By Brandy Zimmerman
Ottawa’s tourism industry is losing money as more and more companies are choosing to hold conventions in cities such as Toronto, Montreal or Calgary.
The city is losing convention business because it doesn’t have the type of space most companies are looking for.
Most companies want to hold exhibits and trade shows, with large meetings with smaller meetings at the same time, said Andrée Steel, director of sales for the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority.
“When you start putting a meal, a meeting and a trade show together, we just don’t have the space,” said Steel.
Recently, Ottawa has had to turn away six major conventions from group such as NATO and the Academy of Dentistry because the Congress Centre couldn’t meet the space needed to host the conventions. The revenue from the conventions would have totaled more than $10 million for the city.
To meet the convention business’ changing needs, the region is fine-tuning a plan to expand the Congress Centre. Steel said that while the centre can presently hold a trade show and a large meeting, or a large meeting with smaller meetings, there isn’t enough space to hold all three at the same time.
The proposal to expand the Congress Centre was approved by the region in August and involves an additional 13,500 square metres of convention and meeting room space, extra parking and a new hotel. The expansion has a proposed cost of $100 million and would be attached to the Congress Centre, at the corner of Nicholas and Rideau streets.
“We’re at the initial stages of discussion with the owners of the site and the Congress Centre Board,” said Réjean Chartrand, the director of economic affairs at the region. “The consideration is mostly on a cost basis and what fits the site best.”
The region will need financial help from other levels of government and the private sector to build the expansion, said River ward Coun. Wendy Stewart.
In 1997, there were 710 conventions in Ottawa, which brought more than 195,000 people to the region, according to the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority. These conventions brought close to $190 million to hotels, restaurants and convention centres in Ottawa.