureaus, hotels, and PCOs (subscription recurring); event participation fees for Convention4u, Beginners Lounge, know.how, and Insights sessions, with member discounts (professional services); and a newer digital advertising and sponsorship stream from meetUP by ACB, formalized through the 2026 Mediadaten media kit with production partner skills2grow Werbeagentur. Specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. The organization is governed by an honorary board led by President Renate Androsch-Holzer and managed operationally by Managing Director Marie Lechner, supported by a team of approximately 11 staff. ACB has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no funding rounds, and no external investors — it is member-controlled as an association registered in Austria (ZVR-Zahl 816108674).
Austrian Convention Bureau firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Austrian Convention Bureau
- Legal name
- Austrian Convention Bureau
- Website
- https://acb.at
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Austrian Convention Bureau is a non-profit umbrella association for Austria's congress and meeting industry, serving regional bureaus, venues, hotels, PCOs, and meeting professionals with networking events, industry research, and advocacy since 1994.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Austrian Convention Bureau industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Convention Industry Association
- NAICS
- Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Meeting & Conference Planning & Coordination (HSACADAA), Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)
Keywords
Where Austrian Convention Bureau is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vienna
- HQ country
- Austria
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Austrian Convention Bureau business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Membership Fees: ACB operates as an umbrella association (Dachverband) for the Austrian congress and meeting industry. Revenue is generated through membership fees from venues, convention bureaus, hotels, PCOs, and other industry stakeholders. Members benefit from networking events, educational programs, and visibility on the ACB platform.
- Digital Advertising & Sponsorship (meetUP by ACB): The meetUP by ACB digital video magazine generates revenue through advertising placements, sponsorships, and paid content partnerships. Published media data (Mediadaten 2026) outlines bookable advertising formats and sponsorship opportunities distributed via YouTube, website, LinkedIn, and newsletter.
- Event Participation Fees: Revenue from ACB-organized events including Convention4u, Beginners Lounge, know.how sessions, Insights, and other professional development programs. ACB member companies receive discounted rates.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Membership |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Austrian Convention Bureau product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Austrian Convention Bureau (ACB) is the national umbrella association (Dachverband) for Austria's congress and meeting industry, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Vienna. It operates a membership-based network that connects regional convention bureaus, congress venues, hotels, professional congress organizers (PCOs), and other industry stakeholders, providing networking events, professional development programs, industry research (MIRA statistics in cooperation with Österreich Werbung), sustainability advisory (Green Meeting), lobbying, and digital content including the meetUP by ACB video magazine launched in March 2026.
Product overview
The Austrian Convention Bureau operates as a membership-based umbrella association for Austria's congress and conference industry, not a traditional SaaS product. Its portfolio consists of a suite of branded programs organized around three pillars: Community (networking events such as ACB Convention4u, ACB know.how, ACB Beginners Lounge, and ACB Insights), Wissen (knowledge products including the Meeting Industry Report Austria (mira), Green Meeting advisory, and the Convention Strategie MEET IN AUSTRIA), and Lobbying. The portfolio's most recent addition is meetUP by ACB, a purely digital video magazine launched in March 2026 covering industry trends, personalities, and innovations across YouTube, the ACB website, LinkedIn, and newsletter. All offerings serve member organizations, event planners, congress centers, convention bureaus, and other stakeholders in Austria's meeting industry.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- meetUP by ACB: A purely digital video magazine launched in March 2026, providing compact industry knowledge on topics such as sustainable meetings, innovative event concepts, and future technologies in the conference and congress sector.
Products and services
- ACB Membership Network
- ACB Convention4u
- ACB know.how
- ACB Beginners Lounge
- ACB Insights
- meetUP by ACB
- Meeting Industry Report Austria (mira)
- Green Meeting Advisory
- Convention Strategie MEET IN AUSTRIA
- Meeting Professional Finder
Quantifiable outcome
- MIRA (Meeting Industry Report Austria) provides continuous statistics on the congress, conference, and seminar business in Austria, demonstrating the industry's economic significance
Companies that use Austrian Convention Bureau
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Austrian Convention Bureau technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Austrian Convention Bureau partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Österreich Werbung (Austrian Tourism)coreACB established the Meeting Industry Report Austria (MIRA) in cooperation with Österreich Werbung (Austrian Tourism) in 2009. This continuous statistics initiative documents the congress, conference, and seminar business in Austria, demonstrating the industry's economic significance for Austria as a business and knowledge location.
