Sheffield hosts VisitBritain Business Tourism and Travel Trade Conference
Yorkshire South Tourism, and Sheffield, was chosen to host this year's annual VisitBritain conference. Specialists in the Business Tourism and Travel Trade fields from around the world arrived in Sheffield on Sunday 15th June 2008 and remained in the region until Wednesday 18th June. The event enabled Yorkshire South to showcase the region on an international level and provide VisitBritain representatives with a world class leisure and business tourism experience.
Throughout their stay, the specialists completed a packed itinerary, taking a tour of the venues and tourism attractions. Some of these included visiting the new Vivienne Westwood exhibition at Millennium Gallery Sheffield; enjoying drinks and a show round of the English Institute of Sport, as well as sampling dinner at Rotherham's Magna. Guests were also given a show round of the host venue, Sheffield City Hall; accommodation was provided by the city centre hotel, Mercure St Paul's; with transport by East Midlands Trains. Cutlers' Hall also hosted a drinks reception and show round of the private collections.
Emma France, Business Tourism Manager, commented: "It's a great honour for the Yorkshire South region and Sheffield to welcome representatives from VisitBritain and host the annual event. We are very proud of what the region has to offer both business and leisure visitors and we enjoyed showcasing the region and the facilities on offer. Yorkshire South is in its prime at the moment, following the ‘UK Best Destination' win at International Confex earlier in the year. The response from those attending has been tremendous. The VisitBritain team were aware of how much Sheffield has changed in recent years and they are so impressed by the scale, quality and range of facilities, spaces and cultural products now on offer. We are looking forward to working with VisitBritain on some of their initiatives to pull in international meetings and conferences."
Joss Croft, Head of Business Visits and Events for VisitBritain, commented: "We arrived in the city with our own perceptions of Sheffield and what it had to offer business and leisure visitors and I have to say these have now completely changed. All the overseas representatives commented on how friendly and enthusiastic everyone involved in the event was and we would like to thank Yorkshire South Tourism and its partners for the programme they put together and their kind hospitality - I think it is fair to say we have, without exception, been totally wowed by the venues. All our representatives will be returning to their own countries with a much improved product knowledge of what Sheffield and the region has to offer and we look forward to working with YST in the future, and endeavouring to repay their kind hospitality by sending increased business to the city."
The event closed with a networking event at Sheffield City Hall which provided venues and destinations across the UK the opportunity to develop their own links with VisitBritain representative around the globe.
For further information on Yorkshire South Tourism or the VisitBritain event please contact Emma France, Conference Manager, on 0114 2814048 or email emma@yorkshiresouth.com
