Bumper month for business tourism activity

12th November 2019

Categories: Latest News

October proved to be a particularly busy month of activity for Manchester Convention Bureau.

Attending the UK Sport Event Partners Day on 17 October, Stephanie, our Head of Business Tourism, had the opportunity promote Manchester in collaboration with Manchester Active and Manchester City Council to national Sports Governing Bodies who are looking to bring sporting events to UK destinations. Coinciding with this event was the fantastic news that Manchester will host the 2020 World Para Powerlifting World Cup in February, which is one of the final qualification events for athletes aspiring to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Next up, Stephanie, Nick Shepherd and Laura Mason hosted a familarisation trip in partnership with Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines, showcasing the destination to six conference organisers from Travel and Transport – a global company that provides conference solutions to small and very large numbers – over two days.
 

Immediately after this Ant, Senior International Sales Manager attended the 58th ICCA Congress in Houston. ICCA is the International Congress and Convention Association – the global community and knowledge hub for the international meetings industry. Over the three days, the conference offered exceptional networking opportunities with senior level association CEOs and directors as well as high-level education and knowledge opportunities focused on the international meetings
industry.

Rounding off the month, Stephanie and Laura Mason assisted our communications team to host three conference-focused media outlets on a dedicated media visit to showcase the destination. Outlets included Convene (US), HQ (Europe) and Conference News (UK), and the trip also included a representative from VisitBritain.

October conferences and events in Greater Manchester

Manchester welcomed delegates from around the world to attend the prestigious IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference  from 26^th October – 2^nd November. Hosted at Manchester Central, the event generated approximately £5 million to the regional economy. The IEEE NSS-MIC is the leading annual international meeting for all scientists, engineers, researchers, medical physicists and students with an interest in radiation detectors, related technologies and their applications. Taking place over eight days, the programme included some outstanding plenary speaker sessions, a range of educational courses and specialist workshops on hot topics. A large industrial exhibition provided an opportunity to visit the major suppliers of radiation instrumentation and related products all under one roof.

Healthcare Estates' is a unique two-day event that consists of the IHEEM Annual Conference, the UK’s largest trade Exhibition for the sector and the Healthcare Estates IHEEM Awards Dinner. Healthcare Estates returned to Manchester Central, with an expected 240+ exhibitors and over 4,500 attendees. This year the event focused on keynote presentations exploring the themes Fund, Design, Build, Manage and Maintain . Healthcare Estates is planned to be back at Manchester Central in October 2020.

Attracting 1,500 top industry professionals and with over 80 exhibition stands, the PLSA Annual Conference also took place at Manchester Central from 8^th to 9^th October and is marketed as the most important national annual event for anyone involved in pensions from trustees, pension managers and finance directors who control assets worth billions of pounds to HR specialists responsible for workforces of thousands of people.

Showcasing both established and up-and-coming artists, the English Folk Expo (EFEx) took places in live music and cultural venues across the city for four days add dates. EFEx is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation which supports the English folk, roots and acoustic music industry through showcasing, audience development, artist mentoring, industry training, international collaborations and sector advocacy.

And finally, returning to the region again, EventCity hosted The Muslim Lifestyle Expo - the world's leading Muslim lifestyle event – from 26^th to 27^th October. The Expo hosts over 150 exhibitors to showcase the best of the thriving global 'halal' and Islamic lifestyle sectors and provides businesses with new opportunities to penetrate a burgeoning global consumer market.