The first half of the year is ending, and evaluations are blossoming. The Acropolis, a venue for hosting congresses and conventions, is achieving its best scores since its creation 30 years ago and shows real optimism for the second half of the year and for 2015.
Congress Palaces have become very popular in Europe. Over the past decade, some cities have gained a significant lead, such as Barcelona, Frankfurt, Milan, and Stockholm. These venues occasionally host performances, but over 12 months, it is mainly business congresses and conventions that fill their order books. Nice has lagged but over the past six years, with the municipality taking charge, this gap is narrowing. The Acropolis was renovated between 2010 and 2011 with nearly 27 million euros invested, a necessary cost. “We were obliged to reposition ourselves in business tourism. We now have a competitive and attractive palace that is regaining congresses that had disappeared for several years,” explains Rudy Salles, deputy of Alpes-Maritimes and deputy mayor of Nice.
This year, the Acropolis celebrates its 30th anniversary, and on this occasion, the Nice congress palace achieved the best first half of its history with a turnover reaching €10,390,000, which is €1 million more than the first half of 2013. In terms of congress and convention programming, the Acropolis will host 41 events in 2014, a figure equivalent to the results from 2011 to 2013. “The results are good despite the crisis. Our projections for 2015 should improve as we are working on organizing more than 50 congresses and conventions,” says Bernard Carré, General Director of Acropolis.
To achieve these record figures, Acropolis and the city of Nice have improved the reception and also the promotion of the city internationally. “We want to make Nice a recognized place in Europe for these congresses. Our city is innovative, connected, and the policies on ecology and transport allow us to grow,” concluded Rudy Salles.
In November 2015, the Nice Global Forum, a “Davos for security,” will be hosted in Nice. This important event will make Nice a place closely observed by politicians.
