Convention Centre Special Report Gives Vancouver Top Marks

Vancouver, BC (February 6, 2006) — Covering 40 major destinations in the United States and Canada, surveys were completed by 1,278 U.S. meeting planners and revealed extremely favourable results for Vancouver as a convention site and destination.

In overall evaluation, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre ranked #8 in North America out of the 40 major convention centres included in the report. In addition, out of the five major Canadian cities included in the study (Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver), Vancouver had the highest rating for major exhibit halls based on user satisfaction and proximity to hotels. “The results of this report further demonstrate what we have known for a long time – that Vancouver has a positive image among U.S. meeting planners, even with discussions taking place around new passport requirements and other concerns like the strength of the Canadian dollar,” said Barbara Maple, President of the VCEC.

“It’s a testament to the beauty and diversity of the city, our strong competitive position, and the services and meeting facilities we offer our delegates.” Maple continues: “If the current perception of our existing facility provides any indication for the future, I look forward to seeing this study again when our newly expanded centre opens for business in 2008.”

Other highlights of the report:

• Vancouver tied with Orlando for 4th in overall evaluation as a destination and was outranked only by San Francisco, Hawaii and San Diego.

• When US meeting planners choose international destinations, Canada is the #1 destination choice.

• Some of the main perceptions and attributes about Vancouver include: “good value for the money”, “romantic”, “different”, “prestigious,” “safe”, “clean”, “attractive”, “popular”, “good sightseeing” and “interesting history/culture/museums”.

In the next three years, when planning meetings in Canada, corporate planners chose Vancouver #1 and for North America, corporate planners ranked Vancouver #19 overall out of the 40 cities in the study

Vancouver is strongly associated with having an attractive convention centre with good exhibit space setup, a beautiful location, helpful staff, soundproof meeting rooms and solid technology services.

About Metropoll XI
Metropoll XI is the eleventh in a continuing series of image/marketing studies conducted among a large U.S. sample of major meeting and convention decision makers. METROPOLL covers major destinations in Canada and the United States. The study has been conducted periodically for the last twenty years. The focus of this study has been on the evaluation and image of specific destinations regardless of whether the respondent has held meetings or even visited that destination.

About the VCEC
Since opening in 1987, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre has been British Columbia’s flagship convention facility — hosting more than 300 events and 600,000 delegate days each year, and generating more than $210 million in annual economic benefits. When its major new expansion completes, the VCEC will offer a combined total of nearly 500,000 square feet of function space and will serve as the international media and broadcast centre for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010.

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