3
Leeds
Back in winning ways
After some faltering years, Leeds now has a conference bureau leading
from the front and chalking up some statistical successes,
as Jennifer Young, head of ConferenceLeeds, outlines
his year has been
extremely positive,
with the city going
from strength to
strength. Leeds has climbed
to fifth most popular
conferencing city in the UK
according to the 2016 British
Meetings and Events Industry
Survey (BMEIS).
The city hosted a record
number of international
association meetings,
according to the 2016
International Convention and
Congress Association (ICCA)
statistics report, with the city
moving up 149 places in the
rankings and into the top 10
cities in the UK.
Furthermore, data from the
recent STEAM survey, which
measures the economic
impact of the tourism
industry, noted Leeds
welcomed over 27m tourism
visits in 2016, a 4.2%
increase from 2015.
Leeds recently furthered its
world-class host ambition
through its bid to be European
Capital of Culture 2023.
ConferenceLeeds is the
official conference bureau for
the city and works to open the
city to event planners.
Leeds is just 175 miles from
London, 157 miles from
Edinburgh and extremely well
connected internationally, with
Leeds Bradford Airport and
Manchester Airport close by.
ConferenceLeeds is working
closer than ever with
ambassadors in key sectors
throughout the city such as
healthcare, financial services,
digital and manufacturing, to
attract national and
international conferences.
The city’s first direct arena,
one of the largest venues in
Leeds, now brings in one
million extra visitors annually.
And Trinity Leeds, which also
opened in 2013, is now home
to 120 shops, café bars and
restaurants, while the Victoria
Gate retail development
opened at the end of 2016.
The rich heritage and culture
that exists, and which
includes Opera North and
Northern Ballet, means world
class delegate experiences.
The city is also home to
museums and galleries such
as Harewood House and the
Henry Moore Institute.
Furthermore, the Royal
Armouries, which is one of
Leeds’ largest conference
venues, is home to one of the
world’s oldest museum
collections.
www.conference-news.co.uk
Recent
wins
The Royal College of
Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists (RCOG)
chose Leeds to host its
National Trainees
Conference for the first time
(16–17 November at the
Royal Armouries
International). It will bring
200 delegates to the city.
ConferenceLeeds
supported the RCOG
Yorkshire committee’s bid
to bring the conference to
the city, organising site
visits to find the right venue.
Across the city a total of
£100n has been invested
to make improvements to
many prestigious venues,
alongside a range of new
openings.
The investments include
the refurbishments of the
Crowne Plaza Hotel (£4m),
the rebrand of Bewleys
Hotel to the Clayton (£3m)
and the opening of Cloth
Hall Court - a new
refurbishment of a classic
historic building, housing a
standalone conference
centre. Cloth Hall Court has
already taken bookings for
key national conferences.
There is also a new ibis
Styles hotel, as well as the
Dakota Deluxe Leeds
boutique hotel, the first of
its kind in England.
Weetwood Hall recently
opened a new £2m
restaurant. And a franchise
agreement has been
signed for a new 200-bed
Hampton by Hilton in Leeds
city centre. Construction
work is expected to be
complete in late 2019.