In 2016 The Congress Citadel of Florence, Firenze Fiera, welcomed more than 77.000 congress delegates and over 44.000 conventions and congresses participants visited Florence thanks to the business won by Firenze Convention and Visitors Bureau, Firenze Fiera, the main congress centre in Tuscany, and all the PCOs and DMCs partners of FCVB.
Firenze Convention & Visitors Bureau presented 55 bids to host international congresses and 10 of these have been actually won.
FCVB reports that in the next years the 10 won bids will have an economic impact of 4.850.000,00 Euros in terms of services such as room nights booked, transports and facilities for all congresses participants. Although, the congresses acquired during last years that have been hosted in 2016, contributes for more than 16.000.000,00 Euros. Overall this results generated an increase of 2% respect 2015. In fact in 2016, Firenze Convention & Visitors Bureau acquired 2 congresses with a large number of participants: WUWHS, with 5.000 delegates won in 2012 and Heart Failure, with more than 6.000 people, won in 2014.
Incentive events and conventions represent another success for FCVB: of the 340 requests received from corporate companies for conventions, product launches and meetings, over 200 have been confirmed.
After the Destination Wedding Planner Congress hosted in Florence in April 2016, the new company division Tuscany for Weddings (opened in 2015) managed over 40 requests between international and Italian weddings. This important result have a strong positive impact on the perception and visibility of Florence and Tuscany region in general abroad.
“Our new subvention plan, the strong synergy between the main MICE players of the territory and the partnership with the Municipality of Florence make our destination a strategic choice for congresses and events. Thanks to our growth we are now an important competitor for other European destinations.” affirmed Carlotta Ferrari, Director of Firenze Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Florence introduces the new subvention plan for International conferences to be held in the city. This big result has been achieved thanks to the synergic work of Firenze Convention and Visitors Bureau and its main members: Firenze Fiera Congress and Exihibition Centre, the main Congress centre of Florence, the AV company Tecnoconference TC Group and the catering company Gerist Ricevimenti.
The subvention plan, for a maximum value of 60.000,00 Euros, is meant to support Florence bids for new International conferences that must be applied for during the bidding stage.
The services offered include many different aspects of the event organization, for instance the social programme: the city of Florence can provide the rental for free of many exclusive venues for cocktail and dinner, such as the Salone dei Cinquecento of Palazzo Vecchio (the beautiful town hall of Florence), the new Opera House or even larger prestigious locations of Firenze Fiera Congress and Exhibition Centre inside the Fortezza da Basso, such as the Cavaniglia Pavilion or the charming garden of Palazzo dei Congressi in the very heart of Florence city centre.
Free services at Firenze Fiera Congress and Exhibition Centre will include complimentary room for registration, staff and President’s office as well as free Wi-Fi for all delegates. Tecnoconference will provide some of its best tools and technologies such as personalized digital screens with information on the sessions’ timing and location and free APP of the Conference with many features regarding the scientific programme and the speakers’ profiles.
Firenze Convention and Visitors Bureau has created a special booking system that allows congress organizers to get an easy revenue on individual reservations choosing the best selected hotels with rates 5% lower than on the other OLTA, friendly booking terms with no risk of penalty and with friendly cancellation policies for guests (www.florencecongressbooking.com).
