Liverpool has announced its latest conference win – the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP) with an associated economic impact of £1.52million for the city.

WAAVP is a not-for-profit organisation for scientists across the globe who study the parasites of non-human animals, encompassing helminthology, protozoology and entomology, and was attracted to Liverpool’s scientific expertise.
 
800 delegates will attend the conference, taking place at the BT Convention Centre, part of ACC Liverpool, between August 16-19 2015. Liverpool Convention Bureau will organise the accommodation with Happening Conferences and Events confirmed as the Professional Conference Organisers.

Ambassadors Professor Sandy Trees and Professor Diana Williams, both from the University of Liverpool, presented the bid at WAAVP’s Buenos Aires conference this year.

The WAAVP conference has previously taken place in Calgary 2009, Gent 2007, Christchurch 2005, New Orleans 2003 and will have visited Perth in 2013 before Liverpool hosts the event.

Carol O’Reilly, Liverpool Convention Bureau Manager, comments: “We are delighted to welcome this major association to the city, which underlines Liverpool’s expert ability to host international events. Conferences of this type contribute towards Liverpool’s growing recognition as a global meetings and events destination with expert knowledge in specific fields”.

Kerrin MacPhie, Director of Sales ACC Liverpool, comments: “This latest conference win demonstrates that Liverpool is a desirable destination for large scale medical and scientific conferences, with ACC Liverpool securing its reputation as an internationally renowned host venue. We look forward to welcoming WAAVP in 2015”.

Professor Sandy Trees adds: “We are delighted to be hosting WAAVP in 2015 and look forward to working with the local conference partners.  This not only recognises the attractiveness of Liverpool as an international conference destination, but also the international reputation of veterinary parasitology, general infection biology and biomedical science at the University of Liverpool”.

Anne Doherty, Managing Director at Happening Conferences and Events, also adds: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with the University of Liverpool in delivering WAAVP 2015. This is an exciting project for all involved, and is sure to showcase the City of Liverpool’s academic and cultural strengths”.

Belfast was bursting at the seams with hotels fully booked for three days this week as nearly 1500  delegates from across the world packed into the city to attend the ISF World Seed Congress 2011 conference.

The three day conference held at Belfast’s Waterfront, is a prestigious international event which in previous years has been hosted by cities of the calibre of Berlin, Prague and Copenhagen.  It is estimated that during the period of the conference Belfast will have benefitted to the tune of over £1.6m in revenue with 4,200 bed nights across the city.

A key element in attracting events such as the World Seed Conference to Belfast has been the role played by the Belfast Ambassador programme, which Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau’s (BVCB) Chief Executive Gerry Lennon cites as a critical success factor for business tourism.

 “Through the Conference Ambassador Programme, BVCB recognises the vital role that our local professionals play in bringing national and international conferences to Belfast. Our Ambassador programme has been a crucial ingredient in the development of the conference and meetings market in Belfast in welcoming delegates from across the world to their association conference.“

 “Business tourism, even in challenging economic conditions has the potential to provide a double dividend.  Not only is there the obvious direct benefit of the conference itself, which last year contributed over £26m into the local economy with 95 conferences bringing more than 18,000 delegates, but research has shown us that business tourists are four times more likely to revisit than non business visitors – so a win win situation for Belfast on both counts.” Gerry concluded.

 Work for the World Seed Conference commenced as far back as 2006 with local ambassadors John and Sarah Gilbert working alongside BVCB to attract and win the event and the level of planning and preparation since then has been significant.  

 Appointed Professional Conference Organiser, Anne Doherty, from Happening Conferences and Events added, “The programme for the World Seed Congress has enabled us to showcase what Belfast has to offer visitors from around the world.  The delegates have had an action packed three days including an opening ceremony at the Waterfront Hall, a reception at Custom House Square, a gala dinner at the King’s Hall and plenty  of sightseeing.” 

 “St Georges Market was transformed into a seed trading floor with exhibitions.  A rapid transformation from the Saturday market in less than 36 hours allowed delegates access at 11am on Monday morning to commence trading. The delegate feedback on the trading floor stated that it was the best ever! We are really proud to have been able to showcase Belfast to so many visitors.”

In recent years Belfast has attracted increasing numbers of large international conferences through positioning itself on a global stage and being able to compete for and win prestigious events in sectors as diverse as medicine, construction and atomic physics and agriculture.   Between now and the end of this summer alone Belfast will host another four major conferences in electronics, engineering and chemistry, underlining the City’s status as an international conference destination of choice.