Innovative campaign leads NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau to a win at national awards

NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, part of NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), has won the Innovation category at this year’s miaList awards.

The awards took place last night (17th November) and were hosted at Hilton Birmingham Metropole, which saw hundreds of event industry professionals come together to celebrate the best in the business.

The Innovation award is recognition of a campaign launched by the convention bureau called Tyne to Get Back to Business, which saw 35 venues across the North East unite in a bid to bounce back from covid, restore confidence in event organisers in staging conferences in the region, and to recapture the £150m a year across the industry.

The destination wide approach was an industry first in the UK and funded the 35 businesses in Newcastle and Gateshead to gain AIM Secure accreditation, which is the only Government-recognised accreditation for business meetings and events.

Caroline Reed, senior manager of Business Events at NGI, said: “We are ecstatic to have won the Innovation award. The Tyne to Get Back to Business campaign came at a crucial time for the business events industry and was a huge team effort including those from the 35 venues involved.

“As a team, we are driven by ensuring the events industry thrives and benefits everyone in the region, which is exactly what the aim of our campaign was, so it’s great for our efforts to be recognised at a national level.”

Jen Rea, head of business events and Travel Trade, NGI, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the team, and the legacy that the campaign has left. We are continuing to see an uplift in bookings and events and it’s encouraging to see the industry go from strength to strength.

“This is well-deserved recognition for the hard work that the team and the venues across the region put in to the campaign.

“The team thrive on delivering an excellent service and contributing to the sustainability and growth of the meetings and events industry in the North East, and this award is testament to their passion.”

The Meetings Industry Association (mia) is the principal association supporting and growing the business meetings and events industry and the keeper of AIM Secure. The association runs the miaList awards every year, which showcases inspirational individuals and teams who play an instrumental role in making their organisation a success.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily