Organisations in the US convention and congress sector are increasingly
choosing London as their favoured destination for European conferences, reports
Excel London.
The venue, which recently completed a £220m expansion, said
60% of its conventions and congress business was now booked by US-based companies
and organisations.
James Rees, executive director at Excel London, said US
brands, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Salesforce and Gartner, and US-based
organisers such as the Linux Foundation (KubeCon) and the Alzheimer's
Association International Conference, were some of the firms and organisations favouring
London for their landmark European conferences.
“London is a world-class, tier-one city with a magnetic pull
as an event destination. The city’s appeal has further intensified over the
past few years demonstrating market confidence and resulting in record bookings
here at Excel, in particular from the US,” he said.
“In addition, next year we are hosting 10 major
international association congresses – the highest ever in a single year –
generating upwards of £250m for London’s business economy.”
Tracy Halliwell MBE, director of Tourism, Conventions &
Major Events at London & Partners, said the news supported wider trends seen
among London’s inbound business tourism with visitors from the US ‘once again
leading the rankings at 3.7 million last year.’
“We’re also seeing business visitors staying longer,
spending more and often including a plus one. The city’s universal appeal is
translating into one of the busiest pipelines for business we’ve seen, and the
events sector and venues like Excel London are crucial to our overall economic
strategy.”
Excel’s newly opened expansion added a further 25,000 square
metres to its existing space, so that the venue now offers an area of 125,000
square metres and has become the largest fully integrated convention and
exhibition venue in Europe.
