Day: January 25, 2017

The city council’s business tourism arm, VisitBrighton Convention Bureau, has secured the return of the Liberal Democrats Annual Conference for 2018.

The conference will take place at the Brighton Centre in September 2018 and usually attracts a delegation of over 5000 people, generating up to £10m in economic benefit for the city.

The LibDem conference team has appointed VisitBrighton Convention Bureau as the sole accommodation partner for the event which means all attendees and exhibitors will book their accommodation through VisitBrighton’s on-line booking system.

For the conference, the VisitBrighton team has negotiated preferential rates and held room allocations at a range of VisitBrighton accommodation partners including the Old Ship Hotel, Mercure Brighton Seafront, Queens Hotel, Gullivers Hotel and the Hilton Brighton Metropole.

Howard Barden, Brighton & Hove City Council’s Head of Tourism & Venues, said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming back the LibDems and thrilled they’ve chosen to use our accommodation booking service which we know can take out the leg-work and uncertainty of finding accommodation across the city.”

Chair of the council’s economic development and culture committee Alan Robins added: “Conferences of this size are great for local businesses, drawing in extra visitors to boost trade at times of the year that are often quieter.  A political conference also generates media coverage and puts our city on the map of destinations capable of hosting large-scale events.”

Lydia Dumont, Head of Conferences at the Liberal Democrats, said: “Our decision to go back to Brighton was based on the positive feedback received from delegates who attended our Autumn Conference in 2016.  The city is a preferred destination for our members because it has so much to offer outside of conference and this just adds to the whole delegate experience.

“Brighton is an exciting and vibrant city with all venues situated close to the city centre and local amenities which offers delegates variety and flexibility throughout conference.

“The space at the Brighton Centre is ideal for on site registration which sometimes has to take place at a different venue in other cities.  The LibDem conference team particularly enjoy working with the Brighton Centre staff who are extremely helpful, professional and flexible”.

VisitBrighton Convention Bureau promotes Brighton & Hove as a place to hold meetings, conferences and business events, works on behalf of the whole city and offers impartial support to event planners throughout the organising process.