The Meet Bristol & Bath Convention Bureau, part of the regional destination marketing organisation Visit West, has been named as a finalist in two prestigious event industry award schemes.
The bureau team is shortlisted for ‘Best UK Convention Bureau’ at the M&IT Awards, the event industry’s biggest awards programme, where it will be competing against convention bureaus representing Belfast, Birmingham and the West Midlands, Glasgow, Liverpool and London.
The winners will be announced at the awards event at Evolution London on October 8.
The team has also secured a place as a finalist in the miaList 2021 Team Awards, which recognise outstanding and passionate teams from across the meetings, hospitality and events industry.
Meet Bristol & Bath is nominated in the Best Destination category, along with convention bureau teams from Belfast, Leeds and Liverpool.
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel on November 4.
The shortlistings follow a rebrand at the beginning of this year to form a regional convention bureau, offering services in Bristol, Bath and the surrounding area. Previously Destination Bristol and Visit Bath ran their own bureaux.
Visit West director of tourism Kathryn Davis, pictured, said: “This is an incredible, but well deserved, double shortlist for the Meet Bristol & Bath team.
“The last 18 months have been catastrophic for the events industry, and the team, which at time was reduced to just one person due to furlough, continued to support organisers and venues whether rescheduling or providing updates and guidance.
“I am so proud of all they have achieved, not least the rebrand and inclusion of venues in the Bath area, extending their service to cover the west of England. Their dedication and positivity in incredibly difficult circumstances has been inspiring.”
Business events held in Bristol in 2019 were worth an estimated £347m to Bristol and the surrounding area, with social events accounting for an additional £26.1m.
Pictured: The Meet Bristol & Bath Team. From left, Vicki Webb, Anna Mead and Amy Phillips