WORKLOAD for York's conference desk has boomed this summer, taking bookings to record levels.

June and July inquiries soared by 84 per cent as the desk was bombarded with 81 inquiries.

This compares with 44 inquiries over the same two months last year.

The figures were announced today by the York Tourism Bureau which calculates that the deals done are worth about £280,000 to the city's economy.

Kay Hyde, PR manager for York Tourism Bureau, said: "These are our best summer figures ever - and prove that York is first choice as a city that offers more than conference hall and accommodation. It provides history, heritage and entertainment as part of a wider, irresistible package." Among the new booking confirmations are reservations from Leeds Metropolitan University, the Home Office and Alliance and the Leicester Building Society. The bright figures reflect intense activity by a newly-streamlined conference desk which has hosted site visits for organisers working for the likes of UNISON, the Faculty of Homeopathy and the Learning and Skills Council.

It is also partly a response to the more than 2,500 copies of York's Conference Guide mailed to its database from which the feedback has been "excellent".

A fax-back form to register interest in a Conference York Showcase at York Barbican on October 3 has yielded 60 inquiries so far.

The Showcase - the first of its kind in the city - will feature about 30 exhibitors and is expected to attract at least 60 buyers. The event will end with a drinks reception at the National Railway Museum in York.

Contributing to the summer boom has been the Bureau's Delegate Accommodation Service, for events being held at non-residential venues.

It has dealt with several new bookings, including a training and development conference for the Centre for Continuing and Professional Development at York University on September 1 and 8.

This, says the Bureau, should generate more than 200 bed nights for the city's hotels and guest houses.

Updated: 09:11 Tuesday, August 12, 2003