Conference Leeds, the super convention bureau for Leeds and West Yorkshire is celebrating after 3 of its venues scooped 4 awards in the Yorkshire Insider Business Tourism Awards which took place at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on the 18th March 2010.
Conference Leeds partners who won awards include:
• The Met Hotel Leeds – Best Business Hotel of the Year
• The Rose Bowl Leeds – New Venue of the Year
• Yorkshire Sculpture Park – Team of the Year
• Yorkshire Sculpture Park – Unique Venue of the Year
The destination of Leeds couldn’t fail to win the Best Business Hotel of the Year as the shortlisted venues were all from the same destination! The judges of this category said:
“In an award pitting big international brands against more boutique venues, the shortlist was unified by the quality experience offered to the business customer.” They were impressed by the Met Hotel’s remarkable rate of return business and the hotel’s management team’s ability to find time for a meeting every two hours!

Judges were also impressed with the way in which all of the venues had found fresh ways to create new business in the most challenging economic period in recent history. They cited the Rose Bowl as a fantastic addition to the city’s venue stock, performing excellently in a short period of time and displaying real versatility.

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park won two awards with its reputation as a quirky venue and offering a great team service that made it stand out from its competition.
Nicky Lockwood, head of Conference Leeds said:

“This was a wonderful night of celebration. Our venues put their hearts and souls into making 2009 a successful year despite the economic climate and these awards really showcase the area to conference buyers across the UK”.

Conference Leeds is supported by Welcome to Yorkshire and Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency.
Conference Leeds is responsible for promoting meetings and events across Leeds and West Yorkshire and is a “super convention bureau” representing over 250 venues throughout West Yorkshire.

Conference Leeds is supported by Welcome to Yorkshire, and Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency, charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber visitor economy. All the local authorities in West Yorkshire; Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale also support Conference Leeds.

Key facts include:

• business tourism generates £777m to the economy of West Yorkshire each year.
• 5.79 million delegates attend business tourism events in West Yorkshire each year.
• Leeds is ranked the 5th most popular destination for the corporate market in the British Meetings and Events Industry Survey 2009

For further information please contact:

Nicola Lockwood, Manager
Conference Leeds
Direct Line: 0113 220 6356
Mobile: 07957205486
E-mail: nicola.lockwood@conference-leeds.com

Press Release Issued by:
Sue Crawley
Firecircle PR
Mobile: 07508140828
E-mail: Sue@fire-circle.co.uk