In three years time Rio will be on the home straight and counting down the days to the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Between now and then the city will see a major investment in hotel stock, infrastructure and public transport.
The country has already invested US$3.3bn on its stadia, but big changes have brought a social backlash with demonstrations at delays and price rises.
The Brazilian Olympic Committee met with the London Olympics organisers earlier this year, while the Rio de Janeiro cultural authority invited some of those involved in London 2012, such as Ruth Mackenzie, London Olympics Cultural Director to discuss the cultural legacy.
James Rees, Executive Director at Excel London, a venue used for seven Olympic and Paralympic events, and Co-chair of the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) Venue Sector spoke at the federation for Latin American event organisers, convention centres and bureau’s 30th congress, Cocal 2013, on the London legacy and emphasised the benefits of host cities sharing best practice.
“My presentation at Cocal looked at what London learnt during the Games and what being host city meant to the UK meetings and event industry,” said Rees. “Rio has three years to really nail the 2016 Games and hopefully hearing what is happening elsewhere, they will see the opportunity that is available to them.
“South America recognises its slice of the cake is not huge in terms of attracting conferences and events, but if it does a good job hosting the Games, the perception of South America as a destination for events can be changed,” he added.
Rees said the window of opportunity to take advantage of the Games is seven years before and after the event. The city has close to 18,000 new hotel rooms, which Paulo Senise, Executive Director of Rio Convention and Visitors Bureau (RCVB), said are either “currently in the pipeline or in the approval process”. The planned new hotel stock will increase Rio’s supply of rooms from 29,000 to 45,000 by 2016.
Hotel chains Hilton, Hyatt and Accor have all announced their entry into the market as Rio gears up to receive over 10m visitors in 2016 with over 1m directly related to the Games.
During his presentation at Cocal 2013, Rees advised Rio to promote fair pricing during the Games, particularly in relation to hotel room rates. London committed to a Fair Pricing Charter to avoid the price hike for hotels, venues and hospitality providers that adversely affected previous Olympic cities. “Put simply, during the Games the greedy caught a cold, while the sensible and fair were full,” said Rees.
While it is early in the process with the Games still three years away, Senise said the hotel sector is already debating this issue and some hotels are trialling a value-for-money policy. “We believe price within reason will prevail,” he said.
Rees warned about a potential drop in food and beverage revenue for hotels during the Olympic period. “Hotels during the Games are like bed factories. Guests leave early to get to events, eat while they are out and come back late.”
Olympic legacy
As well as its new hotel stock, Rio, like London before it, is investing heavily in its public transport system. “The subway is being extended to Barra da Tijuca, which is the true Olympic neighbourhood, and there will be new routes for the Bus Rapid Transports and the tramway in the new Harbour area,” said Senise.
He added that the main legacy for Rio in terms of the conference and events industry will be from the investment in new hotel rooms and meeting space, the new Harbour, and “hopefully a much needed refurbished international airport”.
“On the commercial side of the Olympic legacy, the visibility the destination gets will impact the whole economic network,” he said.
Senise stressed that the new additional structure will require continuous promotional efforts from all levels of government to secure future demand and profit from the increased visibility the Games brings.
In terms of infrastructure that will be available to potential clients post-Games, most of the additional meeting space will come from the new hotel projects, but a few new mid-size exhibition spaces are under development. “One that should stand out for its location is the Marina da Gloria Conference Center, which is currently waiting for the final licence to build,” he said. “The new harbour area, Porto Maravilha, will also become a main site for exhibitions and fairs. Two of the old warehouses have been remodelled into exhibition halls and the whole area will undergo a total renovation to bring new residential condominiums, hotels, museums, an aquarium, retail and a new Port of Rio with complete infrastructure. This is a huge investment project, a mixed public-private opportunity that is getting a lot of attention,” Senise added.
Changing perceptions
In addition to the new and future infrastructure, hotel stock and an improved transport network, Rees said the Games had helped change perceptions of London as an events destination.
The city recently won its bid to host the European Society of Cardiology’s (ESC) annual congress in 2015. Isabel Bardinet, CEO of ESC told CMW that six years ago (pre-Olympics) London would not have been considered as host venue for an event that is expected to attract 35,000 medical professionals and is worth US$120m to the economy.
London 2012 was both a learning process and an opportunity to change perceptions for London, according to Rees. “London delivered and learnt,” he said. “We learnt to be more humble and to welcome the world to our city.
“Whenever I’ve spoken to clients post-Olympics they have all said that it softened London’s image. London is a big, bold city that is rightly proud of its status, but the Games has shown that we can compete with other cities in the world and can do so in a more humble, welcoming way,” he said.
The Rio Olympic organisers have already taken the decision to follow London’s example when it comes to Olympic volunteers during the Games to ensure a good reception for tourists.
Rio is already seeing an increase in events in the city and is looking to further improve this in the year leading up to and following the Olympics. “The joint effort of RCVB and its sponsoring members, especially after the city was selected to host the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games, has seen an increase in interest to hold similar events in Rio. In 2011, shortly after the announcement of these two events, we broke our own record in number of events confirmed to take place in Rio,” said Senise.
Rio hosted 83 ICCA qualifying meetings in 2012, 14 more than in 2011, and sits 25th in the current city rankings. Provided the social unrest in the country abates and Rio is able to pull off a successful Games, another step up the rankings could be on the horizon.
This was first published in issue 72 of CMW. Any comments? Email cmw@mashmedia.net
