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news conference preview
ttglive.com
The Travel Convention 2009
Trade Media Partner
October 6-8 ■ Barcelona
With Abta delegates set to descend on Barcelona this autumn, Charlotte Walsh
visits the city for a sneak preview of the convention venues and two new forums
2009: Bigger
Fast facts: The Convention Centre
Opened in 2004, it has hosted 312
events and 390,000 delegates
The total floor area is equal to
and brighter
14 football pitches
It hosts an average of three to
eight events a month
THE CONVENTION CENTRE.
IN MY THREE and a bit years on TTG I’ve seen my
fair share of conference venues, but they are all
dwarfed by the setting for this year’s Travel
Convention.
The whopper of a venue in question is the
International Barcelona Convention Centre
(pictured), which is the largest of its kind
in southern Europe and can hold up to 15,000
people in its main room. The Travel Showcase, where delegates will be of natural light, which makes a change from the
It is situated in the Forum area of Barcelona, able to network with suppliers, will be held in an underground-bunker feeling of most conference
which was developed into a business area in equally large and airy room. venues.
2004. Luckily for delegates the centre is a Lunch will be hosted in the banquet hall on the
three-minute walk from the official hotels, which second floor, which overlooks the sea through
means no early morning coach transfers. ceiling-high windows running along one wall. Abta guide: For details of the official convention
The Travel Convention will be taking place in Delegates will also be able to use the balcony hotels and tips for top restaurants around the
a specific section of the centre, with the main outside. city, see next week’s TTG. Watch a video of the
sessions held on the first floor in a large room My favourite thing about the centre was the W hotel and cruise terminal at ttglive.com/abta
with plenty of natural light. impressive views of the sea and the abundance
The Luxury Travel Forum. The Cruise Forum.
THE TRAVEL Convention includes a BARCELONA TOURISM hopes agents
standalone Luxury Travel Forum for attending the Travel Convention’s
the first time this year. inaugural Cruise Forum will benefit
Luxury travel delegates will visit the from seeing the city’s cruise facilities.
new W Barcelona hotel and a new Barcelona’s port has seven
champagne bar at one of the city’s dedicated terminals, which will be
landmark properties. used by Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of
Delegates attending the forum will attend most of the sessions in the Con- the Seas to host a seminar about cruising. MSC Fantasia and Costa Concordia will
vention Centre and the social activities, but will also follow a separate agenda. also be in port during the convention and agents attending the Cruise Forum
This includes a Welcome Reception, hosted by the W Barcelona, which is set will be invited on ship visits.
to open five days before the start of the convention. The 474-room property is Josep Anton, Barcelona Tourism promotions director, said he was keen for
located on the waterfront and will house a spa and rooftop bar. agents to see the city’s cruise facilities: “Cruise is an important market to
On the final night delegates will attend a dinner at the Hotel Arts Barcelona, Barcelona,” he explained. “We received two million cruise passengers with almost
which opened a champagne bar last month. The W Hotel is a 15-minute coach 900 cruise calls last year and we expect to reach the same numbers this year.”
journey from the official convention hotels, and the Hotel Arts a 10-minute ride. The port is a 20-minute coach journey from the official convention hotels.
12 10.07.2009
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