Presss release
Palais des congrès de Montréal and the Board of Trade
draft agreement with major international promoter
Montréal, September 25, 2012 – The Palais des congrès de Montréal and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal (Board of Trade) are pleased to announce the signing of a letter of intent with Fira Barcelona, a leading tradeshow promoter in Europe. The partnership means the Palais and the Board of Trade will be working with a promoter of international caliber as they build a program aimed at developing recurring international fairs and tradeshows benefitting the segments of excellence of the Québec economy. This letter lays the foundation for a long-term commitment that will help generate significant spinoffs through major events that are not currently being hosted in North America and will serve as a springboard for the city’s key industries.
The letter was officially signed in Barcelona on September 21, during the Montréal à la Mercè cultural and trade mission, in the presence of Helen Fotopoulos, member of the City of Montréal executive committee responsible for culture, heritage, design and women's issues. The initial phases of the partnership will consist of identifying the current events and high potential projects that will benefit both cities, and drafting a business plan for the events program mentioned above.
“Fostering this partnership is in line with our strategy of building alliances, which are essential if you want to remain a world leader and continue to generate even more economic and intellectual spinoffs for Montréal and Québec City,” states Marc Tremblay, President and CEO of the Palais des congrès de Montréal. “This agreement will enable us to maximize our potential to develop tradeshows in Montréal while we enthusiastically move forward the process of revitalizing the Palais’ business performance we began two years ago.”
“For the Board of Trade, this is the first step of a process that may prove to be very promising for the city’s business community. We must try to seize every opportunity we can to showcase our city’s economic strengths and to maximize the creation of wealth. We are pleased to be able to build the initial bridges of collaboration with a recognized international leader in the field of trade shows, Fira Barcelona, and the Palais des congrès in order to meet a need and allow our city to compete with the best,” stated Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
"We are very pleased with this agreement, which will let us not only share our experience in trade shows development and but also open a major door to new business opportunities in North America for all of our european exhibitors", explains Ricard Zapatero, director for International Business at Fira de Barcelona.
About the Palais des congrès de Montréal
The mission of the Palais des congrès de Montréal is to attract and host conventions, exhibitions, conferences, meetings and other events. A public institution with a commercial vocation, the Palais generates major economic spinoffs for Québec and has contributed proudly for over 28 years to sharing knowledge and enhancing Montréal’s international reputation as a first-rate destination. For more information: www.congresmtl.com.
About the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is made up of some 7,000 members. Its mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and local businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.
About Fira Barcelona
With 405.000 square meters of exhibition space divided in two venues, Fira de Barcelona is one of the largest trade shows operators in Europe. This more than 80 years old institution has a portfolio of 70 trade shows, among them the prestigious Mobile World Congress and the renowned food show Alimentaria, brings together 35,000 companies and receives three and a half million visitors. Fifteen of these shows are international benchmarks ranked among the three leading events in their speciality in Europe.
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Source:
Chrystine Loriaux, Adm.A., B.A.A.
Director, Marketing and Communications
Société du Palais des congrès de Montréal
Tel.: 514 871-3104
For information:
Amélie Asselin
Advisor, Communications and Public Affairs
Société du Palais des congrès de Montréal
amelie.asselin@congresmtl.com
Phone: 514 871-5897
Sylvie Paquette
Advisor, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
spaquette@ccmm.qc.ca
Phone: 514 871-4000, ext. 4015