Building the Acropolis

Speaking to the press yesterday, Rudy Salles, mayoral representative for tourism, emphasised the necessity to renovate most of the building. A large part of this renovation will focus on the interiors of the vast complex, where little has changed since its construction in 1985.

Indeed Mr. Salles, along with Dimitri Triadafillidis, executive director of the Palais Acropolis, plan to have every minute detail of the building brought to today’s aesthetic standard. The renovations are expected to cost 27 million euros and will include erecting a new facade for the Palais des Expositions-Acropolis next door.

Last year, the Palais des Congrès-Acropolis staged numerous shows and hosted 38 conventions attracting some 750 thousand visitors to the Nice area. Conventions and corporate tourism generally is a substantial economic force for many businesses in Nice, as the average conventionner is said to spend between 220 and 300 euros daily, almost three times the average tourist. Representatives of commerce and tourism have thus been cooperating to maintain this influx of international conventionners.

“Securing these conventions has become an increasingly difficult challenge in these times of recession”, says Triadafillidis, “but the upcoming renovations will keep Nice in the race to host them.” While other European convention hotspots like Barcelona and Brussells have seen profits dwindle by 40 per cent coming into 2010, Triadafillidis says profits of the Acropolis only lessened by 10 per cent and even saw a 15 per cent rise in visitors.

The renovations are to be conducted in different phases to avoid any disruption to the coming years' scheduled conventions and shows.

JP