A NEW BEGINNING
Cameron Roberts talks to Danielle Bounds of ICC Wales to uncover how the venue is impacting its local area and redefining itself to the industry
n an industry that prides itself on the depth of its value chain , venues can often be the locus for economic progress in local areas . By bringing events to a city , businesses in the area see a boost in visitors and a more varied customer base .
The ICC Wales opened in 2019 . Based in Newport , the venue aimed to bring the community from the surrounding area onboard into creating a valuable experience for visitors . It also drew on thought-leadership from within the industry to create a ‘ future-proof ’ venue .
Danielle Bounds , sales director , ICC Wales spoke about the venue ’ s turbulent start to life and how it is helping the local area by bringing innovative events to Wales .
Opening up As a relatively new venue , ICC
Wales Wales has yet to carve out a core list of staple events , combined with the pandemic impacting the first 18 months of its existence makes for a turbulent start for life . Bounds said : “ We opened in September 2019 , but unfortunately then closed in March 2020 , so we didn ’ t really get a huge run establishing what our kind of core business was . But looking at the calendar moving forward , we ’ ve got a wide variety of events including national and international associations , we ’ ve got corporate conferences , awards , dinners , sporting events , concerts , there ’ s a real varied mix .”
With new events on the horizon , there are new client demands and requirements . Bounds details how the venue “ must now provide a much longer timeline for non-contract returns ,” and that “ there are a lot more processes
and points to move before we even get that contract back and a huge amount of T & C amends .”
Opening a venue on the eve of the pandemic may not have been the ideal situation , but ICC Wales is launching a campaign set to reintroduce the venue to the conference industry . The campaign , dubbed ReImagine , ReEngage , ReConnect , aims to engage the industry and bring people to Newport .
“ We wanted to create a campaign that gave us the opportunity to breathe new life into conference meetings and events . ICC Wales was only open for six months before Covid-19 , www . conference-news . co . uk