Member Article

NewcastleGateshead recognised as one of top Convention Bureaux

NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau secured the accolade of bronze at a prestigious industry awards ceremony last week (Friday 3 March).

The team, part of NewcastleGateshead Initiative, won bronze for ‘best UK Convention Bureau’ at the Meetings and Incentive Travel Industry Awards 2017, beating off strong competition from other top bureaux including Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Manchester. Gold went to Glasgow, who have held the position for the past eleven years, with London winning silver.

The NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau helps to attract and secure major national and international conferences and events for the region, working with a wide range of venues and partners. The convention bureau team acts as a central point of contact for all conference organisers, providing free, impartial advice and unrivalled local knowledge.

A key part of the overall visitor economy, the latest business tourism figures show that around 15,000 conferences and meetings are held in venues across NewcastleGateshead annually, attracting 940,000 delegates who spend £104 million during their visit.

Paul Szomoru, head of business tourism at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, said: “It is a huge honour to receive this prestigious award. These are the Oscars of the industry, and are voted for by our customers based on the service that they have received from us over the past year.

“This award is very much for the team and I am extremely proud to see them and their hard work recognised on a national level. Despite being a small team, we always go above and beyond for our clients, customers and partners, to give every delegate who visits NewcastleGateshead a fantastic experience and inspire them to return again and again.

“We would like to congratulate Glasgow for winning Gold for the eleventh year, and for setting such consistently high standards. We are proud to be recognised alongside such highly respected bureaux and would all like to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for us.”

Organised by Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) Magazine, the awards event took place at Battersea Evolution in London, bringing together over 1200 international industry leaders from the conference sector to reward service and product excellence. There were 19 awards in total, voted for by the readers of M&IT Magazine.

NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau promotes the area as a leading UK conference destination and has played an instrumental role in securing major events over the past decade. Its award winning Conference Ambassador Programme (CAP) works with academics and professionals to attract world-leading meetings in a range of fields including the British Academy of Management and 6th Annual Alliance of Healthy Aging.

The Convention Bureau is part of NewcastleGateshead Initiative, a public private partnership which is funded by Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council and around 170 private sector partners from across North East England. NewcastleGateshead Initiative markets NewcastleGateshead on a national and international stage; its mission is to inspire people to visit, and to live, learn, work and invest here. The focus of all activity is economic growth; the organisation works to change perceptions and create positive profile in order to attract visitors, major conferences and events, students, new investment and jobs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Becky Beaumont .