Pictured: Delegates celebrate the Discover 2011 weekend at Blists Hill Victorian Town

More than 150 of the most influential buyers in the events industry flocked to Telford for an action-packed VIP weekend.

The event was organised by Telford & Shropshire Conferences - the convention bureau managed by Telford and Wrekin Council - and Southwater Event Group, the owners of The International Centre, Telford, which is one of the leading conference and event venues in the country.

The key decision makers enjoyed exclusive experience tours and visited attractions, hotels and suppliers all over the local area as part of the Discover 2011 weekend.

Sarah Bird, business tourism manager for Telford & Shropshire Conferences, said the familiarisation tour had been such a success that organisers already had a waiting list for a similar gathering planned for next year.

"We have been absolutely delighted with the response we had from the cream of the UK's events sector buyers, and we believe their interest will prove invaluable in bringing new business to the area.

"This was an incredible opportunity for venues and companies in Telford and Shropshire to attract the attention of some of the most powerful people in the industry.

"Our guests are responsible for organising more than 10,000 events every year, and one in three have an annual budget of £1 million to spend on events, so to have these people on our doorstep was a real coup."

As well as visiting venues, attractions, hotels, event suppliers and enjoying the destination's hospitality, the highlight of the weekend was a black-tie gala dinner launch of the brand new Ludlow Suite at The International Centre.

The new suite is a 1300sq m events space with additional seminar rooms and a dedicated banqueting kitchen to serve the new facilities.

Southwater Event Group chief executive, Tom Gray, said: "We were very pleased to be able to unveil this impressive new suite to such a high profile audience, and to welcome such special guests to our gala launch dinner. The VIP weekend has been a great success and we're very proud to have worked so closely with Telford & Shropshire Conferences to achieve such an excellent result."

The aim of Discover 2011 was to show buyers why they should bring their events to the area and unveil Telford and Shropshire as the UK's newest convention capital.

It celebrated the major investment the destination has seen in the last ten years, and promoted the ongoing developments that will take the area to the next level, including the Southwater development programme to create a new convention quarter in the heart of the town.