The Spanish Association of Congress Centres (APCE) is perplexed by the strategy announced by the publically owned hotel chain Paradores of Spain, questioning that offering free meeting space will reactivate the country’s economy.
APCE accepts price adjustments, as a consequence of fluctuations in offer and demand in the current financial climate, but it also understands that by offering companies free meeting space, the public hotel chain could be practising unfair competition, as well as failing to observe income tax, VAT and above all corporate tax obligations, all of which has been corroborated by the legal services consulted on the matter.
According to the results of the last analysis conducted by APCE, its 37 members hosted over 6,100 events in 2008, with attendance figures in the region of 4,400,000, an activity generating revenues of EUR 1,800 million for the country. These congress centres form the backbone of the Spanish meetings and event industry, and are behind the fact that Spain is currently among the most popular destinations in the world, and that a number of its cities top the rankings of different organizations.
In the words of Jose Salinas, president of APCE and managing director of Valencia’s Congress Centre, “This type of practice could have a negative impact on the turnover of the country’s congress centres, which host 40% of all events held in Spain.”
APCE’s statutes, passed unanimously by its members, contemplate barring venues that implement these kinds of practices, a matter that was also the centre of debate at the last APCE congress held in July 2008.
Unlike the strategy implemented by Paradores, so as to consolidate the country’s leading position, APCE still regards differentiation as the key to success in an increasingly more competitive market. Efforts geared to continuously improving services and the search for new opportunities, such as those offered by technological innovation and green policies, could help Spain to maintain its position in a market that is tackling the current crisis with a high dose of prudence.
