Marketing Edinburgh, Convention Bureau is the lead organisation responsible for the marketing and promotion of Scotland's capital as a global conference, incentive, meeting and event destination.

History

Formerly part of the Edinburgh & Lothians Tourist Board, the Edinburgh Convention Bureau (ECB) was formed as an independent company following the introduction of a new integrated Scottish tourism industry network in April 2005.

In June 2011, Marketing Edinburgh Ltd was launched, integrating ECB, Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance (DEMA) and Edinburgh Film Focus to form a single organisation responsible for the promotion of the city as a global destination in which to invest, live, work, study and visit.

Driven by integrity, professionalism and innovation, the Convention Bureau works closely with its members and main funding partner, the City of Edinburgh Council, and other stakeholders such as VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise, to ensure a co-ordinated and focused approach to the marketing of the city as a conference destination.

Over the past five years (2005/06 - 2009/10), the Convention Bureau has achieved £328m of economic benefit for the city from conferences confirmed or influenced through its efforts.

Our services

Our dedicated team provides free impartial advice to conference planners. As part of our service, we produce professionally designed bid documents and bid proposals, allowing the city to pitch as the potential host for international conferences to be held several years in advance.

We can also offer assistance on a variety of aspects which are fundamental to the success of an event. This includes providing guidance on conference venues, accommodation, transport, social programmes, pre and post conference tours and other conference support services.

See Our Services for full details.

Membership

A membership organisation, the Convention Bureau represents over 170 leading city organisations, including hotels, venues, conference facilities, destination management companies and conference and event organisers. We act as a conduit between our members and potential clients, undertake extensive marketing of the members' facilities and services, and encourage the development of business tourism expertise through workshops and networking events.

See Membership for further information.

Edinburgh Ambassador Programme

Our award-wining Edinburgh Ambassador Programme currently includes over 600 ‘ambassadors' representing all the major academic and commercial fields in which Edinburgh has an international reputation. Teaming up with a member of our sales team, these professionals work with us to influence the winning of association conferences for the city.

Since 1996, the Edinburgh Ambassador Programme has attracted over 210 major conferences to Edinburgh, generating over £100 million in economic benefit to the area.

To find out more about the Edinburgh Ambassador Programme, please click here.

BestCities

Edinburgh is a founder member of BestCities, the only global strategic alliance of leading conference bureaux.  Members of the alliance are universally recognised for their uncompromising standards which are indepedently monitored, measured and regularly enhanced to guarantee meeting planners the highest level of service and expertise. The other members are Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Melbourne, San Juan, Singapore and Vancouver. See www.bestcities.net