A cut too far… if we want conferences

This month saw the arrival of some 1,000 delegates and visitors for the GMB National Congress in Plymouth.

It was a major coup for the city and reflects tremendous efforts by Conference Plymouth and others in the leisure industry to bring it here despite the reduction of city council funding for conferences and previous criticisms about Plymouth’s lack of quality bed space.

The conference will have benefited the local economy massively, particularly our hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, bars, pubs and retail outlets. We expect leisure facilities and attractions will also have gained from delegates extending their stay.

Assuming delegates had a good time and liked what they saw in Plymouth, they will encourage their friends, families and colleagues to come here, boosting the local economy and helping create jobs.

It would make sense to become a serious conference destination like Bournemouth, Torquay and Brighton.

But Plymouth doesn’t have a dedicated large-scale conference venue. The Pavilions is a multi-purpose arena that hosts such a broad range of events that its availability for conferences is always going to be limited. And a more effective conference venue would have supporting rooms for exhibitions and dining.

Aligning the strategic objectives of the city council, English Cities Fund, SWRDA and the CDC will be critical if we really want a fit-for-purpose venue to tap the significant potential of conferences.

The city council’s recent decision to withdraw subvention funding support for association conferences means the private sector is left to rally round to raise funds to secure future conferences.

This has included a “bed-tax” for businesses to help secure events, which is helpful, but unsustainable long-term.

Without an appropriate public / private sector-funded mechanism for delivering conferences, Plymouth will continue to miss out on lucrative business tourism with the associated economic impact.

Conferences provide citywide benefits closely linked to the aims of our local economic strategy and therefore demand a citywide approach to their management. This needs to include three key components – a modern purpose-built conference centre, linked to appropriate accommodation and travel facilities; a co-ordinated approach to the marketing of the city as a premier location for business tourism; and co-ordinated and appropriate funding by the public and private sectors.

Work is under way by various parties to look at the first two components. But it will fail without the third.

Given the benefits that accrue to the city as a whole from conferences, it seems inexpedient for the city council to have withdrawn their funding for conferences – and I hope that they will reconsider their stance on this matter.

David Parlby

Chief executive, Plymouth Chamber