Business Tourism Partnership Mission

BUSINESS
TOURISM
briefi ng
AN OVERVIEW OF THE UK’S BUSINESS VISITS AND EVENTS INDUSTRY
❝ To lead the way in supporting a competitive,
high quality and more profi table business
tourism sector in Britain ❞
Business Tourism Partnership Mission

CONTENTS
1. Introduction 2
2. Industry Overview 3
PAGE
3. The National Picture 11
a) England 11
b) Scotland 12
c) Wales 13
d) Northern Ireland 14
e) London 15
4. Business Events 16
a) UK Corporate Conferences and Meetings 16
b) UK Association Conferences 19
c) International Association Conferences 22
d) Exhibitions 30
e) Incentive Travel 34
f) Corporate Events and Corporate Hospitality 38
g) Outdoor Events 41
5. Marketing and Promotion Opportunities 45
6. Business Events and Creative Enterprise 52
7. Education, Training and Qualifications 57
8. Careers in the Industry 66
9. List of reference literature 72
10. The Business Tourism Partnership 75
This Briefing has been compiled by Tony Rogers (BACD and ABPCO)
on behalf of the Business Tourism Partnership, and includes
contributions from many Partnership members.

1. INTRODUCTION
Business tourism in Britain continues to grow from strength to
strength. It is one of tourism’s most consistent success stories. Its
importance is, at long last, beginning to be appreciated.
This Briefing is one of a number of initiatives, undertaken by the
Business Tourism Partnership, to position the sector at the forefront
of thinking by both the Government and the wider business
community. The Briefing reveals the scope and characteristics of the
sector’s various segments. It identifies trends and highlights key
issues that need to be addressed if Britain is to continue to have a
vibrant, competitive, world-class and profitable business tourism
sector.
Servicing business visitors and delivering world-class events also
means providing stimulating and rewarding careers and
employment prospects. Some 530,000 are estimated to be working
in the sector. Details on opportunities and how to access them are
included in this Briefing.
Conferences, exhibitions, incentive travel, corporate hospitality,
outdoor events and individual business travel account for a growing
share of total inbound tourism into the UK. In 2005, expenditure by
business visitors represented 28% of all inbound spend compared
with 32% of spend by holiday visitors. In total the sector is
estimated to be worth in excess of £22 billion.
The expenditure by attendees at events makes a considerable
contribution to the leisure economy and to the prosperity of local
communities. Business tourism is resilient to market changes. It
generates inward investment. Business visitors can be encouraged
to spend more by experiencing the UK’s varied leisure offerings as
well as returning on future holiday trips.
The UK has many unique advantages as a destination for business
events. It also faces a number of challenges that could undermine
its position as one of the leading countries in a highly competitive,
international marketplace.
Given proper recognition and support, the sector will lead the way
to even greater, sustainable, high quality growth to the benefit of
the visitor economy, trade development and creative enterprise.
Michael Hirst OBE, Chair
Business Tourism Partnership
March 2007
2

2. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
Business tourism is a sector of the wider tourism industry.
Conferences, exhibitions, incentive travel, corporate hospitality,
outdoor events and individual business travel account for a growing
share of total inbound tourism into the UK. In 2005, expenditure by
business visitors represented 28% of all spend compared with 32%
of spend by holiday visitors. In total the sector is estimated to be
worth in excess of £22 billion.
In more detail the sector comprises:
1. conferences and meetings - estimated to be worth a direct
£10.3 billion annually to venues by the British Conference
Venues Survey 2006. Around 80 million people attend 1.5 million
meetings and conferences each year
2. exhibitions and trade fairs - estimated to be worth £9.3
billion annually (AEO/KPMG research 2005). This figure does not
include the value of business transacted at exhibitions
3. incentive travel - no official recent research has been
conducted into this segment but independent and unattributable
statistics indicate that the market for meetings and incentive
travel is worth around £1.2 billion annually
4. corporate events and corporate hospitality - estimates value
this segment at around £1 billion annually
5. outdoor events - estimated value of at least £1 billion
annually
6. business (or individual corporate) travel. No reliable
estimates of this segment exist, although Business Tourism
Leads The Way suggested that it was worth upwards of
£6 billion per annum in 1998.
The majority of the spend for the corporate events and corporate
hospitality segment is within the UK whereas, with the UKoriginating
incentive travel business, the majority of this spend will
be overseas. However, it is worthy of note that not only does the
income from this business stay in the UK, but the business employs
considerable numbers of event professionals as well.
Additionally, because the UK enjoys a worldwide reputation for
excellence in event organisation, UK-based companies also operate
more than their fair share of worldwide programmes for large
multinationals. There are no verifiable statistics available as to the
value of this business but, while budgets for these events are
largely held outside the UK, the operation of the projects
themselves not only employs UK-based personnel but the fee
3

income it generates is also retained in the UK. It should be noted
that over recent years a number of UK-based companies have
established offices aboard in order to service their overseas clients
more effectively.
Key Characteristics of Business Tourism
The principal features and key characteristics of business tourism
include the following:
• it is at the high quality, high yield end of the tourism spectrum
• business tourism is year-round, peaking in Spring and Autumn
but still with high levels of activity in the Summer and Winter
months, thus sustaining permanent, full-time employment. It is
conservatively estimated that the sector nationally employs
around 530,000 people both directly and indirectly
• it complements the leisure tourism sector, relying on much of the
same physical infrastructure, and bringing business to
destinations such as seaside resorts which would otherwise be
dependent upon a relatively short Summer season for their
economic health and prosperity
• investments in business tourism facilities lead to the
regeneration of urban and inner city areas, as evidenced by cities
such as Birmingham, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester
• many of the investments in a destination’s infrastructure
designed primarily for the business tourist (hotels, transport and
communications facilities, restaurants, attractions and amenities,
even conference auditoria) provide benefits which can also be
enjoyed by the leisure tourist and the indigenous population
• it is resilient, being much less affected by economic downturns or
by disasters than leisure tourism and other sectors of the
national economy
• business tourism stimulates future inward investment as
business people see the attractions of a destination while
travelling on business or to attend a conference, exhibition or
incentive, and then return to establish business operations there.
They can also become unpaid ‘ambassadors’ for a destination by
communicating to colleagues and others their positive
impressions and favourable experiences
• the higher quality of personal service demanded by the business
tourist requires more labour-intensive service suppliers, which in
4

turn translates into higher levels of job creation. For example,
68% of all tourism jobs in Harrogate are created and sustained
by business tourism (principally conferences and exhibitions),
only 32% by leisure tourism.
• research suggests that approximately 40% of business travellers
will return with their families as leisure visitors to destinations
they have enjoyed visiting on business
• business tourism is sustainable, offering higher added value with
fewer negative environmental impacts than mass leisure tourism.
Furthermore, conference and incentive visitors are together as a
group, so that it is possible to inform and educate them about
the local community in which their event is being held in order to
maximise the enjoyment of their stay but also to minimise any
disruption and possible inconvenience to the local resident
population. It is very much harder to manage, in the same way,
the impact of individual leisure travellers on a destination.
The individual segments of business tourism (conferences and
meetings, exhibitions and trade fairs, incentive travel, corporate
events, outdoor events) are the five segments which are the prime
focus of marketing activities by venues and destinations, because
decisions about where the events take place are open to influence.
The organisers of the event may have greater flexibility in deciding
where it is held, and are able to use their own judgement or
discretion. For this reason, these five segments are often described
as ‘discretionary’. Individual business travel, on the other hand, is
termed ‘non-discretionary’ because, while the mode of transport
(road, rail or air, for example) used by the individual traveller is
open to influence, their actual travel destination is not.
