Flurry of association events hit Bournemouth

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Three combined conferences and exhibitions for associations took place in one week recently at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC).

The start of the week saw AIRMIC (Association of Insurance and Risk Managers), host its annual 2009 Conference and Exhibition at the venue. Around 650 delegates attended the two-day event, which was described as the showcase for the corporate risk and insurance industry.

The event opened on 16 June with an exhibition in the Windsor Hall, featuring over 40 exhibitors, including big insurance names Zurich, AXA Corporate Solutions and HSBC Insurance Brokers. The main conference session took place in the adjacent Solent Hall over the course of the two days.
 
More than 450 exhibitors attended the 2009 AvMA Clinical Negligence Conference later in the week (ACNC). The 21st Annual Conference brought together the clinical negligence community for two days, to discuss the latest developments, policies and strategies. The exhibition openws on 19 June in the BIC’s Windsor Hall, with the main conference running in the Solent Hall.
 
“This week was a great example of how important the association market is for the BIC,” said Clive Tyers, head of conferences, exhibitions and events at the BIC. “Everyone’s talking about the green shoots of recovery, and while I’m not disagreeing, these events were confirmed years ahead, and make for steady business for us regardless of the recession or the recovery that follows.

“A busy week like this highlights how niche the association market is,” he continued. “We are currently booking events for 2014, 2015 and 2016, meaning we’re not as susceptible to market fluctuations. It’s a challenging week operationally, as we’ll have three get-ins and three get-outs over the course of just over a week!”
 
ALARM (the public risk management association) saw up to 500 delegates attend its two-day conference running from 22-23 June. The main conference will take place in the BIC’s Tregonwell Hall, with a 37 exhibitor strong exhibition in the adjacent Purbeck Hall, where an awards ceremony is being held on the first night of the conference. ALARM has around 1,800 members nationally in the risk, insurance, finance, audit, health and safety, emergency planning and business continuity professions.
 
All three events will inject around £1 million between them into Bournemouth’s economy through delegate expenditure in the local area. Recent statistics value Bournemouth’s business tourism at £115 million, of which the BIC and Pavilion contribute £65 million annually through the conferences and exhibitions staged at the venues. The remaining £50 million is a result of conferences, events and meetings at other venues in Bournemouth, often facilitated by the Bournemouth International Conference Bureau (BICB).