Glasgow has became the UK’s conference capital in 2008 attracting more international conferences than any other city in Britain, according to a report by the BBC.

The official statistics from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) show that Glasgow now ranks as number 33 in the world for attracting international meetings and conferences with an annual attendance of 20,070 delegates. This put Glasgow firmly behind the driving seat when it comes to UK conferences with no other British city with more than 20,000.

The Glasgow Marketing Bureau confirmed that there are 15 new conferences scheduled over the next few years as Glasgow was named the UK’s international conference capital for 2008. International meetings are now an integral part of Glasgows economy and Scott Taylor of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau said “We have a deliberate strategy of targeting the large international meetings with high numbers of delegates that deliver real economic value for the city and I am delighted that it is proving to be successful.”

Glasgow has worked hard at gaining international attention, Molly Doheny, head of the convention bureau, said: “These wins demonstrate that conference organisers are giving a big vote of confidence to Glasgow’s offering of good transport links, first class and varied meetings facilities and wide range of hotel beds to meet all budgets”.

The biggest conferences of the year held in Glasgow where the World Congress on Pain, the International Confederation of Midwives and the International Astronautical Congress.These three conferences alone attracted a large number of delegates as well as over £15m. Research has shown that delegates while attending international conferences spend around £421 per day, which highlights how lucrative such events are to Glasgows economy.

The top ranking world conference centres are Berlin, Barcelona, Paris and Vienna.