The conventions centre asset

The Palma Convention Centre is almost complete and should open by the end of this year. I know it sounds amazing but this building on Palma’s seafront, which has been dubbed The White Elephant or the Monument to the Days of Spend and Spend, will soon start to receive its first customers, who will attend the first convention, possibly in the New Year, at this state-of-the-art building. Recently, I was given a guided tour and I must say that I was impressed. The hotel, which is adjacent to the actual convention centre, is fantastic, and also it has been designed with skill to take advantage of the natural light. Now, I know that the project has cost in excess of 100 million euros but it will be a real asset to the city once it is open. Not only will it give this area of Palma a real lift it will also mean that the city can be a serious player in the highly lucrative convention market. And of course conventions take place all year around so it will also help with winter tourism. It is such a shame that this project has been tarnished with delays and reports of over-spending because it will make Palma a better place. It can accommodate up to 2,000 people in the congress part of the building which means that conventions from across the globe will be able to come to Palma. The city needs a convention centre and I sincerely hope that in years to come this project will prove successful and its poor reputation will be forgotten.