‘Events and business tourism in general continue to be central to the success of the Manchester economy’, said Marketing Manchester chief executive Sheona Southern addressing the recently held Greater Manchester Tourism Conference – reports Place North West magazine.

Sheona Southern said: “Business tourism, specifically the conference and events sub-sector, is now worth £810m and supports 21,900 jobs.

So far this year Marketing Manchester and its partners have won 20 conferences, which will bring 11,635 delegates and £21.7m to the region over the coming years.

At £7.9bn, Southern said that tourism is worth more to the city region than sectors such as financial and professional services, life sciences and creative, digital and tech.

Southern also announced that Marketing Manchester has been awarded £1million from the Discover England Fund, a fund which aims to improve England’s competitive tourism offer by building world-class, bookable tourism products and getting them to the right international customers at the right time, making it easier to explore the country.

See report: <https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/conferences-key-to-tourism-growth-says-marketing-manchester-boss/