Time Bandit tour for planners in NewcastleGateshead

NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau followed up on its client dinner at Syon House in September, with a Geordie welcome last week for 12 leading UK event planners. The idea was to offer first-hand the experiences on offer to delegates.
 
The bureau said its showcase for planners was aimed at demonstrating why 86 percent of people who come to a meeting or event in NewcastleGateshead choose to return with family or friends.
 
Adrian Evans, Senior Business Tourism Manager at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, said: “Syon House was a fantastic opportunity for our venue colleagues to meet event organisers, make connections and generate enquiries. But delegate experience is key to ensuring any event is a success and it’s so it’s incredibly important for organisers to really get under the skin of any destination they’re interested in.
 
Over the two days, organisers were introduced to the heritage of NewcastleGateshead by a group of ‘Time Bandits’ who delivered a theatrical whistle stop tour featuring neoclassical architecture at the Theatre Royal, the UK’s last surviving news reel cinema at the art deco Tyneside Cinema and a homely local lunch atop the Norman castle keep with views across the city and the River Tyne.
 
They also came face-to-feet with the iconic Angel of the North, toured the hallowed ‘third cathedral’ of St James Park and stepped into another dimension, sampling the new 4D motion ride at the Life Science Centre.
 
Sinead MacMahon, account coordinator from Banks Sadler said: “It was really refreshing to be invited to a familiarisation visit where the focus wasn’t only geared towards the size and facilities of various room types, but also gave the opportunity to see a place as one of our delegates might experience it. The visit highlighted that NewcastleGateshead is certainly a destination any delegate would travel to.”
 
In May NewcastleGateshead broke into the UK top 10 city destinations and jumped 66 places to 93rd in Europe according to the latest poll compiled by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
 
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