Leeds Meeting Venues Showcased to National Business Events Leaders

A delegation of senior events industry representatives visited Leeds today to learn about the city’s growing success in attracting business visits and events to the region.

Members of the events industry’s Business Visits & Events Partnership were given an overview of the city’s impressive meetings and events venues by Jennifer Young, Head of Visit and Conference Leeds. The delegation also enjoyed a tour of unique business and cultural venues including Cloth Hall Court, the First Direct Arena and the Northern Ballet in the city’s central cultural quarter.

Chair of the Business Visits & Events Partnership, Michael Hirst OBE said:

“Our visit has allowed many leading representatives of the major event trade associations in Britain to see at first hand the excellent range of venues and facilities available for staging major conferences, exhibitions and cultural events in Leeds. It has also given us an opportunity to learn how the Discover England and Northern Growth Funds have been used to develop the attractions of this thriving region and highlight further opportunities to grow the volume and value of events held in this wonderful city. We are incredibly grateful for the hospitality that has been shown to us and will be singing the praises of Leeds to our members as much as we can”.

Jennifer Young, Head of Visit and Conference Leeds, said:

“We’re delighted to host the Business Visits & Events Partnership and showcase the very best Leeds has to offer. Leeds is a city transformed; this visit couldn’t come at a better time. We are now the 5th most popular conferencing destination in the UK and have jumped 149 places in the ICCA ranking to be in the top 10 cities in the UK. There’s been some fantastic new developments including Cloth Hall Court and the new premium luxury Dakota Hotel and our cultural offer is second to none as we bid to become European Capital of Culture 2023. The city continues to grow in popularity for welcoming leading conferences and business events and I’m sure after today the delegation will appreciate why we have such impressive results.”