VisitBrighton celebrates tourism in the Tipis

A host of local businesses owners gathered in the Tipis on Wednesday evening (10 December 2014) for VisitBrighton’s end of year networking event.   Jeremy Ogden, chair of Brighton & Hove Hotel Association, Sharon Callaghan owner of Strawberry Fields guest house and Brighton & Hove City Council’s chair of economic development and culture Geoffrey Bowden, pictured, were

among those who met for a festive drink and catch up.  Cllr Bowden gave a welcome speech in which he thanked Partners for their support and collaboration and praised the VisitBrighton marketing and conference teams for their consistent hard work to attract leisure and business visitors to the city. According to the latest economic impact report (2013), Brighton & Hove now attracts more than 9.5million visitors a year, an increase of 10% since the last assessment in 2012.  

Since January, the marketing team has organised over 100 press trips, resulting in almost £5 million worth of media coverage and the VisitBrighton website is on track to top over 2 million unique visits by the end of the year. The VisitBrighton Convention Bureau has this year achieved a 63% increase of the number of conference confirmations for the city and its venues.  This equates to 70 events in total which will generate an estimated £52m in economic benefit; a 45% increase on 2013 figures.

VisitBrighton Partnership currently stands at over 450 members and includes accommodation providers, restaurants, shops, attractions, venues, language schools and activity providers.