DESTINATION FOCUS
Liverpool
EN heads to Merseyside to check out the growing cultural hub,
home to the Beatles and the all-new Exhibition Centre Liverpool
“L
iverpool has experienced a cultural
and economic renaissance and is
a forward-thinking city that never
stands still,” Adrian Evans, assistant director
– conference and exhibitions at The ACC
Liverpool Group, tells EN. “It boasts unique
attractions, exciting events, world class sport
offerings, unrivalled musical heritage and
famously warm welcomes, making it the ideal
destination to host events.”
Like many cities in the north of England,
Liverpool has undergone a dramatic
transformation over the past few decades,
hosting world-leading events and a cultivating
a thriving network of venues, hotels and tourist
hotspots.
“The last five years have seen some major
developments in the exhibition offer in the
city,” says Jennifer Jensen, head of business
tourism at Liverpool Convention Bureau.
“Most obviously, the opening of Exhibition
Centre Liverpool has been a massive boost and
attracted lots of new high-profile events which
have been successful.”
ACC Liverpool opened in 2008 with the
arena and convention centre. By 2011 it had
welcomed around two million visitors across
500 events and announced plans to build a new
waterfront exhibition and events campus as
an extension to our existing offering. In 2015,
Exhibition Centre Liverpool opened, doubling
the campus’ event offering by adding an extra
8,100sqm of flexible space.
“Organisers appreciate that the venue is a
blank canvas that can be transformed into a
multitude of configurations, with the entire
space sub-divisible into three halls,” says
Evans.
“As well as the top-class facilities you’d
expect in a major European city, Liverpool
boasts several significant sector strengths
which have helped organisers to grow their
attendances and audience satisfaction,”
continues Jensen. “The city region is a hub
for advanced manufacturing, maritime
and life sciences, with several international
organisations and world-leading academics in
these areas.
“A good example of this recently has been
The Manufacturer’s ‘Digital Manufacturing
Week’ event, which has more than doubled
its audience since switching to Liverpool from
Birmingham two years ago and has reported
excellent feedback from its attendees.”
The city has also seen the opening of Rum
Warehouse, a flexible space in the surroundings
of the city’s historic docks, and Hinterlands in
the trendy Baltic Triangle area.
“As you would expect in a city where
tourism has grown year-on-year for the last
decade, we have also seen a lot of investment
in new hotels – properties as varied as Titanic
Hotel, Pullman Liverpool and the Shankly
Hotel have all brought something new to
the city and increased our ability to attract
visitors,” Jensen says.
One thing she hears frequently from visitors
is how friendly and welcoming the city and its
people are.
“It goes a massive way to ensuring that
attendees have a brilliant experience and one
that is truly memorable,” she explains. “It’s
not just us saying this anecdotally – Conde
Nast has declared us the UK’s friendliest city
and surveys from Which? and TripAdvisor
customers both have us in the top three
destinations in the UK, scoring particularly
highly on welcome.
But what does the future hold for venues like
Exhibition Centre Liverpool and the city as a
33
whole?
“We are continuously looking at how to
develop and enhance our offer,” says Evans.
“Plans are ongoing for the development
of Kings Dock, where Exhibition Centre
Liverpool is situated. The flexibility of the
venue means we are able to provide space
where events can grow with us. This is a
particular advantage for start-up exhibitions,
which are looking to expand in the future and
are able to do this thanks to the nature of our
venue and combining tailored commercial
packages with support from our highly
experienced team.
“Events are our business, and we will
support organisers every step of the way.” EN
exhibitionnews.co.uk | February 2019