Québec City welcomes the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Annual Conference and Trade Show
Event planners know: the program, past events and destination choice all play a huge role in the success of a conference or convention. According to Marie Klobucar, CMP, an event’s destination is definitely part of an event’s appeal. Ms. Klobucar is the Sponsorship and Trade Show Planner for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), the national voice of local government, with nearly 2,000 member municipalities that represent more than 90% of the Canadian population. FCM held its Annual Conference and Trade Show from May 30 to June 2, 2019, at the Québec City Convention Centre.
“Our event is the largest gathering of senior municipal officials from across Canada,” Ms. Klobucar said. “We’re expecting over 1,800 delegates , and over 3,000 participants overall including speakers, companions and exhibitors.”
FCM attracts a myriad of attendees and exhibitors every year. “At the 2018 conference, we announced that the 2019 event was going to take place in Québec City. As is standard practice, before the end of the 2018 event, I opened my on-site office so that exhibitors could get first pick and reserve a spot for the following year in Québec City. My office opened at 8 a.m. but there was a line-up starting at 6 a.m.! While they didn’t camp there overnight, they certainly got there early!”
Ms. Klobucar went on to say that initial line-up went on to help her sell 167 booths. “By November, we knew we were going to sell out. And this event is held at the end of May!”
Faced with sustained interest in exhibit space, Ms. Klobucar decided to ask the Québec City Convention Centre for more space—twice. “It was unbelievable. I added 27 more booths, which were then sold out by February. I asked the Convention Centre for even more space to accommodate 16 more booths. Quite frankly, I could have probably asked for more! And we even have a wait list…”
In total, Ms. Klobucar asked for an additional 25,000 square feet, which means FCM’s annual conference will take up the Québec City Convention Centre’s entire 75,000 square feet exhibition hall.
“Due to the fact we are a pan-Canadian organization, we alternate between cities and provinces in order to ensure that all regions are represented. However, from the sheer magnitude of our conference, we needed the right facilities, infrastructure, accommodations and dining options to welcome so many attendees. Québec City fit the bill.”
“Québec City is such an exciting destination. All of our exhibitors and delegates were excited that everything s within walking distance. Québec City has so much to offer to wow attendees and meeting planners alike. Canada as a whole has many great destinations for events, including Québec City, with its unique European flair.
“No one should underestimate the value of picking the right destination. The destination matters to all stakeholders in the event value chain. We are thrilled that we picked Québec City this year.”
