The Manchester Convention Bureau has relaunched its Manchester Conference Mbassador Programme, celebrating the important role that experts play in securing prestigious conferences and events for the city-region.
Manchester Convention Bureau currently has over 300 existing Mbassadors from a wide variety of sectors, and the event on Thursday 16 November – held at Manchester Museum – was an opportunity to celebrate these contributions whilst also aiming to recruit new voices and representatives to join the programme.
Manchester Conference Mbassadors use their profile and connections to help bid for and win international conferences and events for the city-region, which contribute £862m to the local economy, and support the wider tourism, hospitality, and leisure sectors.
As part of Marketing Manchester, the Manchester Convention Bureau has hosted over 200 national and international events that have benefitted from the support of an Mbassador over the last five years. These events have attracted over 65,000 delegates to the city and have generated over £115m for the local economy.
Recent Mbassador programme successes have included the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) Congress 2023 and Graphene 2023, the largest European event in Graphene and 2-dimensional materials.
Manchester Convention Bureau has also recently supported the winning bid to host the Worldwide Music Expo 2024 (WOMEX), a prestigious international music convention with 2,600 professionals from 90 countries set to attend, as well as several high-profile sport events such as the Davis Cup 2023 and Tour of Britain 2023
Anthony Cassidy, Senior International Bid Manager at Marketing Manchester, said: “Conference Mbassadors play a key role in Manchester being recognised as a global conference destination, and when an Mbassador helps to front a conference bid, we are twice as likely to secure the event.
“Mbassadors are respected and knowledgeable figures in their fields, and having experts championing the city-region is a powerful tool to win business that supports jobs, the local economy, and the wider tourism, hospitality and leisure industry.”
To celebrate the success of the Manchester Conference Mbassador Programme, invited guests at the relaunch event heard from speakers including Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, and Nick de Bois, Chair of VisitBritain, on the importance of business tourism to the city.
Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council and Deputy Chair of GM Business Board, said: “The partnership between the Manchester Convention Bureau and Conference Ambassadors is a valuable asset, creating significant economic impact and helping to support and create jobs locally.
“Meetings, conferences, and events are also a fantastic opportunity to promote Manchester and Greater Manchester as a leader in frontier sectors, driving direct foreign investment and raising our profile as an influential global destination for business events.”
