(L-R) Ernst Holzer and Belina Neumann, Vienna International Airport; Elke Bachner, Vienna Tourist Board; and Armando Mendonca from AMPM.
Viennese high tea treats
Ernst Holzer, Vienna International Airport
Elke Bachner, Vienna Tourist Board
The Ritz-Carlton Toronto’s pastry chef, Gael Moutet, demonstrates how to make apple strudel.
Representatives from the Lufthansa Group (Austrian Airlines), Vienna International Airport, and the Vienna Tourist Board.
It was an afternoon spent in high style with the Vienna Tourist Board hosting industry partners and media to high tea at Toronto’s Ritz-Carlton.
Joined by Austrian Airlines and the Vienna International Airport, attendees were treated to Viennese treats compliments of the hotel’s own pastry chef, Gael Moutet, known for his tenure at Laurent, the two Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris.
Offering a glimpse of what a weekend in Vienna could look like, Elke Bachner, market manager Canada for the Vienna Tourist Board, highlighted the city’s many shopping and dining opportunities, along with its museums, architectural gems, activities and lively wine scene.
Peter Daniel, senior product and program manager for Lufthansa Group in Canada, spoke to Austrian Airlines 60th anniversary this year, commenting on how the airline has grown since it began with one route – Vienna to London – in 1958, and now has 85 aircraft that fly to 130+ destinations in 55 countries, and in 2017 transported 13 million passengers on its network.
In fact, last year was a record year for the Vienna airport, reporting 24 million passengers, which – in a Canadian context – is a similar size to YVR. Serviced by over 70 airlines and offering almost 200 destinations that can be reached non-stop out of Vienna, out of Toronto alone, the airport receives up to six flights per week.
Speaking more directly to the number of Canadians who visit Vienna every year, Ernst Holzer, senior manager, The Americas, for Vienna International Airport said the number of arrivals in 2017 were up 7% from the prior year (and +13% since 2013), and that as far as bookings go, “every day there are 276 passengers between Canada and our [airport], and from Toronto there are 126 per day, each way. Quite a substantial number.”
“We’re known as the gateway to Eastern Europe,” continued Holzer. “We serve the city of Vienna, but it’s actually our position in this region that makes us so unique – you’ve got one airport and four nations. We’re situated towards the east of Vienna, just 15 minutes on an express train and you’re downtown. Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is just half an hour’s drive away from our airport. The borders to Hungary and the Czech Republic are also roughly 45 minutes [away], and you can even drive to Budapest in two hours.”
Kerry Sharpe Columnist
Having worked in travel for the last 16 years, Kerry has experience covering the industry as media, as well as being under its lens when she worked for Thomas Cook, TravelBrands and itravel2000. A new mom, Kerry recently returned to the workforce and when she’s not chasing after her daughter, you’ll see her out and about covering industry events alongside her new BFF Tina the Travel Agent.
