Multi million pound impact of business tourism revealed

Tuesday, 31 December 2024 14:01

By Shelagh Parkinson

Blackpool’s Winter Gardens conference centre is bringing a multi million pound boost in business tourism to the town.

The latest figures reveal the economic impact of conferences held at the venue this year is around £2.9m, with the overall value rising to £14m for conferences already booked in up until 2027.

A report – which says it is a ‘snapshot’ of events booked at the Winter Gardens Conference and Exhibition Centre – says new and lapsed conferences are now returning to the resort.

Prestigious events include the annual conference of NARPO (National Association of Retired Police Officers) which draws in around 800 delegates, and the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches which bring 1,000 delegates over two days.

The GMB union is booked in for its annual conference in 2026 which will bring 2,000 delegates and has an estimated economic impact of £1.3m, while the Local Government Association has already booked its 2027 annual conference which is due to bring 1,350 delegates to Blackpool creating an economic impact of £1.4m.

A report to a recent meeting of the council’s Tourism, Economy and Communities Scrutiny Committee, says business tourism is now managed by MeetBlackpool which is a partnership between VisitBlackpool, Blackpool Council, the Winter Gardens and other partners in the conference trade.

It says: “This convention bureau-style approach, which was adopted following the opening of the new £30m Conference and Exhibition Centre, is intended to make best use of council and Winter Gardens resources to attract new and lapsed conferences and events back to Blackpool.

“The key focus is on bringing business into the new conference centre, although MeetBlackpool is also tasked with ensuring that enquiries for smaller conferences are directed towards resort partners who also have conference and meeting facilities.”

Blackpool’s Imperial Hotel in North Shore has also seen success in the conferencing trade with a 16 per cent year-on-year increase in meetings and events revenue in 2024.

The hotel’s general manager Trevor Vels said bookings for 2025 are already up by 23 per cent, which he added was “a sign of confidence in the Blackpool meetings and events market.”

The Winter Gardens conference centre opened in March 2022, and it is hoped work will begin in 2025 to build a new hotel next to the complex with planning permission in place for a five-storey development with 266 bedrooms.

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