Manchester strengthens reputation as international conference destination

Manchester has significantly strengthened its reputation as a destination for international conferences, gaining ten places above its 2012 position in the International Congress and Convention Association's (ICCA) annual report.

The city now ranks 68th in the global table, sharing company with cities like Chicago, Moscow, San Francisco and The Hague, whilst at a UK level Manchester has moved into third place, becoming the leading non-capital destination. 

Amongst the thousands of conferences held in Manchester, 34 were deemed significant international conferences and were ICCA approved – four additional meetings on the 2012 number, representing a 13% increase. International conference submissions which were accepted by ICCA and took place in Manchester in 2013 include the World Congress on Disaster & Emergency Medicine at Manchester Central and the World Congress on Anthropological & Ethnological Sciences and the Congress of the History of Science, Technology & Medicine, which both took place at The University of Manchester. 

Andrew Stokes, chief executive at Marketing Manchester, commented: "Manchester has experienced substantial growth in the number of international conferences visiting over the past decade and is securing events with increasingly larger delegate numbers and academic prestige. International meetings are all about intensive debate and discussion, bringing the world’s leading minds together to discuss a particular topic and through identifying those industry sectors, academic subjects and local experts that make Manchester truly stand-out on a global stage, we have been able to tap into those opportunities which add the most value to the city."

This is combined with the draw of a collaborative ‘team Manchester’ approach - which utilises a consortium of stakeholders including Visit Manchester, the city's international convention centre Manchester Central and other venues, University conference offices and industry supporters, backed up by internationally respected academic ambassadors who lobby their own associations to bring events to the city.

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