AusLeisure

The Cairns Convention Centre has been named the best in Australia at the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) 2010 Apex awards.
The 11-year-old facility was named by the AIPC as a finalist for the 2010 Apex Award, following its win in 2004 and as a top three finalist in 2005 and 2008.
The winner was the Valencia Convention Centre in Spain with centres in Austria and Bulgaria second and third.
Cairns Convention Centre General Manager Ross Steele said to remain in the top four for the past six years was quite an achievement, stating âthere were 27 finalists and we made the top four.
The awards are based upon survey forms completed by clients in categories included the building, exhibition space, technical capabilities, project management, catering, the destination, location and hotels.
Steele said an internal report from the association revealed that the Cairns centre rated above average in the nine categories, adding âthe most pleasing aspect is that weâve rated so highly for so long and have a high level of service and standards. Itâs a credit to our staff here.
"We have been setting very high standards for a long time."
The achievement comes on top of Cairns beating Italy, Mumbai and the US to snare more than $30 million of international conferences.
More than 6,500 delegates will attend nine conferences between 2011 and 2014 after a concerted two-month marketing blitz. The conferences are expected to inject $32 million into the cityâs economy.
The 10 events recently secured come amid two international and two national conferences scheduled for the remainder of 2010, which are expected to generate about $9 million.
Nearly $700 million has been injected into the economy since the centre opened in 1996 with 1.5 million hotel rooms booked.

http://www.aipc.org/

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