Manchester eyes up conference business displaced by London Olympics

Visit Manchester and a contingent of the city’s business tourism big hitters will target event organisers in the South East – where the lack of venue and accommodation availability during the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games may be a concern - in their quest to secure future conference business for the city.

They will represent the city at International Confex (6 - 8 Mar) - the UK's leading business tourism event - to promote Manchester as an alternative to an overcrowded London which also offers a sense of Olympic fever with both the 2012 football fixtures and international events like GB v USA NBA Basketball at the MEN Arena being held in the city this summer.

Among those attending are: Manchester Central, the Hilton Manchester Deansgate, De Vere Venues Whites, The Palace Hotel, the Radisson Edwardian Manchester Hotel, Salford City Stadium and the Manchester Conference Centre and Hotel.

International Confex is considered a key driver of the city's lucrative business tourism industry, worth over £570 million a year to the local economy.

Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, said: "International Confex is an important fixture in the business tourism calendar and we are thrilled to be returning again this year to showcase Manchester's fantastic conferencing product."

"Last year we took over 350 event enquires, and although that number may appear small, when you look at the value of a single conference or business event and what that brings to the local economy, we're confident that attending International Confex is well worth the investment."

"The event will help Manchester build on it's excellent reputation for hosting business tourism events in a year where there is an extra incentive to push the city forward due to the impact of the Olympics in London, which will, without doubt, hinder the capital's ability to host regular business tourism events this summer."

"We look forward to welcoming delegates to our stand to discuss their conference needs and they can also pick up a copy of the new conferencing guide which Visit Manchester will launch during the event".

International Confex takes place at ExCeL from 6 - 8 March 2012. For more information about Manchester's presence, check out: www.visitmanchester.com/conference or follow @mcr_conf on Twitter.

ENDS