Business Event Venues
The UK has an extraordinary variety of quality venues available to
the business tourism and business events sector. Based on a
minimum seating capacity of 50 theatre-style, around 3,500 venues
meet this criterion and promote themselves actively to the sector.
The British Association of Conference Destinations maintains a
database of such venues and an analysis of the data reveals:
• 53% of all venues are hotels
• 9% are dedicated conference and training centres
• 2% are major purpose-built convention and exhibition centres
• 6% are academic venues
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• 12% are multi-purpose venues (e.g. leisure centres,
community centres)
• 18% are unusual or unique venues
12%
6%
2%
18%
9%
53%
6
Hotels
Conference and Training
Centres
Purpose-built Convention
and Exhibition Centres
Academic Venues
Multi-Purpose Venues
Unusual or Unique Venues
The last category of unusual or unique venues can be further subdivided
revealing a multitude of venues which can help to make an
event particularly memorable. These include:
• Heritage venues (e.g. castles, historic buildings, stately
homes) – 29%
• Sporting venues (many now integrating high quality meeting
and event facilities) – 26%
• Museums – 19%
• Leisure attractions – 13%
• Theatres – 8%
• Other – 3%
Insights into Delegate Expenditure:
In 2006 VisitScotland, VisitBritain, VisitWales and Fáilte Ireland
commissioned a research programme to update figures on the value
of conference and meetings delegates. 963 interviews were
conducted with delegates at 29 conferences, which were
complemented by 50 interviews with Professional Conference
Organisers. The research showed that expenditure by, and on
behalf of, meeting delegates is considerably higher than previous
multipliers used, emphasising the important contribution which
conferences, meetings and incentive programmes can make to
destinations’ economic prosperity. Further information on this

esearch is available on any of the national tourist board websites
(see Section 12 for details).
A Regional Example – the West Midlands
Research undertaken by KPMG on behalf of Tourism West Midlands
found that an estimated 208,000 conferences and 392 exhibitions
were held in the West Midlands region in the 2005 calendar year,
attracting nearly 14 million visitors and delegates.
The total annual gross direct expenditure attributable to business
tourism activities in the West Midlands is estimated at £4.6 billion.
Of this £4.6 billion of direct expenditure, £3.5 billion is retained
within the West Midlands. Around 48% (£2.2 billion) of the gross
direct expenditure is generated by visitor and delegate personal
expenditure on accommodation, travel, shopping, entertainment,
food and beverage. Another £2.4 billion of expenditure is generated
by organiser and exhibitor companies’ expenditure.
When the multiplied (indirect and induced expenditure) impact of
the initial direct expenditure is calculated, total expenditure
generated from business tourism activities is £6.3 billion.
Table 2.1 summarises the key economic benefits generated by West
Midlands’ conference and event activity, including details of jobs
sustained.
Table 2.1
Direct
Impact
Indirect
Impact
7
Induced
Impact
Net expenditure £3.5 billion £1.9 billion £0.8
billion
GVA* £1.7 billion £0.8 billion £0.4
billion
Employment
(full-time
equivalents)
Total
Impact
£6.3
billion
£3.0
billion
58,300 26,200 £12,700 97,300
*GVA or Gross Value Added is the ‘retained income’ (wages and
profits).
Note: totals may not add up due to rounding.

Business Tourists from Overseas
Inbound business traveller numbers have risen far more quickly
than leisure tourists since 1979, up 212% in that period compared
with a 68% increase for leisure visitors. In 2005 spend by business
visitors from overseas exceeded £4 billion, representing 28% of
global inbound spend. See Table 2.2 for an analysis of the value,
volume and characteristics of inbound business tourism visitors
1995-2005.
Issues and Trends Impacting Business in the Sector
The industry faces an ever-rising tide of legislation and regulation
which not only adds cost but presents considerable challenges as
well. With the increased focus on tourism because of The Olympics
in 2012, more political ‘interference’ in the short to medium term is
to be expected.
This is only one of a number of trends that are evident in the
business; all areas of the b2b sector have felt the impact of
procurement in the process of purchasing of event services. This
has translated into a much greater emphasis on the need for
transparency with programme costings and a clear requirement to
identify added value as well as providing effective and quantifiable
measures to gauge return on investment (ROI). As part of this
process, companies are looking to establish preferred supplier lists
to give them greater control over the quality of delivery as well as
additional leverage through increased buying power and,
importantly, to track their event spend more accurately. Attractive
destinations and facilities are no longer enough – business results
are what count.
Following the 2006 Stern Report, the issue of climate change has
been pushed right up the political agenda. Organisers now have to
include recommendations for offsetting the potential environmental
damage an event may cause.
More and more companies are putting CSR policies in place and
expect event proposals to show a responsible and creative approach
that minimises any local impact their event(s) might have, both
socially and environmentally.
Since ‘9/11’ security has been a key issue and recent events have only
served to increase the focus on risk management and the need for
robust processes that protect both clients and their participants. The
current political uncertainty, particularly in the Middle East, remains
an important factor for organisers planning UK or overseas events.
8

Within the corporate arena there is a clear trend towards shorter
meetings that are more business-focused and involve short-haul
rather than long-haul travel.
Incentive travel, whilst still seen as an important motivator, remains
under pressure from high levels of UK taxation and also from a
desire for clients to avoid the appearance of extravagance when
company finances are under close scrutiny. The trend with incentive
travel is towards shorter, high impact experiences that combine
elements of both soft adventure and free time. The availability of
first-class leisure facilities is also an important factor. With
worldwide travel accessible to all, the challenge to design and
deliver the ultimate travel reward only increases.
Special events, including sporting events, are increasingly being
seen as unique tourist attractions and as destination image makers.
The number, diversity, and popularity of special events have grown
spectacularly over the past few decades and that growth is set to
continue. Events offer a strong emotional value to consumers and
therefore occupy a prominent role in their life and can influence
holiday destination choices. Furthermore, research shows that
major sports events do not just attract more business and leisure
visitors to the region. They also help raise the profile of the
destination, helping to attract inward investors, inviting customers
to make Britain their preferred destination of choice.
9

Table 2.2
Overseas Business Visitors to the UK 1995 - 2005
Purpose Data 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Other
Sum of Spend (£m) 2719 2600 2865 3041 3967 3271 2941 2959 2816 2964 3196
Business Sum of Visits (000) 4985 5132 5365 5640 7044 6190 5822 6222 6004 6377 6873
Trade Fair / Sum of Spend (£m) 140 152 161 198 * 188 168 173 223 177 193
Exhibition Sum of Visits (000) 209 249 283 320 * 280 206 254 329 247 299
Conference / Sum of Spend (£m) 361 468 475 581 * 589 472 441 393 541 666
Large Meeting Sum of Visits (000) 569 715 699 922 * 852 750 682 633 846 996
Total Sum of Spend (£m) 3219 3220 3501 3820 3967 4048 3582 3573 3432 3682 4055
Total Sum of Visits (000) 5763 6095 6347 6882 7044 7322 6778 7158 6967 7470 8168
Other
Av. Length of Stay 5.1 4.7 4.8 4.8 4.3 4.2 4.1 4.0 4.2 4.0 4.3
Business Av. Spend per Day
(£)
107 109 111 111 130 127 122 118 112 115 108
Av. Spend per Visit
(£)
545 507 534 539 563 528 505 476 469 465 465
Trade Fair / Av. Length of Stay 4.4 3.6 3.8 3.7 * 4.5 3.6 4.0 3.9 3.7 3.8
Exhibition Av. Spend per Day
(£)
151 171 151 169 * 150 225 169 172 196 170
Av. Spend per Visit
(£)
667 610 568 618 * 671 814 682 677 718 646
Conference / Av. Length of Stay 4.8 4.3 4.4 4.1 * 3.9 4.3 4.1 4.1 3.8 4.1
Large Meeting Av. Spend per Day
(£)
133 151 154 154 * 176 147 159 153 169 164
Av. Spend per Visit
(£)
634 655 680 631 * 691 630 646 620 639 669
Total Average Length of Stay 5.0 4.6 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.0 4.2 4.0 4.3
Total Average Spend per Day (£) 111 115 117 118 130 133 127 124 118 123 117
Total Average Spend per Visit (£) 559 528 552 555 563 553 528 499 493 493 496
* No trade fair or conference data were collected in 1999.
