Global independent travel company, Travel Counsellors, recently marked its 25th anniversary with a spectacular conference held at EventCity - the North’s largest, fully flexible blank canvas, multipurpose event venue.

The three-day event, which took place from the 15th-17th November 2019, welcomed 2,000 delegates from across the globe and saw business updates, supplier exhibitions, breakout speaker sessions and gala dinners, with entertainment provided by Gary Barlow, Paloma Faith, Dara Ó Briain and Vernon Kay.

Cat Rainey, Head of Internal Events, MICE and Group Travel, highlights why EventCity was the perfect venue to host their special conference: “With our global head office located in Manchester and EventCity on our doorstep, we felt it was very apt to ‘bring home’ our 25th Anniversary Conference - our delegates were thrilled to be returning to Manchester!
“Each year, our conference gets bigger and better, and EventCity provided a space that allowed us to grow. It’s a huge blank canvas and we were able to completely adapt the space to suit our needs.

“What’s more, the location is fantastic - it provides a great opportunity to explore the city and the attractions in and around TraffordCity; there were plenty of pre and post event activities for our delegates to enjoy!”
Following the hugely successful event, which centred around ‘Moments That Matter’, Cat shared that attendees couldn’t have been happier with their experience at EventCity, praising the conference as “the best ever” in company history.

“The messages and feedback we have received surrounding the conference have been absolutely mind blowing and we couldn’t have pulled this off without each and every member of the EventCity team – they were always just a call or text away. We had last minute requests which were handled with such patience and ease, the team really did pull out all the stops, with constant smiles on their faces!”

Commenting on the few obstacles encountered along the way, Cat said: “EventCity couldn’t have been better when it came to solving problems. There were a couple of things that happened during the run-up to the event that could have been major issues – but the team were so quick to react that we didn’t even have time to stress.

“One of the banners ripped and was sent to reprint right away, and when we had an issue with carpet this was fixed overnight. The team always had a back-up plan and ensured minimal disruption.”

EventCity’s food and beverage team shared that, over the course of the three-day event, an impressive 9,000 drinks were served, 4,100 sandwiches consumed, 1,956 bottles of wine enjoyed and 500 bottles
of Prosecco popped. The Kitchen, which boasts freshly cooked, locally sourced food and tailored or totally bespoke menus, designed two delicious three-course meals for the 2,000 delegates.

“The catering managers were outstanding”, Cat added, “they were supportive, smiley and thoughtful - ensuring everyone was fed. Our team loved working alongside them.”

This year saw Travel Counsellors place a significant focus on sustainability: “We place strong importance on making our events as sustainable as possible, something which EventCity was a great help with.

“We installed two water fountains in the venue and gave each guest a refillable water bottle to discourage plastic bottle use. We also used recycled carpets wherever possible and gave these away to be used again once the event was over. With the help of the catering team, any leftover food was donated to a local foodbank”, Cat explained.
Commenting on the success of the conference, Pete Hutchinson, Operations Director at EventCity, said: “It was fantastic to work with the Travel Counsellors team, an internationally recognised brand and TraffordCity neighbour, on their 25th Anniversary Conference.

“We enjoyed every minute of helping them to bring such ambitious plans to life and create a truly unforgettable weekend for their guests in our venue.”

EventCity is located in the heart of TraffordCity, where attendees can find an abundance of activities to enjoy during their visit.

Days can be advanced with a range of adventure activities including ski slopes at Chill Factore and indoor skydiving at iFly. Located just a stone’s throw away from intu Trafford Centre, the popular leisure destination boasts over 150 stores such as Selfridges and John Lewis and is home to popular restaurants including San Carlo and Carluccio’s, leaving visitors to EventCity spoilt for choice.

Watch the highlights from the conference here.