Organised by Marketing Liverpool the Music Tourism Convention will welcome 200 delegates from around the world with companies including Spotify and LastMinute.com taking part. Tony McDonough reports
Some of the biggest names in music and travel including Spotify, LastMinute.com, Warner, Universal and Boiler Room will descend on Liverpool for a major conference in the next few days.
Around 200 delegates from around the world will gather for the Music Tourism Convention on Thursday and Friday, September 5 and 6, at the British Music Experience in Liverpool’s waterfront Cunard Building.
Organised by Marketing Liverpool, in association with VisitBritain and Sound Diplomacy, those in attendance will hear from 30 expert speakers involved in music tourism from every corner of the globe.
Growing industry
Music tourism is a growing industry worldwide, with more and more visitors being motivated to visit cities and regions which are synonymous with an artist or genre, as well as places which have an outstanding reputation for contemporary live music.
As a UNESCO City of Music, Liverpool is one of the destinations held up as an example of how to successfully develop a music offer which appeals to visitors. The city’s Beatles heritage industry alone is worth £90m a year and supports more than 2,000 jobs and the The Beatles Story museum enjoyed record visitor numbers this summer.
The convention programme begins on the evening of Thursday, September 5, with a welcome reception and networking, before the main conference programme the next day. This will comprise talks and panel discussions will look into various areas of music tourism from how it impacts economic development.
They will also look at how it’s used to brand a place, best practices from cities and countries around the world and how different stakeholders can work together and develop local, national and international partnerships.
Well developed
Chris Brown, director of marketing Liverpool, said: “Music tourism brings millions of pounds into the city each year and our offer is very well developed at this point, but there is a lot more we could do.
“Communicating the offer is a cornerstone of Liverpool’s destination marketing strategy, but it’s also crucial to consider the impact within the city, such as ensuring sustainability of the venues and creatives who fuel the contemporary scene.”
The convention was first held in Liverpool in 2017 and, after successful follow-up events in Germany and the US, it was decided to return to the city. Shain Shapiro, founder and chief executive of Sound Diplomacy, added: “Since the inaugural edition of Music Tourism Convention we’ve seen a huge growth in destinations around.
“However, there is still a lot to do, discuss and understand, and we’re excited to be bringing the conversation back to Liverpool, a role model and one of the world’s top music tourism destinations.”