Source: ‘International Passenger Survey’ (Office for National Statistics)
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3. THE NATIONAL PICTURE
a) England
Meet England is the official body for marketing business
meetings and events in England, sitting within VisitBritain. It
continues to raise the profile of England and its destinations and
venues through its marketing activity.
Trends in England mirror the overall UK picture, with research
from VisitBritain’s quarterly Industry Panel (which includes
conference venues and organisers) showing a mainly positive
performance for 2006 (summer).
According to UKTS (Quarter 1, 2006) Business Trips account for
over 1/5 of all trips taken in England. In 2006, more than half of
all ‘business nights’ spent in the UK’s branded hotels were for
meetings, conferences or training sessions (BDRC Meetings
Market Survey).
Green issues/sustainability offer potential new opportunities for
England to ‘Lead the Way’ in offering clients venues and
programmes which are sensitive to Corporate Social
Responsibility policies and the environment. Convention centres
are acutely aware of some of the issues and are looking at ways
to reduce overheads and energy costs (which have increased
dramatically), but which are difficult to pass on to customers.
Competition between venues and destinations (UK and overseas)
is tough, although England wins out on diversity of products and
variety of experiences available and its unrivalled transport
network. Meeting planners are looking for unique venues and
experiences that have not been tried before.
Security, work/life balance and business extenders: more
executives prefer to stay closer to home (rather than travel
overseas for meetings). According to Barclaycard’s tenth annual
Business Travel Survey (March 2006), 22% of the UK’s chief
executives are travelling less, with one-third of these saying they
had made a concerted effort to improve their work/life balance
and 67% that they were turning trips from business to leisure by
taking their partners with them.
According to the ‘UK Conference Market Survey 2006’, England’s
top 10 destinations for corporate meetings are (in order):
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o London
o Birmingham
o Manchester
o Newcastle-Gateshead
o Liverpool
o Brighton
o Coventry
o Harrogate
o Blackpool
o Bournemouth
and for association meetings:
b) Scotland
o London
o Birmingham
o Manchester
o Leeds
o Newcastle-Gateshead
o Liverpool
o Brighton
o Bournemouth
o Blackpool
o Harrogate
VisitScotland’s annual customer satisfaction tracking survey
revealed continued high levels of satisfaction with Scotland as a
business tourism destination: 96% of meeting planners are satisfied
with events held in Scotland, and 87% of bookers would consider
using Scotland again for future events.
VisitScotland’s Business Tourism Unit (BTU) is also well-regarded as
a source of advice and information – 92% of meeting planners are
satisfied with the overall service and support materials received,
while the BTU’s enquiry handling service delivers 100% satisfaction.
1 in 3 enquiries to the BTU result in a booking, demonstrating the
value of convention bureaux services.
In 2005 the Scottish Executive replaced the 14 existing Area Tourist
Boards with an integrated VisitScotland network to act as one team
for tourism. Business tourism is now served by a network of
VisitScotland offices with Regional Business Tourism Managers
operating under the umbrella of the BTU and working in partnership
with City Convention Bureaux in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and
Dundee. The BTU has emerged from this integration process
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stronger and better resourced than ever before, with new positions
to focus on key sectors including an Associations Manager and a
London Account Development Manager, greater cohesion of
marketing activities and more streamlined customer communication
channels.
VisitScotland recently launched the world’s first independent
grading scheme for Exclusive Use Venues. The new grading scheme
aims to develop a national standard of quality against criteria
ranging from maintenance and reservations to amenities such as
conference facilities and leisure activities. Membership of the
scheme is capped at 25 venues, all of which must be awarded four
or five stars, thus ensuring that guests are guaranteed to stay in a
heritage property which offers a quintessentially Scottish
experience, complete with excellent hospitality and the highest
calibre of cuisine and facilities.
c) Wales
On April 1 st 2006 the Wales Tourist Board merged with the Welsh
Assembly Government (WAG) and now forms part of the Tourism
and Marketing Division within the Department of Enterprise
Innovation and Networks (formerly the Economic Development
Department of WAG), under the name of Visit Wales.
The merger has strengthened the Business Tourism Unit which is
part of the Events, Sponsorship and Business Tourism Division
within Visit Wales Marketing. The Business Tourism Team now has
three dedicated staff: Senior Marketing Executive, Sales &
Marketing Executive and Marketing Assistant, plus the Head of
Division.
An evaluation of the Visit Wales business tourism campaign for the
financial year to the end of 2006 showed that an additional £30
million was spent in the Welsh economy as a direct result of the
campaign.
Table 3.1 provides a summary of data from the International
Passenger Survey and the UK Tourism Survey to show the value of
business tourism to Wales over the 5-year period 2000-2005.
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Table 3.1
Wales’ Share of Business Tourism in the UK 2005
UK Wales
Trips Spend Trips (m) Spend
(m) (£m)
(£m)
Domestic
visitors
22.5 5251 1.3 336
Overseas 8.2 4055 0.2 68
visitors
TOTAL 30.7 9306 1.5 404
Source: UKTS and IPS.
Visit Wales Business Class Award Scheme
Visit Wales has developed a Business Class Award Scheme, which
assesses meeting/conference facilities and bedroom accommodation
for the business tourist.
Meeting spaces and bedrooms are graded separately and according
to a list of specified criteria. The bedroom criteria range from having
an uncluttered and adequate workspace and an express or early
checkout through to having fax, email access and voicemail in the
bedroom. Meeting rooms, meanwhile, are judged on their
soundproofing, pa systems, lighting, high speed internet access and
video conference facilities among others. To be considered for the
Award, serviced accommodation must first attain at least three
stars in the Visit Wales or AA grading scheme. The scheme has
three progressive levels – Silver, Gold and Platinum.
d) Northern Ireland
The Business Tourism Unit of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board
was established in 2004 (having previously operated as the
Northern Ireland Conference Bureau since 1994). The Northern
Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) is the statutory organization
responsible for encouraging and developing tourism in Northern
Ireland. NITB, in turn, is responsible to the Department of
Enterprise, Trade and Investment for Northern Ireland (DETI). NITB
has highlighted business tourism as one of its ‘winning themes’
within its Strategic Framework for Action 2004-2007.
The Business Tourism Unit (BTU), as part of the national tourist
board, is wholly funded by the Government, although the industry
in Northern Ireland pays to participate in marketing activities,
generating additional operating income. The Unit has a team
consisting of a manager, international sales person, domestic
business tourism officer and administrative backup. With the
14

establishment of Tourism Ireland, however, the Unit also has
representation through 18 overseas market offices.
The BTU’s main role is to provide strategic leadership and support
the activities of the two city convention bureaux in Belfast and
Derry and the regional tourism partnerships (RTPs) to attract
conference, association and incentive business to Northern Ireland.
e) London
The business and conventions activity within Visit London continues
to be of growing importance to the organisation and its stakeholders
as a whole. London has now launched a ten year vision for tourism,
and business and events is of real significance within this, both in
marketing and promotional terms as well as product and service
areas.
