PortAventura Business & Events starts 2019 with new and ambitious objectives after making a very positive assessment of the last year. Since the Convention Centre opened in 2009, PortAventura Business & Events has experienced steady growth, culminating in an incredible 200 events in 2018 and resulting in a 17% increase in turnover compared to the previous year. 62% of all events organised were corporate, while the remaining 38% fell into various categories, such as conferences, incentives, sports, and charity. Analysing the origin of the attendees, 74% of the events carried out were of international origin and 26% national.
This past year has been significant for PortAventura Business & Events, with large companies, especially international ones, enlisting its services. These include companies such as Coca-Cola, MARS Iberia, Baringa, Quandoo, SITA (Societé Internationale de Telécommunications Aéronautiques), the chain restaurant operator AmRest and the Australian firm Capricorn, which highlights not only the favourable promotion of our business beyond domestic borders but also the versatility of the spaces reflected in the diversity of the events held on our premises.
The possibility of having access to a modern and versatile convention centre with capacity for up to 4,000 people within its 14,000 square metres, five 4- and 5-star hotels with 2,100 rooms, own catering, beach club, golf courses, and exclusive openings of PortAventura Park and Ferrari Land, are just some of the reasons why many national and international companies choose this venue for their business meetings and events.
Over the past year, our spaces have welcomed many different types of events. Just for starters, PortAventura Business & Events has been the organiser of two important sporting events: the 54º RallyRACC, for its 14th year at PortAventura Business & Events, and the XVIII Mediterranean Games, which turned PortAventura Convention Centre and the PortAventura Hotels into the Mediterranean Village for the sports meet, accommodating more than 4,000 athletes during the days of competition and also serving as the logistics centre for all complementary services to the Olympic village.
As a glorious final touch to the end of the year, between November and December, and for the third time, SEAT held its largest training event at the PortAventura Convention Centre, during which more than 4,800 commercial consultants from the sales and after-sales departments of over 35 countries gathered for 4 weeks to mark the launch of the new SEAT Tarraco.
“Innovation, constant evolution and a first-class convention centre form the base for our growth and differential value”, said Laura Valdeolivas, director of PortAventura Business & Events, who also cites customer loyalty as another reason for the constant growth of its business area. “Our ability to offer all kinds of complementary services, from accommodation to various teambuilding activities and exclusive leisure experiences, allows us to satisfy any need. All of this materialises in a large number of loyal customers”, she continues.
2019 has all the hallmarks of being a very special year for PortAventura Business & Events. Construction of a new hotel, the sixth in the resort, is scheduled for completion in June, and Hotel PortAventura, only 3 minutes on foot from the Convention Centre, will undergo a massive refurbishment. In addition, in January 2020 the Convention Centre itself will also be expanding its infrastructures by more than 6,000 m2, from 14,000 m2 to 20,000 m2.
All these new additions will result in the ability to host multiple events at the same time, and on an even larger scale. In short, with this series of new investments, the intense commercial activity planned and an extensive loyal customer base, 2019 looks set to be a very positive season indeed.
