Manchester and Leeds are two of the five most popular conferencing cities in the UK, a new survey has found.
Manchester ranked third – behind London and Birmingham – with Leeds in fifth place, the British Meetings and Events Industry survey (BMEIS) found.
Liverpool came in seventh on the list with NewcastleGateshead in 10th.
The annual national survey provides a comprehensive overview of buying trends in the UK conference and events industry, including insight from hundreds of buyers across the association business and corporate sectors.
The report also shows that the volume of events overall has seen an increase in 2016 of 12% in the corporate sector.
In Leeds, the survey showed an increase of 5.3% in tourism visits since 2013, with business tourism driving around 4 million delegates to the city in 2015, contributing £501million to the local economy per year.
Cllr Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We know how much hard work goes in to developing business tourism across Leeds and these results showcase this on a national scale.
“Both leisure and business tourism in the city are growing at a truly impressive rate, with Leeds becoming increasingly recognised as a fantastic destination to host world-class conferences and events.”
Jennifer Young, head of ConferenceLeeds, added: “For Leeds to be achieving such results without the benefit of a large convention centre in the city truly sets it apart from its competitors.”
