£1m boost for York as it secures Lib Dem Conference for third year
MAKE IT YORK has announce that the city will host the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in 2017 for the third successive year.
The three-day event will run from the 17– 19 March. York Barbican Centre will be the main conference venue and Novotel York will welcome leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron, and be home to the party conference HQ.
A programme of fringe events is also planned to take place in various venues across the city.
The conference is expected to bring over 1,400 delegates to the city over the three days and Make It York estimates the economic value to the city will be in the region of £1m.
Tim Farron MP said: “York is an extremely special place and has always provided us with a fantastic welcome. I’m delighted that we are able to return to the city again and we look forward to welcoming our members from right across the UK. The VisitYork4Meetings team at Make It York has provided us with great support and we look forward to bringing our Spring Conference to York again. ”
Cllr Keith Aspden, Liberal Democrat deputy leader of City of York Council, added: “York continues to be a popular destination for conferences and events of all sizes. The city’s appeal is evident with the sheer number of returning visits, so the very fact that the Liberal Democrats have chosen York for the third time is a fantastic endorsement for all that York has to offer business visitors.”
With over 16,000 meetings, conferences and events taking place in York every year, business tourism generated £140.7m in income for the city in 2014 which represented 25% of total visitor spend.
Andrew Sharp, head of business, Make It York, said: “Winning the bid to bring the Liberal Democrat Conference to York is a real feather in the cap for York. York has an international reputation as a world-class leisure destination and now we are starting to see the city gain in stature as a brilliant place for business visits and conferences. Recent openings such as Stay City adjacent to York Barbican mean that York can now attract bigger and higher profile conferences and events.”
