A Banner Year for the Québec City Convention Centre

Challenge and performance were the watchwords in 2018–2019 for the Québec City Convention Centre, a leader in business tourism in the Québec City area. The facility had an outstanding year that confirmed its role as a regional economic key player.

The Convention Centre posted an impressive track record last year, hosting 210 events, including 71 conferences (18 international and 53 national). In all, 216,000 convention-goers descended on the capital to attend various events. These activities generated $112 million in economic spinoffs for Québec City and the province, an 11% increase over the previous year. More specifically, the conferences and events held at the Convention Centre generated 221,370 overnight stays in Québec City hotels and $28.4 million in economic spinoffs for the accommodation and food services sector.

Big-ticket events

Of the 210 events hosted last year, two stand out for their scope and the logistical challenges they posed for the Québec City Convention Centre team: the International Media Centre for the G7 Summit in June 2018, and the 54th Jeux du Québec Finals in March 2019, which involved creating an athletes’ village for 3,700 young people with all services provided under one roof. Four major conferences held during the year also generated significant economic spinoffs.

Economic impact of six major events held in 2018–2019

A helping hand from local event ambassadors

The Québec City Convention Centre relies on the support of prominent members of the Québec City Ambassadors’ Club to attract international conferences. The ambassadors, many of whom are research professors at Université Laval, helped land 11 of the 18 international conferences held at the Convention Centre in 2018–2019. These events attracted over 7,000 attendees and generated $14.7 million in economic benefits for Québec City.

Conferences secured by ambassadors in 2018–2019

• 7^th World Conference on “Violence in Schools and Public Policies”
  and 7th Biennial Conference of the Comité québécois pour les jeunes en difficulté de comportement (CQJDC)
  Ambassadors: Claire Beaumont, Julie Beaulieu, and Marie-Ève Bachand
• 16^th World Conference Cities and Ports
  Ambassadors: Mario Girard and Annick Métivier
• 21^st International Symposium on Non-Oxide and New Optical Glasses
  Ambassador: Younès Messaddeq
• 13^th International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry
  Ambassador: Normand Voyer
• Workshop on Information Optics
  Ambassadors: Simon Thibault and Pierre Marquet
• 54^th FBINAA Annual Training Conference
  Ambassador: Gilles Martel
• 2018 International Geographic Union (IGU) Regional Conference
  Ambassador: Matthew Hatvany
• 20^th International Sedimentological Congress
  Ambassador: Pierre Francus
• Tenth Annual Meeting of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language
  Ambassador: Pascale Tremblay
• ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information Engineering Conference
  Ambassador: Clément Gosselin
• Routes Americas 2019
  Ambassador: Gaëtan Gagné

Making customer experience a priority

The Québec City Convention Centre enjoys an excellent reputation for providing a top quality customer experience and is proud that event organizers and attendees alike report high levels of satisfaction. Thanks to excellent support from its trusted partners, overall customer satisfaction with the Convention Centre is over 95%.

Sales efforts

In a highly competitive market, the Québec City Convention Centre is stepping up its efforts to drum up business and convince event organizers to choose Québec City. Over 232 events are already on the docket through 2023, including 20 international events. But the Centre continues to keep a close eye out for promising event opportunities for the region.

About the Québec City Convention Centre

Through its activities and mission to attract conventions and major events, the Québec City Convention Centre generates significant local economic benefits, while enhancing Québec City’s reputation around the world. The Centre is LEED-CI and EB, BOMA BEST, and AIPC Quality Gold certified—the highest certification in the industry. It was named World’s Best Congress Centre by AIPC in 2006 and was a finalist in the same award in 2014. It is known for its high management standards, its staff’s ability to think outside the box, and its outstanding customer service.