Welcome to the spring 2018 issue of Conference Call.

Earlier this year we reported our annual results for 2017, sharing our key business highlights with the media and other stakeholders. It was a record year, with all of our main metrics up. Throughout it we hosted some 200 events and almost 100,000 delegates, raising the economic impact that we generate for the city to £55 million.

These are significant achievements which give us the impetus to sustain our growth so that we can keep on giving back to Edinburgh – and as part of this we’ve launched a new vision statement. We’ve committed to create an environment which inspires ideas that change the world. This is a reflection of our ethos to create a platform which is conducive to inspiring the vital networking and sharing of ideas which bring events to life and drive our clients’ industries forward.

There’s no doubt that we’re already living this vision. Edinburgh has long been a hub of world change and continues to be so – and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t do so indefinitely. Two years ago the city began a conversation about its future and started creating a vision for 2050, revealing what residents, businesses and organisations want their city to be in the future. Now that vision is taking shape and we’re getting the first glimpses of how Edinburgh is likely to change the world in decades to come.

In this issue of Conference Call we talk with the Lord Provost of Edinburgh and flag-bearer of the ‘2050 Edinburgh City Vision’, Frank Ross, about the initiative, what it entails and what it means for the city of Edinburgh. On the topic of change, the EICC recently welcomed an individual who simultaneously helped establish our reputation and change the face of the UK catering industry, Prue Leith. The founder of Leith’s, the EICC’s catering partner, Prue discusses quality catering and her love of Edinburgh. Looking towards the future, this issue’s case study features four industry figureheads exploring the state of conferencing to come.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Conference Call. Please do get in touch if you have any feedback.

Marshall Dallas
Chief Executive