News / University conference boost for York tourism
University conference boost for York tourism
Friday 20th March 2009
Hundreds of computer experts will give York’s tourism industry a boost this weekend when they arrive in the city for a major international conference.
More than 500 delegates are attending the primary European forum for discussions on the future development of computer software which is hosted by the University of York.
Delegates at the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software (ETAPS) – the largest of its type in the world – are mainly academic or industrial researchers. The conference is also relevant to local companies working on software, which represent a substantial part of the Yorkshire economy.
Starting on 22 March, ETAPS 2009 runs across nine days and features five main conferences running in parallel, with satellite workshops and other events.
The five conferences are:
- International Conference on Compiler Construction
- European Symposium on Programming
- Fundamental Approaches to Software Engineering
- Foundations of Software Science and Computation Structures
- Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems
Delegates will also take part in a number of social events including a Reception attended by the Lord Mayor of York at the Castle Museum on 23 March, and a gala dinner, at the National Railway Museum on 25 March.
Gillian Cruddas, Chief Executive of Visit York, said: “It’s fantastic news that such a high profile event has chosen to come to York. Our most recent Business Tourism Study results revealed an increase of £34 million in the economic impact of business tourism on the local economy, from £98.4 million in 2006 up to £132.4 million in 2007. A nine-day event such as this represents a significant contribution to business tourism income for the city.”
The head of the Department of Computer Science Professor John McDermid said: “We are thrilled to be hosting such a prestigious event and know it will bring benefits to the University and York’s local economy. Whilst the conference will be taking place on campus during the day the delegates will, I am sure, be visiting the City’s tourist attractions, and excellent restaurants and other facilities in their spare time. I also hope that delegates will choose to stay on in the City to benefit from the region’s many attractions.”
Further details about the event can be found at www.cs.york.ac.uk/etaps09/ and www.etaps.org