Visit London recently signed a four-year contract with the London
Development Agency commencing in April 2006 and ending in
March 2010. This contract, along with the private sector incomes it
generates, will see Visit London’s budget over the period reach
nearly £90m and the direct funding for business tourism activities
will grow from 8.4% to 11.6%.
Visit London now compiles a quarterly business tourism monitor to
measure performance in this sector to allow the industry to gauge
its performance – volume of events, attendee numbers etc.
Further activities include expansion into China, Australasia and India
to target new business, enhanced physical brand presence at
European trade shows; focus on association and not-for-profit
business with additional funding and increased staffing. In addition,
Visit London is growing its convention services offer both for the
organiser and the delegate, with plans for a London congress card
and event support packages.
Numbers of event enquiries are growing, with conversions and
spend increasing year on year.
Additional future activities will be geared towards unlocking the
potential for the business of sport and major events, with a mind
towards sustainability and green issues.
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4. BUSINESS EVENTS
This section examines the individual discretionary business tourism
segments in detail, looking at their key characteristics and trends,
volume and value data, issues affecting future growth, etc.
The business to business (b2b) sector can be characterised as
extremely dynamic and an arena that embraces a wide spectrum of
live events providing creative and valuable solutions for corporate
customers. Solutions that show events are now used very much as
experiential brand experiences delivering powerful and effective
marketing and communication messages right across the board.
The business in the UK today is diverse and it is estimated that
there are in excess of 3000 agencies of differing genres organising
live events of some kind. In addition to traditional event organisers,
these agencies range from small PR companies to event marketing
organisations through to large multinational production houses.
The events they organise range from off-site board meetings and
company AGMs to association meetings, large scale medical
symposia, major product launches through to opening and closing
ceremonies for worldwide events, such as the Olympic Games.
a) UK CORPORATE CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
Definition and Background
The corporate or for-profit segment encompasses all the varied
purposes for which meetings, conferences and events are held by
companies or corporate organisations, including the following:
• sales conferences
• product launches
• management meetings
• training courses
• business presentations
• Annual General meetings
(This segment can also include incentive travel – however, this is
discussed as a separate segment in this booklet).
In volume terms the British Conference Venues Survey 2006
indicates that 62% of the estimated 1.58 million conferences and
meetings held at UK venues in 2005 was generated by the
corporate sector.
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Other Characteristics
The UK Conference Market Survey researches 300 corporate
organisers annually. The 2006 survey revealed the following
characteristics for this segment:
• Corporate events tend to have lower numbers of attendees
than other types of conference (see next two sections). While
the mean number of delegates attending corporate events in
2005 was 140 (up from 99 in 2004), the majority of events
were still for less than 100 delegates
• The average duration of a corporate event is now only 1.1 days
(down from 1.6 days in 2001). Only 26% of events are
residential, compared with over 40% in previous years
• Their top three preferred venue types are city centre hotels,
purpose-built convention centres and unusual venues (the two
latter being rated equally)
• Primarily location, price/value for money and access influence
choice of venue, although availability, quality of service and
quality of food are also very important. The factors causing
most dissatisfaction are the venue’s staff’s understanding of an
organiser’s needs, and speed of service
• The mean lead-time within which events take place is 7.3
months, continuing a trend of longer lead times shown over
recent years (5.7 months in 2004, 4.6 months in 2003),
although this is still a far shorter time than for most other
segments.
Economic Benefits
It is difficult to define the universe for this segment in terms of
exactly what constitutes a meeting and how many companies hold
events at any one time. Estimating the value, therefore, is also
difficult. However, the corporate meetings segment is recognised as
one of the most valuable segments of the conference market. It has
been consistently shown to represent approximately two-thirds of
the overall conference market which, in 2005, was worth an
estimated £10.3 billion to venues alone (a figure which takes no
account of the wider economic impact generated by conference
activity).
Corporate organisers researched for the UK Conference Market
Survey 2006 spent an average £141,000 per year on events.
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Trends and Issues
The health of the economy in general, the state of markets and
market changes in industry hugely affect corporate events. They
also seem to be most affected by other forms of communication,
although between 2002 and 2006 the volume of events for this
segment remained relatively stable.
During 2005, the most popular forms of communication used by
corporate organisers in addition to face-to-face meetings were
teleconferencing (81%), e-mail/intranet (79%) and web
site/internet (71%). However, far from reducing the need for
meetings, the proliferation of text, e-mail and internet messaging
has increased the value and importance of face-to-face
communication. “Making messages memorable” has become the
greatest business challenge of the 21 st century.
Interactive conferences have become the popular vehicle for the
effective delivery and retention of key messages. So, out goes the
theatre-style presentation from the file of suited directors hiding
behind the lectern on a lofty and distant stage and in comes
“Gladiator style” in-the-round tiered seating and roving
microphones for intimate and relaxed Q&A sessions.
An increasing use of theatrical and audience participation
techniques is also evident. Rather than simply being added to the
end of conference programmes, team challenges, quizzes and group
musical performances are all being integrated to encourage real
involvement and assist with message retention.
Advances in technology have also hugely influenced this segment in
terms of use of presentation technology. The UK Conference Market
Survey 2006 identified that 88% of organisers used PC-linked data
projection for presentations and 34% used electronic whiteboards,
up from 18.5% the year before. Expectations of venues are high in
terms of their ability to keep up with advances in presentation
technology.
Corporate conference organisers also have high expectations for all
aspects of their meeting experience, demanding high quality
meeting facilities and service, as justification for use of their
valuable time in holding meetings. Recruiting and training staff to
meet these service requirements is a continuing challenge for those
providing facilities and services for conferences.
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) UK ASSOCIATION CONFERENCES
Definition and Background
The ‘national association’ conference segment includes a wide range
of not-for-profit organisations whose memberships and affiliations
are primarily national rather than international. Such organisations
include:
• professional associations and institutions
• trade associations
• trade unions
• societies and educational bodies
as well as a plethora of voluntary bodies of which membership is
more related to a hobby or interest rather than a person’s
employment e.g. political parties, charities, voluntary associations,
religious groups. The term ‘national association’, while not being
very precise, is used to describe this segment.
In volume terms, research indicates:
• a universe of up to 3,000 UK national associations active in the
conference market (BACD research). However, it is a dynamic
segment with associations being created (and also being
dissolved) on a continuous basis, so that there can never be
more than an informed estimate of the total number of such
organisations
• national associations form a significant part of the UK conference
market, accounting for around 30% of all conferences held
Typically national associations hold a major annual conference
within the UK and many arrange other, smaller meetings and
conferences during the year, again mostly (and often exclusively)
within the UK.
A proportion of these ‘national associations’ are also linked to a
European or international association or federation. In this way they
provide the conduit or opportunity for bids by UK associations to
host the international conference (see section 4c) of a particular
organisation.
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Economic Benefits
Research* undertaken by the British Association of Conference
Destinations from its own database of national associations shows
that the major annual conferences of these organisations bring
together substantial numbers of delegates:
• 22% of national associations have an annual conference of up to
100 delegates
• 19% of national associations have an annual conference of 100-
200 delegates
• 36% of national associations have an annual conference of 200-
500 delegates
• 11% of national associations have an annual conference of 500-
1000 delegates
• 12% of national associations have an annual conference of
1000+ delegates
(* based on a sample of 1423 national associations in September
2002)
Many of these conferences last from 2-4 days, with an average
spend per delegate per day of £221 and an additional organiser
spend of £240 per day (Delegate Expenditure Survey 2006). It is
not unusual, therefore, for a national association annual conference
to generate expenditure of several hundred thousand pounds, while
very large conferences of 1000+ delegates can produce an
economic impact worth millions of pounds. For example,
Bournemouth estimates the economic benefit of The Conservative
Party Conference to the town in 2006 at £10 million (with almost
9,000 delegates generating 50,000 bednights). Many delegates
(often with partners) will arrive early for a conference or extend
their stay once the conference is over, increasing their expenditure
in a destination as leisure visitors. In addition, many contractors,
suppliers and exhibitors, as well as media and security personnel in
the case of major political conferences, may also arrive in a
destination several days before the commencement of an event.
