Twenty key UK conference destinations gathered in Brighton this week for the two-day MIA Destinations Summit.
Two days of learning and discussion at The Old Ship Hotel featured guest speakers including new head of business events at VisitBritain, Kerrin MacPhie, new ICCA European regional director Elif Balci and Dr Rob Davidson.
There were workshops on how to grow your audience using digital and social media, as well as accessing the trade press, while industry consultant Sally Greenhill spoke on the theme of ‘Distinguishing you destination in a crowded market’.
Delegates also got to climb aboard the i360 and sample traditional fish and chips courtesy of the local conference bureau.
Chief organiser of the Summit, MIA Destinations Group chair and head of business events at NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Paul Szomoru, told CN: “I thought the first MIA Destinations Summit in Brighton went brilliantly. We were proud of getting 20 destinations together for two days of learning, sharing and discussion with each other and with insight from some fantastic speakers and key industry figures. I, for one, certainly arrived home in NewcastleGateshead bursting with ideas and thoughts about how me and my team can grow and be more successful.
“Hopefully this is just the start, and under the umbrella of the MIA, we can continue to collaborate, and ultimately develop convention bureaus in the UK, and the people who work in them, to attract more business events to the UK.”
NewcastleGateshead is exhibiting at International Confex, 28 February-1 March at I34C
