Conference Leeds, the super Convention Bureau for Leeds and West Yorkshire lined up four of its venues this week in a race to win the coveted “Best Business Hotel of the Year” award, part of the forthcoming Yorkshire Insider Business Tourism Awards.

Four of Leeds’ top hotels are going head to head in the forthcoming awards which are being held on Thursday March 18th at the Royal Armouries, Leeds. The awards recognise those organisations and venues that really go that extra mile to bring more business into Yorkshire, celebrating the very best of Yorkshire’s burgeoning business tourism industry.

The venues under starter’s orders for the “Best Business Hotel of the Year” category are:

• The Met, Leeds
• Weetwood Hall Conference Centre and Hotel, Leeds
• Radisson BLU, Leeds
• Leeds Marriott

The Business Tourism awards will coincide with the Conference and Hospitality Show at Saviles Hall, the Royal Armouries. The exhibition is the North’s key showcase promoting the very best destinations, venues and services that the Yorkshire business tourism sector has to offer to meetings and events organisers.

Partners of Leeds and West Yorkshire Convention Bureau have also been nominated in other categories:

New Venue of the Year
• The Rose Bowl, Leeds
• Aagrah Conference Centre, Bradford

Large Venue of the Year
• Yorkshire Event Centre

Small Venue of the Year
• The Met, Leeds

Unique Venue of the Year
• Yorkshire Sculpture Park
• National Media Museum, Bradford
• Shine Business Centre, Leeds

Nicola Lockwood, Head of Conference Leeds said: “It’s really exciting to see so many of our venues nominated for awards. It is great recognition of the range and quality of the venues we have now in Leeds and West Yorkshire. We are particularly excited that all the nominees in the “Best Business Hotel of the Year” are Leeds hotels!”

Conference Leeds is supported by Welcome to Yorkshire.

ENDS 19.2.2010
EDITORS NOTES:

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.

Image
Attached image shows L – R:
• Deborah Heather (cream jacket) – The Met Hotel
• Caroline Hill – Weetwood Hall Hotel & Conference Centre
• Becky Leach – Leeds Marriott
• Jonathan Huglin – Radisson BLU Hotel Leeds
• Claire Heap – Conference Leeds

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