Meet Birmingham, which promotes the city’s convention bureau, enjoyed a successful International Confex 2011 at Earls Court in London this month, with specific sales leads up 100% in comparison to the 2010 event.
Meet Birmingham, which had more commercial partners than ever supporting its Confex attendance in 2011, also experienced a rise of 21% in visitors to the stand, providing the team with an opportunity to capitalise on the heightened interest in the UK from organisers in the lead-up to the Olympics and the Royal wedding.
Ian Taylor, Commercial Director of Marketing Birmingham, which managed the exhibition presence, commented:
“There was a real interest in Birmingham from event organisers, who were attracted to the city’s good value for money offer and the quality and variety of our events venues. There seems to be a real buzz about the UK at the moment with major global events such as the Royal Wedding and the Olympics which are having a halo effect on the UK as a whole, not just the capital.
“We were impressed not only by the quantity of enquiries at our Confex stand, but also the genuine calibre of our leads. Birmingham is continuing its push to remain at the forefront of the conference and events world and the recent industry survey ranking us as the best UK regional city reflected the overall interest in our stand.”
The convention bureau also hosted delegates from Discovery 2011, the international meetings and incentive event which partnered with International Confex, attracting a host of buyers from 30 countries.
Taylor said:
“Birmingham welcomed buyers from UAE, Hungary, Portugal and the Netherlands, who were intrigued by the city’s accommodation offer and the region’s flagship venues. We noticed a real desire from our guests to learn more about Birmingham and its events proposition.”
This year’s Confex also saw the official launch of Meet Birmingham’s 2011 Conference Guide at the stand. Partners that took part in the Birmingham presence were: Chiltern Railways, Conference Aston, Think Business, q-basemedia, Radisson Blu, University of Birmingham and Shaker UK.
