£13m hotel to bring in conferences

A NEW £13 million hotel is planned for Heriot-Watt University in a bid to attract major conferences to the Capital.

The 200-room facility for the Edinburgh Conference Centre (ECC) at the Riccarton campus is being planned to boost business tourism in the Capital.

The centre is currently only able to host large-scale conferences during holidays, when student dormitories can be used as accommodation for delegates.

The purpose-built, three-star hotel would mean the ECC could host events for up to 600 guests throughout the year, rivalling the larger Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

A business case for the scheme has been presented to the university court. If approved, it will go before the city council. Although the development would be in the greenbelt area, backers aim to build the hotel on the site of an existing building.

ECC general manager Thomas Day said the project could double the centre's £3m turnover when completed – possibly by 2012.

"The ECC is probably one of Edinburgh's hidden gems," he said. "But we have been very successful in bringing events to Edinburgh and we now see an opportunity to enhance that provision."

Mr Day said he hoped to attract athletes competing at the 2012 London Olympics to the hotel, where they could use the university's sport facilities to train.

Latest figures from the International Congress and Convention Association show that the Capital has slipped to 27th in the rankings for the number of international conferences held – overtaken by cities such as Prague and Kuala Lumpur.

Edinburgh has been set the goal of increasing its tourism revenues by 63 per cent by 2015, and business tourism currently accounts for £300m of the £1.08 billion spent by visitors to the Capital every year. The ECC, which recently held the Scottish National Party spring conference and a seminar on stem cell research, is the largest not-for-profit conference venue in the Capital.

It has 165 single rooms for delegates, but this is not enough for large-scale conferences. The hotel's 200 rooms would provide twin and double facilities for the first time, allowing delegates to bring partners.

Sue Stuart, chief executive of the Edinburgh Convention Bureau, said: "Attracting conferences to Edinburgh is a very important year-round component of the city's tourism industry.

"Delegates not only spend more than leisure visitors, they also spread the word about what the city has to offer, and many come back for personal visits.

"Business tourism is the fastest growing sector of the industry globally and is highly competitive. The new facility at Heriot-Watt will help make the city more attractive as a conference destination."

• www.edinburgh-conference.com