The Victoria Conference Centre (VCC) is beginning 2025 with a near-record number of city-wide conferences booked for the year, following strong performance in 2024.
In 2024, the VCC hosted 147 events, including 65 large-scale conferences, of which 20 were city-wide conferences. According to Business Events Victoria, the division of Destination Greater Victoria on contract to manage the sales and marketing of the VCC, the venue helped generate:
• 94,200 delegate days – an increase of 12% over 2023.
• 25,300 room nights – up 10% from the year prior.
• $31.1 million in business sales, while supporting more than 10,000 jobs.
“The accomplishments in 2024 are more than numbers, they represent a thriving network of influence that benefits small and medium-sized businesses across Greater Victoria,” said Destination Greater Victoria’s CEO, Paul Nursey. “Meetings and conferences serve as a vital economic engine, driving vibrancy within our community.”
The upcoming year looks promising with more than 100 events of all sizes already scheduled, and more expected. Notably, 30 city-wide conferences are booked for 2025, the most for any year since the pandemic, signaling this area of core business has now returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The economic impact of the 30 city-wide conferences secured so far is estimated at $37.5 million and expected to contribute almost $7 million in taxes, while directly or indirectly supporting 9,000 jobs. On average, each city-wide conference generates $1.25 million in business sales.
In 2024, the Victoria Conference Centre achieved several other notable milestones. The VCC became the second Biosphere-certified conference centre in North America and launched a 360-degree virtual tool showcasing the VCC’s many meeting, sustainability, and Indigenous features. The VCC also received the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification and released the VCC Sustainability Events Guide, collectively underscoring a strong commitment to sustainability and accessibility in event planning.
“The foundation of a strong visitor economy is its business events sector,” added Nursey. “Conference and meeting delegates tend to stay longer, spend more than leisure travellers, use more services, are more likely to extend their stay or return for leisure purposes. They generate valuable revenue during off-peak seasons. In addition, attendees book in advance, which adds certainty.”
