Amsterdam RAI, one of the largest exhibition and conference centers in the Netherlands hosting most of international trade fairs, exhibitions and congresses, won the Best International Venue award for the second time at the eighth annual Exhibition News Awards on Apr. 3 in London.
Acknowledged annually at the Exhibition News Awards are businesses that make superior contributions to the exhibition industry and are the essential event on the exhibition industry calendar.
Shortlisted in the ‘Best International Venue’ category, Amsterdam RAI faced strong competition from other nominees, including Cape Town International Convention Centre, ICS Stuttgart and Gallagher Convention Centre in South Africa.
“We were looking for ways in which the venue has worked with organizers to deliver outstanding results for internationally focused events and invested in improving its facilities. Amsterdam RAI was a clear winner in the Best International Venue category for its standout exhibition facilities and professional approach,” said the jury while announcing its decision.
An event organizer itself, Amsterdam RAI is also a convention center, facilitating public events with over 200,000 visitors, international exhibitions with 50,000 visitors and international congresses with 30,000 delegates, making RAI a versatile and flexible company ready to face every economic situation.
“We are proud to have won this award for the second time,” said Maurits van der Sluis, executive vice president, Amsterdam RAI. “It shows that our efforts are noticed and paying off. Our goal is to help (international) exhibition organizers make their event the biggest success possible and a great experience for exhibitors and visitors. Amsterdam RAI should always be a venue you look forward to returning to.”
September 2013 went down as a record month in the company’s history thanks to more than 100,000 international guests who visited Amsterdam RAI. Over 30,000 cardiologists, 20,000 oncologists and 50,000 television professionals from around the world came to RAI during the ESC Congress, ECC Congress and IBC trade show respectively to share knowledge, network and conduct business. In total, the RAI attracted more than 400,000 international visitors to Amsterdam in 2013, a growth of more than 30 percent over the past five years.
Exhibition News is one of the leading trade magazines for the exhibition, conference and events industry. The category ‘Best International Venue’ was open to all large international exhibition venues with 10,000 square meters or more floor space that attract major international events.
