Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city, has been selected to host the 17th annual Routes Europe in 2024.
The event—regarded as the main stage for Europe’s leading airline decision makers—will provide a platform to promote Aarhus as a sustainable destination for leisure and business tourism to Europe’s leading and fastest-growing airlines.
The announcement was made today at a press conference in Aarhus, attended by business and civic leaders from the city, as well as from the event’s organiser Routes.
The route development forum will bring together more than 1,000 delegates from airlines, airports and destinations to define future air connectivity across the region. In the past four years, over half of the region’s new air services have been connected to meetings at the event.
Having recently been ranked in the world’s top 25 most popular congress destinations by the International Congress & Convention Association, Aarhus is fast becoming a recognised city for MICE events.
The city is home to Denmark’s fastest growing economy with a large number of world-leading global corporations in sectors such as wind energy, engineering, food and agri-tech, bioscience, fashion and retail, architectural design and data management.
Steven Small, director of events at Routes, said: “Named the 3rd most sustainable destination in the world on the GDS Index 2021, Aarhus is focused on driving tourism to the region that contributes beyond the established goals of economic growth through overnight stays and revenues. Routes Europe will act as a critical catalyst for the region, and we are excited to be working with the team to highlight the opportunities that will drive result in positive impacts for the economic development and local employment.”
“The hosting of Routes Europe 2024 is in line with our ambition to expand Aarhus’ ever-growing route network. There is a considerable proportion of leisure and business travelers in our catchment area, who today have to fly out of Hamburg and Copenhagen many hours away, and we want to meet them with direct routes in the future. Routes Europe 2024 will increase awareness of Aarhus’ unique geographical location in mainland Denmark, our very sizeable economy, and the great potential that lies in the global business environment of Greater Aarhus,” says Brian Worm, CEO of Aarhus Airport.
The Mayor of Aarhus regards the event as a wide-open window to the world. “This aviation industry European summit is a significant event in the history of Danish air travel and in the promotion of Denmark and Aarhus at a European level and beyond. The event will elevate the city’s future prospects as a direct destination and raise awareness of the Nordic region’s fifth largest metropolitan area as an economic growth center. It will strengthen the cohesive force between Aarhus and the rest of the world and create accessibility results with a positive impact far into the future “, says Jacob Bundsgaard, Mayor of Aarhus.
”We are very much looking forward to showcasing the Aarhus region to the most important decision-makers in the airline industry. Knowledge and accessibility are key words for a growing international tourism destination, and this conference will boost both. Aarhus is now ranked among the world’s top 25 most popular conference cities, and we want to make sure that all delegates attending Routes Europe 2024 have the most fantastic experience here, generating a sustainably positive results”, says Pia Lange Christensen, CEO of VisitAarhus.
