Yorkshire city tops for corporate tourism

YORK has been named as one of the UK's top cities for business tourism -with around £100m spent in the city last year.A report - commissioned by York Tourism Bureau and conducted by TEAM Tourism Consulting - showed business-related events generated an estimated £98.4m of direct value to venues in York in 2006.

The study, the first of its kind for the city, aimed to assess the scale and characteristics of meetings, conferences, exhibitions, dinners and drinks receptions - excluding weddings and private parties - taking place in York.

Almost one million delegates attended business events in York at an estimated 25,800 events.

Around 437 events took place per venue - 88 per cent were conferences and meetings - while banquets, dinners and receptions made up about 10 per cent and exhibitions just 2 per cent. Three quarters - 73 per cent - of all events were held in hotels. One third of events involved an overnight stay.

The average daily delegate income achieved by venues for conferences and exhibitions was £33. The average 24 hour residential rate was £121. The average rate for banquets, dinners and receptions was £29 per head. This was on a par with national averages. The overall average length of an event in York was 1.7 days. This was on a par with 2006 national and regional average (1.6 days).

The average event size was 36 delegates.

In general York has a higher level of residential business than Yorkshire as a whole.

"Tourism is a vital component of the regional economy but the sector was badly hit by the floods. It is very important we remind people how diverse and picturesque the West Midlands region is and how many attractions are still open and waiting to welcome visitors.

Kate McMullen, marketing manager, York Tourism Bureau, said: "The good news is that the value of business tourism is higher than our initial estimates.

"York is also performing well when it comes to attracting overnight stays, probably because there's plenty to see and do to keep a conference delegate here. However, we are also keen to attract more international business. Overall business tourism in York is performing well." By Kathryn Moore

Published: 3.9.2007