Kev
01-02-2008, 09:26 AM
Convention Centre shows pulling power
Jan 2 2008 (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/business/business-local/2008/01/02/) by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post
http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/liverpoolpost/jan2008/5/6/37A60B71-A5D4-7152-3D3187ABECB65B59.jpg
Arena Echo Arena
LIVERPOOL’S new waterfront convention centre is “robbing” events from rival Manchester “like crazy”, it has been claimed.
The BT Convention Centre, part of the £160m ACC Liverpool complex at Kings Waterfront, has already signed up to host more than 160 conventions and conferences.
The centre is expected to bring millions of pounds into the local economy as thousands of delegates and their families flock to Liverpool for events as diverse as the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference and the International Lung Cancer Conference.
It will not hold its first conference until May, but general manager Jacquie Rogers says that, even before its opening, the convention centre has proved it can win events ahead of long-established venues such as Manchester Central, formerly known as GMEX.
She said: “I think back to when I first took the job and I must have been mad.
“Europe’s largest arena is in Manchester, and its largest convention centre, but we’re robbing business off Manchester like crazy.” Liverpool’s BT Convention Centre is part of the complex that includes the Echo Arena, the concert venue that opens this month with the opening event for Capital of Culture year.
Ms Rogers said venues throughout the country were now seeing Liverpool’s convention centre as a potential threat to their business.
“Competition in the UK is stiff,” she said. “There’s a lot of convention centres out there and it’s getting much more of a buyer’s market.
“Initially, the attitude of other venues was ‘Liverpool? They’ve got to be joking’.
“But now, the sales teams of certain convention centres in the UK are flagging up every major event that comes to Liverpool.
“We’ve taken the Lib-Dem event from Harrogate. We’ve taken business from Manchester. We’ve picked up business from Blackpool.”
John Keenan, editor of trade magazine Meetings & Incentive Travel, said the UK convention market was expanding and Liverpool had proved a success with event organisers.
“The fact there is a demand for the new venue is reflected in the bookings they’ve secured before it even opens,” he said.
“It’s established itself very quickly. Anything that helps keeps the competition on its toes is a good thing.”
The Meetings Industry Association says Liverpool is already emerging as a “city of choice” among event organisers, even before the BT Convention Centre opens.
Its 2007 trends report, the UK Conference Market Survey, showed 11.4% of respondents had held an event in Liverpool in the past year, compared to only 5% in 2006.
Jan 2 2008 (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/business/business-local/2008/01/02/) by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post
http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/liverpoolpost/jan2008/5/6/37A60B71-A5D4-7152-3D3187ABECB65B59.jpg
Arena Echo Arena
LIVERPOOL’S new waterfront convention centre is “robbing” events from rival Manchester “like crazy”, it has been claimed.
The BT Convention Centre, part of the £160m ACC Liverpool complex at Kings Waterfront, has already signed up to host more than 160 conventions and conferences.
The centre is expected to bring millions of pounds into the local economy as thousands of delegates and their families flock to Liverpool for events as diverse as the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference and the International Lung Cancer Conference.
It will not hold its first conference until May, but general manager Jacquie Rogers says that, even before its opening, the convention centre has proved it can win events ahead of long-established venues such as Manchester Central, formerly known as GMEX.
She said: “I think back to when I first took the job and I must have been mad.
“Europe’s largest arena is in Manchester, and its largest convention centre, but we’re robbing business off Manchester like crazy.” Liverpool’s BT Convention Centre is part of the complex that includes the Echo Arena, the concert venue that opens this month with the opening event for Capital of Culture year.
Ms Rogers said venues throughout the country were now seeing Liverpool’s convention centre as a potential threat to their business.
“Competition in the UK is stiff,” she said. “There’s a lot of convention centres out there and it’s getting much more of a buyer’s market.
“Initially, the attitude of other venues was ‘Liverpool? They’ve got to be joking’.
“But now, the sales teams of certain convention centres in the UK are flagging up every major event that comes to Liverpool.
“We’ve taken the Lib-Dem event from Harrogate. We’ve taken business from Manchester. We’ve picked up business from Blackpool.”
John Keenan, editor of trade magazine Meetings & Incentive Travel, said the UK convention market was expanding and Liverpool had proved a success with event organisers.
“The fact there is a demand for the new venue is reflected in the bookings they’ve secured before it even opens,” he said.
“It’s established itself very quickly. Anything that helps keeps the competition on its toes is a good thing.”
The Meetings Industry Association says Liverpool is already emerging as a “city of choice” among event organisers, even before the BT Convention Centre opens.
Its 2007 trends report, the UK Conference Market Survey, showed 11.4% of respondents had held an event in Liverpool in the past year, compared to only 5% in 2006.