The Visit Hull and East Yorkshire (VHEY) Advisory Board met on October 8 at Beverley Enterprise Centre to review continued growth in the region’s conference sector and receive the latest national updates from VisitEngland.
Continued growth in conferences and business events
Board members received an in-depth presentation from Meredith Trowsdale, VHEY’s Senior Visitor Economy Officer, outlining impressive progress across the region’s conference and events sector. The figures for 2024/25 show that the VHEY Conference Team secured 22 confirmed conferences, generating an estimated £2.5 million in economic impact, with over 4,000 delegates and 15,800 bed nights recorded. This success builds on Hull and East Yorkshire’s growing reputation as a conference destination of choice.
Momentum continues to build through the Conference Champions initiative, launched earlier this year. There are now 11 active Champions, with another eight in discussion, working alongside VHEY to attract national association events and special interest group conferences to the region. Plans are also underway for the first networking event for Champions, as well as an expanded recruitment drive with the University of Hull to engage more academic ambassadors.
Work has also advanced on key infrastructure and marketing priorities. A new conference website and CRM system are set to launch early in the new year, supported by refreshed branding and a LinkedIn campaign running through autumn and winter 2025.
The team has also invested in stronger partner communications, including monthly newsletters to both conference organisers and VHEY partners.
Hull and East Yorkshire are already seeing strong forward bookings, with 21 confirmed conferences for 2025 – including major national gatherings such as UKPON, VSGBI, ICC25 and SRP – and 40 live leads in the pipeline for 2026 and beyond. These include large-scale cultural and international events such as PIANC 2026 and the Sound Diplomacy Music Convention, which recently secured funding through VisitEngland’s Business Growth Programme.
The Board praised the team’s achievements and reaffirmed the importance of business events as a driver of year-round visitor spend and destination reputation.
VisitEngland update
Paul Szomoru from VisitEngland provided the Board with a national update, highlighting a number of initiatives and opportunities for collaboration across the Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) network.
He confirmed that VHEY’s successful funding application for the Sound Diplomacy Music Conference demonstrates the strength of its business case and growing influence in the events sector. Paul also outlined key upcoming opportunities, including a Nordic Buyers educational trip to Yorkshire, designed to build international market awareness and partnership working across the four Yorkshire LVEPs. He emphasised VisitEngland’s continued support for pan-Yorkshire collaboration and encouraged VHEY partners to engage with forthcoming initiatives, such as the new Business Event Toolkit and Regenerative Tourism webinars.
The Board discussed the importance of data-led insight, with members agreeing to support VisitEngland’s ‘How’s Business’ survey to help ensure robust benchmarking and trend analysis for the region.
Looking ahead
Chair Chris Blacksell thanked members for their continued commitment to developing Hull and East Yorkshire’s visitor economy and reaffirmed VHEY’s goal of positioning the region as a leading business and leisure destination within the national tourism landscape. Vice Chairs Councillor Nick Coultish and Councillor Rob Pritchard share his gratitude.
The whole Board also expressed its excitement for the upcoming Remarkable East Yorkshire Tourism Awards (REYTAs) at Connexin Live on November 19, where Lady Borwick, Chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board, will be a special guest.
The next Board meeting will take place later this year, with a focus on partnership priorities and preparations for the 2026 VHEY Tourism Conference.
