Over 100 Bristol hospitality businesses leaders including restaurateurs, hoteliers and caterers from across the region will come together on 13 January at Mercure hotel to pledge jobs, apprenticeships and work placements for young jobseekers at The Big Hospitality Conversation. Over 250 attendees will be joined by the Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson and Michelin-starred chef Josh Eggleton from the Pony and Trap.
Bristol’s visitor economy continues to grow steadily and visitor spend is in excess of £1billion annually, while the city is the fourth most visited in England and consistently placed 7th or 8th in the ranking of destinations by overseas visitors to the UK. Statistics indicate that Bristol attracts in the region of 1.6 million overnight trips annually, with one fifth of total domestic tourist nights spent in the South West, of which Bristol is the largest city.
Bristol and the South West
Jacqui Allum, Director of The Big Hospitality Conversationsaid: “Bristol and the South West have one of the largest hotel and restaurant sectors in the UK in terms of both employees and contribution to the local economy.
“Hospitality is a growing industry which is consistently resilient to economic fluctuations. With its enviably full and varied programmes of festivals, events and cultural activities, Bristol is ideally placed for attracting domestic and overseas tourists and we’re delighted to be working with prosperous local hospitality and tourism businesses who are seeking to attract young people.”
The Big Hospitality Conversation
The Big Hospitality Conversation is a nationwide campaign led by the British Hospitality Association in partnership with Springboard, Barclays, Believe in Young People, National Apprenticeship Service, and the DWP. It offers a commitment to creating job opportunities for 16-24 year olds. Over 35,000 job opportunities have so far been created at events like the one at Mercure and the aim is for the hospitality industry to create up to 60,000 jobs for young people by 2016.
This is the 22nd Big Hospitality Conversation to date and will kickstart an ambitious 2015 programme which will seek to generate job opportunities across the UK at venues including Tottenham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Swansea, Belfast, Lambeth, Cardiff, Hackney, Legoland, Bournemouth, Llandudno, Dundee / Perth, Preston / Blackpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Exeter, Maidstone, and the Isle of Wight.
Event attendees
Attendees include over 150 young jobseekers, City of Bristol College, Aramark UK Ltd, Castlemead Insurance Brokers, Doubletree by Hilton Bristol City Centre, DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol South, Black & White group (MPW restaurants), Bristol City Centre Marriott, Winford Manor Hotel, Novotel Bristol Centre, Aztec Hotel & Spa, Cox and Baloney Vintage Tea rooms, Friska, Marriott, Mercure Bristol, N-Gaged Training, Hyde & Co Leisure, Hilton Garden Inn, Swindon Marriott Hotel, Armada House Conference Centre, Destination Bristol, The Bristol Hotel, Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel, Whitbread, The Pig Near Bath, Holiday Inn Bristol Filton, wagamama, Babcock Training, Babcock International Group, Macdonald Hotels, DWP, Bourne Leisure Ltd., Jobcentreplus, The Regency Bristol, Abbey Hotel, Mercure Holland House, Apex Hotel, Redwood Farm, Premier Inn, Spirit Pub Company, Devon County Council, Thermae Bath Spa and The Gainsborough Bath Spa, Premier Apartments, Springboard UK, Costa, Bristol City Council, Moorfield Group, Smart Recruit, Berwick Lodge, Bond Dickinson, The Beeches Hotel, Lifetime Training, Believe in Young People, Bond Dickinson LLP, Global Payments
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