Birmingham showcases conference facilities at national event

BIRMINGHAM is to showcase its conference and tourism offering at a major exhibition in London.

The city and its stakeholders will be highlighting its impressive facilities at The Meetings Show, which takes place at Olympia between July 7 and 9.
 
Meet Birmingham, the city’s official business tourism programme, has joined forces with partners the ICC, NEC, the Vox and Town Hall Symphony Hall for the event, which last year generated £3.5m of leads for the city.

They will be highlighting the significant improvements that are taking place within the city such as the opening of the new Grand Central shopping and leisure centre, with its John Lewis anchor, and further afield, the £150m Resorts World Birmingham complex at the NEC.

Not that the city needs a great deal of help. Its facilities speak for themselves and have been instrumental in Birmingham being named the Most Popular Conference & Events Destination outside London for the sixth consecutive year (British Meetings & Events Industry Survey 2014/15).
 
The city’s accommodation offering is also expanding as it is set to welcome nine new hotels in the next two years, including the 4* Park Regis, Resorts World Birmingham’s boutique hotel boasting 4* and 5* rooms, suites and spa, and the launch of the landmark Grand Hotel, currently undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment.

These will bring an additional 1,700 rooms to Birmingham’s booming hospitality sector by 2017, which has enjoyed record occupancy rates in recent months – reaching 85% in November 2014. Mid-week stays saw a marked increase of 3.7% year on year in the final quarter of 2014, as a result of the city’s busy events and conferencing schedule.
 
Further developments in the city’s offer include Symphony Hall’s innovative Next Stage development which allows it to transform its space through the creation of a floating floor over the stalls area. The Next Stage creates a banqueting area for over 600, offering world-class acoustics and an impressive events space.
 
Emma Gray, Director of Marketing & Communications at Meet Birmingham, said: “Birmingham is an established and natural home for meetings and conferences, and has a strong track record of attracting high profile repeat events, including the Conservative Party Conference. The city is continuing to invest to reinforce its position as one of the UK’s leading event hubs. Its new developments are central to Birmingham’s transformation, placing us on the international stage to compete for global events.”
 
James Elston, sales director for the ICC and the Vox – the new conference centre at the Resorts World development, added: “Our build is progressing smoothly in line with our autumn launch, and the impressive scale of the Vox’s offer is already clearly visible.

“With high profile events already booked in, including Tropic Skincare, Peugeot Retail Group and the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), we are looking forward to launching the venue – which will carefully complement and enhance Birmingham’s already exceptional conferencing credentials.”

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