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Status: March 2015
Global Vienna
Vienna demonstrates its strengths as a major, high-profile international city in many
different ways: its magnetic attraction as a cultural hub and center of expertise, its globally
integrated economy, its role in the heart of Europe and as a city of international dialog, and
the sheer diversity of its population.
The city’s international appeal stems from its cosmopolitan outlook which in turn is a byproduct of
its multicultural make up. A walk through one of the capital’s markets such as Naschmarkt soon
reveals this diversity, as does traditional Viennese cuisine which is awash with delicious dishes
shaped by all of the countries of the former Austro-Hungarian empire. The Austrian capital is home
to people from 200 different countries. Around one third of the population was born outside Austria,
and about 49 percent of Vienna’s 1.8 million inhabitants have an immigrant background, meaning
that they were not born in Austria or one or both parents are from outside the country. The majority
of non-Austrians in Vienna come from Serbia (around 71,000), Turkey (around 45,000), Germany
(around 38,000) and Poland (around 35,000).
The Austrian capital is a city that has used its past, present, and future as a cosmopolitan capital to
create an inimitable Viennese blend and enjoys the ideal conditions to succeed in a growing
international tourism market. As a destination, Vienna also has a highly international appeal, with
more than 80% of visitors coming from outside Austria’s borders. Of the 13.5 million overnight
stays Vienna reported in 2014, around 2.65 million were accounted for by German guests and 2.48
million by Austrians. The next largest incoming markets were the USA (approx. 748,000
bednights), Italy (approx. 696,000) and Russia (approx. 603,000).
For people working at international companies, Vienna is the world’s most livable city, something
confirmed in a worldwide survey of expatriates by respected consultants Mercer. For the sixth time
in a row Vienna came out top in a ranking of 230 major cities worldwide.
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Inviting locations, high quality services and an excellent reputation give Vienna an important
advantage in the highly competitive conference and events industry. For years the city has
successfully defended its position among the top three international conference destinations
selected by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). In 2014 Vienna hosted
around 3,600 conferences and corporate events, which generated induced economic impact for
the city of almost EUR 900 million. In addition to excellent reachability and top services for event
organizers, Vienna can point to numerous highly attractive venues such as the imperial Hofburg,
the Austria Center Vienna and Messe Wien.
Perfect location
In 1980 the United Nations made Vienna one of its four headquarter cities. 15 different
organizations are represented, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the International MoneyLaundering Information Network (IMOLIN). It is also home to the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). A multitude of international organizations employee
more than 5,000 people in Vienna.
More than 200 international groups have chosen Vienna as their Central and Eastern European
headquarters. They include detergent and cosmetics group Henkel, which serves the Eastern
European market from Vienna; Canadian transport company Bombardier, which develops and
builds state-of-the-art trams in Vienna and pharmaceutical giants Boehringer Ingelheim and Baxter.
The capital is also an attractive location for major international Austrian companies including
OMV, one of the nation’s largest industrial concerns (oil and gas), Porr (construction), Kapsch
(telecoms), Schiebel (mine detectors and drones) and Agrana (fruit preparations).
Knowledge capital
With eighteen universities, Vienna is home to more than 180,000 students – the largest number of
any university town in the German-speaking world. Around 26 percent of all students at
Austrians universities come from abroad. Other knowledge centers in the city include the thriving
Neu Marx research and technology center, the University of Vienna Campus and Siemens City.
Around 40,000 people currently work in research and development in the city. The proportion of
research spending to GDP amounts to 3.68% (Eurostat 2011). The city actively invests in research
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and technology projects and is a driving force behind numerous areas such as the life sciences, IT
and communications, mobility, the environment and the creative industries. Vienna also plays an
important role in quantum research, with the foundation of the Vienna Center of Quantum
Science and Technology (VCQ) marking another major development in this area. Many
pioneering achievements in the world of R&D first saw the light of day in Viennese laboratories
and spin-offs. High-tech companies are also in their element in the capital. Between 1998 and
2008 about 450 life science projects received funding from the city worth over EUR 100
million, and around 150 new life science enterprises also sprung up in Vienna during this period.
With 5,600 ICT companies, Vienna is Europe’s third largest center for the industry. The
headquarters and branch offices of renowned companies such as Hewlett Packard and SAP are
responsible for around 20 percent of IT spending in Central Europe.
Global culture center
Vienna is the world capital of music: every night around 10,000 music lovers are treated to live
classical music – something no other city in the world can rival. Each year the Vienna concert
schedule includes more than 15,000 events of various sizes and genres. 450 balls provide around
2,000 hours of dancefloor magic every year, and the Life Ball AIDS charity event has shot to
international fame. No other city has been home to so many composers — Mozart, Mahler,
Haydn, Beethoven and Johann Strauss, the king of the Viennese waltz, all honed their craft in the
city.
Highlights of the capital’s music scene include the New Year’s Concert by the Vienna
Philharmonic, performances by the Vienna Boys’ Choir and a packed, year-round festival
schedule featuring everything from early music to the popular acts at the Danube Island Festival.
Opera fans the world over come to Vienna to experience the exceptional acoustics in the city's
opera houses, including the State Opera with performances almost 300 nights a year and a
different billing virtually every day, as well as the Theater an der Wien and the Volksoper. Fans of
musicals should head for the Raimund Theater and the Ronacher.
All told, Vienna has around 120 concert halls and theaters and more than 100 museums.
Among the treasures that await discovery are the world’s largest Bruegel collection and one of the
most important Kunstkammer (chambers of arts and wonder) at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The Upper Belvedere is home to a beautiful kiss – the one immortalized by Austrian Art Nouveau
genius Gustav Klimt in his world-famous painting – and has the world’s largest Klimt collection.
The Albertina collection is one of the leading art collections worldwide, while at 60,000m² the
MuseumsQuartier is one of the ten largest cultural complexes on the planet. A well-established
culture cluster, it includes the Leopold Museum with its impressive collection of works by Schiele,
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the mumok (museum of modern art ludwig foundation vienna), the Kunsthalle Wien and the
Architekturzentrum Wien. Vienna’s vibrant gallery scene also has plenty to offer art enthusiasts.
Transport hub
Vienna is the place where three pan-European mainline rail routes intersect (Gdansk-ViennaVenice; Frankfurt am Main-Vienna-Bucharest; Hamburg-Vienna-Athens), and a major Central
European rail interchange. The ultra-modern Hauptbahnhof (Vienna Main Station), opened in
December 2014, is an international transit hub used by around 150,000 people and 1,000 trains
each day. It is also served by eight S-Bahn commuter train lines, two bus routes, three tram routes
and a subway line.
Air travel plays a key role in international tourism for Vienna. Vienna International Airport is a
major Central and Eastern European airline hub. Passenger numbers for 2014 reached 22.5
million in 2014, up almost three-fold since 1995. At present 66 airlines operate flights to 165
destinations.
The port of Vienna is the largest public dock on the Danube. One of Europe’s most
technologically advanced container terminals, it has excellent links to the rail and road networks,
waterways and Vienna International Airport, making it ideally placed as a high-performance hub for
the international trade and logistics sectors.
Info:
Mercer, www.mercer.com
United Nations, Vienna International Centre, Wagramer Strasse 5, 1400 Vienna,
www.unvienna.org
Vienna Business Agency, https://viennabusinessagency.at/
Vienna Main Station, Am Hauptbahnhof, 1 Vienna, http://hauptbahnhofcity.wien
Vienna International Airport, 1300 Vienna, www.viennaairport.com
Port of Vienna, Seitenhafenstrasse 15, 1020 Vienna, www.hafen-wien.com
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