VisitBrighton Convention Bureau has staged its second ‘Brighton UnConventional’ fam weekend after scooping an award for the inaugural event at this year’s Meetings Industry Marketing Awards.

The unusual format gives buyers the chance to spend two nights in the seaside resort and explore its attractions at their leisure, with no pre-booked appointments or showrounds.

The event scooped the Gold MIMA award for Best Use of Budget after generating £2.5m in economic impact on an outlay of £3,712.

The second annual Brighton UnConventional, which took place last weekend, adopted the theme ‘Indian Summer’ and kicked off with a reception at The Lighthouse with Indian food and dancing.

More than 70 guests were welcomed by the VisitBrighton Convention Bureau and 19 of its hotel and venue partners.

Darren Johnson, VisitBrighton Convention Bureau, sales manager said this year’s event had attracted an even higher calibre of corporate and association event organisers and that more than 30 site inspections were independently made by the guests over the weekend.

Speaking at the opening reception, he said: “This event is about breaking down any pre conceived ideas you might have about Brighton. Yes, it is a great leisure destination but tonight we want to tell you what we can do on a business level.”