The Valencia Conference Centre generated an economic impact of €67 million in 2015

The Centre played host to a total of 32 congresses in which 30,504 delegates took part, and seven conventions attended by 3,885 participants. 

The year brought an 18% increase in the number of national and international congress delegates compared to 2014, reaching almost 50% of the total number of participants. As a result of the events held at the Conference Centre in 2015, the occupancy rate rose by 5% over the previous year, and by 28% compared to 2013.

The most important events held in 2015 included the 59th Congress of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA), which was attended by 1,300 professionals representing 80 different nationalities; the 37th National Congress of the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (SEMERGEN), with 3,800 delegates; the 17^th International Headache Congress, visited by 1,100 people from over 40 countries, the Oriflame convention, which brought together 1,500 delegates from over 35 countries, and the Annual Meeting of the Spanish Neurology Society, in which 2,700 professionals took part.

The events held in 2015 led to almost 110,000 overnight stays and generated an economic impact of €67 million. This meant a 5% increase compared to 2014, and brought the cumulative impact of the venue’s activities since it was opened to €989 million, i.e. 33 times the amount it cost to build the facility. 

In economic terms, turnover from hosting these congresses rose by 25.4% over the previous year. Sales of services made by the Conference Centre increased by 42% over 2014, thanks to the importance of the events held. In 2015, EBITDA was €184,782.

In 2015, work to attract new business continued with 128 new bids being put forward for events until 2020. In addition, the Centre won 28 bids during the year for events that will lead to around 57,000 overnight stays. These future events include the 45^th EDTNA/ERCA International Conference (European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association), the Spanish Paediatric Association Congress and the European Congress on Trauma & Emergency Surgery.

Eighteen congresses, which will be attended by over 20,000 delegates, have already been scheduled for 2016. These include the 21st National Meeting of the Spanish Hypertension Society, the Spanish Paediatric Association Congress, the National Congress of the Spanish Society of Intensive Care Medicine and Coronary Units and, on the international front, the 27th Annual International Symposium on Personal, Indoor and Mobile Communications, Nanotech 2016, the Annual Conference of the International Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes and the International Congress of the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies.

New challenges to improve the venue’s profitability have been proposed for this year. The Conference Centre will be developing a management control system that will establish objectives at all levels of responsibility. In addition, relations with the venue’s main strategic partners will be strengthened to meet these challenges and continue to comply with the Centre’s mission as a driving force for the Valencian economy.

According to the Valencia Conference Centre’s Managing Director, Sylvia Andrés, “Results show that despite the difficult economic situation, in which the price variable is a major factor, the upward trend which started in 2014 has continued. Looking ahead to 2016, the Centre’s portfolio features major congresses which have once again chosen the facility to hold their events, although work still needs to be done to consolidate this trend. The Conference Centre’s team of professionals will continue to encourage the spirit of change underway in the industry and, together with the backing of the Valencia City Council, the contribution of our ambassadors and the cooperation between different facilities in the city, we aim to implement new initiatives to boost results and maintain Valencia as a benchmark event tourism destination”.