30
Big Interview
Capital events
Tracy Halliwell MBE, director of tourism, major events and
conventions at London & Partners talks to Martin Fullard about identity
and the government’s change of tune
ell me about your
career journey?
Like most people when they
are young, I didn’t know
what I wanted to be when I grew up. I
ended up doing a degree in hotel
catering and management at
Bournemouth University because it
sounded like fun. This subsequently
led me into the hotel world, which
eventually saw me undertake a
graduate training scheme with Crest
Hotels. In that role I worked around
sales and marketing, but also on
functions like meetings and events.
I worked for a number of major
hotel companies in sales and
marketing positions, including three
years in the US with Meridian Hotels,
where I was vice president of sales
and marketing selling back into the
UK. I returned to the UK and
continued in hotels.
I had my first child late in life and
decided that, after 20 years, I no
longer wanted to work in the that
sector. It’s incredibly hard work
around the clock.
In 2006 I joined London &
Partners, which was VisitLondon at
the time. It was a new organisation
and had just given funding by the
mayor. We had to build the
convention bureau almost from
scratch.
Tell me about your role at London &
Partners, and how do you promote
the city as a business events
destination?
My job is to inspire. We want people
to think about London when they
are planning a meeting or event,
and to help them unlock this big city.
Owing to its size, it can be difficult to
manoeuvre, what with the all the
different boroughs and
organisations, 160,000 hotel
rooms, and some 3,000 venues. If
you are a meeting planner on the
other side of the world then it can
seem daunting.
We help organisers navigate the
obstacles, and on top of that can
help arrange things like speakers,
offer introductions to potential
sponsors, and can help to increase
delegate numbers.
Are there any big events which are
coming in 2020/21 that you’ve had
a hand in?
I think the biggest event is the
European Society of Cardiology in
2021. We hosted it before in 2015,
so I like to think we did a good job
because we have successfully won it
for a second time. It is Europe’s
biggest association event, and will
see roughly 35,000 delegates
hosted at ExCeL London.
www.conference-news.co.uk
How does London compare to its
rivals at the moment as an events
destination?
I think despite what is going on in
the world, London is, and always will
remain, one of the major global
destinations. Organisers bring
events to London because they
usually see a delegate uplift,
especially from those in more senior
positions. Part of that is down to
English, the language of business,
which means that people feel more
comfortable when holding an event
here.
We have one of the highest
proportions of European
headquarters in London, so if you
want to connect with companies, it
is the place.
There is a lot of anecdotal
evidence that London-based
businesses benefit from senior
personnel attended conferences in
the city.
Of course, we may no longer be
an EU member, but we are still in
Europe. We did not see a huge
downturn of business after the
referendum. Where perhaps the
European markets did dip, we have
more than made up for from
Chinese, Indian and American
markets.
The exchange rate reducing has