Centre shows 65pc occupancy
PACIFIC Place Conference Centre celebrated its first anniversary with an occupancy rate of 65 per cent and full - although unconfirmed - bookings until the end of the year.
''The Pacific Place Conference Centre was opened when we realised the conference and corporate meetings business in Hongkong was beginning to outgrow the capacity of ballroom and function facilities offered by the major hotels,'' said Mr Jolyon Culbertson, general manager of the Pacific Place developer, Swire Properties.
He said that venues offered by luxury hotels, while spacious and well-appointed, often operated at full capacity.
The Pacific Place Conference Centre filled the gap for both local companies and international delegations wanting meeting rooms with all the trimmings.
Quoting statistics from the Hongkong Convention Bureau, Mr Culbertson said the number of international or regional conferences and corporate meetings held in Hongkong in 1991 had increased 36 per cent compared with 1990.
The bureau expected earnings from the sector to continue to grow between 20 per cent and 30 per cent this year.
The manager of the centre, Ms Valerie Lim, said the centre had ''tentative bookings'' until the end of the year.
