Conference operators cash in on the growing trend for bigger and better events
|
||
 |
onferences
mean big business for Greece’s tourism sector, showing massive
potential as a revenue earner, particularly during the ‘off season’,
traditionally a period of low occupancy.
Capsis Convention Centres & Resort Hotels is a family-owned company
that has specialised in the hospitality business for over 20 years.
Marketing director Irini Varda-Capsis
says: “We were one of the very first companies to go in that direction.
Greece is the birthplace of the symposium and the congress, and it is
a country where you can combine business and leisure perfectly. This
makes Greece an ideal destination.”
Conventions
and similar events account for some 90 per cent of Capsis’s revenues.
Last year, the company opened a second hotel and conference centre on
the island of Rhodes. “The trend in this industry is towards the
organisation of bigger conferences, and because our clients asked us
for larger conference halls we decided to build the convention centre
at Rhodes,” says Ms Varda-Capsis. “This is the biggest convention
centre in Greece and one of the largest in the Mediterranean.”
Up to 8,000 people can be accommodated in the conference halls and meeting
rooms, and there is also a 3,170 sq metre exhibition hall. Ms Varda-Capsis
says the complex has an edge over many of its competitors in Europe.
The convention centre and five-star hotel are next to the beach and
only three miles from historic Rhodes town and the international airport.
“This combination is what makes us unique because it is something
that our clients can’t easily find elsewhere,” she says.
The
691-room hotel and other hotels within walking distance provide accommodation
for more than 10,000 conference delegates. “The whole area around
the hotel and complex will become the new Mediterranean destination
for conventions,” she predicts.
The project cost about $17.69 billion. Ms Varda-Capsis believes the
expenditure was worth the effort, not only for the company but also
for the country as a whole. “Greece will have the capability of
attracting the very large conventions and conferences that it was losing
until now because it lacked a venue to host them,” she says.
Capsis Beach Hotel and Sofitel Capsis Palace Conference Centre, the
comp-any’s first convention centre, is at Aghia Pelaghia, west
of Heraklion on the northern coast of Crete. It has three conference
halls accommodating 4,800 people, plus meeting rooms and exhibition
space.
By
focusing on convention business, the company is able to operate all
year round. “A lot of conference clients do not need to bring their
delegates over during the summer. In fact, they actually prefer the
winter and we have extended our season to almost 12 months a year.”
Capsis is trying to encourage other hotels in the area to follow suit.
“We need them to put up the people who attend the big conventions
and they are doing it slowly. By creating this new convention centre,
we have changed the outlook for Rhodes as a destination for visitors.”
Ms Varda-Capsis and her colleagues are considering new investment opportunities.
“Athens could have a very large convention centre for 10,000 people
or more, and this is something that the Greek government is considering.
They say they will create one, and this would boost Athens as a destination
and also help us. But we need to see what happens. Hopefully, it will
be done.”
Many
conventions are held at the luxury Astir Palace Resort overlooking the
beautiful Vouliagmeni Bay, 16 miles south of Athens. Not having a convention
centre in Athens is a “big problem”, says Astir director of
marketing and sales Myrto Sofianos.
On the other hand, she adds: “We’ve got all the advantages
of being near the capital, without any of the disadvantages of being
in it. Maybe in a few years, in view of the Athens 2004 Olympics and
the upgrading of the city, we may be able to attract some upmarket tourists.”
An affiliate of the National
Bank of Greece, the Astir resort comprises three hotels and 76 bungalows
with a total of 550 rooms. The Arion Astir Palace hotel was the first
to be built and quickly became the place in the country for
the international jet set. Its all-marble reception area and verandahs
give it a very luxurious atmosphere.
The Nafsika Astir Palace hotel is the best for conventions. The congress
hall and foyer can accommodate more than 600 people.
“The
Aphrodite Astir Palace hotel is what we would call deliberately casual,”
she says. “When it was first designed,
it was very casual and simple, but we have adapted the design. The hotel
has just been renovated and we use it to hold a lot of conventions.”
The resort, which is open all year round – although usually one
of the hotels closes for the winter season – is mainly used for
conventions and tourism business is not yet significant.
“We were the first to call this area the Athens Riviera and there
are now some nice new resorts in the area,” adds Ms Sofiano. “There
is the Apollo, which opened a couple of years ago, as well as a resort
in nearby Lagonissi – and another hotel is opening this year in
Sounio.”
[email protected]