[BBC News] Island is 'top conference venue'

[Newsbot]

The Isle of Man's reputation as a conference centre is growing, the tourism minister says.

 

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/...man/7731086.stm

[hboy]

The Isle of Man's reputation as a conference centre is growing, the tourism minister says.

 

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/...man/7731086.stm

 

This has to be the biggest load of old sh*te I've read in a long time.

 

"The Villa Marina is, I believe, just about unparalleled in the whole of the British Isles.

 

Yes its unparalled in being too small to run any big conferences at, just like Douglas is totally unparalelled in the lack of business standard hotel rooms avaliable without having to spread delegates across 3 or 4 hotels.

[Albert Tatlock]

"The Villa Marina is, I believe, just about unparalleled in the whole of the British Isles.

Wot a tit.

[%age]

[Manx Radio Newsbot] had this up this morning.

 

I was going to post the link then but simply didn't think it would be of any interest to anyone.

 

Still, at least I would have taken some wind out of [bBC Newsbot]'s sails.

 

With all the digital this and computery that, it's a pity that the RSS News feed thingy can't get working on Manx Radio. We could have bets on who would report first, Manx Radio or BBC. And who copied who's news.

[Pat Ayres]

Unparelled as what, exactly?

Lousy acoustics, small dressing rooms, bars far too small for a capacity audience, I could think of more things if I could be arsed. We must remember that the audience for this BS have probably never seen the Villa and it does look good on the pictures.

 

The problem for me is that everytime someone 'spinning' about the island is found out it makes us all look crooked because they are our representatives and therefore must be amongst out elite thinkers and doers.

I dispair.

[%age]

I like the Villa Marina

 

When it opened after the last extensive refurbishment it was to cost the taxpayer £30,000 per week to keep it running.

 

Add that to my other (pessimistic?) posts.

 

Whilst the Isand has loadsamoney and our heads stuck in the sand this is, apparently, all very well.

[lfc84]

"The Villa Marina is, I believe, just about unparalleled in the whole of the British Isles.

 

 

Really?

 

http://www.accliverpool.com/venue/flythrough/index.asp

[slinkydevil]

"The Villa Marina is, I believe, just about unparalleled in the whole of the British Isles.

 

Unparalled = nothing like it - yep!!

[WTF]

The problem for me is that everytime someone 'spinning' about the island is found out it makes us all look crooked because they are our representatives and therefore must be amongst out elite thinkers and doers.

I dispair.

 

atleast mugs will turn up for a couple of years, if you said come to our shithole and meet in carparkless dump, there could be even less takers.

[Stu Peters]

In my previous life I was a conference and corporate communications producer and think the island DOES have the potential as a great conference destination. But it needs to be sold as a package deal - you can't just fill a truck up with staging and sound and light kit and 'do' the Isle of Man, like you could any UK town or city.

 

I remember one Xmas a supplier invited me to their annual party - and to bring a passport and overnight bag and meet them at Liverpool airport. It was only as we were ushered through to departures that we realised we were heading for the IOM Hilton...and a wonderful time was had by all. The same plot could work well for conferences - but the DoTL needs to say to the industry 'give us £300 (say) per head for 500 delegates and we'll make it work like a bash at your local hotel never could'. But it would take a partnership between the hospitality industry, government, tech/creative services and an airline to have a chance of working.

 

It ISN'T enough to attend the occasional exhibition and hand out leaflets that say 'we're lovely - hold your next event here'.

[Chinahand]

The Island will never be an attractive conference venue as it costs £100 per head to just get here - you can build as many wonderful centres as you like, it won't change the fact we are totally uneconomic compared to UK venues near their various serving population centres.

[Stu Peters]

That's why a package deal is the way forward - money saved in one area (tech costs for example since the Villa has most in-house) can offset the travel element.

 

In my experience companies are quite happy to pay for something a bit different. Admittedly there are fewer sales conferences in Monaco these days, but themed events (I remember doing one for Hilti Power Tools where all the delegates were sent conscription papers instead of invitations, issued with ration books on arrival and made to wear army fatigues. The stage set was sandbags and camo netting) can be wonderful in motivation and team-building...and they're cheap!

 

It just needs someone with a bit of imagination and political clout, and an understanding of what the conference industry wants (which is very different from walking holidays, which the DoTL seems pretty good at selling).

[WTF]

package deal to the isle of man?!! thats as likely as club 18-30 in beruit with booze and boobs.

[GD4ELI]

The Island will never be an attractive conference venue as it costs £100 per head to just get here - you can build as many wonderful centres as you like, it won't change the fact we are totally uneconomic compared to UK venues near their various serving population centres.

 

Being realistic, if you had a choice of a conference in France / Italy / Switzerland or the 'rip off visitors' IOM, which would you chose? Despite the low value of Sterling I find the IOM still considerably more expensive than the continent.

 

I really don't understand the current batch of ministers - a few are good, the rest not.

[Skeddan]

IMO there isn't much opportunity in the conference market. That is pretty saturated with most major towns and cities competing heavily. There is usually a downturn in a recession, so this will only be more competitive. Also it isn't so much the cost of travel, but the time taken to travel (e.g. with conference on film finance, why go to IoM when can base in London where the lawyers and many financiers and producers are based - conference organisers make money from registrations for attendance, so IoM is unlikely to be competitive).

 

However in the broader area of groups and 'business tourism', there are opportunities where IoM could be very competitive One is the kind of short courses that Allan Bell has been setting up in area of finance. These 'away from it all' training, networking and professional development style courses - typically a week. A one week course on 'space finance' directed at European lawyers and professionals (with time out for play and networking) might only involve 60 people, but would be more suited than trying to host something for 300 or more. Of course if IoMG creates the programme (as Treasury did), then IoM is not competing to host it as would be the case with conferences. There are others too - professional firms and big banks have induction and training for new intake - again something where IoM could be an attractive.

 

Other 'small corporate events' are the 'team building' or sales team rewards and the like. Meet Jeremy Clarkson for some vaguely motivational talk, then hoon around in boy-racer cars, go abseiling off cliffs, jet boating along the coast and so on - all probably tax deductible - even if spending up large at the bar afterwards isn't.

 

Unlike the conference market proper, the smaller focussed group activity market isn't dependent on conference facilities, convenience and cost, but rather on location and activities. It wouldn't take too much to really develop IoM as 'the place' for this sort of activity and event - and able to very successfully compete against London, Peterborough, Leeds and all the other cities and destinations in the conference market. It's also worth bearing in mind that per head there is almost certainly a far higher spend - one 3-day event for 30 could be equivalent benefit to local business to a conference for 300.

 

If IoM offered full range of activities, particularly in adventure and extreme sports, it would get groups coming over. (Note Queenstown in NZ - very popular destination despite being expensive to get to from Auckland and Wellington). I think there is very healthy opportunity if IoM could style itself on the 'Queenstown' model, and with a bit of investment in the right places the benefit to the local economy could be huge.

 

It almost certainly has to be done in conjunction with an airline, DLT and DTI - and take a bit more effort than self-congratulatory hype.