Event to boost tourism sector

Opportunities in the tourism market will be the subject of a one-day conference due to be held on Thursday 24 May at Chester Racecourse.

The North West alone attracts 30m visitors a year, spending £11bn annually in hotels, shops, bars, restaurants, to arts and sports attractions, airports and ports.

Keynote speakers at Travel Leisure & Tourism North on 24 May will include:

• Victoria Stansfield, digital delivery manager, Manchester City FC
• Ali Gayward, UK commercial manager, easyJet, the largest airline in the UK with more than 500 routes across Europe
• Iain Hawkins, head of Blackpool Cluster, Merlin Entertainments Group, operator of Madame Tussauds, Blackpool Tower Jungle Jims, Blackpool Circus, Blackpool Ballroom, Blackpool Tower Eye and the Dungeons
• Chris Melia, director, Colliers Destination Consulting, specialist in destination development, tourism, leisure, culture and heritage management consultancy
• Lorraine Jones, planning director, PHD North, advertising and creative media agency in Manchester
• Nicky Homes, commercial director, Nova International, which creates some of UK's biggest televised mass participation sports events, including Bupa Great North Run.

The line-up of speakers also includes representatives from Global Radio, Eden Luxury Group, and GB Taekwondo.

TLT North is organised by Marketing Cheshire in partnership with Taste Cheshire. Chris Brown, chief executive of Marketing Cheshire, said: "These are challenging and exciting times for the entire industry and we want to make sure that businesses in our area are fully up to speed with the way that their markets are developing so that they can be more competitive and keep ahead of the game. That's why we're bringing industry experts to Cheshire who are leaders in their sectors."

The conference will be split into two distinct half-day sessions:

Speakers in the morning session will deliver research and economic data based around the value and size of the visitor economy in the North. Presentations will examine topics covering private sector investment, market forecasts, built environment and public sector support.

In the afternoon, the focus will shift towards the marketing and operation of visitor attractions. Presentations will address the changing face of leisure attractions, shifts in demographics of visitors and how to market to disparate audiences, as well as how the use of technology can help enhance sales.

This event will benefit senior industry professionals, owners and operators of hotels, restaurants, venues and attractions and public sector bodies across the region.

Tickets cost £99 + VAT for Marketing Cheshire members and £119 + VAT for non-members. The event will take place at Chester Racecourse, Sealand Road, Chester, CH1 2LY.

For all event enquiries, please contact Emma Bellis at Marketing Cheshire on e.bellis@marketingcheshire.co.uk.

For any enquiries relating to credit or debit card payments, please contact Glasgows on 01772 767712 or tltnorth@glasgows.co.uk.

To find out more and to buy tickets, visit www.tltnorth.co.uk