Leadership Shift at Vancouver CC

A leadership change may mean more European association tradeshows and conventions could be heading to the Vancouver (B.C.) Convention & Exhibition Centre in the future.

In January, Warren Buckley returned as CEO of venue operator PavCo, which manages the VCEC and other venues in British Columbia. Buckley spent more than 18 years with PavCo before moving to the Suntec Singapore Intl. Convention & Exhibition Centre in 2002.

He said one of the first actions he's taking now that he is back with PavCo is rolling out a new marketing focus directed toward attracting European show and convention organizers to Vancouver.

The shift comes after the recent departure of former VCEC President Barbara Maple. Buckley said Maple's departure was due to “organizational changes” the convention center is undertaking.

“Vancouver has had a history of attracting (European associations),” he added. “I think it's just time to go after that more aggressively.”

The convention center is expected to complete its current expansion next March, in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The venue will grow to 388,000 square feet of exhibit space, from 108,000 sq. ft., and add an additional 61,000 sq. ft. of meeting space for a total of 86,000 sq. ft.

Naomi Wagschal, president of the Canadian Assn. of Exposition Management and business manager of meetings and exhibitions for The College of Family Physicians of Canada, said the new marketing strategy isn't surprising.

“As our convention centers expand ... they're going to be looking at the global market and not just North America,” she added.

And with the stringent visa restrictions the United States currently has in place, Wagschal said it's easier for international attendees and exhibitors to travel from other countries to Canada.

Buckley said by June he hopes to have a sales representative in Brussels or London to sell the center in the European market.

“We're meeting with some of the German messes and halls over there (to see what they're looking for),” he added.

Until now, the convention center had been mostly marketed to the U.S., Buckley said, where about 70 percent of the current international business comes from.

That's because most of the large association business attracted to the destination is from the U.S., said Richard Yore, director of sales, meetings and conventions with Tourism Vancouver. “I'm not quite sure the mix would shift,” he added of the new marketing strategy.

Yore said most international associations don't have meeting planners, which are common in U.S. associations. For the city to bid for the overseas association shows and meetings, the destination needs to have a local host who volunteers to help organize the event, he added.

“The main focus for us is working with our local community,” Yore said.

Cliff Wallace, president of UFI, the Global Assn. of the Exhibition Industry, said the Vancouver center's entry to the international exhibition market would be a positive move.

“Vancouver would be a welcomed addition to UFI's membership – joining Toronto as our other UFI member – and will most definitely benefit from UFI's extraordinary global network of the key decision makers in the industry,” Wallace said. “I know Warren is very forward-thinking, and I can imagine him working with Toronto to draw more international attention to both markets and Canada.”

Buckley said his experience in Singapore will help with the VCEC's new marketing focus.

In Singapore, the center partnered with the German messes and “most of our international conventions came out of Europe,” he added.