Toronto Convention Center, a Whole Other World at Your Doorstep

photo by meetingscanada.com

For many meeting planners, the question of how to attract delegates to your conferences is a never ending task. As part of that quest, planners will often consider international destinations (outside of the US) as a way of offering an exciting, different location. And let’s face it, if the location is attractive, then so is the conference. For many groups, because of their size, convention centers play a large role in their selection process.

The Toronto Convention Center Is Tier 1

Many planners are looking at Canada as an incentive, or a draw, for their groups. You see, Canada provides an opportunity to present your delegates with an international destination without having to incur long travel times to get there. As a matter of fact, Toronto is within a 90 min. or less flight for over 60% of North America’s population.

Toronto, Canada’s largest city, fits the bill for diversity. Toronto is also the fourth largest city in North America. The Metro Toronto Convention Center (or Centre as it is spelled in Canada) is a world-class, tier 1 convention center.

The Toronto Convention Center-Some Key Stats

The Toronto Convention Center is located in the heart of downtown Toronto and is within walking distance of over 10,000 hotel rooms. The convention center has over 600,000 ft.² of meeting and convention space, including 64 meeting rooms, a 1330 seat theater and two carpeted ballrooms.

Meeting planning tip – because the convention center is ideally located downtown, a planner is able to save a considerable amount on their transportation budget. Many delegates are able to walk from several brand-name hotels to the convention center. And much of the walk is protected from the weather.

The Toronto Convention Center Is Worth Considering

Toronto’s weather is very similar to that of Chicago, New York and much of New England. In other words it can be quite cold in the winter months. But, does that mean that the city shuts down during the colder months? Absolutely not. To combat the cooler climate, Toronto has over 17 miles of underground tunnels connecting most of the downtown core. Included in their underground pathway is access to over 7000 restaurants and shops.

Some additional facts about Toronto include:

Toronto was ranked one of the safest cities in North America

the city has over 7000 restaurants (many considered world-class)

the theater industry is second only to Broadway in North America