The Conference Centre is to receive €2.2 million to make it more competitive

The Valencia Conference Centre’s Board of Directors has approved its budget and action plan for 2020 at its meeting held today. “The venue will receive over €2.2 million in investment to make it more competitive,” said Emiliano García, the Centre’s Chairman and City Councillor for Tourism. 

Looking at the organisation’s financial situation, Emiliano García stressed that the figures presented “show it is very healthy with a good balance between income and expenditure.” He also pointed out that the 2020 balance sheet envisages “greater creditworthiness since August 2019 due to having paid off its loans.”

He noted that over the last four years “the City Council has driven investment in the Conference Centre to the tune of around €2.5 million, largely designed to make the building more competitive.” He added that next year “the venue will carry on in the same way, enhancing its technological potential with the latest market innovations while remaining true to its environmental commitment. This means it will continue to stand out by delivering excellence in the discerning MICE tourism industry.” He also announced that “€2.25 million will be earmarked to maintain its leading position which will be funded half by the City Council and half by the Conference Centre.”

One of the especially significant initiatives cited by Emiliano García is replacing the auditoriums’ seating and carpets. “The City Council’s support for investment over recent years has improved all aspects of conference operations by upgrading them to meet contemporary needs,” he argued. These aspects include the physical area where events take place, in this case the building’s main auditoriums where a total of 2,000 seats are to be replaced in auditoriums 1 and 2.

The Chairman of the Conference Centre’s Board of Directors underscored the importance of this investment and the venue’s role in driving the local economy. “The Conference Centre’s operations are crucial to the social and economic development of our city and every euro invested in it has a positive impact on awareness of our destination as a leading domestic and international venue,” he pointed out. “The City Council will continue to support a Valencia that is competitive in the marketplace with world-class infrastructures, making us a destination of choice for MICE tourism. This is quality and sustainable tourism which generates an economic impact three or four times greater than conventional tourism.”

CONFERENCE OPERATIONS

Turning to operations, the events in the pipeline herald an upbeat and buoyant year. “The initiatives undertaken in 2019 to attract international business have yielded encouraging results since half the conferences confirmed for 2020 will be in this area,” said Emiliano García. “That means the pattern we have seen this year is set to continue.”

“The 2020 financial year is the culmination of the Strategic Plan drawn up three years ago,” added Managing Director Sylvia Andrés. “The outstanding results we have achieved are better than forecast, enabling us to continue with our international vision and focus on technology as a means of generating ‘experiences’. We seek to bring out emotions and feelings which turn each event into a unique experience. Continuous investment that enables constant innovation is essential in doing this.”