Edinburgh’s business tourism flourishes

Bucking the downward trend for business tourism in the rest of the UK as well as around the world, Edinburgh’s business tourism sector has been flourishing this year, and looks set to have a strong showing over the next few years.

The Edinburgh Convention Bureau (ECB) has released a report saying it is well on-track to achieving £73.9 million worth of business and trade conference for the Scottish city. ECB says it has secured or influenced the procurement of £42.6 million worth of events between April and October 2009.

Eleven new events have been secured for the city between September and October, the ECB’s half-term reported suggested, expected to bring in over 6,000 high-spending businesspersons to Edinburgh. The Quadrennial Congress of European Society of Plastic Constructive Aesthetic Surgeons will host 900 visiting delegates, when it runs between May 11-16 2014, at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). This will be followed by an influx of 1,200 delegates attending the Eurotox 2014 to be held at the same venue between September 7 and 9 of 2014.

Sue Stuart, Chief Executive of ECB has said the figures show Edinburgh’s resilience in the face of the recession, and says it is a confirmation that the city’s business tourism is holding up well amidst an increasingly competitive scenario.

University College London’s Professor Keith McEwen, one of the ECB’s Edinburgh Ambassadors who contributed to attracting the International Conference on Neutron Scattering to Edinburgh, has said the city’s success had been due t a multitude of factors. The city is an experienced conference location, he points out, and says it is an attractive venue for overseas delegates.

The International Conference on Neutron Scattering will be held between July 8 and 12, 2013 and will welcome around 800 delegates.