Pictured: Edgbaston Stadium
Almost 40 of the country's top event organisers will gather in
Birmingham this week to experience the cream of the city's venues,
accommodation, travel and event support services.
The inaugural Meet Birmingham Showcase, supported by Chiltern
Railways, stands to generate thousands of pounds of revenue for
some 30 of Birmingham's internationally-renowned conference and
events partners, following a series of meetings with top national
buyers from 10-11 November.
Meet Birmingham - the city's business tourism programme - is
also providing venue tours across the city to showcase an industry
that contributes more than £6 billion to the regional
economy, according to Visit England's Business Tourism
Strategy.
The event includes a day at Edgbaston Stadium, home of
Warwickshire County Cricket Club, where delegates will take part in
face-to-face meetings with a range of conference providers across
Birmingham. It will enable attendees to take part in more than 75
hours of pre-matched appointments under just one roof during one
day.
The event follows on from the success of the recent Liberal
Democrats Autumn Conference in Birmingham, the city's seventh
political conference in four years, and the prestigious Solar Power
UK, which took place in October.
Ian Taylor, Commercial Director at Marketing Birmingham, the
city's strategic marketing partnership that operates the Meet
Birmingham programme, commented:
"Birmingham has become a dynamic, global events destination,
with a venue for every occasion. The business events sector
represents a key part of the city's lifeblood and the first Meet
Birmingham Showcase will allow Birmingham and the wider region to
demonstrate its world-class convention facilities, vast choice of
hotel accommodation and impressive infrastructure to industry
leaders - all in the space of one day."
The Meet Birmingham Showcase will also invite event industry
leaders to sample Birmingham's changing landscape, with the city's
transport system boosted by Chiltern Railways' new Mainline
service.
The £250 million investment, which launched in September,
provides two trains between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor
Street per hour, with journey times lasting from just 90
minutes.
Thomas Ableman, Director at Chiltern Railways, said:
"The number one challenge facing the conference and events world
over the next decade is time and budgetary constraint. Using the
new Chiltern Mainline is a cost-effective way for delegates
travelling to events in the West Midlands from the capital, with
£25 return fares available at peak times. In addition,
they can make the most of the free WiFi on-board and tables at
almost every seat, offering productive work time on the move."
The Meet Birmingham Showcase is sponsored by Chiltern Railways,
with principal partners including The ICC, Conference Aston,
Edgbaston Stadium and Quadrant Media. Supporting partners include
Premier Inn, Town Hall Symphony Hall, venuebirmingham and The
Belfry.
For more information about Meet Birmingham, please
visit www.meetbirmingham.com