The Valencia Conference Centre increases its operations by 34% in 2019 and grows its international business
The Conference Centre Chairman and City Councillor for Tourism Emiliano García said this morning that the municipal organisation “has increased its operations over the past year by 34% and grown its international business by 48%.” In his view, “these figures make 2019 one of the best years in the Valencia Conference Centre’s history and endorse Valencia as one of the most cutting-edge destinations in MICE tourism.”
He was speaking alongside the Conference Centre’s Managing Director Sylvia Andrés at the press conference called to present the venue’s annual results. The organisation’s figures show that this 34% increase in operations has generated a total of 99,386 overnight stays in the city. Furthermore, the Centre’s Chairman noted that “61% of delegates come from outside Spain which makes the conference centre a benchmark in MICE tourism at world level.”
As for the organisation’s financial situation, the conference venue ensures its creditworthiness and forecasts profits of €1,630,000 and an EBITDA of €1,875,000 by the end of the year. In August this year it also paid off all its loans amounting to €2,243,000. Sylvia Andrés commented that “these data are the outcome of the hard work put in by the team which has helped to consolidate the Valencia Conference Centre’s international leadership.”
In 2019, the activity report reveals that the Centre’s team has made over 800 sales visits and submitted 198 event bids. This has boosted the future portfolio which currently has some 70 events confirmed until 2022 that will generate 125,348 overnight stays in the city. Emiliano García praised the work done by the City Council Department, the Visit Valencia Foundation and the Conference Centre to “promote the Valencia brand in the international MICE market” and which he thinks “is reflected in the outstanding results obtained.”
INVESTMENT
This year the Conference Centre has set aside €345,000 for investment designed to enhance the building’s potential and increase the satisfaction of delegates. 33% of the investment has gone on acquiring state-of-the-art technology in order to keep the venue competitive.
Moreover, 40% of the investment has been sustainable as part of the Centre’s environmental commitment which is central to its strategy. Looking ahead to 2020, the investment plan aims to allocate €2,250,000 to the venue. This will be used mainly to replace the seating and carpeting in Auditoriums 1 and 2 after more than 21 years of use as a result of the high level of activity in the Centre.
Emiliano García noted that “the innovations envisaged for next year will improve the services the Conference Centre delivers to its visitors” and he announced “plans to leverage new technology to turn it into a pioneering centre in terms of accessibility.” Furthermore, over the course of this year the Conference Centre has driven its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) endeavours and brought out its more human side by providing a venue for events supporting the work of charities such as the Spanish Cancer Association (AECC), Casa Ronald València, Surg for All and Senegal Training.
The Valencia Conference Centre’s Managing Director pointed out that since it opened in 1998, the venue has hosted over 2,900 events with more than 2.2 million overnight stays. 900 of these events have been congresses and conventions attended by 600,000 delegates. “Backed by these results and success stories, the Conference Centre is all set to continue working to meet its objectives for the coming years, most notably to maintain the growing internationalisation of its business and further consolidate its position as a leader in the industry,” she said.
The press conference was also attended by three ambassadors who have held events at the Centre this year: Ana Belén Díaz, Manager of the Casa Ronald McDonald children’s foundation; Jaime Gómez, Professor of Hydraulic Engineering at the UPV; and Manuel Celda, Assistant Director of the Bioparc’s sales department. The latter underlined the “professionalism and efficiency of the Conference Centre’s team” which “provided facilities for everything we wanted to do.”
