Blackpool is intensifying its efforts to regain its foothold in the lucrative conference industry following a substantial £30 million investment in new facilities at the Winter Gardens.
With the opening of the new Conference and Exhibition Centre last year, the venue's overall capacity has now increased to accommodate up to 7,000 delegates.
To showcase all of Blackpool's conference facilities, the local council has launched a partnership involving the hoteliers group StayBlackpool, as well as attraction and venue operators.
Tasked with managing business tourism, MeetBlackpool aims to attract new conferences to the area while also enticing back conferences that have lapsed.
Already, the newly expanded Winter Gardens complex has secured bookings for various events, including a national civil service gathering set to bring 2,000 delegates to the resort in the summer of 2024.
On July 7 and 8, the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers will embark on a familiarisation visit to Blackpool, where around 20 conference bookers will have the opportunity to explore the new Conference and Exhibition Centre.
According to a council report, "Whilst the primary responsibility for marketing Blackpool to leisure tourists sits with VisitBlackpool, business tourism is now managed within MeetBlackpool, a partnership comprising VisitBlackpool, Blackpool Council, the Winter Gardens, and various resort partners who have a vested interest in the conference and exhibitions market."
The report further explains that this collaborative approach was adopted following the inauguration of the new £30 million Conference and Exhibition Centre, aiming to leverage the resources of the council and the Winter Gardens to attract both new and lapsed conferences to all venues, including the Winter Gardens.
In addition, a task group has been established to adopt a unified "one Blackpool" approach to winning conference business. This includes the creation of a new website and an accommodation booking platform tailored for conference delegates.
Blackpool was once a regular venue for the major political party conferences but the last full conference to be staged there was in 2007 as Labour and the Conservatives have chosen Manchester and Birmingham over the traditional seaside resorts.
The first major conference held in the Winter Gardens' new extension was the Conservative Party Spring Conference in March 2022, which brought together 800 delegates and generated an estimated economic boost of over £1 million.
Looking ahead, the Winter Gardens has secured bookings for a range of conferences over the next 12 months, including the Northern Premier Football League AGM and dinner in June 2023 with 400 attendees, the National Association of Retired Police Officers Annual Conference in September 2023 with 800 delegates, and the JD Outdoors Annual Conference in October 2023 with 450 attendees.
Other notable conferences include the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches in November 2023 with 1,000 attendees, the Labour Party N-W Conference in November 2023 with 700 delegates, the Federation of Small Businesses Conference and Expo in May 2024 with 500 delegates, and the Civil Service Live Annual Conference in June 2024, which expects to attract 2,000 delegates.
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