Ambassadors draw in conferences to the city

A scheme by the council's tourism arm VisitBrighton to bring more big events into the city has had an economic impact of £9 million over the last decade, the council said.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Nov 2017, 10:34 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 05:16 BST
Lynn Trapano, VisitBrightonLynn Trapano, VisitBrighton
Lynn Trapano, VisitBrighton

The ambassador scheme works with the city’s conference venues, universities and accommodation providers to bring more big events into Brighton and Hove.

Conference business in Brighton and Hove alone is worth an estimated £100m a year and is a substantial source of income for hotels and restaurants year-round.

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Research has shown that over 75 per cent of international conferences are brought to a city as a direct result of the role played by a key local contact or ‘ambassador’, which is why the scheme was launched.

Since its inception in 2006, the scheme has secured 28 events for the city.

Lynn Trapano, who manages the scheme, said: “As a conference destination Brighton and Hove is a popular choice. There are excellent links to London and Gatwick, a huge array of attractions, restaurants and shopping, plus our seaside location.

"The city has a portfolio of versatile venues from small meeting rooms in boutique hotels to grand historic rooms at the Royal Pavilion, right through to the Brighton Centre – which is the largest purpose built events venue on the south coast.

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"The aim is to tap into the wealth of expertise and enthusiasm among local professionals and decision makers and encourage them to think of venues in Brighton and Hove when planning their own meetings and conferences, plus spread the word to colleagues at networking events.”

She named the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading’s annual conference as an example, which bring around 500 delegates to the city next July, after Professor Robert Savage from University College London advocated the city as an ideally-located destination for the three-day event.

Other recent wins secured through ambassadors include the 11th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science that took place in May, bringing over 100 delegates to the city for three days, and the ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces Conference for 150 delegates that took place at the Jurys Inn Waterfront last month.

If you would like to become a conference ambassador, call Lynn Trapano on 01273 292635, or visit: www.visitbrighton.com/ambassadors

Related topics:BrightonHoveLondon