5
Leeds
Vital statistics from
Leeds Bradford
CN asked Ben Gray, MD, of venue finder CYE Group, to share his data for
meetings and events business booked in Leeds and Bradford.
earch data from
chooseyourvenue.
com, our venue
finding portal, was
used to examine
search trends and events
business levels in Leeds and
Bradford. We found the area is
organising more events than in
2016 and performing better as
a desired destination.
Venue search data from 1
June–31 August 2016 was
compared to 1 June–31 August
2017 and we considered two
types of search. The first noted
people searching from within
Leeds and Bradford for any of
the 21,000 venues on our
database. The second recorded
searches for venues within
Leeds/Bradford from the rest
of the country. We found
venues in the area are receiving
many more enquiries and
organisations in the area are
searching for venues more
frequently than last year.
CYE data shows that searches
for venues conducted from
within Leeds rose by 36% and
searches for venues made from
within Bradford rose by 35%.
This suggests the region is
planning more events and
meetings. The rate at which
people are searching for
venues in Leeds rose by 16%
and searches for venues in
Bradford rose by 61%. Which
suggests the Bradford region is
doing especially well this year.
We also spoke to Leeds Trinity
University, which has a
promotional page on
chooseyourvenue.com, to
gauge its business trends over
the last year and discovered
the venue has seen increases
in business across the board.
Year to date figures for the
university’s conference, training
and event businesses, are up
30% across a mix that includes
all types of events and all event
durations.
Residential events are the
mainstay of Leeds Trinity’s
summer conference business
and during term-time the venue
has seen increases in the
number of half-day events and
evening events with a social
emphasis. Additionally, Leeds
Trinity has seen a step-change
in the demand for healthy food
this year.
The venue is still receiving
most of its business from
clients based in the UK,
especially from the north of
England and London, with
around 35% coming from the
Leeds/Bradford area. It does,
however, attract some
international business, mostly
from clients in France, Belgium
and Sweden.
www.conference-news.co.uk
Agency
angle
Sarah Middleton, senior
project manager, Ashfield
Meetings & Events,
describes Leeds as “a
stand out destination
option for Northern events
and conferencing”.
Transport is clearly a draw
card for her. “Leeds train
station is a great hub with
direct trains from London
Kings Cross and Edinburgh,
as well as excellent links to
Cardiff and other major
cities. Leeds Bradford
Airport also provides direct
European links.”
She adds that, in addition
to the mainstream hotels,
and a handful of boutique
ones, the city boasts some
great alternative spaces.
“Take your pick from the
historic Town Hall through
to the modern First Direct
Arena, with venues such as
Leeds Art Gallery and the
Royal Armouries in
between. The restaurant
and nightlife is also varied
with something to suit all
tastes and group sizes,
whether it be a dine around
or private dining. We have
held group dinners recently
in Italian restaurant Bibi’s
and the Thai Chaopraya,
both highly recommended,”
Middleton says. She adds
that, with the Pennines and
Dales on the doorstep,
there is great opportunity
for outdoor events. “There
is an abundance of country
retreat activates that could
be perfect for a C-Level or
Board meeting with a
difference.”