38 . Glasgow Business July/August 2013
business portfolio that will benefit Scotland and Glasgow for many years to come.” And the money which comes into the city
through the conference industry goes a long way to benefiting the wider economy. An industry has now built up around conferencing in Glasgow, through the city’s hotels, restaurants and transport, and extending to all the subsidiaries that work alongside delivering a conference, from providing audio visual equipment, simultaneous translation, arranging specific study tours, or simply ferrying delegates by taxi to and from the airport. Lynn Stevenson, Sales Promotions Manager
at the Corinthian Club in the city centre, sees up to 25 per cent of business coming either directly or indirectly from the conference and exhibition sector. “It’s a significant proportion, both through the offshoot events we’re able to host in one of our dedicated meetings spaces, or through the social events which take place in our restaurants or bars aſter the meetings are over for the day,” she says. Glasgow’s wider atractions also
play a key role in entertaining conference and exhibition delegates, as well as providing venues for organisers, as the GCMB’s Scot Taylor explains: “Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum remains in the top 20 in the world in terms of visitor
Get your teeth into the art of exhibiting
In a thriving sector, the organisers of the Scottish Dental Show are now looking forward to their third event, following the growing success of their first two shows at Glasgow’s Hampden Park. Ann Craib, Sales and Events Manager
at Connect, who organise the show, says there was a gap in the market for an exhibition of this kind in Glasgow. “Previously, dentists would have
had to go down south to attend anything like it, so this show gives all companies in the dental trade the chance to catch up with their fellow professionals in Scotland under one roof.” Bruce Oxley, Editor of Scottish Dental
numbers. Te Riverside Museum, recently named European museum of the year, is catching up, and that’s also a brilliant event space. Te Glasgow Science Centre is another jewel because it can take up to 3,000 people for a reception, so it’s a real favourite among the big
Scott Taylor
convention organisers.” With some 40 per cent of all conferences in the city international in scope,
magazine and one of the organisers of the show, recommends booking early to guarantee a good position, and often a better rate. But that’s just the start, he says. “Once you’re there, you need to put in the work to get people to come to see you. There’s no point spending thousands of pounds on a stand if you’re not prepared to put in the effort to attract people and tell them what you do and what you can do for them. “Get up and engage with people or they’ll
just walk on by. It can be hard work, but the more people you and your staff talk to, the more successful your conference will be.”
Glasgow both competes and regularly wins on a world stage, against global competition. One of the reasons for that, according to Scot Taylor, is that conferences go where there’s already relevance, and Glasgow has existing expertise in medical areas such as oncology and cardiothoracic surgery, through to electrical engineering. “So much of this helps people come to the
city where they know there is an understanding and an audience,” says Scot.
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