Plan Q 2012 launched
Jun 17th, 2008 by degirac
By Alex Shaw (The Ecuador Reporter)
An international conference centre has been opened at the site of the Neo-Classical Hospital Eugenio Espejo buildings. The centre, discribed by the mayor of Quito, Paco Moncayo, as 'one more reason to visit this great city and country', was opened in a candle lit ceremony on the night of Friday, the 28th March. The buildings, finished in 1933, were donated by the Ministry of Health and the centre is now in the hands of the Municipality of Quito. It is hoped that the $4 million project will attract international congresses and conferences, and thereby become a boon to commerce and tourism. The site includes auditoria, an open-air concert venue, and conference centres equipped with video equipment. FONSAL, Quito's Cultural Safe-Guarding Fund, started work on the buildings in 2006. Although 'open for business now'. according to Dominic Hamilton, Quito's International Media Relations Officer, the site will comprise an underground car park and capacity for 1200 conference participants when finished in 2009.
The opening of the new Congress and Convention Centre was given more relevance by the inclusion of the new strategic marketing plan for Quito, known as Plan Q, the brainchild of Dr. Joseph Chias, of Chias Marketing, Barcelona. The new conference centre is one of the many aspects of his scheme to attract more tourists to Quito and to entice them to stay longer once they are here. After the opening of the centre, guests were invited to a speech, given by Dr. Chias, in which he outlined the other ways the city is to become more attractive to tourists, building on the successes of the first Plan Q which began in 2002.