High-Tech Convention Center Opens In Historic City

<H1> High-Tech Convention Center Opens In Historic City</H1>By Carolyn Green

<I>Quebec City </I>- A new $80 million convention center, which opened at the end of the summer, could bolster convention business in the only fortified city in the United States and Canada by one-fifth, according to Pierre Labrie, general manager of the Quebec Area Tourism & Convention Bureau.

"We have great expectations," Labrie said, who noted that about 15 percent of the 3.8 million annual visitors to Quebec City are either transient business travelers or convention delegates. "We expect that within three years, we'll be able to increase by 20 percent the number of delegates coming to Quebec City for conventions."

Indeed, area spokesmen are hopeful that the Centre des Congr&egrave;s de Qu&eacute;bec, which opened Aug. 29, replacing a smaller, 22-year-old facility, will inject much-needed dollars into the region's economy.

In addition to enhancing the city's ability to bring large Canadian and international meetings and trade shows to Quebec City, the convention center will help draw more meetings and convention business from the United States, which now accounts for three to six percent of inbound traffic annually, Labrie said.

"Quebec City is a very unusual location in North America because it's the cradle of North American history," Labrie said. "The location is fantastic and unique for American convention delegates. Therefore, for American conventions that want to have an international experience, it's Europe next door with North American comfort. Dollar-wise at 72 cents, it's a great buy and very competitive in price range."

Already, 54 meetings-which will contribute about $50.4 million to the local economy-have been booked for the first several months of operation.

Labrie said the center, which is connected underground to the 565-room Quebec Hilton and the 377-room Radisson Gouverneurs Quebec, will return Quebec City to one of Canada's top five Canadian convention destinations, on par with Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa.

The facility, just outside the walls of the historic old city, features a 75,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 30 meeting rooms and a 34,500-square-foot banquet and convention hall that, like the exhibition hall, can be divided into three sections.

Despite the historical surroundings, meeting services and tools are anything but ancient. The center boasts state-of-the-art videoconferencing, a communications system that offers a multimedia billboarding and messaging network, a high-tech fiber-optic telephone system for easy connection to international networks and the Internet, and a video system featuring 120 monitors with full sound capabilities that can transmit full-color video text, still images and motion pictures.

For instant communications, the center offers an electronic contact center, with voice messaging, message billboarding, message-forward capabilities, fax and e-mail services, as well as high-tech audio and video networks linking all meeting rooms. For security, the facility features fire systems and an electronic and video surveillance system.

While myriad high-tech systems are an obvious attraction for meeting planners, officials said the increased size of the new center-which can accommodate up to 4,000 delegates-is a primary draw.

"The old center wasn't that old, but it was much too small," explained Gilles Methe, director of customer services. "There are many large conventions, mostly Canadian and American, who couldn't come here any more." For example, the Canadian Real Estate Association had initially booked the old center for its 1992 annual meeting but canceled because the center could not accommodate the group's needs.

This year, CREA held its annual meeting, with more than 1,600 delegates and exhibitors, at the new center in early October, less than a month after it opened.

"All in all, it's beautiful," said Gail McHardy, meeting and convention coordinator for CREA. "It's state of the art and it's got some very positive qualities. It's got a few negatives, too, but part of that is working the kinks out because it's so new."

McHardy also said the building design was a bit confusing, particularly for delegates attending breakout sessions.

Regardless of some deficiencies, travel industry officials here are confident the center will benefit the city. Didier Rabette, regional sales and marketing director for Canadian Pacific Hotels & Resorts-operator of the historic castle-like Chateau Frontenac, a five-minute walk from the center-said he hopes the center will attract meetings during low season.

"If they are able to attract conventions in the wintertime or the early spring or late fall, that's where we will see a big impact, because our goal is to balance the year," he said.

Robert DiGaetano, general manager of the Quebec Hilton, believes the center will "be very beneficial" to his property. Because many planners awaited the center's opening before booking events, DiGaetano has not yet made firm projections detailing the amount of new business that will accrue to the hotel, but he said he is optimistic the results will be positive.

One hurdle that needs to be overcome, however, is the shortage of direct flights from the United States, say officials. Currently, there is non-stop air service only from New York, Boston, Montreal and Toronto.

But the recent injection of $19.5 million to build a new airport terminal and new runways, coupled with increased demand stimulated by the new convention center, will likely result in increased air access, according to Labrie.