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21/06/2011

Leading London conference venues, The Westminster Collection and Unique Venues of London, partner once again and prove business tourism is a lucrative space not to be ignored.

The Westminster Collection and Unique Venues of London have worked together since 2008 to survey their London venues for real time business tourism figures.  2010-2011’s findings are much improved upon previous years and highlight just how business tourism can deliver lucrative results for our capital city and it is vital that London is heavily promoted by government bodies as the leading destination for business travel, conferences and events.  The combined turnover for these venues was measured as £161 million.

46% of the conference and event venues surveyed report a revenue increase from previous years, some by as much as 70%.  This is despite an obvious reduction in bookings taken from the public sector.  The corporate sector shone on the other hand with a 78% vote as the most profitable market for business tourism and the survey goes onto forecast corporate bookings as the strongest performer for 2011-2012.

What is even more encouraging is the majority of advanced bookings year-on-year for The Westminster Collection and Unique Venues of London rose by as much as 30%. 

René Dee, chief executive of The Westminster Collection comments: “Since the London business tourism initiative was establish in 2008 our city experienced an economic meltdown.  Despite this formidable setback, London conference and event venues at The Westminster Collection and Unique Venues of London have not only survived but actually grown in the most adverse circumstances.  Our positive findings prove London’s business tourism space is one of great value for our capital city and not to be ignored.  We run conferences and events in state of the art facilities in a world class city; the business tourism approach should be invested in and pushed forward by bodies such as London and Partners, Westminster City Council, The Mayor's Office and the London business tourism group to champion London as the world’s leading business destination.”

Lisa Hatswell, Chairman of UVL and Sales and Corporate Events Manager of EDF Energy London Eye comments:

 

“It is encouraging to hear such positive results from this year’s survey, particularly when we are operating in such a varying climate. At the height of the downturn, there was a significant drop in corporate business, and seeing it return and also climb to such a degree is fantastic news for the industry. With all eyes on the capital, ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, it really will be an important year for the events industry, and one in which both organisations are perfectly placed to demonstrate how valuable conferences, meetings and events are to the UK’s economy.”

 

For further information on The Westminster Collection, please visit www.thewestminstercollection.co.uk or contact René Dee on 07541 314855.

Follow The Westminster Collection on twitter: @London_Venues

Read The Westminster Collection's Blog: http://londoneventsplanner.com/

 

For further information on Unique Venues of London, please visit www.uniquevenuesoflondon.co.uk or for more information please contact Jess Walker at Davies Tanner. Jess.walker@daviestanner.co.uk or 01892 619100

 

-Ends-

 

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