Glasgow City Marketing Bureau has been named the UK’s Best Convention Bureau for an incredible fifth year in a row.
In a poll for the influential industry magazine Meetings & Incentive Travel, Glasgow took the top title ahead of Conference Leeds, The Staffordshire Stoke on Trent Conference Bureau and Yorkshire South Tourism.
Previous contenders London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham failed to make the shortlist in the category this year.
And there was more good news Monday night when the Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre (SECC) took bronze in the Best UK Conference Centre category.
The awards are considered highly prestigious because they are voted for by more than 3,000 meetings industry professionals. They were presented at a gala dinner at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London attended by more than 600 industry leaders from around the world.
Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: “The support of conference organisers over the past five years and their confidence in choosing Glasgow has been – and continues to be – incredibly important for the city."
“We never forget that conferences can meet anywhere in the world, which is why Glasgow is truly committed to making the experience for organisers and delegates a memorable one. The city is never complacent about its conference business and fully appreciates the importance of the decision by conference organisers to hold their meetings here."
“Over the past five years £626 million has been spent in Glasgow by conference delegates, which equates to 2.5 million delegate nights in Glasgow, and has helped the transformation of the city into Scotland’s conference capital.”
Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, commented: “As an industry-led accolade, the M&IT Award is a clear endorsement of the confidence that the meetings industry has in Glasgow."
"For GCMB to have won this award five years in a row clearly demonstrates that Glasgow leads the way in the UK conference market. In the last year we have secured conventions business valued at more than £100 million in economic benefit for Glasgow and Scotland. Developing our conventions industry will continue to form an integral part of Glasgow’s economic strategy.”
