Birmingham has been selected as the top UK events destination outside London for the third year in a row, according to an in-depth study of the views of more than 600 British event organisers by The British Meetings & Events Industry Survey 2011/12 (BMEIS).

Nearly half of organisers, both in the corporate and association sectors, have used Birmingham as a destination for a conference, meeting or business event in the last twelve months, ahead of Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow. The survey also revealed that many organisations are favouring smaller, shorter and more regional events, with city centre hotels topping the preferred venue type, "value for money" influencing venue selection and social media playing a significant role in event organisation.

Ian Taylor, Commercial Director at Marketing Birmingham, the city's strategic marketing partnership which operates Birmingham's business tourism programme Meet Birmingham, said: 

"This year's survey findings confirm Birmingham as the UK's natural meeting place.

"Our enviable location at the heart of the country and the variety of our great value venues are frequently highlighted by our delegates as major draws. We are continuing to build on this growing reputation by hosting the Meet Birmingham Showcase event in November, bringing together leading organisations to highlight the city's key venues, hotels and event support suppliers."

Birmingham's leisure and business tourism offering is set to further improve in the coming twelve months with additions to the city's 28,600 bed spaces including the opening of Hotel La Tour, Hotel Indigo and Hampton by Hilton and a series of new developments in the offing, including Resorts World at the NEC and the New Street Gateway.

For more information about Meet Birmingham, please visit www.meetbirmingham.com