Blackpool Business Tourism Continues to Boom
Resort enjoys 55% uplift in corporate business travel says Advantage Travel Partnership 2017 hotel report
According to new research from Advantage Travel Partnership, the UK’s largest independent travel agent consortium, Blackpool saw the biggest growth in UK overnight business travel with 55% more room nights in 2017 v 2016.
Significant growth also came from other cities in the northern region of the UK, with London continuing to hit the top spot with a 10% increase (year on year) .JPG)
with an additional 33,000 room nights booked. However, Blackpool saw the most growth with 55% more booked room nights, versus 2016.
Top Ten UK Cities – Room Night Percentage Increase (year on year) for Jan-Dec 2017
1. Blackpool – 55%
2. Peterborough – 48%
3. Preston – 35%
4. Bradford – 33%
5. Oxford – 25%
6. Sheffield – 24%
7. Cambridge – 22%
8. Edinburgh – 21%
9. Doncaster – 21%
10. Coventry – 20%
Head of Blackpool’s Business Tourism team, Mandy Tythe-McCallum, said of the figures:
“Last year we launched a campaign called Blackpool is Booming which highlighted that our business tourism offer was set to enjoy a massive uplift thanks to £500m of new investment in the resort’s business tourism infrastructure. These figures demonstrate how that money is translating into increased corporate occupancy.
“We also anticipate that with more new accommodation coming forward, including both four and five-star rated hotels, plus our new Conference and Exhibition Centre which will be part of the iconic Winter Gardens complex, that Blackpool will continue to boom as a destination for business travellers. In addition we are seeing a massive upgrade to our transport system which will make getting to, and getting around, Blackpool far easier for conference delegates.”
Blackpool’s new £25m Conference and Exhibition Centre, which is now taking bookings for 2019 and beyond will able to accommodate 2,000 delegates across a 6,150 square metre footprint. It will be available to book as a standalone venue or can be integrated with the wider Winter Gardens exhibition and events venues – to which it will be directly linked – creating an overall capacity of 7,000.