Representatives from The Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP) held their partners’ meeting in Bristol last week as guests of Destination Bristol.
The meeting received reports on current lobbying activities and discussed the progress on government representation, skills and infrastructure being made by the Events Industry Board and the arrangements being made by the All Party Parliamentary Group for a Parliamentary Debate this coming autumn. The Business Events Growth Programme being introduced by VisitBritain was also reviewed.
The role of creativity in events was debated as part of the industry’s wider interest in having the sector recognised as part of the creative industries.
The Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) was welcomed as a new partner representing the interests of individual business travellers, adding to the strong diversity of the BVEP.
Michael Hirst, Chairman of the BVEP said: “This visit was a real eye opener on the extensive attractions and facilities Bristol has to offer to both business and leisure visitors. We were very impressed by the enthusiasm and vision of Destination Bristol in making the City one of the leading event destinations in Britain”.
The meeting was held in Brunel’s SS Great Britain where a tour of the Brunel Museum was organised. Visits were also made to the “We The Curious” science exhibit, the iconic Harbour Hotel, Aerospace Bristol, the new events venue where Concorde is housed and Ashton Gate the home of Bristol City football club to hear of the exciting plans for a new arena and conference centre. The Mercure Holland House hosted the group.
John Hirst, Chief Executive, Destination Bristol said:” We were delighted to host our visitors here in Bristol and especially to see the delight and surprise of those attending; two days was just not enough time! Bristol has made great progress in recent years with lots more still to come. The two-day visit only illustrated a very small part of our overall offer. We look forward to welcoming more visitors in the future and showing them even more of our great city. Bristol has great potential to grow even more and our role is to promote Bristol locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.”
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