Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) and the Pavilion

Business Tourism in Bournemouth up by Over 3% to £127m

The latest statistics, based on the UK Tourist Board’s Estimate of Delegate Expenditure, show that the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) and Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom inject £73m annually into the local economy through business tourism. Combined with the statistical returns from Bournemouth hotels and other venues, the overall economic benefit of Bournemouth’s business tourism is valued at £127.6m.

The team at the BIC and Pavilion annually calculate the economic benefit that the venues bring to Bournemouth. Peter Gunn, Managing Director said: “Calculating our economic benefit is a key performance indicator of how well we are doing year on year. It is also an ideal way of demonstrating to local residents, as well as the wider national conference and exhibition market, how much Bournemouth’s economy is boosted by conference and exhibition business and event tourism.”

The calculations for April 2007 to March 2008 showed that the BIC and Pavilion attracted 68,608 conference delegates and 72,853 exhibition visitors over that period, equating to a total of 253,820 overnight stays for the year! An average spend per delegate is used to determine the economic benefit figure, which is an indicator of the number of jobs sustained in this valuable sector.

Clive Tyers, Head of Conferences, Exhibitions and Events explains: “The general trend in the conference and exhibition industry for large venues like the BIC, is still buoyant despite the general economic gloom and we have maintained the economic benefit at roughly the same level as the 2006-2007 financial year. The business we attract to the town has a massive knock-on effect on the hotel industry, in terms of overnight stays, facilitating smaller conference and exhibition events, as well as contributing to employment in Bournemouth’s thriving restaurant, bar and club industry.”

The BIC is the largest conference, exhibition and event venue on the South Coast. “Lots of the Bournemouth venues also benefit from bolt on work from larger conferences and exhibitions at the BIC,” says Karina Gregory, Bournemouth International Conference Bureau (BICB) Manager.

Statistics, based on the same calculation, show nearly a 12% increase in the economic benefit from Bournemouth hotels and other venues. Based on over 209,000 delegates at residential and non-residential events, a further £54.5m is contributed to the town’s economy.