The Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) is seeing record levels of new business interest as it deals with pent-up demand after sustaining a cumulative €35.4 million Covid revenue hit across 2020 and 2021.
To date this year, the CCD has hosted 87 events, with a total of almost 75,000 attendees.
The facility reopened for business in September of last year after being unable to stage conferences for the prior 18 months.
Stephen Meehan, CCD chief executive, said the centre has enquiries coming in for every year up to 2030.
“There has been much debate about the impact of virtual meetings and hybrid events during the pandemic, and whether that would have a long-term impact on the conference business,” he said. “However, from the level of interest and enquiries that we are currently experiencing, it is clear that conferences are back. People want to interact in person, rather than over Teams or Zoom calls or on webinars. There’s no substitute for the experience of an in-person event, where meaningful connections are made.”
This year, there has been a strong return for association conferences and events.
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Mr Meehan was commenting on new accounts showing CCD continued to suffer a pandemic hit last year.
The new accounts show that the CCD’s operational revenues last year totalled €1.7 million. This was down 91 per cent, or €18.2 million, on pre-pandemic operational revenues of €19.9 million. In 2020, the company suffered an operational revenue reduction of €17.2 million.
New accounts for CCD operator Spencer Dock Convention Centre Dublin (SDCCD) DAC show that overall revenues fell by 9 per cent from €10.6 million to €9.65 million last year.
The revenue drop from overall pre-Covid revenues of €28 million in 2019 was cushioned somewhat by income to SDCCD DAC from the owner of the centre, the Office of Public Works (OPW), sticking at €7.94 million.
The Convention Centre last year recorded an operating loss of €3.24 million after the revenue drop. However, net interest receivable of €10.09 million resulted in a pretax profit of €6.86 million.
The company last year paid a dividend of €8.5 million to its owner, the State-backed Irish Infrastructure Fund.
