HIC Talk

One of the special charms of an international event venue located away from a huge city is that the centre does not work in isolation but it functions as a part of the community. And it is precisely for this reason that Harrogate is such a special destination for conferences and event.

The location of HIC on the cusp of the ruggedly spectacular Yorkshire Dales makes it really a unique venue. Moreover, whenever there is an event the local communities never fail to show their closeness and warmth to visitors, and it is the friendliness of the local community that keeps delegates and organisers returning year after year.

At Harrogate International Centre (HIC) we pride ourselves on delivering a first class service to our exhibitors and visitors. However, we are very aware of the occasional inconvenience caused by having a world class venue in the middle of a culturally rich place like Harrogate, which is why we work so closely with the local community. Read the rest of this entry »

Harrogate International Centre (HIC) has achieved a remarkable £180 million for the local economy during the 2010/11 financial year.

HIC’s head of sales and marketing; Alison Griffin said “This is a great achievement for us in the face of tough economic times and truly demonstrates the positive effect we have on Harrogate as a town and the local region.  As one of the largest businesses in Harrogate we would expect to have a substantial impact but this clearly demonstrates the value of events.  There are so many opportunities here for local business: from shops and taxi companies to restaurants and bars; to gain from the hundreds of thousands of visitors we bring to the town every year – a fact that is clearly demonstrated by this figure.”

The last year has been a challenging one for the events industry as a whole, yet Harrogate International Centre has continued to invest in new facilities, that will help bring long term prosperity and growth to the Centre and consequently the local people directly affected by its economic impact.  In particular work started on two new event halls that are due to open in Autumn 2011. On average, HIC hosts around 150 events and attracts in excess of 290,000 visitors each year, and is consistently acknowledged to be one of the UK’s top event venues.

Alison continues:  “The events industry has been particularly competitive in the last year and much of our success can be directly attributed to targeted marketing, attracting the right shows and the development of an ideal event offering.  Our excellent service levels have also helped us to retain a number of clients who were seeking additional support and advice from our in-house expertise.”

Recently, the Stroke Association has chosen Harrogate International Centre as the venue for their annual conference for the next three years (2012-14).  This event alone is likely to be worth a total of £6.6 million to the town and area.

The new halls are well on schedule and we are looking forward to seeing the results…. The development of the two new additional multi-purpose event spaces will add 3,300 square metres of exhibition space to the venue, along with increased hall heights of 6 metres. An expanded and improved main entrance will also be developed and an open air piazza is planned.

As the largest events venue in the north of the country, HIC generates vital income for Harrogate and the region.  Last year, it achieved a remarkable £180 million for the local economy during the 2010/11 financial year. This is a great achievement for us in the face of tough economic times, and it truly demonstrates the positive effect we have on Harrogate as a town and the local region.  Given our business scale and size we would expect to have a substantial impact but this clearly demonstrates the value of events.  There are so many opportunities here for local business: from shops and taxi companies to restaurants and bars; to gain from the hundreds of thousands of visitors we bring to the town every year.

These events also generate over 300,000 bed nights for local hotels and it is estimated that some 3-4,000 local jobs are reliant or substantially dependent on business tourism. The £13 million cost of new halls development is jointly funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and Harrogate Borough Council.

The construction of the new halls is in accordance with the strict green principle that is consistent with HIC‘s broader agenda to reduce overall impact. HIC clients are increasingly looking to reduce the environmental impact of their events and require firm evidence of a venue’s responsible approach to sustainability.

This new development is expected to achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating under BREEAM (British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) – the leading measure of a building’s environmental performance.

What else… the project is already drawing new business. Recently, the Stroke Association has chosen Harrogate International Centre as the venue for their annual conference for the next three years (2012-14).  This event alone is likely to bring around £6.6 million worth of business to the centre and the area.