Eastbourne is Choice Venue for Conferences
29 November 2007
Delegates will soon be descending upon Eastbourne as conference bookings look set to increase by a huge 72% over the next two years as new clients join regular organisers in selecting Eastbourne as their choice conference venue.
The team at Eastbourne Conference Office are just about to enter their busy season while at the same time, juggling bookings that are coming in for dates as far ahead as 2012. Between now and 2009, 35 confirmed and provisional conferences have been pencilled into the calendar, meaning that more than 20,000 delegates will pass through the town.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Spokesperson for Tourism, Cllr Steve Wallis said "These figures are a brilliant recognition of Eastbourne being considered a major conference venue, as well as a popular tourist town. Conferences bring a huge amount of business and the fact that the same clients return year after year is testament to the excellent service they can expect here."
Children's Ministry organised by the Kingsway Trust will kick off 2008 with 1,680 delegates, filling every seat in the Congress Theatre. Other new conference names confirmed for the coming seasons include the Royal British Legion who'll take over the venue next May with 1500 delegates, and fresh from having recently supported the Eastbourne Beer Festival, Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), have chosen to hold their annual conference in the town.
Conference organisers are offered a diverse range of venues in Eastbourne by the Borough Council's Conference Office. This includes the town's own resort venue, The Devonshire Park Centre, which provides up to 2500m2 exhibition space, 8 breakout rooms and wheelchair access throughout.
Next door is the International Lawn Tennis Centre, which offers peaceful conference settings when it's not being used to host the International Women's Open each June.
The town is eagerly awaiting the addition of a brand new exhibition space in an £8½ million state of the art Cultural Centre. This will also provide a contemporary area, where delegates and visitors can take time out to explore the permanent and touring art exhibitions, gallery shop, café and sun terrace.
With beautiful beaches on its doorstep and being overlooked by the picturesque South Downs, Eastbourne offers more bed spaces than any other town in the South East. The Conference Office works alongside an accommodation service, offering an extensive search of over 200 establishments and more than 7,500 bed spaces to meet the needs of delegates. Several hotels offer both conference facilities and guest rooms.
Eastbourne Conference Office provides a specialist service in venue finding, accommodation booking and conference planning. To contact the team telephone 01323 415437 or visit www.conferenceeastbourne.com .