Edinburgh’s convention bureau debuting Ambassador Programme to shine spotlight on city

Edinburgh’s convention bureau is launching a new Ambassador Programme this week, aiming to form a network of representatives championing the city as a world-renowned destination for academia and events.

Convention Edinburgh is aiming to form a network of ambassadors championing the city as a world-renowned destination for academia and events. Picture: Malcolm Cochrane.

Convention Edinburgh is behind the initiative that is setting out to unite the Scottish capital’s academic talent and event industry professionals, and is reviving a similar venture launched in the 1990s.

The organisation, whose remit includes attracting conferences and events to Edinburgh by supporting venues across the city with their bids, was itself relaunched in June last year under the guardianship of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). It says that since then, more than 1,000 events have been attracted to the city, generating in excess of £900 million for the local economy, while it is estimated that at least 70 per cent of international association conferences are secured by ambassadorial activity.

The launch event takes place at the National Museum of Scotland on Wednesday October 11, with guests including Lezley Cameron, Deputy Lord Provost of Edinburgh; Professor Rowan Parks, whose roles include president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and Professor Lis Neubeck, expert in cardiovascular health in the School of Health and Social Care at Edinburgh Napier University.

Also on the list is Marshall Dallas, chief executive of the EICC, who said: “Conferences generate significant economic impact for Scotland, and serve to raise the international profile of the capital’s many centres of excellence – including its universities, royal colleges, financial institutions, and research centres. Collectively, they spotlight Scotland’s capital as a modern, dynamic city that’s continuing to extend its centres of excellence into new fields of expertise and ground-breaking research. We also recognise the power of ambassadorial activity, and are excited to launch the new programme this week.”

Earlier this year, Convention Edinburgh – which also helps event-bookers during the destination and venue-selection process for their conferences, and is led by the EICC’s sales and marketing director Amanda Wrathall – launched an advisory group, a move Dallas said at the time was “all about collaboration, pulling together resources, skills and experience from multiple city and national partners with the overall aim of attracting more events to Edinburgh”.