The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre is well prepared for its next century

In 2017 the number of exhibition visitors to the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre rose on average by five percent over the previous assessment. The total number of visitors to the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre Group, including Gothia Towers, was 1.8 million. Revenue raised for the tourism sector by the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in 2017 totalled EUR 322m, based on annual figures from SCB/the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.

“These results show that we are continuing to attract new visitors and business to Gothenburg. The increase in visitors to exhibitions is a sign that physical meeting places where people can meet in person are increasingly important in the digital world,” says Carin Kindbom, President and CEO of the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre. “The strong visitor numbers also show that we need to continue growing.”

According to calculations based on annual figures from SCB/the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre contributed just over 2,100 full-time jobs in the Gothenburg region.

“It’s fantastic to see the way our business helps to create more job opportunities,” says Carin Kindbom. “The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre is owned by a foundation with the mission of promoting trade and industry. We do this by generating jobs and revenue for the tourism sector, where our visitors spend time and money on shopping, taxis, hotels and restaurants in the region.” 

Total turnover for the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre Group in 2017 was EUR 129m. Profit after depreciation was EUR 12m. A strong cashflow of EUR 19m meant that in 2017 alone the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre was able to reinvest EUR 20m in the facilities, including new premises, a new restaurant concept, new entrance and measures to increase digitalisation.

These results are backed by successful exhibitions in industrial and social sectors and a hotel business that has continued to show strong growth over the past year. International meetings and congresses also contributed to this positive development. One example is ECOC, the largest fibre optic congress in Europe, which brought 4,000 visitors from Europe, Asia and North America to Gothenburg for five days.

The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2018. Since 1918 the meeting place has developed from a national exhibition centre into a global venue that offers everything from hotels, shows, restaurants and spas, to exhibition halls and a variety of meeting arenas. The vision is to become Europe’s most attractive meeting place by offering the best overall experience.

“We are looking forward to 2018, which should be a very successful year. We have an exceptionally full programme this year, including several large industrial fairs, two shows at The Theatre and many interesting national and international meeting projects. Our ambition is to continue growing and further strengthen our position in partnership with stakeholders in the city, trade & industry and academia,” says Carin Kindbom.