Meet Birmingham partners with Chiltern Railways to promote city as a renowned conference destination
14th Nov 2011
Business tourism programme Meet Birmingham has joined forces with train operator Chiltern Railways to showcase the city to almost 40 of the UK’s leading events organisers.
The inaugural Meet Showcase, taking place on 10-11 November, will introduce attendees to the cream of Birmingham’s venues, accommodation, event support services and travel providers. It will enable visitors to make the best use of their time by attending more than 75 hours of face-to-face appointments at one location – providing a better understanding of the city’s strengths as a conference and events destination.
Partnering with Chiltern Railways emphasises Birmingham’s strengths as a centrally connected location in the heart of the UK. In September, Chiltern Railways completed a £250 million investment into its new Mainline between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street, offering conference delegates new trains, journey times from just 90 minutes and increased capacity.
Ian Taylor, Commercial Director at Marketing Birmingham, the city’s strategic marketing partnership that operates the Meet Birmingham programme, said:
“Chiltern Railways’ new Mainline service makes Birmingham an even easier place to reach for delegates, reinforcing our status as a first-class business events destination with an enviable location at the heart of the UK.
“The partnership with Chiltern Railways for our first Meet Showcase event will provide a boost to our business tourism partners as they demonstrate the city’s capacity for hosting major events to an impressive calibre of national buyers during two days.”
Thomas Ableman, Director at Chiltern Railways, added:
“We recognise that it is crucial for conference and event organisers to hold accessible events where the delegates can travel to locations quickly, easily and without incurring significant costs. Our recent investment into the new Chiltern Mainline has opened up the West Midlands even further, cementing Birmingham as a key destination for business tourism. Chiltern Railways provides highly competitive costs for travelling between London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street – with £25 return fares available at peak times – and delegates can make productive use of their time by accessing the free WiFi on board and tables at almost every seat.”
The Meet Showcase includes venue tours of The ICC, Conference Aston and Edgbaston Stadium. Birmingham was named as the UK’s most popular conference and events destination outside London by the British Meetings and Events Industry Survey 2011/12.
