Meet in Nottingham, the official Convention Bureau for the region, are celebrating after a highly successful exhibition at VisitBritain’s prestigious MeetGB virtual event, at which they showcased the city to event organisers from North America in a bid to bring hundreds of thousands pounds worth of potential events and conferences business to the region. The team are now gearing up to the next event on Tuesday 23 June, where they will engage with European event organisers and show them the very best that Nottingham has to offer.

Meet in Nottingham arranged 20 appointments with North American event organisers, many of whom had never previously held any conferences in the UK. The team outlined the benefits of holding conferences in Nottingham, such as the history and legends for delegates to explore in their free time, the central location and the excellent transport links. The city’s mission to be the first carbon-neutral city in the UK was also of particular interest to international event planners. These conversations have created promising leads that could result in a series of large-scale events being held in Nottingham – including a 4-day medical conference for 1,000 delegates – which could bring an estimated £558,000 to the local economy through the booking of conference venues, accommodation and associated leisure and hospitality spending.

The virtual booth at the event

 

The MeetGB Virtual events are hosted by VisitBritain in partnership with MeetEngland, VisitScotland Business Events, Meet in Wales, Tourism Northern Ireland and London Convention Bureau, and provide an invaluable opportunity for international event organisers and agencies to discover the best of the UK’s business events. Attendees can explore and meet UK destinations and convention bureaus, industry suppliers, venues, hotels, agencies and destination management companies (DMCs). Not only does the event’s virtual new environment allow it to go ahead in a safe manner during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also caters to many different time zones, opening up exciting and lucrative possibilities for Nottingham in Europe, North America and beyond.

 

Robert Dixon, interim Chief Executive of Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said:

“Meet in Nottingham, which is part of Marketing Nottingham, are delighted to have exhibited at VisitBritain’s innovative online event. The first MeetGB Virtual event provided us with a fantastic platform to engage with the US market at a time when we’re unable to travel there in person, while Tuesday’s European event is likely to be even more promising thanks to East Midlands Airport offering direct flights from many European destinations and therefore easy access for European delegates.”

“We are proud to have showcased the very best of our city, positioning it as a key conference destination for international event organisers as well as growing our network and forging long-lasting relationships with like-minded event professionals. We’re confident that our presence at MeetGB will really pay off with a significant boost to our local economy later down the line through large-scale conference bookings and associated economic benefits.”

 

Kerrin MacPhie, Head of Business Events at VisitBritain, said:

“MeetGB Virtual has been designed to educate buyers on the UK’s outstanding business events offering. The virtual experience will provide event professionals with the opportunity to connect and forge relationships with UK suppliers, giving them the time to see for themselves  the high-calibre and world-class destinations, venues and incentive products available across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

“Nottingham has so much to offer events and we are delighted that through this digital platform, event professionals will be able learn more about this diverse and impressive city. Through MeetGB Virtual we want to support the industry, helping them plan for the future and welcome events back to the UK when the time is right.”