Coventry and Warwickshire partnership makes 200 connections to drive new conference and meetings business to region

A partnership of Coventry and Warwickshire conference and meeting venues met with more than 200 buyers to discuss bringing their events to the region at a major national show.

Conference Coventry & Warwickshire and its seven partners showcased the region to a global audience at The Meetings Show at ExCeL London.

The Meetings Show is the leading exhibition in the meetings and events sector, with Coventry and Warwickshire featuring alongside hundreds of UK and international meetings and event suppliers.

The Coventry and Warwickshire stand highlighted the range and diversity of venues in the region at the two-day event.

The partnership brought together a total of 13 venues, with stand partners including CV Life Venues, Heart of England Conference and Events Centre, No Ordinary Hospitality Management, Warwick Conferences, Woodland Grange, National Conference Centre (NCC) Venues Group and the British Motor Museum.

Event buyers, planners and organisers signalled their interest in bringing events to the region by pre-booking more than 80 appointments with partners on the Coventry and Warwickshire stand.

Conference Coventry and Warwickshire is a one-stop organisation for advice and guidance on planning and booking an event in the region – and gives organisers the opportunity to tap into local expertise and industry knowledge.

The service is part of destination management organisation Destination Coventry and the DMO’s staff were on hand across the two days to introduce potential new business leads to the region’s venues.

A new exhibition stand, inspired by the iconic Coventry Cathedral, was designed for the show by Leopold Marketing, which is also a member of Destination Coventry.

Amanda Bourne, Commercial Development Director at Tree-V also joined the Coventry and Warwickshire delegation on the stand to provide guidance on offsetting carbon created by events.

Colleen Muldoon-Taylor, Business Development Manager at Destination Coventry, was one of the representatives for the region at The Meetings Show.

She said: “It’s hugely important for us, as the region’s DMO, to form a strong presence at major trade shows like The Meetings Show.

“Whilst we’re attracting a range of potential business propositions into the area, it also affords our stand partners an increased platform for their venues, some of whom left with large event enquiries on the day.

“Our venues will now seek to turn those enquiries into business, bringing exciting new events to our region and providing a boost to our visitor economy.

“The conversations and introductions made at The Meetings Show will go on to resonant with buyers, showcasing the value, return and diversity they can source from Coventry and Warwickshire venues, keeping that corporate economy buoyant and positioning us as a really compelling place to visit and do business in.”

Find out more about hosting events in Coventry and Warwickshire at www.conferencecoventryandwarwickshire.co.uk