- Regional Convention Bureaus (Tirol, Steiermark, etc.)coreACB serves as the national umbrella organization connecting regional convention bureaus across all Austrian federal states. Regional bureaus including Tirol Convention Bureau and Steiermark Convention actively participate in ACB's network, contributing to industry-wide collaboration and knowledge sharing.
- skills2grow Werbeagenturcoreskills2grow is the advertising agency responsible for the meetUP by ACB video magazine. They handle production, media sales, and marketing for the digital platform. Medieninhaber (media owner) per Mediengesetz is Klaus Wriessnig of skills2grow, with ACB as Herausgeber (publisher).
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Austrian Convention Bureau competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ICCA — International Congress and Convention Association: Global industry association for the international meetings sector, providing member services, industry data, advocacy, and a congress calendar that overlaps with ACB's MIRA and congress calendar offerings. Comparable shape (membership, research, education, events), though ICCA operates globally rather than nationally.
- MPI — Meeting Professionals International: Global membership association for meeting and event professionals, offering education, certification (CME), and networking. Mirrors ACB's Beginners Lounge, know.how, and Convention4u programming for a much larger, international audience.
Others
- AIPC — International Association of Convention Centres: Global association for convention centres and venue operators, providing benchmarking, training, and advocacy. Adjacent ecosystem peer — ACB's venue members (congress centres, hotels) are typically AIPC members, making AIPC a complementary rather than competing body.
- SITE Global (Society of Incentive & Travel Executives): International association focused on incentive travel and motivational events, with similar membership, education, and event programming. Adjacent rather than directly competing — covers a subset of the MICE market that overlaps with ACB's PCO and convention members.
Regional players
- Barcelona Convention Bureau: City-level convention bureau under Barcelona Turisme, promoting Barcelona as a MICE destination with research, events, and member services. Similar role to ACB but at city rather than country level, serving as a member of national/academic peer networks.
- Tourism Ireland Business Events: National tourism authority's dedicated business events division that promotes Ireland as a MICE destination. Comparable mission as a national body for the congress industry, though operated as a unit of a tourism authority rather than a standalone association.
Direct peers
- GCB German Convention Bureau: Germany's national convention and meetings bureau, operating as the umbrella for the German MICE industry and offering events, training, research, and destination marketing. Highly comparable in mission, structure, and product portfolio (events, industry data, advocacy) — only at a larger German scale.
- Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB): Switzerland's national convention and incentive bureau, also a DACH-region member-driven association serving the Swiss meetings industry with events, education, and destination promotion. Functionally identical business model and customer base to ACB, just at smaller national scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Austrian Convention Bureau social profiles
Digital presenceAustrian Convention Bureau financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Austrian Convention Bureau leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Austrian Convention Bureau funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Austrian Convention Bureau M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Austrian Convention Bureau
What does Austrian Convention Bureau do?
The Austrian Convention Bureau (ACB) is the national umbrella association (Dachverband) for Austria's congress and meeting industry, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Vienna. It operates a membership-based network that connects regional convention bureaus, congress venues, hotels, professional congress organizers (PCOs), and other industry stakeholders, providing networking events, professional development programs, industry research (MIRA statistics in cooperation with Österreich Werbung), sustainability advisory (Green Meeting), lobbying, and digital content including the meetUP by ACB video magazine launched in March 2026.
Is Austrian Convention Bureau a public or private company?
Austrian Convention Bureau is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Austrian Convention Bureau founded?
Austrian Convention Bureau was founded in 1994. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Austrian Convention Bureau based?
Austrian Convention Bureau is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, in the Europe region.
How does Austrian Convention Bureau make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are digital Advertising & Sponsorship (meetUP by ACB) and event Participation Fees.
Who are Austrian Convention Bureau's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ICCA — International Congress and Convention Association and MPI — Meeting Professionals International. Others are AIPC — International Association of Convention Centres and SITE Global (Society of Incentive & Travel Executives). Regional players are Barcelona Convention Bureau and Tourism Ireland Business Events. Direct peers are GCB German Convention Bureau and Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB).
Does Austrian Convention Bureau have an API?
No public API is recorded for Austrian Convention Bureau.
What industry is Austrian Convention Bureau in?
Austrian Convention Bureau's product category is Convention Industry Association. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAHACAA, Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies), with a secondary code of HSACADAA, Meeting & Conference Planning & Coordination. Its NAICS code is 81392 and its SIC code is 8600.