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Sue Stuart, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Convention Bureau

“Edinburgh has a strong brand heritage in medical, science and technology fields and is highly successful in attracting meetings from these sectors ”

The Edinburgh Convention Bureau recently unveiled very good figures for the first part of the year and significant international events will be hosted in Scotland’s capital in the next few months. Sue Stuart casts her light on Edinburgh’s reputation as a centre of excellence in the fields of science.

BWMN: Figures you released for the first half of 2009 are more than satisfactory given the current downturn. How do you explain these good results?
Sue Stuart: The figures represent the strength of Edinburgh as a destination for international association meetings (28 ^th most popular destination in which to host association meetings according to ICCA's most recent figures). Edinburgh has a strong brand heritage in medical, science and technology fields and is highly successful in attracting meetings from these sectors. Our continuing success in profitably hosting association conferences can be explained by the city's high concentration of centres of excellence coupled with the exemplary quality of its conference products, an impressive range of hotels and outstanding venues for gala dinners, as well as an airport offering an every increasing number of direct international routes.

BWMN: Are there any new infrastructures (hotels, convention centres…) which can welcome international MICE events?
Sue Stuart: The exciting Missoni hotel opened last June and is the first to showcase the Rezidor’s partnership with the famous Italian fashion house. The Hotel du Vin & Bistro, the iconic George Hotel, the Apex Waterloo Place Hotel and the Fraser suites also unveiled their novelties in 2009. Different atmospheres can be found at the Dovecot tapestry gallery, on the Royal Deck which offers new capacities for prestigious dinners and galas on the Britannia, or discover the various blends of single malts at the Scotch Whisky Experience.

BWMN: What will be your next actions to confirm the important role played by Edinburgh on the meeting industry scene?
Sue Stuart:

We will continue with our strategic approach of working with local specialists in our universities and research institutes to further increase the number of international associations we attract.

www.conventionedinburgh.com