MAJOR research is under way to establish the impact of conferences on the York economy.

Rule-of-thumb assessments have always speculated that about £700 million a year is generated for the city, but York Tourism Bureau believes that gut-feeling is not enough when it comes to optimising its pitch to organisers of gatherings.

First Stop York, the public-private sector partnership committed to developing York tourism has now commissioned York facts consultancy Questions Answered to accurately assess the value of the business/conference market and to benchmark and monitor over time York's performance against national averages.

Operators of York's conference venues have agreed to co-operate by filling in a confidential monthly questionnaire to gauge the value and type of conference business coming into the city. It is designed to:

Identify the proportion of business done that is conference orientated

Establish the ratio of residential as opposed to day conferences

Monitor the average length of conferences

Assess the proportion of conferences booked by agents, associations and corporate buyers

Analyse the types of sectors that are booking conferences in York and

Establish peaks and troughs in the conference year.

Conference organisers are also targeted with a separate questionnaire to establish why they chose York, how far in advance the choice was made, how big was the budget, whether they would return to York, how they rated the city's facilities, whether there was something missing in the York experience and if there were improvements which could be made.

Already the first three months' results have begun to trickle through. So far, about a third of the turnover of York hotels and attractions is attributed to the conference trade - confirming the huge importance of conference business to the city.

Other facts established: The split between day courses and residential conferences is roughly two to one; public bodies and associations, including clubs and societies, each represent a 20 per cent share of all conference meetings in York; professional services represent ten per cent, medical, eight per cent; and Information Technology, four per cent. Other corporate clients take the lion's share at 35 per cent.

Richard Delves, of Questions Answered, said: "Hotels and attractions across the city are supporting this project. Thanks to the backing of venues such as the National Railway Museum and The University of York, we will be able to provide evidence of the full value of business tourism into York for the very first time."

Tony Bennett, chairman of First Stop York tourism strategy group, said: "This important initiative will assist us with the marketing of York as a destination for business and conference visitors in the same way that our visitors' surveys provide vital information for leisure marketing campaigns."