Liverpool has experienced a bumper year for international conferences, welcoming thousands of international delegates to events.
More than 13,000 global delegates have visited the city since October last year, attending 22 events and generating £24m in economic impact to the city region.
ACC Liverpool is due to host Eurospine, a conference and exhibition attracting 3,500 delegates over four days later this month. In October the venue will host the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology, welcoming 3,300 delegates over three days.
Elsewhere in the city, meetings include the European Network for Translational Research in Ovarian Cancer held at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, the International Symposium on the Fundamentals of Computation Theory at the University of Liverpool and the Congress of the European Organisation for Caries Research held at the Hilton Liverpool hotel.
The news comes as Destination Liverpool – ACC Liverpool and Liverpool Convention Bureau (LCB), which is now part of Marketing Liverpool, prepares to exhibit at IMEX America at the Sands Expo from October 15 – 17.
Kerrin MacPhie, director of sales at ACC Liverpool, said: “While we are pleased to have welcomed thousands of international delegates to the city, this year we created an international sales team to help us to develop further in the international association and corporate markets. The team will focus on generating universal business to ACC Liverpool along with progressing and managing our destination bids for conferences and events.
“IMEX America will give us the opportunity to speak for the first time directly to an American audience about our unique Advantage by ACC Liverpool programme which provides bespoke support for worldwide conference and event organisers.”
Destination Liverpool will also provide the latest updates about the UK’s International Festival for Business 2014, a global showcase of great British industry comprising hundreds of world-class events and taking place in Liverpool and the city region over 50 days in June and July next year. It will attract 250,000 visitors from across the globe, and bring £100 million worth of investment into the UK economy.
Destination Liverpool will present at IMEX America on Tuesday October 15 at 3pm and Wednesday October 16 at 3.30pm on the VisitEngland stand. LCB will hold a prize draw for visitors to win a Liverpool Football Club shirt and goodie bag.
Kate Currie, interim convention bureau manager, said: “This year has been very successful for business tourism in Liverpool, with an ever increasing number of international visitors enjoying our famously friendly Liverpool welcome.
“Hosting the International Festival for Business in June and July 2014 on behalf of the UK underlines the confidence we and others have in our destination, and our achievements in attracting the biggest conferences and events. We are very much looking forward to showcasing Liverpool and our bureau services at IMEX America.”
Complementing VisitEngland’s royal heritage theme, ACC Liverpool will give away ‘Royal Liverpool Afternoon Tea’ tins to visitors to their stand. Outside of IMEX America, the venue, supported by LCB, will host an informal evening dinner for international buyers at the exclusive Wynn Las Vegas accompanied by a John Lennon tribute act to bring a ‘Mersey beat’ to Vegas. ACC Liverpool will also host a breakfast meeting in partnership with the Global Alliance of which the venue is a member.
Destination Liverpool will exhibit on VisitEngland’s Stand 2416 at IMEX America from 15 to 17 October at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Las Vegas.
