Destination Bristol and First Great Western have teamed up to promote the city’s meetings and events facilities by offering conference organisers cheap rail fares for delegates.
Under the scheme, delegates will be able to travel Bristol at peak times for just £44, or £89 first class – less than half the usual cost. The hope is that the low prices will boost business travel and tempt companies to try out Bristol’s conference facilities.
A number of new hotels have opened in Bristol over the past few years, including the Radisson Blu in the Centre, while existing hotels such as The Bristol (formerly Jurys) and the Grand have been upgraded. These developments now mean the city has more than 2,000 four-star bedrooms in the central area and a number of venues able to manage events for more than 1,000 delegates.
Destination Bristol commercial services manager Kathryn Davis said: “Bristol is being increasingly recognised as one of the UK’s top destinations for conferences, meetings and events.
“Value for money, location and ease of access are the key influencing factors for any event organiser, as are an interesting and diverse range of venues, quality accommodation, team building activities and entertainment for delegates.”
Bristol’s range of new and unusual venues range from M Shed, the £27m history museum and conference space opened last year, to Bristol Zoo and Circomedia, the performance school and venue.
First Great Western account manager David Gardner added: “Conference and event organisers now have a ready-made travel solution to add to the attractions and facilities that Bristol has to offer. We hope that this will give the city a real advantage over alternative UK destinations and that delegates will elect to adopt rail travel over the car alternative.”
The offer is available from all main First Great Western stations as well as many connecting routes to the First Great Western network from the Home Counties.
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