Conference venues successfully join forces to attract business tourism to Winchester The Business Exhibition showcased the city and district’s conference and meeting facilities to event organisers, corporate clients and venue-finding agencies.

Hosting the exhibition, the Winchester Guildhall itself is one of the city’s grandest and most centrally located venues. Other venues exhibiting included centrally located hotels plus venues outside of the city boasting expansive grounds for team-building activities. The Watercress Line teamed up with their new local catering providers – Cresson Creative, and event organisers looking for flexibility on budget were able to meet representatives from The University of Winchester and The Wessex Conference Centre.

Chair of Conference Winchester, Jon Gettings of the Winchester Royal Hotel said: “We’re delighted to have this opportunity to showcase the very best of what Winchester has to offer businesses in terms of Conference and corporate event facilities. Having so many venues represented in one place at one time meant potential clients could gather all the information they needed to make an informed decision in under an hour.”

Representatives from Winchester City Council’s tourism marketing service were also available to offer advice on things to do in and around Winchester and promote their highly successful ‘partner programme’ - a series of ideas and activities for partners that come to stay with delegates.

The exhibition marks the launch of Winchester’s new style consortium of venue providers for meetings and events.