Belfast brimming with conference confidence

This year promises to be a bumper conference year for Belfast, according to Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau (BVCB).

The organisation, which is responsible for marketing the City as a business and leisure tourist destination, said Belfast is set to welcome 31 BVCB assisted national and international association conferences, bringing 21,000 delegates and a spend of £14 million to the local economy.

Recently, BVCB's fourth annual Belfast Destination Showcase staged at the Café Royal on Piccadilly in London welcomed more than 100 conference and event planners from leading associations and agencies in south east England, and set out to attract even more conferences to the Belfast.

The event was supported by 15 of Belfast’s key trade members and served to highlight to buyers what Belfast has to offer as a unique, top quality conference destination.

Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of BVCB believes this is an extremely important event in the BVCB’s calendar. He said: “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.

This year will be the City's busiest yet, but we want to ensure this success continues. Showcase events like these allow us to bring Belfast to key individuals in the conference and events market."

Almost £500 million has gone into the city’s tourism infrastructure over the past four years. Belfast still has Ireland’s only purpose-built conference centre - the Belfast Waterfront Hall, and a whole range of first class hotels and state of the art University facilities.

Forthcoming key events booked for Belfast include the European Society for Cystic Fibrosis Congress (1,200 delegates) in 2003, the Association of Commonwealth Universities Conference (600 delegates) and the British Orthodontic Society Conference (1,000 delegates) 2006.

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

(MB)