Conference centre bringing millions to town

A blossoming conference centre is bringing a multimillion-pound boost in business tourism to Blackpool.

The Lancashire town's Winter Gardens £30m Conference and Exhibition Centre opened in March 2022.

It has attracted new conferences to the resort with former conferences also returning, according to a report to Blackpool Council's tourism, economy and communities scrutiny committee.

Latest figures reveal its economic impact over the past year is around £2.9m, with the overall value rising to £14m for conferences already booked in up until 2027.

Prestigious events include the annual conference of National Association of Retired Police Officers which draws in around 800 delegates, while the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches brings 1,000 people over two days.

The GMB union is booked in for its annual conference in 2026, while the Local Government Association has booked its 2027 annual conference too.

Business tourism is now managed by MeetBlackpool which is a partnership between VisitBlackpool, Blackpool Council, the Winter Gardens and other partners in the conference trade, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A report to the committee said: "This convention bureau-style approach is intended to make best use of council and Winter Gardens resources to attract new and lapsed conferences and events back to Blackpool.

"The key focus is on bringing business into the new centre, although MeetBlackpool is also tasked with ensuring that enquiries for smaller conferences are directed towards resort partners who also have conference and meeting facilities."

The Imperial Hotel in North Shore has also seen success in the conferencing trade with a 16% year-on-year increase in meetings and events revenue in 2024.

The hotel's general manager Trevor Vels said bookings for this year are already up by 23%.

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