What are the events that will help us in furthering our sector and our positioning in that sector ? The advisory panels have already generated £ 18m of potential conference impact when it was launched nine months ago . We honestly believe this is a unique tool for targeting conferences that will not just have an economic impact but have a legacy .
In addition to that , we ’ ve got one of the most generous conference support schemes in UK and Ireland , anything from £ 5,000 up to £ 100,000 . And that ’ s thanks to investment from Belfast City Council and Tourism Northern Ireland .
We ’ ve gone further still and have appointed a sustainability and impact manager to help conferences identify projects that when they come to Belfast , how their delegates can contribute positively towards . So not only will they have had a good conference , but will have left behind a positive legacy . It has proven to be a very powerful criteria and attraction to conference organisers for us .
We already have forward bookings worth £ 80m . So , we ’ re not coming off a small base , but with this injection , and with this tweaking of our mindset , we ’ re not just chasing economics anymore . Our view is that the economics are a byproduct of chasing the right conferences , for Belfast and for Northern Ireland .
MF : Tell us more about the sustainability and impact manager role and how you are shaping your sustainability agenda ? GL : This is hugely important to us : the power of events , not just business events , but the power of events generally . For us as a city , creating civic pride , creating international experiences , and economic impact is vital . We ’ ve seen the power of tourism .
Over the last 20 years , the economic , social and cultural face of Belfast has transformed the city into the international destination it is today . This re-imagining has been attributable in large measure to our dynamic tourism and events industry .
What we ’ re doing now is we ’ re tapping into that concept through business events with a view that it ’ s not just about the economy . Our ambition is that every conference that comes here will have a legacy plan . That ’ s what our impact manager is doing .
We ’ ve joined the GDS Global Sustainability Index , where Belfast is in the top 20 , along with Glasgow , having risen from second to last previously . We want 90 % of our hotel rooms to be independently green certified . The council has invested in this new green certification scheme , and while it ’ s a challenging process to undergo , it ’ s vital for our wider aspirations .
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