July 19, 2004
For Immediate Release

Second quarter remains strong at the Victoria Conference Centre (VCC)

VICTORIA - The 2004 conference season continues to show growth with delegate attendance that is up 6% over 2003 second quarter numbers.

Victoria continues to be a desirable conference destination with the VCC projected to end the year ahead of 2003. As of June 30, 2004 delegate attendance was 59,600 delegate days compared to 56,104 in 2003. These numbers capture the out of town conference delegates delivering over $42 Million annually in direct spending to Victoria hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions.

Over the last two years, the VCC has identified and booked additional business from domestic, US and International markets. The marketing strategy which capitalizes on Victoria's image as a secure, cost effective and highly desirable venue for conferences resonates with potential clients.

"We are now seeing results from our increased sales efforts in Canadian, US and International markets. In the next 6 weeks alone, we are hosting six site visits of potential Canadian and US clients responsible for conferences in excess of 500 delegates," said Jocelyn Jenkyns, Director of Marketing and Event Sales for the centre.

In addition to the sales activities this fall which include site visits, familiarization tours, sales missions and trade shows, the centre will play host to a number of citywide conferences including:

August 1-6 World Climate Research Programme
September 8-11 Bicycle Federation of America
September 14-19 Certified General Accountants Association of BC
October 6-8 Reboot Communications
October 21-24 Canadian Association on Gerontology
October 29-30 Nova Clinical Services Inc.
November 1-6 North American Lake Management Society
December 7-9 Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC

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For more information, contact:
Jocelyn Jenkyns
Director of Marketing and Event Sales
(250) 361.1035
jocelynj@victoriaconference.com