The burst of pride that the successful staging of the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Tour de France brought to Britain has got Whitehall thinking hard. If we can do it for sporting events, the UK government reasons, then we can do it for business. So said Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), speaking at the World Travel Market in November.
Javid plans to make the UK the conference, trade fair and exhibition capital of the world. “The UK is at the centre of global business. Now I want us to be a centre for global travel business, too,” he told the WTM audience.
The DCMS estimates the industry could be worth £48.8 billion to the UK by 2020. It is already worth £39.1 billion in direct spend, according to the Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP), but that includes £5.8 billion from music, sport, festivals and outdoors events. Within the current figure, the UK earns £19.9 billion from conferences and events and £11 billion from exhibitions and trade fairs. Another £7.7 billion in indirect spend comes from attendees at these events.
Supportive government
Unusually, there seems to be a consensus in the industry that the government’s ambitions are achievable. Richard Foulkes, BVEP’s vice-chair, believes there is an opportunity to grow significantly. “It’s the first time, probably ever, that we have a fully-supportive government,” he says. “We have the skill set in the UK and I don’t think we talk highly enough about it.” He adds that the industry is worth more than manufacturing or agriculture.
It’s not all good news, however. A 2014 study by BVEP into the sector highlights barriers to overcome if the country is to up its game. BVEP bemoans a lack of the “large-scale integrated hotel and meeting facilities” that the US and Middle East do so well. Proof of this, according to the research, is that our top ten event agencies, with a turnover of more than £2 billion, generate much of their income outside the UK. Moreover, only 20 per cent of 265,000 exhibitors surveyed at UK events came from outside the country – although this was a 2010 pre-Olympic figure.
The industry had its say in November via an online survey when it was asked to identify events that could be up-scaled or were in danger of being lost, or where UK events companies could play a more major role overseas. The DCMS is currently collating responses, promising to “set out in black and white” what the UK needs to do.
Foulkes says the government’s interest will enable BVEP to lobby on areas like VAT, aiming to mimic other countries where the industry gets tax breaks. Air Passenger Duty (APD) and visas, particularly when competing for business from Schengen countries, are issues, but there is a more mundane concern. “The welcome we give is important, and we are not known for it.” Simple things, such as a welcoming letter from the local mayor or hanging banners in the street, make a difference, he argues, and should be encouraged by DCMS.
BVEP also admits that some UK convention centres are not up to world standard, meaning that the real mega-meetings will never come to the UK, but adds that the volume of smaller events makes up for this. Another positive has been the hotel building boom of the last few years.
North of the border
Another point in UK plc’s favour is prowess at holding major sporting events is mentioned by many. Scotland will feel the benefits from the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup for a long time. Glasgow, for example, boasts that it has attracted £290 million in new conference business up to 2024 following the Games and the building of new venues like the Emirates Arena and SSE Hydro.
The PR and TV coverage for Scotland was priceless, something Marketing Edinburgh is capitalising on. Lesley Williams, its head of business tourism, is another believer in the power of events like the Ryder Cup to act as a catalyst for more mundane gatherings.
Edinburgh is proactively targeting the North American convention market after receiving nearly £40,000 from Visit Scotland’s Growth Fund. Some of the money will be spent bringing 20 buyers to the city in 2015 and funding a promotional video, iBook and interactive PDF. “We’ve traditionally worked mainly in the UK and Europe and we follow the industries that are strong for Edinburgh – biotechnology, life sciences, software, oil and gas. There’s always more to be done,” says Williams.
The city, which ranks 21st in the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) European city rankings for meetings, is already on a high after securing more than 150 new conferences in 2013/14 worth more than £90 million in total economic impact. Williams estimates business tourism brings £300 million to the city but again cites visa restrictions and APD as problematic.
Subvention – events being subsidised by government – is another issue. “We see this a lot internationally, especially in emerging destinations,” says Williams. “Cities are using conferences to strengthen their brand or change it. It’s definitely a challenge for UK plc.”
It is barriers like these that the industry hopes the DCMS will address in its newfound interest in the sector. “All the industry people I speak to are cock-a-hoop,” says Kevin Jackson, vice-president EMEA at George P Johnson Experience Marketing. He adds a note of caution, however, at some of the government’s ambitions. “We could get an event the size of the Mobil Oil Congress – 70,000 delegates – into the NEC in Birmingham, but there are not enough restaurants or hotels. There has to be an investment in infrastructure.”
Initiatives between cities are a way of moving into the big league, he believes – for example, persuading Liverpool not to compete with Manchester and have them make a joint bid instead. He also names technology and life sciences as two areas the industry should concentrate on.
Jackson believes we can learn from the Middle East in terms of infrastructure and planning. “Expo 2020 in Dubai is the result of massive long-term planning with everyone looking in the same direction. We are not a collective yet – hopefully the government will help.”
Rising up the league
The culture secretary is a sporting fan, and will probably have taken a look at the other sort of conference league table, ICCA's. The UK ranked fifth globally in terms of meetings last year, so a respectable third place is achievable, particularly as ICCA ranks London seventh in its worldwide cities league. With a little bit of help from the manager, UK plc could move into the big time.
The UK meetings and events industry
- 1.3 billion meetings are held in the UK each year
- Business visits to Britain are 23.5 per cent of all visits and, at £4.4 billion, 24.4 per cent of all spend.
- UK exhibitions attract 13 million visitors each year, spending £11 billion.
- The UK ranks fourth globally for international association congresses.
- Average business traveller spend is £611 per visit, £28 per head more than leisure travellers.
Source: BVEP