Edinburgh International Conference Centre welcomes record results and many more visitors in 2023

Venue also hails forthcoming pipeline of international events.

Major Scottish venue the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) has reported record income and profit for 2023, during which it nearly doubled the number of people crossing the threshold, and saw a jump in its economic impact locally.

The events space, which recently hosted the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, last year notched up revenue of £12.8 million, up from £11.8m in 2022, along with a record profit of £2.6m, nearly four times higher than the £700,000 or so that it generated in the previous 12 months.

The economic impact figure, which relates to the direct benefit of conferences and events taking place at the EICC to the Scottish capital and the surrounding region, increased to £58m from just under £52m, while it added that its total economic benefit since opening its doors in 1995 is now at about £850m.

EICC boss Marshall Dallas says: 'Holding large international association conferences is a significant part of our raison d’être.' Picture: Malcolm Cochrane Photography.

It also pointed out that the venue hosted more than 132,000 delegates and visitors during the year (up from 72,000 in 2022), with 2023 seeing it host 18 conferences by international associations. They included Global Equity Organisation’s 24th annual conference in April, the 15th World Congress on Endometriosis in May, and Hydro 2023 in October.

Two of the major such conferences taking place this year at the venue comprise the World Congress on Controversies in Breast Cancer in September, and the 36th International Papillomavirus Conference in November. In December, the EICC announced a string of major conference wins set for the next three years that it said would equate to its strongest-ever pipeline of events business. It explained that the 40 conferences and events would bring around 20,000 delegates to the city, and translate to around £32m of economic impact. Furthermore, it earlier this month detailed how it was gearing up for a trio of imminent premier tourism and events industry conferences, set to unite more than 1,000 attendees and “underpin continuing industry growth”.

EICC chief executive Marshall Dallas said: “We kept our sales team intact throughout the pandemic, which in retrospect was integral to our revenue performance last year because we were able to hit the ground running post-pandemic. Holding large international association conferences is a significant part of our raison d’être, and in the current year we already have 21 confirmed to take place, so that’s a really encouraging number for us and for business tourism in general in Edinburgh and Scotland.”

He also touched on the EICC having been Edinburgh’s main vaccination centre throughout 2021, as well as recently hosting the three-week Covid-19 Inquiry, which he said is a sign of how the venue has come full circle since the onset of the pandemic.

“After closing our doors in March 2020, we pivoted to become the city’s main vaccination centre the following year, and it felt fitting to have the recent Covid inquiry here in the same building,” he stated. “In addition to being a commercial enterprise, hosting events of this nature fulfils our triple bottom-line objectives of having a strong economic value, leading the way in sustainability, and positively impacting societal matters.”

The EICC and hotel giant Hyatt are working together to create a 350-bedroom property in Edinburgh’s Haymarket set to open in 2025.