Benefits are not just in direct and indirect spend but also in
employment created and sustained. Harrogate, for example, can
demonstrate that, of 7000 people employed in tourism in the
Harrogate district, 4750 (68%) are in jobs supported by business
tourism, a large part (approximately 70%) of which is comprised of
national association conferences.
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Seasonality is another important benefit of national association
conferences, especially for those resort destinations for which
leisure tourism is important. The peak seasons for national
association conferences are March-June (and increasingly now into
July as well) and September-November, thus extending the
shoulder months surrounding the main summer season (which has
tended to become shorter).
Characteristics of National Association Conferences
• Many national associations choose the locations of their
conferences on a rotation system e.g. north-south rotation, or
rotation around several regions of the UK on a 3 or 4-year cycle.
Information on the rotation of a particular event is crucial to
those destinations and venues keen to win that piece of business
for themselves
• The decision-making process in respect of choice of
venue/destination can be elongated, with interested locations
being invited to submit a ‘bid document’ (paper or web-based
format) which will then be considered by a selection panel or
committee, and may involve the making of a formal presentation
to such a panel
• The most popular types of venues used by national association
conferences are (in order) city centre hotels, university/academic
venues, purpose-built convention centres and dedicated
conference/training centres (UK Conference Market Survey 2006)
• Key factors influencing venue selection (UK Conference Market
Survey 2006) are, in order of priority:
1. Location
2. Price/value for money
3. Access (road, rail, air)
4. Availability
5. Quality of service
Availability of dates is a key factor since a number of associations
are locked into specific dates for the staging of their conference,
restricting their choice of venue/location because the venues that
they might prefer to use are not available (having other events
are already booked in).
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Future Trends and Issues
• The demands made upon conference venues catering for national
association conferences will continue to grow, both in the
provision of electronic communications technology but also in
requirements for space (e.g. increasing use of
syndicate/breakout rooms, greater need for exhibition space),
better accessibility for disabled delegates, and for higher levels of
security
• Organisers are likely to seek more integrated infrastructures with
high quality transport systems to and within a destination, plus
venue, accommodation, restaurants and attractions in close
proximity - Manchester’s conventions quarter branded as
‘Manchester Central Convention Complex’ is one example of such
a development
• More destination marketing organisations are establishing
‘ambassador programmes’ designed specifically to target the
national and international association conference segments. Such
programmes identify and recruit key individuals within local
communities to act as ambassadors for the destination in
promoting its benefits and in bidding to bring the major
conference of the organisation of which they are a member to
their own destination.
c) INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION CONFERENCES
Definition and Background
The international association conference market, where the terms
‘convention’ and ‘congress’ are frequently used to describe major
events, brings together members with common professional,
scientific or social interests. The associations vary in size and
membership, can be regional or international in scope and use
meetings as one of the most important communication methods
with members. The associations also use their meetings as a key
revenue generator to support the headquarters and fund outreach
activities such as specialised research and public health campaigns
as well as programmes in developing countries.
Individuals attend congresses because they provide an opportunity
to share ideas and information about their industry or field,
impart/gain intelligence and research and network with industry
colleagues. Academic and research institutions send delegates to
attend meetings so as to publish and present results of research, to
gain publicity for their research units/programmes, to enhance the
institution’s standing and attract further government and industry
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sponsorship. There is also a requirement in some, particularly
medical, professions to attend congresses as a part of a continuing
professional development (CPD) programme.
The congresses alternate between venues within their region or the
world either on a fixed rotation or by invitation. They can be held
annually, or every two, three, four or even five years. A whole
industry has been built up around the association meetings segment
as their economic attractiveness has become apparent to
destinations globally.
There are two methods of researching these congresses with a view
to hosting their events in the UK: this is either done through the UK
member contact or Chapter of an international association or by
approaching the headquarters, usually located overseas, directly.
There are clusters of international association headquarters in
London, Paris, Brussels, Geneva and The Hague as well as in
Washington DC. However, there is a difference in style between
associations headquartered in Europe, which are usually run by a
small number of full-time staff with a series of executive
committees, and those located in North America, where the
organisations generally have very large headquarters buildings and
staff (they also tend to be much more commercially aware, having
less of an historical background.) Specialised research helps
convention cities determine the so-called next ‘open date’ (i.e. the
next year for which the location of the congress has not been
decided), the exact bidding process and the representative most
likely to extend the invitation.
As with national association meetings, the segment encompasses a
wide range of organisations which can be governmental,
professional, scientific or social in nature. However, it is usually the
medical, scientific and pharmaceutical meetings which are the most
attractive both in terms of attendance and revenue. IT and
telecommunications has also been a major industry sector using this
form of communication but recent changes in the US economy and
in the telecoms industry itself have certainly reduced congress
demand from this sector, which had traditionally been a stable
source of meetings.
It would be impossible to put a figure on the number of
international associations in existence around the world. The Union
of International Associations (UIA) has over 25,000 registered in its
Yearbook but it is important to remember that only a fraction of
these will meet internationally and on a rotational basis, making the
UK a potential destination. The UIA measures approximately 9,000
meetings annually and publishes a well respected and robust annual
statistical review (response rate to their questionnaire mailings is
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60%). The International Congress and Convention Association
(ICCA) database measures a similar level and both have extensive
statistical information on the characteristics of the meetings and the
destinations where these are held.
Economic Benefits
In value terms the most important targets for any convention city
are the large congresses, ranging from 1000 to 15,000+ delegates,
and which attract a high overseas attendance. According to the
Delegate Expenditure Survey 2006, international association
conference delegates spend an average of £240 per day attending
events in the UK, with a further £124 per delegate being spent by
the event organizers.
Conferences in the medical or pharmaceutical sectors often attract
lucrative sponsorship from pharmaceutical and medical equipment
companies keen to promote their products and these events usually
have valuable commercial exhibitions attached. The commercial
sponsors will often host groups of their top clients in whichever
specialist field and prepare a luxury programme for them. These
groups can make up as much as 75% of the delegates attending a
conference and there is competition between the companies to
provide quality programmes for their delegates e.g. high quality
hotels within walking distance of the conference venue and upmarket
exclusive social functions.
Large congresses also tend to feature pre- and post-congress tours
for delegates and accompanying persons’ programmes which make
them doubly valuable to their chosen destination. A positive
business visit could also stimulate a future leisure visit – up to 40%
of business travellers to a destination return on a leisure trip.
Furthermore, winning and hosting key international conferences is
seen as a major economic boost to the host city and many use the
conference sector as a means of urban renewal and regeneration.
The city of Glasgow employed 40,000 people on the Clyde at the
height of the shipbuilding era but as the industry declined so did the
area around it. The Scottish Exhibition+Conference Centre (SECC)
was built on the banks of the Clyde in 1985 and over the last ten
years £1 billion has been spent in transforming Clydeside as
conference business and general tourism have grown. Glasgow now
employs 30,000 people in tourism-related industries (equating to
14.5% of Scotland’s total tourism workforce) and it is one of the
UK’s most successful conference destinations.
As with the national association segment, seasonality is another
positive feature of the international association segment. These
congresses tend to avoid the summer months when leisure tourism
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is at its peak, looking instead to the Spring and Autumn periods.
