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Cardiff council has spent £35,000 in two years on sending staff to the French Riviera to showcase the capital at the world’s biggest property fair.

In March, five staff from the council’s economic development team were sent to MIPIM 2013 in Cannes.

The five-day trip cost the council £15,782, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.

The bill included £9,210 on four nights accommodation, £4,274 on travel and £1,334 on food and drink, as well as a £415 attendance fee and £549 on promotional leaflets.

The council delegation was joined on the Cardiff stand by 15 “partner companies” who paid a total of £74,080. The Welsh capital joined cities including Paris, Moscow, Berlin, Hamburg, Barcelona, Rome, Saint Petersburg and Montreal at the event.

According to the schedule, a “Cardiff Luncheon” was held at the waterfront Plage Royale Restaurant, followed by a dinner a few hours later at Ma Nolan’s Irish bar.

The previous year, the council spent £20,174 on attending the event, the FOI response shows.

The now defunct Welsh Development Agency (WDA) was criticised in 2005 for sending eight staff to the conference at a cost of £43,500.

Asked to provide evidence of the economic benefit of attending, the council’s FOI response states: “Cardiff’s economic development team and its partners regard MIPIM as a long term investment in selling Cardiff as ‘open for business’.

“It raises the city’s profile and reputation as an international business destination. MIPIM builds relationships with funders and developers. There has been one visit by a major fund since MIPIM in March and one visit from a potential inward investor.”

A council spokesman said: “In the modern world cities compete against each other for jobs and investment.

“Jobs and investment result from the decisions taken by developers, funders and investors who attend MIPIM to assess the ambition of cities across the world and the quality of each city’s offer. Boris Johnson, as Mayor of London attended in person as did the new directly elected Mayor of Bristol.

“Most cities have to pay for their presence at the event but Cardiff was fortunate to have a willing private sector who paid to showcase Cardiff on this important global platform.”