Ramy James Salameh visits Europe’s highest congress centre, nestled in the Austrian Alps. As I headed towards Europe’s highest congress centre at 1,900m above sea level, nestled in the Austrian Alps in the village of Obergurgl, a question rolled in my mind: ‘Why build a congress centre at this altitude, within a village of only 400 year-round inhabitants?’
The answer is of course multilayered, but the common denominator is the unique mountainous landscape offering a different style of ‘meeting and event’ detox, alongside innumerable incentive options. The motto of Gurgl Carat is ‘Alpine space for inspiration’ and maybe this is what event planners are buying into.
Various studies suggest that high-alpine environments can create a sense of ‘awe’ and ‘euphoria’ which can translate into creative stimuli. A social experimental study by US professor Melanie Rudd, measured the ‘creativity’ of participants in a normal environment and others in a ‘high-awe’ setting, namely atop a vista-filled mountain landscape. The results were stark, with those ‘inspired’ by their high-altitude setting opening a cognitive-door to increased creativity, learning, emotions and activations.
Event planner Michelle O’ Connell, director, Jagged Horizons said: “We try to ensure that our events are unique and ‘elevate the thoughts’ of delegates. This is undoubtedly true at nearly 2,000m altitude. It takes delegates completely outside of their everyday environment – perfect for a stimulating work setting”.
All food-for-thought when I visited the venue during a major event and met with its managing director, Felix Kupfer, during the Men & Women’s ‘2024 Audi FIS Ski World Cup Slalom’ ski races. Gurgl Carat hosted sponsors, brands and VIP guests for a gala dinner in the largest hall – Schalfkogel (capacity for 500 guests).
The venue opened in January 2020, before promptly closing for Covid, but was already making profits in 2024, especially from corporate events, with the likes of Lilly Pharmaceuticals, Trivago, Head and Decathlon hiring event spaces. The sports and automotive industries have obvious synergies here. The latter especially relevant with the ‘Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road’ nearby and ‘Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum (2,174m)’ all major draws for high-end car and bike brands and enthusiasts.
Kupfer has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to local partners and incentives; with 21 four-star hotels in walking distance from Gurgl Carat, access to fine local produce and a crucible of pinnacles reaching 3,030m, laying the groundwork for some of Europe’s best mountain-based incentives on his doorstep. “The mountains offer inspired ways to continue conferencing, by using the nearby gondola as a mobile networking or break-out pod for really novel moments,” said O’Connell.
The building is cutting-edge in every sense, from its architectural diamond design to its state-of-the-art tech, centred around its 100sqm front screen and full-HD projectors. The congress heating comes from an eco-friendly district power plant and two-thirds of its turnover goes back into the community.
Kupfer concedes there are still some issues to be ironed out, such as car-lift access to the ‘Schalfkogel hall’, but noted the building is cooled using fresh water from the Ötztaler Ache mountain river. “Our aim is to be a top three congress centre in the Alps and our high-level facilities makes this achievable,” Kupfer added.