There are a large group of conferences that need to be run during
the academic vacation period but organisers of these events will
look for destinations that have a lower hotel occupancy in the
July/August period and, indeed, from mid-June to the end of
September. Delegates attending these conferences are more likely
to bring families/accompanying people with them and add on a
holiday before or after the congress. Organisers are also able to
take advantage of university halls of residence to provide the
budget end of the accommodation spectrum. The growing number
of world-class facilities being built around the UK means that there
are opportunities to promote good regional spread of events around
the country.
The national and international association segments also provide
continuous economic benefit in times of recession, either local or
worldwide. While corporate events diminish at such times,
association events continue regardless although numbers may be
less than when economies are buoyant.
Characteristics of International Association Conferences
The truly international associations hold their congresses on a
rotational basis, often picking venues in Europe one year, North
America the next, Asia/Pacific the next and so on according to their
own statutory regions. This means that there can often be a gap of
many years between the UK hosting two conferences of the same
association, particularly if the event is held only every four years.
For this reason this business is usually regarded as bringing one-off
events to a venue/destination. Other characteristics include:
• The lead-in time can be very long: if the conference is
quadrennial, an eight to twelve year gap between bidding for and
actually staging the event is not unusual
• The international congress segment is city-led i.e. bids generally
come from Birmingham, Barcelona or Vienna for example, rather
than the UK, Spain or Austria
• When destination selection is by invitation, the UK contact is
crucial in spearheading the bid process to bring the event to the
UK. It is a researcher’s role to identify that UK contact and
encourage that person to submit a bid. It is important to note
that the UK contact is rarely a full-time meeting planner or
association secretariat and is more often a professional working
in that field (e.g. surgeon, engineer, scientist). This makes it
especially hard for them to work on producing a bid both from a
time and knowledge perspective
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• Many convention bureaux run conference “ambassador”
programmes where they actively identify and recruit local
academics and scientists who have connections to international
organisations. The cities encourage their “ambassadors” to
submit bids to host events in their field in their home city and
ask these ambassadors to promote the destination on their
behalf when attending events abroad
• For the larger congresses a Professional Conference Organiser
(PCO) is often employed to take on the administration behind the
event. The PCO’s role would include sourcing venues, preparing a
bid document, raising sponsorship, running the concurrent trade
exhibition, managing finances, running promotional campaigns,
establishing registration and accommodation booking systems,
organising social programmes, facilitating the submission of
papers and abstracts beforehand as well as actually organising
the event itself. The PCO works closely with the client, venue and
destination and usually charges an administration fee based on
the size of the congress and the number of delegates attending
• A bid document normally has to be submitted prior to any
destination selection and it is then down to members, a special
committee or the headquarters to vote. The international
association headquarters is not always the ultimate decisionmaker
in destination selection. However, they usually are when a
bid is not required. When a bid is required, the headquarters
team can be a key influencer
• Destinations and venues requested vary enormously but the
larger congresses are looking for purpose-built auditoria capable
of holding the main plenary session, a range of smaller meeting
rooms to provide a series of concurrent sessions, along with
exhibition space. They would also be looking for plenty of nearby
accommodation (most organisers will request within walking
distance to avoid having to pay for a coach transfer operation)
and an attractive destination with a good social programme
which will encourage a high delegate attendance. It is important
that the destination is both financially viable in terms of the
usual conference budget and cost-effective to allow low-enough
registration fees which will encourage high delegate attendance.
26

Future Trends and Issues
Generally:-
• As international associations become larger and more complex,
they are appointing “core” PCOs who look after all of their
meeting requirements regardless of where the event is taking
place (i.e. they are contracted to work on the event over a period
of years, not just for one event). These core PCOs are also
increasingly becoming secretariats for some of the bigger
associations, running their recruitment drives, membership
programmes and communication strategies as well as the
meetings themselves. This means that core PCOs are becoming
the new clients as destinations seek to identify and influence
those making the decisions. The North American business has
some very well established Association Management Companies
(AMCs) which also act as PCOs
• With the supply of convention facilities increasing around the
world, competition becomes more intense. As some of the larger
conferences grow in size and complexity (e.g. with an increasing
number of parallel sessions), organisers are opting for a smaller
number of tried and tested venues to work with. This makes it
easier for the association in terms of managing the meeting. It
also allows them to plan financially with greater ease and to get
the dates of tenancy they want as they are a recurrent client at
the venue
• The influence of industry associations will have greater impact on
the destinations selected. Organisations such as the
International Pharmaceutical Congress Advisory Association
(IPCAA) are becoming increasingly influential and their members
will only continue to support events held in destinations that suit
their needs as well as those of the event. The growth of
specialist industry groups linked to large international meetings
will continue apace and these too will become increasingly
influential in the choice of destination
• The growth of new technologies is making congresses,
particularly in the scientific field, more innovative in their
presentation technologies and on-line registrations. The
conference venues industry is one of the first in Europe to adopt
the regular use of Broadband and wireless technology with Local
Area Networks (LANs) for networked electronic presentations.
This greatly speeds up publication of proceedings, allows for lastminute
updates and improves communication with delegates
before and after the meeting. With people wanting to spend less
time out of the office, they can prepare for meetings in advance
and maximise the physical exchange on-site. There is a trend to
reduce the length of meetings and the average length is now 3
days’ duration whereas 10 years ago it was typically 5 days. As
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potential delegates seek to travel less or stay closer to home and
as the cost of being out of the office increases, the new
communications technology, including virtual conferencing, is
having a greater role to play
• The ongoing development of new fields of science and medicine
is also leading to a greater number of more specialist
conferences in this field. The industry is witnessing the evolution
of very large meetings which are creating smaller, more
specialised events alongside or at other times. This also makes
it that much harder to track associations and their respective
meetings as contacts move on and subject matters become even
more complex and fragmented
• The regional meeting (e.g. European) is growing in importance
compared to its international counterpart. The European
Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), for example, is
now almost the same size as the International Diabetes
Federation meeting and it has a large and growing non-
European-based delegate attendance. Similarly the quality of
science and the size of the European Urology meeting is now
more important than the international Urology meeting
• Increasingly, as congresses become larger and more important
economically, particularly to the host city, the association
convention is being used as a bargaining chip to engage more
support or increase membership in areas of the world where it
may be minimal. Often, despite a strong bid from a destination
such as London, Paris, Sydney or Montreal, it is lost at the last
minute with many conventions opting instead for a Far East
destination or a developing country as a result of an emotional
pitch. Such emerging destinations invariably do not have the
National Chapter support or desired infrastructure to host a
convention but they represent important new markets and new
income for associations and well-established congress
destinations such as the UK are increasingly finding themselves
competing against such locations.
In the UK:-
The UK is considered generally to be an expensive destination with
a fragmented convention industry but future business lies in the
UK’s key strengths which include:-
• Ease of access
• Quality and variety of venues
• High standards of service amongst UK conference organisers
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• Strength of British science and medicine - British academics
regularly hold key positions within the decision-making Boards of
the associations
• Ease and speed of VAT reclaim
• English language which is now the language of choice for
international meetings
• The UK is one of the most attractive destinations culturally for
international delegates, ensuring that congresses held in the UK
are better attended and more profitable than those held
elsewhere.
However:-
• With the exception of one or two cities, the UK is not able to
offer large-scale public subvention of conferences, venues or
delegates. This is done in other cities around the world and can
be a deciding factor as overall costs of conventions increase
• Public finance for new products and improvements to existing
conference facilities has disappeared in the UK – except for
Wales where a grant of up to £50,000 for such projects can be
obtained
• The economic importance of conferences to a country is far more
recognised by the UK’s main competitor countries than it is in the
UK. Obtaining governmental non-financial support for a
conference bid is very difficult or impossible. For example, it was
not until 2002 that the Prime Minister agreed to “front” a
conference bid video for the first time ever, whereas leaders and
senior statesmen from other nations have been supporting
conferences in this way for many years.
