Belfast conference showcase held in London's Café Royal

More than 100 conference and event planners have attended a showcase event designed to attract more business to Belfast staged in the heart of London's business quarter.

The event organised by the Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau (BVCB) took place at the Café Royal on Regent Street where BVCB staff and trade members highlighted to event planners what Belfast has to offer as a top quality conference destination.

Representatives of many of Belfast's leading venues, including the Belfast Waterfront Hall, the Odyssey, the Hastings Hotel Group and Queen’s University, attended the annual function which is now in its third year.

Director of Convention Bureau Kate Tunney said the event was fast becoming an extremely important one in the BVCB’s calendar.

“The conference market is our biggest growth area so it is vitally important that we pull out all the stops to attract more conferences to the city.

“Our figures show that approximately 41 per cent of visitors to the city are here on business but crucially, visitors in the conference market spend on average three times more than leisure visitors, with an average spend of £177 per day and £629 per trip - representing very lucrative business for the city."

Gerry Lennon, BVCB Chief Executive said the showcase event had generated a lot of substantial interest and boosted Belfast's image as a major league conference destination.

“We already have many conferences booked between now and 2006, attracting approximately some 23,000 delegates and generating expenditure in the region of £14 million. We are also bidding at the moment for conferences as far ahead as the year 2012," he said.

The BVCB is funded by Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and sponsored by Guinness NI.

(AMcE)