Tourism and hospitality professionals from across the North West will be joined by representatives from brands Expedia and Google, among an estimated 180 delegates, 11 October, for the second annual Greater Manchester Tourism Conference.
The conference is organised by Marketing Manchester, whose director of tourism Nick Brooks-Sykes will compere the event, and takes place in the Pavilion at Emirates Old Trafford. Delegates will also have an opportunity to have a look around the 150 bedroom Hilton Garden Inn Emirates Old Trafford, which officially opened this week.
Confirmed speakers for the conference include: Steve Ridgway CBE, the recently appointed chair of VisitBritain who will be leading on the tourism sector deal with national government; Stephany van Willigenburg, head of travel at Google UK, who will be revealing what can Google tells us about visitors to Manchester; and Sharon Orrell, head of Visit England research, who will outline key trends for delegates to be aware of within domestic tourism.
Additional participants include: Sheona Southern (pictured), MD at Marketing Manchester; Simon W. Quin, director and visiting professor at the Institute of Place Management (Manchester Metropolitan University); Dave Moutrey, director and chief Executive at HOME; Nathan Lee, head of Heritage Lottery Fund North West; Jonathan Schofield, writer, editor and Manchester Tour Guide; Adrian Ellis, GM at The Lowry Hotel; meetings consultant, industry trainer and speaker and event journalist Richard John; Mathew Jayne, head of operations at The Lowry; Stephanie Newton, head of business tourism at Marketing Manchester; Faye Dyer, assistant CEO-corporate at Manchester Central; Thom Hetherington, CEO at Holden Media; Guy Hughes-Wilson, vice-president, Western Europe at BBC Advertising; and Tony Shotton, business development manager at Fabulous Fan Fayre (F3).
Event sponsor Expedia, led by Nicola Cunningham, area manager for North and Central England and Cassandra Johnson from Marketing Manchester, will offer invaluable insights into Greater Manchester’s performance as a tourist destination.
Southern commented: “The first Greater Manchester Tourism Conference held in September 2016 proved to be one of the highlights of the year for Marketing Manchester members and this year’s event promises to be equally compelling and a not-to-be-missed event for anyone working within the visitor economy across Greater Manchester and the north of England.
“Feedback last year was overwhelmingly positive but we have listened carefully and made some small amends that will ensure a highly informative, participative and business focused day. We will have a greater variety of speakers, a bigger focus on the future direction of Greater Manchester’s visitor economy as well as plenty of additional networking opportunities throughout.”
