CONSISTENTLY high occupancy at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) has contributed to its 5th year of operation being particularly profitable, says md, Dirk Elzinga. For the year ending June, revenues rose by 28,5% from R100m to R129m and its contribution to holding company Convenco increased by 37% from R30,3m to R41,5m. Total occupancy of large exhibition halls rose by 12% on last year to 59%, despite the exhibition space having been increased at the beginning of the year. The ballroom reached 63% occupancy and the main auditorium  48%. Venue rentals and food & beverage services were the most significant contributors to the year’s total revenue with the former up 26,2% and the latter by 32,8%. During the period, CTICC catered for 325 banquets and hosted almost 550 000 delegates. Space constraints and large conventions held during the year resulted in the total number of events stabilising at about 500 after four years of year-on-year growth. Elzinga says the record occupancy of CTICC’s large venues puts enormous pressure on its resources. “This makes any further future growth increasingly difficult to achieve,” he says. “We are, however, fortunate that the Board of Convenco is making very good progress in securing the Customs House site for the expansion of the CTICC. We are all hopeful that the project will soon get the final green light.”