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.
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