The 2nd National Business Tourism Conference is the only national event of its kind and has been put together for the UK’s Business Tourism industry, by the UK’s Business Tourism industry so as to offer the utmost in value and relevancy.

"This conference will contribute to making Britain a more competitive, higher quality and more profitable place for business events", Michael Hirst, Chairman of the Business Tourism Partnership comments.

But ironically, at the same time as the Conference takes place, an increasingly competitive international market is vying for Business Tourism and pushing some of the UK’s leading conference towns down the destination popularity league tables.

The impact of this is particularly felt in regional destinations. This is compounded by local and regional funding issues.

"Some cash-strapped local authorities are cutting back on conference services and venue and facility investment. The current local authority funding review is an opportunity to avert further cuts on activities that benefit local communities", explains Michael Hirst.

More organisations than ever before are involved in Business Tourism and the Conference will hear from industry opinion leaders about the importance of regional cohesion as led by the Regional Development Agencies, which have received substantial funding to promote business tourism.

“Consistent service delivery, high standards and customer satisfaction are priority issues to improve the competitiveness of UK destinations”, comments Peter Mainprice, Project Director for the Conference. “We need to guarantee high quality services which leave lasting positive impressions of our destinations on overseas delegates. This will improve our position in the world market”, Mainprice continues.

The Conference will call on the Government for greater visibility, support and focus, which has been slow in reaching a meaningful level.

"VisitBritain's funding has stood still for the last seven years and less than 5% of its budget goes to business tourism, which accounts for nearly 25% of all tourism receipts", details Michael Hirst, "More accurate data for the sector is essential. Some progress has been made, but the sector is not being made a high enough priority to enable us to plug the gaps in statistical information".

Despite these difficulties, there is real optimism for the future: "There's currently an impressive level of new investment in Business Tourism infrastructure, which shows plenty of confidence in the future and commitment to keep Britain as a world class destination for business events", enthuses Michael Hirst.

The 2nd National Business Tourism Conference is organised by Index Communications Meeting Services in association with the Business Tourism Partnership and is sponsored by the East Midlands Development Agency and Experience Nottinghamshire.