Yet again, the venue generated a cash surplus, while the number of events in its agenda increased by 37% and the turnover by 15%.
The level of activity, measured by the number of events, which registered a 37% year-on-year increase, the turnover, which reached €3.2 million, 15% more than in 2013, and a cash surplus three times greater than the year before are all results that confirm that 2014 was definitely the year of Kursaal’s recovery.
Highlighting an important recovery that the Basque convention centre intends to consolidate in the near future, this positive balance is the result of the three aforementioned figures which are described in more detail below. On the one hand, the venue’s activity increased notably, with the hosting of 274 events, 37% more than in 2013. On the other hand, the venue generated a turnover of €3.2 million – without taking into account the contribution of Kursaal Eszena or the Kursaal Foundation – representing a year-on-year increase if 15%. Lastly, the facility’s event agenda generated a cash surplus of €481,005, tripling that of the year before.
Furthermore, Kursaal’s event agenda and excellent results in 2014 represented an economic impact of €48 million in San Sebastian and Gipuzkoa, thanks to the 428,054 attendees – 11% more than in 2013 – counting both cultural and business events, that is, congress, convention and meeting delegates, trade fair visitors, and show and concert audiences.
One of the most notable features of 2014 was the gradual increment in corporate events, with a 76% increase in the number of conventions, the best result since 2008. Moreover, the average number of congress delegates increased (623), a third of all congresses hosted by the facility in 2014 being of an international nature.
On the same subject, the facility hosted four major international congresses in 2014 (on contraception, professional training, aquaculture and the 28th Symposium on Fusion Technology – SOFT).
Kursaal also managed to maintain a high level of client satisfaction, with an average score of 8.2 out of 10, while also obtaining the OSHAS 18.001 Standard for Certification of Occupational Health and Safety Management, in recognition of the facility’s compliance in this field.
A dozen congresses in 2015
In June 2015, Kursaal will host the 50th SEMICYUC Congress (Spanish Society of Intensive, Critical and Coronary Unit Medical Care), with 2,000 delegates, in parallel with the congress of the Spanish Society of Intensive Nursing and Coronary Units, with 600 delegates. During the same month, the venue will host the 57th National Geriatrics Congress, with 1,000 delegates. PSI-K - Electronic Structure Calculation of Complex Processes in Materials, with 1,500 delegates, will be the venue’s third major congress in 2015.
In 2015, Kursaal will also host ICAE 2015 (7th International Congress of Architectural Envelopes), as well as the 8th Congress of ASEBIR (Association for the Study of Reproductive Biology), the 4th Congress of Medical Practitioners, Healers and Therapists, the National AIDS Congress, and the Genetic and Cell Therapy Congress.
