October, 2006
For Immediate Release

Victoria Wins Major International Convention For 2008

Rhodes, Greece: Victoria, British Columbia has been selected as the host city for the 2008 ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Congress and Exhibition. This will be ICCA's first congress in Canada.

The Victoria bid team including Mayor Alan Lowe, Jocelyn Jenkyns and Ali White from the Victoria Conference Centre, Melissa McLean from Tourism Victoria and Franziska Kaltenegger from International Conference Services delivered a bid presentation to the ICCA Board prior to the start of the 2006 ICCA Congress and Exhibition in Rhodes, Greece.

In awarding the bid to Victoria during the 800 delegate strong General Assembly, ICCA President Christian Mutschlechner applauded the Mayor and the Victoria delegation for its planning and foresight as well as the support of the full Canadian delegation who attended the bid presentation dressed in red, waving Canadian flags.

"Winning the ICCA bid opens the world to Victoria more than ever before," noted City of Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe. "Hosting this prestigious event in November 2008 will introduce Victoria to top meeting professionals from around the globe and increase our opportunity to win overseas meeting bids dramatically."

Jocelyn Jenkyns, Acting General Manager of the Victoria Conference Centre added: "This is a major coup as ICCA is considered the 'conference of conferences'." Jenkyns added, "The 820 attendees in 2006 include representation from over 75 countries including 80 professional congress organizers who are major influencers in bringing conferences to destinations on behalf of their clients worldwide."

Melissa McLean, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Tourism Victoria noted, "The 2008 ICCA Congress and Exhibition will be welcomed business for Victoria during one of our traditionally slowest tourism months of the year. Direct delegate spending is expected to top $500,000 during the conference itself. Showcasing Victoria to top global meeting planners for future meetings is a priceless additional opportunity."

ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, founded in 1963, is the world's leading organization representing suppliers to the global meetings and events market. The 2007 ICCA congress and exhibition will be held in Pattaya, Thailand and the 2009 event will be held in Florence, Italy.

Contacts:
Ms. Jocelyn Jenkyns
Acting General Manager,
Victoria Conference Centre
cell: 704-6957
jocelynj@victoriaconference.com

Ms. Melissa McLean
Senior Vice President,
Marketing and Communications
Tourism Victoria
cell: 889-1245
melissa.mclean@tourismvictoria.com