12
Scotland
“Profits
generated
from the
venues go
straight back
into the
University”
dinburgh’s academic
and business leaders
play a major role in
helping generate
£900m for the local economy
and the city’s Ambassador
Programme is celebrating its
20-year anniversary.
Over the two decades,
Convention Edinburgh, its
members and their local
experts have also brought
528,605 delegates to 1,348
events in the city.
An annual ambassadors’
awards dinner at the Edinburgh
International Conference
Centre (EICC) recently attracted
leading specialists from the
University of Edinburgh, the
Royal Hospital for Sick Children,
the Edinburgh Genome Foundry
and Informatics Ventures.
The Ambassador or the Year
Award recognised the work of
hepatobiliary and pancreatic
disease specialist, professor
James Garden who has brought
multiple conferences and
meetings to Edinburgh over the
years. The professor said the
500-member Ambassador
Programme was all about
making best use of the
network.
“When it comes to history,
Edinburgh First
Ambassadors and educators push the Scottish
capital forward for conferencing
innovation, architecture and culture, I cannot think of any
other city in the world that ticks all the boxes,” he added.
Marshall Dallas, chief executive, Edinburgh International
Conference Centre (EICC), told the awards dinner audience:
“Conferences leave behind a crucial legacy that stretches
far beyond financial benefits for the city or reputation
building. The Legacy Award winner, the Rehabilitation
International Congress, is the ideal example.”
He noted that ahead of the conference (in October), the
EICC and the Shaw Trust conducted and acted on a
comprehensive disability audit. “The results of which has
improved the venue’s accessibility for all our future visitors,”
said Dallas.
Edinburgh is ranked 35 in the ICCA world city rankings and
20th in Europe and the city holds more international
meetings than any other in the UK outside of London.
Over at Edinburgh First, the conference, events and
catering arm of the University of
Edinburgh, organisers have a
choice of 70 meeting rooms
across 17 educational venues.
They vary fom state-of-the-art
conference facilities at the John
McIntyre Conference Centre
(JMCC), to the scholarly
environs of the historic Playfair
Library.
The consortium includes
private dining rooms,
restaurants, bars and cafés.
Edinburgh First operates two
hotels, a bed and breakfast and
year-round self-catering
apartments, as well as offering
halls of residence during the
summer.
Profits generated from the
venues and accommodation go
straight back into the
University, notes marketing
manager Natasha Breen, who
describes Edinburgh as “a
fantastic location for both small
get-togethers and large-scale
conferencing events. While
attractions such as the castle
and Arthur’s Seat provide
conference organisers plenty of
reason to visit, it’s the variety of
event venues and
accommodation options that
keep companies coming back.”
Breen says there has been an
increase in events with a
budget of more than £10,000,
and a noticeable drop in
smaller meetings under the
value of £1,000. “This gives us
a greater scope to provide an
all-encompassing service for
larger, multi-day events,” she
says.
Edinburgh First offers
organisers a one-stop-shop
service to host, deliver and
manage events and delegates,
including providing online
delegate registration pages,
payment handling as well as
real-time reporting. CN
www.conference-news.co.uk
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