Home NEWS The Valencia Conference Centre resumes its activities with 75% of its capacity

The Valencia Conference Centre resumes its activities with 75% of its capacity

Jul 3, 2020

valencia_centre — Photo Credit: Valencia Conference Centre

Since its opening, the Conference Centre has hosted 3,000 events

The Councillor for Tourism and Chairman of the Valencia Conference Centre, Emiliano García, has today announced that the Conference Centre is resuming its activities with 75% of its capacity, following the announcement of the new Valencian Government regulations, which allow the venue to use up to 75% of the building’s capacity for events.

Emiliano García

On Thursday 2nd July, the Conference Centre will be celebrating its 22nd birthday, an anniversary which, according to the Councillor, “brings with it good prospects for getting back to holding events, with 80% of the portfolio meetings still scheduled. If the circumstances do not change, in 2021 results are expected to be similar to 2019, which was one of the best years in the venue’s history”.

Emiliano García highlighted that “over the last few months, the complex scenario caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has not dampened the optimism of customers, who have opted to move their events mainly to 2021, thus maintaining around 80% of the Centre’s schedule”, meaning that “based on this information, the portfolio for next year is expected to be very positive”. According to the Councillor, “if circumstances do not change, in 2021 results are expected to be similar to 2019, which was one of the best years in the venue’s history, with a 34% increase in business and nearly 100,000 overnight stays”.

Emiliano García stated that “it is necessary to implement measures to streamline and limit spending and to continue to boost activities in the Centre in order to recover the economic momentum in the city”. The Councillor added that “during the pandemic, sales activities have continued, enabling the Centre to win new bids for major events during this period, which will generate 47,897 overnight stays in the city. In addition to adding new events to its future portfolio, the Centre has also been gearing up for the new circumstances during this quieter period”, highlighted Emiliano García. Accordingly, “it has implemented the health and hygiene measures and the general recommendations established by the authorities and industry associations to ensure the safety of delegates, such as the provision of hand sanitiser dispensers, an increase in the number of cleaning staff, additional cleaning throughout the building, and the signposting of people flows as well as the provision of an isolation area for potential COVID-19 cases”.

In the words of Sylvia Andrés, the Conference Centre’s Managing Director, “the building is now ready to continue hosting meetings to the highest safety standards. The new regulation increasing the number of people we can accommodate in our facilities is a positive step towards restarting the Centre’s activities. This modification in the restrictions points to a very promising future that will enable us to continue to be a driving force for the city of Valencia”.

Moreover, the venue has also been adapted in terms of technology to make hybrid meetings possible, combining on-site and virtual delegates and enabling more participants to attend the events. According to Emiliano García, “we cannot ignore technology if we want to move forward in the digital transformation of the city and its facilities. Valencia must stay at the forefront of technology in order to remain competitive and cater for the new needs of its environment”.

The Conference Centre’s 22nd anniversary

Since it was opened, the Conference Centre has hosted 3,000 events attended by around 2.2 million people, generating 2.25 million overnight stays in the city.

Of the total number of events, 925 were congresses and conventions, in which 613,000 delegates took part. “This outstanding, mainly international business has led to Valencia taking off in the ranking of congress destinations according to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), where it currently ranks 48th in the world and 29th in Europe”, García pointed out.

In addition, “the Centre is also a benchmark in innovation, technology and sustainability”. It has been awarded the accolade of World’s Best Convention Centre from the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) on two occasions, in 2010 and 2018.