England’s Heritage Cities (EHC) are hoping to repeat the success of a series of successful European exhibitions in 2009 with a return to exhibit at IMEX 2010.  EHC will once again be exhibiting their unique business product to the European meetings, incentive and associations market as 4 of the UK’s most celebrated heritage business destinations - Bath, Chester, Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon. 

IMEX is an award winning exhibition which promises to offer new ideas and inspiration to the global meetings industry, the annual event is held in the German city of Frankfurt.  In 2009 IMEX welcomed over 3,700 hosted buyers from 60 countries, over 8,900 total visitors from 97 countries and 3,500 exhibitors from 157 countries and it is hoped that this success will be repeated in 2010.

England’s Heritage Cities are looking forward to a successful 2010 by building on the new projects introduced last year which saw the consortium forge closer links with MeetEngland, the official body responsible for promoting England as a key destination for business visits and events.  The key focus being a dedicated campaign toward German meetings and incentive buyers, which has included a series of targeted e-newsletters, participation in trade publications and a forthcoming German sales mission.  IMEX will therefore provide an excellent opportunity to meet with this target market on a one to one basis.   

Victoria Wardle, EHC representative from Chester and Cheshire who will be representing the group at IMEX explained “IMEX will be a key opportunity for England’s Heritage Cities to reinforce our message to our German audience as well as the rest of Europe.  EHC are 4 of England’s most quintessential destinations which are often overshadowed by the larger UK cities and we are working hard to ensure a consistent message is delivered to the European market.  Our intention is to introduce overseas buyers to the potential of holding their next event somewhere new and incredibly unique”.   

Siân Smith, EHC representative from Stratford-upon-Avon continued “During the recent challenging economic climate and the continuing strength of the Euro against the Pound, England has emerged as a quality destination offering excellent ‘value for money’ to overseas visitors and by taking EHC back to IMEX we hope to showcase the high quality, yet exceptional value of our 4 cities”.

England’s Heritage Cities will be stand partnering with VisitBritain at the Messe Frankfurt, Germany from 25-27 May 2010.

England’s Heritage Cities are Bath Tourism Plus, Visit Chester & Cheshire, Destination Oxford and the Shakespeare Country Conference Bureau.  The official website is www.conferencesinengland.com