5
Leeds
CHS sticks
with Leeds
The Conference & Hospitality
Show will celebrate its 10th
anniversary in 2019. CEO Emma
Cartmell makes Leeds’ case
e’ve got big plans to
help us celebrate our
10th anniversary
and Leeds, First
Direct Arena and Leeds BID have
played a significant role in our
success and allowed us to grow year
on year.
Leeds gets it; it’s very switched on
to holding large-scale events. The
city works together as a collective to
make the organisation, planning and
logistics of a largescale event as
painless as possible. The city is
genuinely excited to host big events
and is proactive in making it an
attractive proposition for visitors,
exhibitors and buyers. What I can
achieve in an afternoon in Leeds,
would take weeks, if not months, in
another city.
Leeds, as a city, really understands
the concept of the greater good and
entertains a really positive
collaborative mindset. Different
organisations from across the city
will actively work together as a
collective, to promote region first,
then city, then personal venues last.
They are adept at this and
organisations such as LHVA allow
them to be informed and
knowledgeable about other venues
across the city. I’ve seen this in
action at CHS, where every member
of the team on their shared stand is
capable of sharing details of all of the
venues featured with delegates and
share information and contacts
whether it’s their own venue or not.
Conference Leeds, Leeds BID,
LHVA are all working together to
make Leeds a very attractive place
for organisers to hold events.
Actively removing barriers and doing
a lot of the heavy lifting makes this a
www.conference-news.co.uk
very attractive place, as well as the
connectivity, the sense of occasion
and welcome when you alight at
Leeds train stations, it’s all there in
one very neat package.
They don’t just talk about how we
can make this a successful event,
they talk about how we can make
this a great experience, end to end:
from booking, to arriving, to the event
itself, and the duration of your stay.
It’s a citywide effort, from hoteliers
providing favourable rates, to bars,
restaurants, and eateries, providing
discounts and special rates for
conference attendees, so that your
guests feel
appreciated,
and that’s what
visitors
remember and
take away with
them.