An ambitious new “Business Tourism Taskforce” aimed at generating £4.2 million in Derry over the next two years has been launched in the city.
The Visit Derry initiative aims to drive the growth of the conference and meetings sector which attracted a record £5m during last year’s City of Culture when over 10,000 conference delegates visited Derry.
Visit Derry says it has identified a number of new initiatives to capitalise upon these successes and continue the “positive momentum” into 2014 and beyond.
The Taskforce brings together key industry stakeholders, government agencies and venues who will work collaboratively with key local academic, medical, corporate, cultural and sporting sectors to capitalize upon the city’s expertise and excellence within these sectors and attract National and International conferences and events to the region.
Aoife Thomas, Business and Leisure Tourism Officer at Visit Derry, said the majority of the conferences were secured as a result of working in partnership with dynamic local representatives who act as “ambassadors” to promote the city as a conference destination throughout their extensive network of industry contacts, colleagues, clients and suppliers.
Ms Thomas added: “Hosting a conference is a fantastic way to raise the profile of your organisation, research or product and we encourage anyone who is a member of a professional body, association, institute or society or may be able to bring an event to the city to get in touch with us at Visit Derry.
“We are fully equipped to support our Ambassadors through every stage of organising an event to ensure all delegates enjoy a ‘LegenDerry’ experience in the city.”
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