Blackpool sets sights on becoming UK’s premier events destination

Blackpool is trying to reclaim its position as the UK’s premiere conference and events destination after millions of pounds of private and public investment was pumped into new facilities, upgraded accommodation, improved infrastructure and better transport links.

A new Blackpool is Booming tourism campaign will be launched at The Meeting Show at London’s Olympia, taking place from June 13 to 15.

At the heart of the new campaign will be a proposed new £25 million Blackpool Conference & Exhibition Centre, which was announced in a speech by Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this year.

Being developed as an extension to the world-famous Winter Gardens, the new state-of-the-art 6,150 square metre conference space will be able to host an additional 2,000 people, bringing the total Winter Gardens’ capacity to over 7,000.

Due to be operational by spring 2019, the conference centre’s opening will coincide with the arrival of three new purpose-built hotels within the resort which have already been granted planning, with two additional new hotels currently awaiting final approval.

If all five hotels are successfully developed this will add an additional 700 rooms of 4-star or above to Blackpool’s existing hotel stock, including 156 rooms adjacent to the new Winter Gardens development.

Another transformational element, which will be highlighted in the campaign, will be the forthcoming electrification of the Blackpool to Preston rail line, due to be completed next May.

This will result in an increase in the number of direct services to Blackpool from London and other major towns and cities across the UK.

Simultaneously Blackpool is set to get a new tram interchange at Blackpool North Station, which will result in the resort’s Promenade tramway system linking to the main rail network.

This means that for the very first time, visitors from across the country will be able to travel directly to Blackpool by train and then seamlessly transfer to bus and tram services, which reach every part of the town.

Such increased accessibility also means that delegates attending events at the new Winter Gardens conference centre will be able to easily explore the whole of the resort including the iconic Blackpool Tower, Madame Tussauds, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Blackpool Zoo.

Visitors will also get to enjoy the £250 million transformation of the Blackpool seafront, a six-year project which has seen the creation of six new headlands, the development of the sweeping Spanish steps onto the beach, the celebrated 2,200 square metre ‘Comedy Carpet’ opposite the Blackpool Tower, and the remodelling of the Blackpool Promenade.

Alan Cavill, director of places for Blackpool Council, said: "Over the last five years both Blackpool’s public and private sectors have steadily invested hundreds of millions in improving, upgrading and refreshing the resort’s overall business tourism and leisure offer which helped us to successfully make the case to government for the new £25 million Conference & Exhibition Centre.

"This, combined with the proposals for several new high-grade hotels on our doorstep, and the massive transport improvements set to transform the town’s connectivity with the whole of the UK, means soon Blackpool will once again offer a dynamic, diverse and unique delegate experience which will be unrivalled in the UK."

Michael Williams, managing director of the Blackpool Entertainment Company, said: "With an increased capacity for up to 7,000 delegates, the expanded Winter Gardens complex will be able to bid for more international shows and even bigger expos than we host currently.

"In addition, we will be actively targeting conferences, exhibitions and events that we previously hosted, but which have since relocated
elsewhere."