GLASGOW secured a record amount of future conference business in the year to March, worth an estimated £142 million in revenues, as the city benefited from its international reputation in the medical and life sciences field.
The Glasgow Convention Bureau (GCB), publishing the latest annual figures, flags a sharp rise in recent years in the number of international association conferences secured by the city.
During the year to March, Glasgow secured 526 UK and international conferences, which will be held over the period to 2022 and are expected to attract an additional 140,000 business tourists to the city, the GCB figures show.
The £142m of revenues expected to be generated by these events is ahead of the £141m estimate for the future conference business secured in the year to March 2016, and thus represents a fresh record. Respective estimates of revenues from future conference business secured during the 12 months to March 2015 and the 2013/14 financial year were £139m and £134m.
Glasgow won 70 international association conferences during the year to March. In the 2011/12 financial year, it secured 43 international association conferences.
The total number of conferences secured by Glasgow in the 2016/17 financial year was greater than the 513 won during the prior 12-month period. However, it was adrift of 2013/14, when the city secured 557 conferences for future years. GCB notes 2016/17 was the second-best year in terms of the number of conferences won.
GCB, part of Glasgow City Council arm Glasgow Life, highlights a surge in the number of medical and life sciences sector conferences secured.
It notes that, in the year to March, 158 such conferences were secured for future years, greater than the 123 won during the prior 12 months and the 101 procured in the year to March 2015.
GCB estimates that the 158 medical and life sciences conferences secured in 2016/17 will contribute about £63m to Glasgow’s economy by 2022.
Aileen Crawford, head of conventions at GCB, highlighted her belief that 2017/18 would be “another successful year for Glasgow as a conference destination”.
GCB highlights its partnerships with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the city’s universities and the wider business community, and the Scottish Event Campus, which includes the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and the SSE Hydro.
Councillor David McDonald, who chairs Glasgow Life, said: “The volume of international associations choosing to bring their conference here has grown by more than 60 per cent over the past five years, which is a reflection of the strength and global reach of our academic and business communities and their wider knowledge hub networks.
“Medical and life sciences sector conferences attracted a record number of delegates to the city in 2016/17 and it was the best-performing sector in terms of the number of conferences confirmed for future years - that’s because we’re at the epicentre of medical innovation and world-leading research.”
He added: “Glasgow is home to the largest medical physics research division in the world, not to mention Europe’s largest super-hospital, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, the UK’s most advanced NHS cancer centre.”
GCB highlights the European Association for the Study of Obesity annual congress as one of the major medical and life sciences conferences won in 2016/17. It will be held in the Glasgow in 2019, and is expected to bring 2,500 delegates to the city, injecting £4m into the local economy.
Ms Crawford said: “Other key sectors which are contributing greatly to Glasgow’s business tourism growth include energy, sustainability, low carbon industries, technology and engineering.
“Recent wins across these sectors indicate 2017/18 will be another successful year for Glasgow as a conference destination.”
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