GLASGOW has broken a record for business tourism, boosting the local economy by £25.5 million.
More than 22,000 conference delegates came to the city in May, making it the busiest may on record for business tourism.
Conferences in May started with the arrival of 7000 attendees at the All Energy Conference and Exhibition, followed by two major medical meetings held at the SEC, attracting a combined total of more than 8000 delegates. Other venues across the city were also busy with conferences; Strathclyde University’s Technology and Innovation Centre welcomed 1000 delegates to the Annual Conference of the European Marketing Academy.
David McDonald, depute leader of Glasgow City Council and chair of Glasgow Life, said, “Glasgow is one of Europe’s most vibrant destinations for leisure and business tourists alike. Not only is Glasgow Scotland’s cultural powerhouse, one of the world’s top five sporting cities and home to one of the busiest entertainment arenas in the world, it is also recognised as one of the world’s leading conference cities with business tourism featuring as a key pillar within the city’s Tourism and Visitor Plan to 2023.
“Glasgow’s reputation for innovation, the strength of our knowledge hub economy and the strong partnerships which exist between businesses and academic institutions set us apart from other potential host cities. This enables us to successfully bid to secure prestigious meetings to our city.”
Following on from new developments including the opening of the Clydeside Distillery, the first whisky distillery to be built in Glasgow in more than a century, and the launch of the first new-build Radisson RED hotel in Europe – the Scottish Event Campus is also celebrating its most successful May yet.
Kathleen Warden, director of conference sales at the Scottish Event Campus, said, “The Scottish Event Campus has successfully delivered major conferences in the past month, including the World Federation of Hemophilia and the European Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy Congress, and has accounted for 76% of all delegates in the city in May. These conferences take many years to secure, often against tough international competition, so we feel immensely proud to take these events from bid to delivery. Not only do these events demonstrate the value of the venue in delivering economic impact for the city, they help to internationalise the city’s reputation, and the SEC is proud to work with the many stakeholders involved in bringing these events to Glasgow.”
Designed to accelerate the way in which researchers in academia and industry collaborate and innovate together, Strathclyde University’s Technology and Innovation Centre opened for business in March 2015 and is also celebrating its busiest May yet. Last month it hosted 68 events and welcomed a total of 3624 delegates – a 55% increase on May last year and a massive 277% increase on May 2016.
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