VisitYork4Meetings has announced York will host the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in 2019, for the fourth time.
The three-day event will run from the 15-17 March next year and is expected to bring over 1,400 conference delegates into the city. York Barbican Centre will host the main conference and exhibition alongside the Novotel as headquarters with a selection of city centre hotels providing accommodation for the conference organisers, speakers and delegates alike.
The team at VisitYork4meetings says it is currently working with conference organisers to finalise the event programme as well as a range of fringe events which will take place in various locations across the city.
Vince Cable, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “I’m delighted we’re returning to York – I’m always grateful for the opportunity to visit my home city. York is a great and successful city, which makes for a superb conference destination.”
With just under 16,000 meetings, conferences and events taking place in York every year, business tourism generated £124.4m in income for the city in 2017 which represented 25% of total visitor spend. There are currently millions of pounds worth of investments underway at a number of conference and event venues across the city including the opening of a Malmaison and a Moxy hotel planned for later in 2018.
Laura Freer, VisitYork4meetings business tourism marketing manager, added: ‘Winning the bid to bring the Liberal Democrat Conference back to York for the fourth time is a real achievement for everyone involved and is testament to the city’s appeal in attracting high profile business events. It is estimated that the economic value for this event alone will exceed £1 million so it really is great event for all the businesses in York to make the most of. York has an international reputation as a world-class destination and after many years of targeting specific sectors for events we are now starting to see the benefits of this activity which in turn brings huge opportunities for the city.”
