Glasgow 2014 gives £75m conference boost to city

GLASGOW has attracted new conference business worth almost £75 million in the aftermath of last year’s Commonwealth Games.

The city’s marketing bureau said the haul showed “the incredible bounce effect of the best ever Commonwealth Games one year on”.

The bureau said that along with the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), academic institutions, venues, VisitScotland Business Events, and other city partners, it had in the first six months of 2015 secured 229 conferences on the books until 2022, equating to more than 65,000 delegates travelling to Glasgow from global destinations.

The bids won include a European Climate Change & Adaptation Conference which will be staged in 2017 and welcome 3,500 delegates. The event will be worth £1.3m to the local economy.

The International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering will come to the SECC in 2019 and attract 1,000 participants, ploughing £2m into the local economy

In 2022, more than 1,000 delegates will attend the British Association of Dermatologists at the SECC with a local economic impact of £1.5m.

The city beat off global competition from Barcelona, Paris and Amsterdam to secure bids won during the period.

Last year the city’s biggest three conferences welcomed more than 12,000 delegates and generated an estimated £20.8m for the economy.

Kathleen Warden, director of sales at the SECC, said: “This year the SECC will host over 30 international association events and bring thousands of professionals to an up-skilled, up-weighted, successful and confident events city.”