With a significant expansion of its national and international activities, Wiesbaden was able to position itself as a congress, cultural, health and city destination in new markets and with additional target groups. In the convention sector as well as in city and tourism marketing, key markets around the world have been penetrated, new customers reached and strategic partnerships expanded.

Mayor and Head of Economic Affairs Christiane Hinninger emphasizes the importance of the measures implemented: "2025 has impressively shown how diverse Wiesbaden is perceived nationally and internationally - as a health location, a city of culture, a region of pleasure together with the Rheingau and as a modern congress destination. WICM has set important accents with strong sales and marketing measures and thus created the basis for further growth in tourism. The important meetings and conventions sector has also been strengthened."

Managing Director Martin Michel: "Our teams have created visibility for Wiesbaden in key markets in 2025, with strong partners and in relevant industry networks. The response shows: Wiesbaden impresses with quality, good accessibility, sustainable offers and a unique interplay of culture, enjoyment, nature and event infrastructure."

In the Convention Wiesbaden area, WICM 2025 presented itself at numerous trade fairs, workshops and industry meetings, which have a wide national and international reach. At the beginning of the year, the Kurhaus and Jagdschloss Platte impressed visitors at the TrauDich! trade fair in Frankfurt as attractive wedding and event locations. International visibility was achieved through participation in the m&i Brooklyn Forum in the USA, where intensive discussions were held with American MICE buyers. Participation in formats such as the Events Club Associations Forum in Riga, EventQUADRAT in Düsseldorf and IMEX in Frankfurt also contributed significantly to strengthening the market position. Other highlights included participation in healthcare formats such as the m&i Healthcare Forum in Gothenburg and platforms such as the Associations Info Day in Berlin, the Events Club Forum in Prague and the PCMA Convening EMEA in Rotterdam, which attracted over 600 international participants and provided significant impetus for digitalization and collaborative formats.

Convention Wiesbaden 2025 provided important impetus in the field of digital knowledge transfer. Two new bilingual guides - one for medical congresses and one for association conferences - support event organizers in the professional implementation of their events. In addition, webinars were held on innovative event solutions and the use of Jagdschloss Platte. The two educational tours in summer and winter combined theoretical content on AI applications with tours of the event venues, which met with a great response from event planners. In November, the knowledge and networking format Convention Wiesbaden Campus was dedicated entirely to the topic of AI and digital solutions and reached a large specialist audience both on site and via livestream.

At the same time, digital visibility was further expanded. Convention Wiesbaden's LinkedIn channel benefited from regular posts by all team members. This was supported by targeted LinkedIn campaigns to expand the reach in the DACH region and in selected European markets. This enabled the RMCC, Kurhaus, Jagdschloss Platte and the Bowling Green and Konzertmuschel outdoor areas to be positioned as unique event venues in Wiesbaden.

WICM's tourism marketing was also able to establish a broad market presence in 2025. Participation in leading national trade fairs, such as the world's largest public trade fair for tourism and leisure, CMT in Stuttgart, ITB Berlin and the RDA Group Travel Expo in Cologne, formed just as important a basis as the presence at the Germany Travel Mart (GTM) in Bonn, various event formats of the EHTTA (European Historic Thermal Towns Association) and workshops of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in Switzerland, Northern Europe, Belgium and Austria. The international roadshows organized by the GNTB in the USA - with stops in Denver, Scottsdale and Los Angeles - and the roadshows in Vienna and Linz, where Wiesbaden and the Rheingau were positioned as cultural, leisure and wellness destinations, were particularly effective. The upcoming exhibitions at the Museum Reinhard Ernst and the Museum Wiesbaden met with particular enthusiasm. The workshop in Copenhagen also confirmed Wiesbaden's profile in German city tourism, with sustainability, wine and culinary delights as well as the Route 65 culture being highlighted in particular.

An outstanding milestone of the year was the major cross-media rail campaign that Wiesbaden implemented together with Frankfurt. It was one of the biggest marketing investments in recent years for WICM and the newly established partner network and attracted nationwide attention. With a strong presence on large billboards, a TV commercial and extensive digital measures, it succeeded in significantly increasing the perception of Wiesbaden as a conveniently accessible and versatile city destination. The campaign underlined the close regional cooperation and the importance of sustainable mobility in tourism.

In addition, WICM 2025 intensified the exchange with the bus industry. After a break of several years, Wiesbaden was once again successfully represented at the RDA Group Travel Expo in Cologne, where it positioned itself with group travel and coach tour operators. As an active member of the industry associations RDA and VPR, WICM also took part in their annual general meetings and was able to gain important impetus for the further development of group travel products and expand its network contacts.

Another highlight in 2025 was the medical delegation trip to Dubai, which was organized jointly with Dr. Horst Schmidt Kliniken and DKD Helios. Wiesbaden was presented there as a premium medical destination, particularly in the fields of oncology, cardiology, orthopaedics and rehabilitation. Discussions with health ministries, clinics and medical travel agencies from the Gulf region showed a clear increase in interest in German medical expertise, accompanied by high-quality hotel and cultural offers.

In addition, media partnerships achieved strong coverage, including the GNTB's Arts & Culture content campaign in the USA, the international GNTB Christmas campaign Season's Greetings from Germany and several WALL campaigns in Cologne and Stuttgart for exhibitions at the Wiesbaden Museum and the Reinhard Ernst Museum.

In 2026, WICM will continue its sales and marketing activities and expand its strong market presence. Participation in CMT Stuttgart, the BVDIU annual conference and ITB Berlin is planned again, followed by the RDA Group Travel Expo, the GTM in Oberhausen and the VPR annual conference. In international markets, the focus will be on the Health Tourism Future Forum in Riyadh with additional sales calls, the GNTB Summit and the trade fair appearance at ATM Dubai. Wiesbaden will also be represented again in the USA as part of the Destination Germany Roadshow & Marketplace and will further strengthen its presence in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Northern Europe. Furthermore, a cooperation with the booking platform Booking.com will be implemented in selected markets in 2026 to strengthen Wiesbaden's visibility as a city and business destination.

WICM 2026 will also focus on a combination of national and international sales work, digital formats, knowledge transfer and the strategic development of topics such as artificial intelligence, sustainable event planning and medical congresses in the convention sector.