London thrives as conference sector takes off
BORIS Johnson has boosted London’s conference industry, forcing the capital up the international rankings and putting the city on a path to becoming the world’s top location for professional gatherings, an industry body declared today.
London hosted 115 conferences last year, according to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), putting it at number seven in the world.
That represents a stark contrast from 19th place just four years ago, when the poor state of the industry prompted Boris Johnson to order an investigation into business tourism.
The expansion of the ExCel conference centre has enabled the city to host larger events, the ICCA reported, while the development of research facilities near King’s Cross has boosted London’s appeal to the medical and life sciences sector, and the growth of “tech city” increased the number of IT events.
The ICCA believes an improved system coordinating hotels and venues adds to the city’s appeal, and praised the efforts of Heathrow’s Terminal Five in catering to the needs of large groups of business travellers.
In an effort to capitalise on the Olympics, the ICCA hopes to attract more sports conferences in the coming years as part of a push to make London the world’s number one conference venue – a title currently held by Vienna, which hosted 181 events last year.
The Olympics is also credited with improving hotels and transport links across London.