Clean sweep for Glasgow at prestigious meetings industry awards ceremony

The Convention Bureau of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) and the Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre (SECC) were both winners at last night’s Meetings and Incentive Travel magazine awards, beating off competition from other major UK cities to be awarded ‘Best UK Convention Bureau’ and ‘Best UK Conference Centre’ respectively. 

 

At a ceremony in London last night, readers of the influential Meetings and Incentive Travel (M&IT) magazine gave the top convention bureau accolade to GCMB for the second year running ahead of Manchester Marketing, Visit London and Birmingham Convention Bureau while the SECC beat The ICC in Birmingham, Church House Conference Centre, London and Edinburgh International Conference Centre to collect the ‘Best UK Conference Centre’ title. 

 

Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow Cit Marketing Bureau, said, “These awards voted for by 6,000 businesses demonstrate the impact on our customers of the strong co-ordinated approach taken by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and the SECC in the drive to bring business tourism to Glasgow.  The city is enjoying unprecedented success in the UK and international conference sales market, with sales by our Convention Bureau currently up £10 million on last year.”

 

Mike Closier, Group Chief Executive of the Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre, commented, “Glasgow is at the top of its game – we recently won the bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and with this award, we are recognised by industry professionals as being the best in Britain.

 

“It’s an outstanding achievement for the SECC and Glasgow and it’s down to the hard work and commitment of all our staff and I would like to thank them for their efforts. We can all be very proud, Team Glasgow has never been on better form.”

 

Ben Goedegebuure, Director of Sales at the SECC, added: “It’s official, the SECC and GCMB are the best in Britain and this award is all the more important because it is our clients who have voted for us and no one is better placed to measure service than them.

 

“We are thrilled and look forward to building on this success to become even better. It is exciting times for us and our clients.”

 

This the second consecutive year that Glasgow City Marketing Bureau has been named ‘Best Convention Bureau’ at the prestigious M&IT awards, while the SECC also figured in the ‘Best Value for Money Conference Venue’ category this year, coming third after Keele University and Scarman House, Warwick Conferences.  Sales made by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau in the year ending March 2007, totalled £148 million.  Approximately one in five guest bedrooms in Glasgow are now sold to conference delegates.          

 

Meetings & Incentive Travel magazine is circulated to a carefully targeted audience of corporate, association and intermediary event organisers throughout the UK.  Voted number one UK Meetings magazine for the past twelve years, M&IT is confirmed as the best read, most informative, most authoritative, most entertaining and most regularly received UK meetings industry magazine.

ENDS                                                                                                                                   February 2008 

 

Nancy McLardie, Head of Public Relations, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
Tel: 0141 566 0831; email: nancy.mclardie@seeglasgow.com

(or)

Louise Brady, Communications Manager, SECC
Tel: 0141 576 3180; email: louise.brady@secc.co.uk