• Despite the VAT recovery systems in place, not every cost can be
recovered. Most other EU member states have lower concession
VAT rates for tourists and conference delegates
• The importance of the accompanying exhibition, with its
attendant long distance freight movements, is also affected by
the UK’s high tax on diesel
• Despite active ambassador programmes, the academic world is
still hesitant to bid for international meetings due to a perceived
heavy workload, lack of knowledge of the available convention
facilities and lack of awareness of the industry support available
to them. They are also less enthusiastic about their own home
towns as a destinations compared to their European counterparts
• The lack of a purpose-built congress centre in London, with a
capacity for over 3,000 delegates, is preventing many high
profile meetings, which would only consider a capital city, coming
to the UK. Equally the general lack of large scale integrated
hotel and meeting facilities, such as they have in the USA and
the Far East, is also preventing the UK from winning many of the
29

large conventions. However, this applies to most of Europe and,
with space at a premium and public money not forthcoming, the
whole European region is at a disadvantage
• The fact that the UK has not adopted the European single
currency is a setback in that organising events in the UK can
become more expensive with currency transaction bank charges.
Despite all the above and whatever impacts technology, global
economies and terrorism are likely to have, there is still the desire
amongst international associations to meet, press the flesh and
exchange views which will always remain. According to ICCA, the
UK has continued to host a similar number of the international
association congresses as in recent years (270 in 2005), although it
has dropped to fourth place in the league table behind the USA,
Germany and Spain.
The Business Tourism Partnership is working to encourage a more
collaborative and cohesive approach to winning more international
association conferences, particularly through the involvement of
British embassies and consulates, British Council offices overseas,
VisitBritain staff and key Government departments in the UK in the
research and bidding processes. It is also actively lobbying for the
construction of a major purpose-built convention centre for London.
d) EXHIBITIONS
An ‘exhibition’ was defined by the Exhibitions Liaison Council in
1995 as a presentation of products or services to an invited
audience with the objective of inducing a sale or informing the
visitor. It is a form of three dimensional advertising where, in many
instances, the product can be seen, handled, assessed by
demonstration, and in some cases even smelt or tasted.
In general terms, exhibitions can be further defined according to the
market/visitors they target:
- Trade (or business-to-business/b2b) exhibitions are aimed
primarily at those working within a particular trade sector, and are
forums where related businesses meet face-to-face in order to fulfil
a multitude of objectives
- Public/Consumer (or business-to-consumer/b2c)
exhibitions are aimed at either the wider general public or focused
consumer groups. A charge is often made for admission.
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- Trade/Public exhibitions are a combination of these two
leading exhibition types; organised to attract both types of visitors,
they are exhibitions where trade representatives meet each other
face-to-face, but also interact with consumers.
The exhibition sector consists of three main groups:
organisers of the exhibitions
the venues where the exhibitions are held
those businesses contracted by the organisers and/or exhibitors
to supply services for/at the exhibition.
Events Industry Alliance (EIA)
The Events Industry Alliance (EIA) is the new marketing arm for the
exhibitions and events industry, and is equally owned by members
of three associations that have increasingly worked together to
speak with one cohesive voice for the industry: the Association of
Exhibition Contractors (AEC), the Association of Event Organisers
(AEO) and the Association of Event Venues (AEV). The EIA is tasked
with communicating the huge opportunities for business growth via
the medium of face-to-face marketing, and increasing the overall
recognition of this powerful, effective and unique media channel to
its five audiences of press, clients, agencies/media planners,
Government and academia.
Within the three key sectors of the events/exhibitions industry listed
above, there are a host of supplier types, ranging from audio-visual,
caterers, electricians, registration to web site design. There are
currently 135 different supplier categories represented by the
membership of AEC, AEO and AEV.
Economic Impact
In 2005, KPMG undertook the first ever ‘Economic Impact of the UK
Exhibitions Industry’ study. The study, commissioned by the AEO
and supported by the AEV, demonstrated that the industry makes a
significant contribution to the national economy. Its key findings
give a detailed analysis of the exhibition sector:
- An estimated 1,800 exhibitions are held annually in the UK
- Over 17 million visitors attend UK exhibitions each year
- Nearly 270,000 exhibitors attend UK exhibitions each year
- Approximately 7% of visitors and 13% of exhibitors to UK
exhibitions are from overseas
- The total annual expenditure generated from UK exhibition
activity is £9.3 billion
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- The UK exhibition industry generates a total annual GDP
contribution of £4.1 billion
- The total annual tax revenues generated by exhibition activity
is estimated at £1 billion
- UK exhibitions support an estimated 137,000 FTE jobs across
the UK, some 0.5% of total UK employment (approximately 1 in
200 UK jobs). It is also important to acknowledge that the
sectors in which exhibition visitors and exhibitors spend their
money (hotels, restaurants etc.) typically employ a lot of parttime
staff. Exhibition activity, therefore, stimulates flexibility in
the economy and encourages employment opportunities for
women, ethnic minorities, those with lower formal qualifications,
and those at the lower end of the skills spectrum.
Total gross direct expenditure by UK exhibition activity on
segmented leisure sectors:
- Accommodation: £720 million - generating approximately 19
million annual bed nights!
- Food & beverage: £403 million
- Shopping: £312 million
- Travel: £258 million
- Entertainment: £179 million
- Other: £54 million
All exhibitions play a vital role in the UK economy in generating
exports. Many exhibitions held in the UK have established
themselves as a strong base for international trade.
Exhibitions do more than just sell: they build product branding,
strengthen existing customer relationships, produce high quality
leads, educate, have applications for market research, generate
media coverage and are often used to launch new products.
Exhibitions play a vital role in the marketing mix offering a wide
range of benefits.
Exhibitions provide a cost-effective competitive platform for small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to promote and sell their
products and services, enabling many SMEs to establish themselves
in the marketplace and, through international visitor attendance at
exhibitions, often providing SMEs with their first openings to export
markets.
In terms of seasonality, the peak seasons for trade exhibitions are
February to June and September to November, but when public
exhibitions are also taken into account exhibitions become
essentially a year-round activity.
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Characteristics of Exhibitions
• Most exhibitions tend to be annual and are held at the same
venue year on year. There are also a number of biennial events,
while some of the large international shows are just held every
four years
• The time of year an exhibition is held is critical to its success. To
ensure they obtain their desired time slot, organisers usually
book the venue at least one year in advance
• The timing and venue chosen for exhibitions are to a large extent
dictated by the market conditions of the trade sector which they
represent
• Factors that influence the choice of venue for an exhibition
include (in no particular order as they vary in importance
between different types of exhibitions):
1. Rental and service costs
2. Capacity of venue
3. Location of venue
4. Contractual relationship with venue
5. Accessibility of venue
Future Trends and Issues
Exhibition organising is a creative enterprise activity which, to
survive, has to stay at the leading edge of marketing. To achieve
this, the following are being considered:
• To enhance their exhibition product, an increasing number of
organisers are developing conferences and specialist seminars
alongside their exhibitions
• A number of technological opportunities for exhibitions are
becoming available on which organisers can capitalise, using
technologies like audio-conferencing, videoconferencing and
webcasting
• Exhibition organisers set up web sites to run alongside their
events. A three-day event becomes a 12-month promotional
event. This leads to increased opportunities for sponsorship
and advertising through the web site, and allows an enhanced
visitor and exhibitor experience through providing additional
information and an extension in communications
• This technology also allows for on-line registration, which
offers a faster and more convenient form of registering for an
exhibition, while allowing organisers continually to update
their information and keep people constantly informed
• The new technology is used to enhance (not replace) the
exhibition, as there is no substitute for the face-to-face
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contact, customer interaction and the ability for the customer
physically to feel, see, taste, smell, test and try the product
• More organisers are looking to increase the number of public
shows. Public shows are seen as being informative, as well as
providing marketing and sales opportunities, brand building
and entertainment, all of which add to customer value and
experience
• Organisers will continue to succeed in direct proportion to
their ability to identify niche markets for new exhibitions,
which are targeted directly for a specific market
• The exhibition industry is continually endeavouring to increase
the ‘internationality’ of its shows in order to enhance the
opportunity for exhibitors to increase their export markets
• The exhibition segment is taking important steps forward to
meet the demands for sustainability. Action is being taken to
improve performance in waste management and
environmental issues, adopting new techniques to improve
recycling and reduce overall waste
• Successful event exhibition formats are being cloned and
rolled out to regional and international markets
• Other sectors of the media mix are recognising the benefits of
face-to-face marketing and are investing in the medium to
communicate with their audiences.
