Business tourism delivered a huge £60 million boost to the economy in Dundee and Angus last year.
The £4m increase from 2013 results from more high profile conferences and events being held in the area.
Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau is not resting on it laurels but is targeting a 20% increase by 2020, bringing delegate expenditure of £14.5m and an economic impact of £72m.
The bureau’s latest economic impact figures show that more than 225,000 national and international delegates visited the region last year and spent more than £11.8m.
Bureau business tourism manager Karen Tocher said: “Business tourism is hugely important to the local economy of Dundee and Angus and this is further affirmed by the 2014 figures.
“Direct delegate spending generated almost £12 million, accounting for 12% of the total visitor expenditure.”
The expenditure is measured by the conference venues used and the hotels booked by delegates.
Added to the sum are expenses like taxi fares and audio visual equipment hire along with such recreational charges as visitors’ golf fees and restaurant bills.
The average UK business traveller spends £260 per trip and an overseas delegate an average of £730.
Business tourism safeguards more than 1,353 full-time equivalent jobs in the area, supported by an estimated total economic benefit of more than £60m.
Karen said: “When the bureau was set up in 1998, we recorded fewer than 10,000 UK delegates and just 32 individuals from overseas.”
The attraction of Dundee and Angus is partly due to the reputation of its higher education institutions.
Major conferences last year included the inaugural International Congress on Photodynamic Applications.
The 2015 programme features events like the International Society for Addiction Medicine.
Will Dawson, Dundee City Council development convener, said much hard work goes into bringing major conferences to the area.
“These figures illustrate the huge contribution that business tourism makes to the city region,” he added.