The concept of an Event Ambassador is a relatively simple one – it’s about Meet in Nottingham (Marketing Nottingham’s official Convention Bureau) supporting key individuals in the academic and business community who are interested in raising the profile of Nottingham by bidding for conferences in which, because of their work (or sometimes because of a hobby or interest), they have a personal interest.
Ambassadors are experts in their field who are drawn from key academic and industry sectors. They are enthusiastic in their support for Nottingham as a world-class destination to do business, undertake research and host conferences. Ambassador-led conferences generate substantial economic impact and raise the profile of Nottingham’s institutions and research areas.
The main benefits of becoming an Event Ambassador include:
- Raising the profile of your work amongst your peers, nationally and internationally
- Being recognised as a leader in your field of expertise
- Establishing a platform for research projects and international collaboration
- Contributing to an organisation’s strategic aims and development
- Generating economic benefits and raising profile of your home city
The world’s first ambassador programmes were established in the Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow in the 1990s. Since then, many destinations (towns, cities, even countries) globally have created their own ambassador programmes, and they have proven to be successful and relatively cost-effective ways for bidding and winning the contracts for major national and international conventions and congresses. Research shows an 80% conversion rate on bids with an ambassador compared to just 15% without*.
Research conducted by VisitBritain identifies that international events can have a considerable economic impact for a destination as they attract a much higher average spend than their domestic equivalents resulting in an average spend of £1,748 from delegates travelling outside of Europe. This compares to £990 for overseas delegates from within Europe, and £329 for UK delegates. Encouraging events which require delegates to stay overnight has a positive impact on a city with the economic impact extending right across the hospitality, retail and tourism sectors.
Many of you will be members of one or more society, institute or association linked to your employment or interest. If you’re actively involved with these membership organisations, you may be elected as an officer or opt to serve on particular working committees to further the development of the organisation, and to extend your own professional network and career. In such roles, you may have an opportunity to influence where the organisation’s conferences and congresses are being held – and we can support you with this.
When you bid to host a conference in Nottingham we will help you with one-to-one expert knowledge and support. Our services to help you through the process include, familiarisation visits, bid production, venue finding and accommodation booking, as well as supporting the events social programme and technical requirements by creating relevant connections and partnering with local suppliers.
Another way of supporting our Event Ambassador programme is that we may call upon you to provide support, guidance and industry knowledge and connections when bidding for events that have been directed to ourselves. Many organisations, associations and institutes require submissions to host an event to be proposed via the Destination Management Organisation. Having your support for these type of event bids will ensure our submissions are strong, relevant and have the backing of the associated industry sector community.
For those of you who attended the ambassador event dinner in 2017 or have previously been supportive of this work – we appreciate your involvement. We’re keen to build on this activity to ensure Nottingham’s considered a destination for national and international events. So, if you think you could support Nottingham in bidding for business or academic conferences or events please let us know.
Rachel Stewart, Events Manager, Meet in Nottingham
rachel.stewart@visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk
0115 962 8320
07495 987 101