SIGGRAPH Coming To Vancouver BC 2011

A JOINT NEWS RELEASE FROM TOURISM VANCOUVER
AND THE VANCOUVER CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE

Vancouver, BC: In August 2011, Vancouver will see an influx of computer graphics professionals, visiting the city to attend SIGGRAPH, the annual conference of the Association of Computer Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. Tourism Vancouver and the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre recently won the bid to bring the convention to the city over competition from San Francisco and San Diego.

SIGGRAPH is expected to attract over 25,000 delegates, with direct visitor spending of over $8.6 million. The convention will utilize the expanded facilities of the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre(VCEC). The organizers awarded the bid to Vancouver as they felt that it would both boost international attendance as well as attract a large number of local delegates drawn from the city’s strong computer graphics industry.

“This win is a major achievement for Vancouver,” said Tourism Vancouver chair Smith Munro. “Not only does the initial conference represent significant economic benefits for the city, it also gives us the opportunity to win a place in this association’s regular rotation of conference cities, looking well beyond 2011.”

“SIGGRAPH’s decision to select Vancouver for this important conference further demonstrates the business case for an expanded VCEC,” said David Podmore, chair of the VCEC. “We could not have accommodated this large group without the current expansion project.”

Stan Hagen, British Columbia’s Minister of Tourism, Sport & the Arts added, “When we welcome SIGGRAPH delegates to the province in 2011, we will not only be able to showcase our expanded convention facilities, but also the work of BC’s computer graphics industry. Bringing business such as this to our province represents an important contribution to our economy.”

Tourism Vancouver, along with partners such as the VCEC and the hotel community, spearheads the Be A Host program which encourages local British Columbians to work with the tourism industry to bring their colleagues to Vancouver for a national or international conference. For more information on the Be A Host program, please visit www.tourismvancouver.com/beahost.