BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF CONFERENCE DESTINATIONS

Conferences and meetings are a vital part of business and social communications in our fast-moving world. We operate in a global marketplace, no more so than in the conference sector where almost 200 countries are now competing aggressively for their share of international meetings and conventions. The UK continues to be one of the leading countries, regularly ranked in the top five by both the ICCA (International Congress & Convention Association) and UIA (Union of International Associations) listings of conference destinations.

Within the UK, the British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) plays a vital role as the voice of conference destinations. It offers a unique one-stop-shop service to event organisers seeking venues and destinations in any part of the British Isles.

BACD's 80 destination members represent all the leading conference destinations throughout the length and breadth of the British Isles, covering some 3000 venues of every description.

BACD members are the official voice of the destination, and guarantee to provide impartial, up-to-date advice tailored to individual needs. They act as a network of experts holding all the latest information on the venues and other support services in their areas. They are there to be of service, and can be contacted via the BACD website: www.bacd.org.uk

BACD MEMBER SERVICES

BACD member destinations are set up as conference desks/conference offices or conference/convention bureaux (sometimes known as convention and visitor bureaux). Their primary roles are marketing (i.e. to maximise conference business for their destinations) and the provision of event support services (ensuring that events are run as successfully as possible). This latter role may often entail working in close collaboration with a professional conference organiser (PCO), appointed by the client organisation.

To achieve these objectives, BACD members offer a range of (mostly free) services to event organisers. Such services include:

Venue Selection:
Recommending venues to match particular event requirements. This may include negotiating with and booking venues on behalf of clients. In total BACD members represent some 3,000 venues across the British Isles, including hotels, conference centres, academic venues and unusual venues.

Familiarisation/Inspection Visits:
Arranging visits to their destination to enable conference organisers to see the range of available facilities, support infrastructure, attractions, etc and meet key people.

Delegate Information:
Provision of delegate information packs.

Accommodation Booking:
Booking accommodation for delegates, partners, and speakers.

Social Programme Advice:
Advising on itineraries and opportunities for social and partner programmes, and on pre- and post-conference tours.

Access and Local Transport:
Providing information (and in some cases booking) transport to and within the destination.

Supporting Conference Bids:
Giving support to committees and associations bidding to bring a conference (whether a national or international event) to a British destination. This includes the provision of information for bid documents as well as personnel assistance with formal presentations to selection panels.

Financial Assistance:
Many BACD members, via the local authority, can offer civic receptions and other forms of financial or in-kind support to conferences which meet certain economic benefit criteria. Such support and criteria vary from destination to destination, and are usually only available to conferences in the 'not-for-profit' sector.