TMI Conference - Hot Topic Update
Sponsors of this year's TMI Hot Topic "Successfully mixing business with pleasure" Velvet Software attended the event alongside industry colleagues and clients at the impressive Royal Society of Medicine headquarters in London.
The one day seminar hosted jointly by TMI and BACD was introduced by
Paul Hemphill, President TMI closely followed at a plenary session
presented by VisitBritain's Kenny Boyle. Kenny stressed the role of
business tourism in destination management and how the importance of
business tourism is often overlooked and undervalued. Kenny's
presentation came ahead of VisitBritain's publication of their national
recommendation for conference desks.
Keynote speakers included Tony Rogers, Chief Executive of BACD (Birtish
Association of Conference Destinations), VisitBritain's Kenny Boyle and
Adam Bates, Head of Tourism at Visit Brighton. Tony presented the
latest findings from recent research and the implications for
destination managers. Representatives from destinations around the UK
listened intently as Tony described the latest trends and ways in which
destinations are working to maintain levels of business tourism.
Adam Bates presented an excellent session on mixing business and leisure tourism. Adam's innovative presentation included a "Brighton quiz" to test the audience's knowledge and preconceptions of Brighton and its offerings in both the business and leisure tourism markets.
Maidstone's Laura Dickson and Jackie Inskipp of Destination Milton Keynes presented a session on Conference Desks. Their session focussed on how to set up and manage a successful conference desk including ways to attract business and examples of best practice. Laura has used Velvet's Chaser BUREAU and on-line accommodation booking system ConferenceBookings.co.uk for many years; Jackie's team at Milton Keynes are more recent user having set up their desk in the past two years. Included in the discussions and presentations were how Velvet's products are core to the running of their business tourism operations. The session was well attended by destinations considering setting up a conference enquiry handling service and those looking to enhance their service offering.
