Conservative Party Conference worth £30m to Manchester's economy

The Conservative Party returns to Manchester this Sunday for its annual conference, an event that is estimated to generate £30m for the local economy.

Prime Minister Theresa May, the cabinet, Conservative MPs and around 12,000 delegates and exhibitors will meet at Manchester Central from 1-4 October.

This is the fifth Conservative Party Annual Conference to be held in Manchester since 2009. The conference and extensive programme of fringe events will provide a boost to hotels, restaurants, attractions and bars across the city.

"Manchester is well-versed in capturing the country’s attention for major national events, with last year’s Euroscience OpenForum and Olympic Heroes Parade testament to this," said Joanne Roney OBE, chief executive of Manchester City Council. "We look forward to welcoming another large-scale conference to the city, generating a significant boost to the regional economy and showing thousands of delegates the excellent visitor experience that is Manchester." 

Shaun Hinds, chief executive of Manchester Central, said: "This will be the eighth political party conference Manchester Central has hosted, which further establishes the city’s status as a leading conference and events destination. Without doubt, we will showcase the very best of what the venue and the wider city has to offer."

Business tourism generated £810m for the Greater Manchester economy in 2015, attracting 4.5million delegates to the city. Conference and business events were estimated to support 21,900 direct jobs within Greater Manchester, and 40,100 jobs to the UK, when including the indirect jobs in the supply chain.

Manchester Central also hosted the C&IT Agency Forum in August.

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