(Originally published in TOURISM)
Multi-million dollar expansion is the name of the game this year for meeting space in Canada. Casino Windsor in Ontario, soon to be known as Caesars Windsor, is currently undergoing a $373 million expansion and renovation that will see it gain 100,000 square feet of convention space. Northward, the Toronto Congress Centre is adding 500,000 square feet, and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, in turn, is constructing a conference centre with more than 58,000 square feet of ballroom space.
On the west coast, the Vancouver Convention Centre expansion project is expected to triple the centre's current capacity. The project's website notes that "the expansion will increase the number of delegate days each year from the current 150,000 to nearly 370,000 within the first five years after opening. On average, a delegate will spend about $350 per day during their visit to Vancouver, with about one-third of convention delegates traveling to other parts of the province as part of their stay."
Even in light of the strong Canadian dollar? "The parity is definitely affecting our value perception. But when compared to other destinations like Europe, we're still extremely competitive. And the high demand and pricing for US destinations position us as value alternative," said the Canadian Tourism Commission's (CTC) Dan Melesurgo, executive director of meetings & incentive travel sales.
Melesurgo added that today's economics in fact give Canada an opportunity to "change the way we sell - in the past we relied too much on the dollar value versus the true value of the destination: quality service and facilities and proximity of urban and outdoors activities, among other things."
"When groups do meet in Canada they usually have record attendance, which speaks to the overall appeal of our destinations. Canada's state of the art facilities, high service levels, diverse destinations, and distinctive niche product experiences also continue to make us attractive to the US market."
Multi-million dollar expansion is the name of the game this year for meeting space in Canada. Casino Windsor in Ontario, soon to be known as Caesars Windsor, is currently undergoing a $373 million expansion and renovation that will see it gain 100,000 square feet of convention space. Northward, the Toronto Congress Centre is adding 500,000 square feet, and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, in turn, is constructing a conference centre with more than 58,000 square feet of ballroom space.
On the west coast, the Vancouver Convention Centre expansion project is expected to triple the centre's current capacity. The project's website notes that "the expansion will increase the number of delegate days each year from the current 150,000 to nearly 370,000 within the first five years after opening. On average, a delegate will spend about $350 per day during their visit to Vancouver, with about one-third of convention delegates traveling to other parts of the province as part of their stay."
Even in light of the strong Canadian dollar? "The parity is definitely affecting our value perception. But when compared to other destinations like Europe, we're still extremely competitive. And the high demand and pricing for US destinations position us as value alternative," said the Canadian Tourism Commission's (CTC) Dan Melesurgo, executive director of meetings & incentive travel sales.
Melesurgo added that today's economics in fact give Canada an opportunity to "change the way we sell - in the past we relied too much on the dollar value versus the true value of the destination: quality service and facilities and proximity of urban and outdoors activities, among other things."
"When groups do meet in Canada they usually have record attendance, which speaks to the overall appeal of our destinations. Canada's state of the art facilities, high service levels, diverse destinations, and distinctive niche product experiences also continue to make us attractive to the US market."
Comments