BELFAST WATERFRONT
BELFAST WATERFRONT making a greater contribution
Belfast Waterfront has played an instrumental role in Belfast city ’ s development since opening its doors 20 years ago , and with the recent investment in doubling its event space and enhancing its technology infrastructure , it plans to make an even greater contribution to the city in the future .
Conferences galore
Belfast Waterfront ’ s new 7,000m 2 stateoftheart conference facility opened on 29 April 2016 – and what a year it has been ! In its first year of operation Belfast Waterfront hosted 24 major conferences , generating £ 19.6m for the local economy .
With Northern Ireland leading the way in many sectors , including life and health sciences , food and drink , as well as technology it comes as no surprise that many of the events were intrinsically linked to the regions ’ specialisms .
Sixteen hundred members of the British Orthopaedic Association held their annual meeting at Belfast Waterfront . And the first ever BBC Good Food Show to be hosted in Northern Ireland was a roaring success attracting more than 14,000 consumers over three days .
With flexible space and the latest event technology , Belfast Waterfront is the ‘ perfect playground ’ for leading tech companies to showcase their innovations .
Last year local company , Kainos held its first annual meeting in the new facility , and Belfast will follow in the footsteps of Rome , Amsterdam , Cambridge , Athens and Hamburg in hosting one of the largest software security conferences in Europe , when OWASP AppSec EU conference arrives in the city this May .
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Thousands of delegates on their way
Looking forward , the team at Belfast Waterfront have already secured similar levels of business for 2017 / 2018 with the prospect of hosting many major conferences in future years .
Over 35,000 delegates are expected to descend upon the city this year . Why is this important ? Industry studies have revealed business travellers can spend over £ 400 per night on accommodation , food and attractions in the city . And typically this type of tourist stays longer .
A leading business tourism destination
Named the trendiest European city destination for business travel by MICE and Business Travel Magazine in 2015 , travellers are guaranteed an experience that ' s larger than life with many attractions , restaurants and hotels within walking distance of the Waterfront .
The Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland ( ASGBI ) was the first event to use the extended Belfast Waterfront facilities . Bhavnita Patel , the General Manager of ASGBI , commented : “ Belfast is such a compact city , so everything was very conveniently located . We , as organisers , were not required to lay on any transport to shuttle people to and from the venue . Not even for the social events that were held in the evenings .
“ Very convenient to the venue was a complete range of hotels from basic up to 5star , so no one had a problem not only in matching their accommodation to their budget , but in finding a place within , at most , 10minutes walking distance of Belfast
Waterfront . In fact , that was a major benefit highlighted by the feedback following the event ,” added Bhavnita .
Delegates also commented favourably on the number of other facilities in the locality , including restaurants , bars , cafes .’ And of course , the warm welcome shown to the delegates by the people of Belfast . “ There was a buzz in the city … Everyone made us feel genuinely welcome ,” praised Bhavnita .
Catherine Toolan , Managing Director of Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Ltd , is delighted with the response to the extended venue , and commented : “ Belfast Waterfront ’ s 7,000m 2 conference facility is a fantastic new addition to the city ’ s business tourism offering . In this very competitive industry it is important that we continue to enhance and improve our client proposition .
“ We are excited about the commitment from all stakeholders and together with Belfast Waterfront the city is transforming into a leading business tourism destination .”
MOREINFORMATION
We ’ re ready to welcome you If you ’ re thinking about bringing an event to the city , contact the Belfast Waterfront team today to find out how they can help you :
T : + 44 ( 0 ) 28 9033 4400 E : conference @ waterfront . co . uk W : waterfront . co . uk @ BelWaterfront / # BelfastWaterfront .