City Eyes London Events Displaced By Olympics

THERE'S plenty of talk about 'legacy' around the London 2012 Olympics.

How much will be seen by cities outside the capital is questionable, but Manchester is going after business events and conferences that may find themselves pushed out of a usual London spot this summer.

"There is an extra incentive to push the city forward due to the Olympics in London, which will hinder the capital’s ability to host regular business tourism."

Visit Manchester and a contingent of the city’s business tourism big hitters will target event organisers in the South East at an event taking place in March.

They think the lack of venue and accommodation availability during the London Olympics may be a concern for organisers and may convince them to decamp to Manchester.

Firms including Manchester Central, the Hilton Manchester Deansgate, De Vere Venues Whites, The Palace Hotel, the Radisson Edwardian Manchester Hotel, Salford City Stadium and the Manchester Conference Centre and Hotel will represent the city at International Confex to promote Manchester as 'an alternative to an overcrowded London'.

They also claim Manchester offers 'a sense of Olympic fever' thanks to the football fixtures and a basketball warm-up game the 2012 Olympic organisers have granted the city.

Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, said: “International Confex is an important fixture in the business tourism calendar and we are thrilled to be returning again this year to showcase Manchester’s fantastic conferencing product.”

“Last year we took more than 350 event enquiries, and although that number may appear small, when you look at the value of a single conference or business event and what that brings to the local economy, we’re confident that attending International Confex is well worth the investment.

“The event will help Manchester build on it’s reputation for hosting business tourism events in a year where there is an extra incentive to push the city forward due to the impact of the Olympics in London, which will, without doubt, hinder the capital’s ability to host regular business tourism events this summer. 

“We look forward to welcoming delegates to our stand to discuss their conference needs and they can also pick up a copy of the new conferencing guide which Visit Manchester will launch during the event”.

International Confex takes place at ExCeL from 6 – 8 March 2012. For more information about Manchester’s presence, check out: www.visitmanchester.com/conference or follow @mcr_conf on Twitter.