SWITZERLAND – After a renovation period of two years and a spend of £25m, Switzerland’s Davos Congress Centre has reopened.
Its extension has doubled the capacity of the centre to 5,000 delegates and increased its surface area by one third to 12,000sqm. Thirty-four meeting rooms can now accommodate groups from 20 to 1,800.
The centre has a long congress history with it hosting the first medical conventions at the end of the 1950s as part of Albert Einstein’s Davos Academy courses. The contract for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) has been extended until 2018 with its organisers saying they were impressed with the new plenary hall with capacity for 2,000 delegates.
“In line with this tradition, the opening of the extended Congress Centre marks yet another milestone,” said Mayor of Davos, Hans Peter Michel.
St. Gallen University research hopes the centre generates an added value of around 55m Swiss francs per year to the local economy.
In related news, Switzerland Travel Centre’s Air Sales Manager, Claudio Zemp, is set to take over the role of Manager for Meetings and Incentive at the Switzerland Convention and Incentive Bureau’s London office.
Urs Treuthardt, its former manager, has been appointed the Head of Meetings and Market Development at St. Gallen-Bodensee Tourism. The role change comes into effect in January 2011.
“We are already looking ahead to 2011 as we are pleased to be welcoming a new team member,” says Marketing Manager for the Switzerland Convention and Incentive Bureau, Anne Pedersen. “This, however, means that we have to bid farewell to Urs, who will be returning to Switzerland to start an exciting new position.”
