Like a tale out of a storybook, the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre (SECC) in Gothenburg, has its own Gothia Towers, soon to be expanding in Autumn with the launch of a third tower, 100m tall.
The SECC currently comprises a theatre and exhibition area spanning 41,000sqm, 50 conference rooms, a number of restaurants and function rooms, and soon no less than 1,200 hotel rooms in the heart of Gothenburg.
“In order for us meet our vision of becoming Europe’s most attractive venue, we have to expand and open up for further options and opportunities,” says Carin Kindbom (pictured), CEO of the SECC.
“Our location, right in the centre of the city, gives extensional opportunities for our guests and visitors. Just across the street we have Liseberg, which is one of the biggest amusement parks in northern Europe.Neighbours are also Universeum, Scandinavia’s largest Science Centre, still there is only five minutes walk to Gothenburg downtown and 20 minutes drive to the international airport.”
The turf-cutting ceremony on 24 October 2012 marked the beginning of construction of the new landmark in Sweden. The opening ceremony is planned for 6 December.
“The expansion also goes hand-in-hand with our integrated business model where all elements – exhibitions, trade fairs, meetings, hotel and restaurants – are in-house,” Kindbom continues. “This concept is a key factor, but requires both sufficient and professional space as well as content.
The €125m (US$164m) tower will become a fully integrated hotel, exhibition and conference facility. Along with the additional floors in the venue, the number of hotel rooms will increase by more than 500 to a total of 1,200, also including a new 5-star hotel, Upper House which was opened in 2013.
“In parallel with the hotel construction project, we are planning long-term investment to develop and modernise our entire venue in several stages, while continuing to ensure staff competence to deliver world-class hospitality.”
The venue is working closely with a strong joint commitment between the universities, the local authorities and the business community. Cooperation is absolutely crucial in order to keep pace with the increasing global competition, Kindbom adds.
“Placing Gothenburg on the international meetings industry map is naturally not only a question of increasing hotel capacity, but also of ensuring that our entire facility meets the requirements of today’s and tomorrow’s customers. Several new customers have now shown more interest in choosing us for their next meeting based on our enlarged and improved capacity. In 2015 we are especially happy to be able to welcome European Attraction Show to Gothenburg in October 2015 – a cooperation with Liseberg.”
With the hotel boom and tower expansion in mind, SECC’s vision is to become Europe´s most attractive venue by offering the best overall experience.
“Being part of Scandinavia, we are jointly competing with the rest of the world. But as a separate entity, we are all competing in one way or another; but I must highlight the cooperation again. We all strive for providing excellence and have steady communication.”
Continuous profitable growth in all parts of the group is the team’s mission, with further expansion, increased synergies and of course, more visitors.
“We are currently working on refining our core values, cooperation, commitment and courage. I am so proud of the development and looking forward to welcoming more visitors and guests from all over the world,” she adds.
This was first published in issue 77 of CMW. Any comments? Email Zoe Vernor