e) INCENTIVE TRAVEL
Definition and Background
Incentive travel is a tool used by organisations to motivate their
staff and/or external sales agents, with the objective of improving
performance at both individual and corporate levels. This tool offers
individuals or teams the chance to qualify for an exceptional travel
experience, subject to their attaining preset goals.
While corporate organisations routinely offer a range of employee
rewards, including vouchers, merchandise and cash bonuses, travel
has been found to be the most effective motivator. It is also the
most expensive, with rewards ranging in value from £500 to £5,000
per head. Travel rewards are generally used by those industries
producing a product or service that carries a high profit margin –
such as cars, computers and financial services. Companies in these
sectors invest accrued profit from sales to fund incentive travel
programmes, which will, in turn, boost sales.
The earliest recorded incentive travel programme took place in
1906, but the industry only became fully established in the 1960s,
coinciding with the onset of global tourism. The United States was
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the first user of incentive travel and has remained the strongest
market ever since.
Companies operating in the automotive, financial services,
pharmaceutical and information technology sectors are among the
leading users of outbound (overseas) incentive travel from the
United Kingdom. Research undertaken among 350 North American
corporations by International Conference Research Inc in 2006
found that, among the top users of international award
programmes, insurance corporations led the way by a substantial
margin, followed by finance, direct selling, automotive
manufacturers/dealers, and computer hardware/software
manufacturers.
Economic Benefits
The fact that hotels do not differentiate between conference and
incentive travel group bookings, makes it difficult to track
occupancy levels. However, we do know that incentive groups are
concentrated within the four and five star hotel properties and that
they account for 5-10% of bedroom revenue in these properties.
London is the most popular UK incentive destination, followed by
Edinburgh, Scottish golf resorts and Stratford-upon-Avon. Many
long-haul-originating incentives are based around two centres:
London plus Edinburgh, for example.
In addition to accommodation, incentive participants enjoy top
quality entertainment programmes as part of their reward. These
include excursions, theatre trips and lavish dining experiences,
often held in unique venues. The wider tourism infrastructure
benefits considerably from these business customers.
The USA remains the largest national buyer of incentive travel,
constituting 50% of the overseas market. Other key markets are
Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Russia; also long-haul Englishspeaking
markets, such as Australia and the Far East. In the case
of the Far East, the number of participants can be quite large but
the programme often less structured than those held elsewhere.
European companies are likely to operate three or four short
programmes per year, in contrast to the one or two programmes
operated by their American counterparts.
The domestic incentive market is difficult to measure accurately,
since the reward media are frequently purchased off-the-shelf, in
the form of hotel vouchers, weekend breaks or luxury/adventure
experiences (hot air balloon rides, Formula One race days, etc).
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Nevertheless, a thriving industry exists to service the needs of
corporate incentive buyers and includes such specialists as voucher
companies, caterers, creative theming agencies and corporate
entertainment companies.
Characteristics of Incentive Travel Programmes
The fulfillment of an incentive programme is the travel experience
itself, but this is preceded by a motivational campaign, beginning
with a launch event. Planning cycles vary depending on the
industry sector of the provider. Approximately a third of incentive
campaigns start six months before the trip takes place; the
remaining two thirds start between six and 18 months ahead.
Measurable objectives are set by the incentive providers – usually
the company’s sales or marketing director, often working in tandem
with a specialist incentive travel agency. A continuous promotional
campaign encourages participants to maintain high levels of
performance throughout the period and the highest achievers will
qualify to participate in the reward.
Historically, incentive travel has been experienced by groups of
qualifiers. In recent years, however, there has been an emerging
trend for winners to select the time and sometimes even the
location of their reward, thus turning the reward into a private
holiday with partner and/or family. This trend currently applies to
about five per cent of incentives, but there is no indication that this
figure is increasing. Employers generally prefer to structure the
rewards as group experiences, so that the perception of being part
of an elite ‘achievers’ club’ can be maintained.
Destination Selection
Selection of incentive destinations is based on a number of factors,
including:
• Value for money
• Climate
• Ease of (travel) access
• Business links
• Sophisticated tourism infrastructure
• The ‘wow’ factor
There is a slight overlap in perception between conferences and
incentives. Some incentives incorporate business meetings, while
some conferences nowadays have a significant social and leisure
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programme, and are held in highly aspirational locations, making
them motivational events. The defining line through these blurred
boundaries is that participants have to qualify to earn an incentive
reward.
The most popular incentive destinations for groups travelling from
the UK, according to ‘Meetings & Incentive Travel’ magazine’s
‘Trends and Spend Survey 2005’ (published May 2006) were Spain,
France and Italy as short haul destinations and the USA, South
Africa and the United Arab Emirates as long haul destinations. The
2004 Survey found that long haul trips lasted on average just over
4 days, with short haul trips lasting 3 days. For corporations in the
North American market (according to International Conference
Research Inc), the top international incentive destinations in 2005
were, in order: Britain, Italy, Ireland, Spain and France. European
Travel Commission research (2003) among US and Canadian
corporations using incentive travel programmes found that the
average number of participants on international trips outside North
America was 116 with an average duration of 4-5 nights.
Future Trends and Issues
Incentive travel is a well-established sector of business tourism and
for international markets the UK is one of the most popular
destinations.
However, visitor numbers are greatly influenced year-on-year by
the strength of the pound in relation to other currencies and by
issues affecting perceptions of security.
Incentive travel programmes increasingly have an educational
element for the participants. This can involve visits to factories and
businesses in the same industry sector as that of the award
winners, team-building programmes, and a conference-type session
with an award presentation ceremony and announcements of
corporate plans, designed to encourage the incentive winners to
reach future performance targets.
(See also the references to incentive travel in the next section of
this Briefing on ‘Corporate Events and Corporate Hospitality’)
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f) CORPORATE EVENTS AND CORPORATE HOSPITALITY
Definition and Background
The corporate events segment covers incentive travel, client
entertainment, staff entertainment, meetings and conferences and
so has a clear overlap with some of the other segments described
separately in this Briefing. However, this section of the Briefing is
written specifically from the perspective of companies providing
specialist services to the corporate events segment, thus
complementing information to be found elsewhere.
There is no regular research undertaken to assess the overall
volume and value of the corporate events segment to the UK,
although figures of between £700 million and £1 billion are felt to
be a reasonable estimate by many working in the segment.
Information from the British Hospitality Association, based on its
Food and Management Survey, reveals that there are almost 4000
support services to the corporate events and corporate hospitality
industry as part of a catering contract, including cleaning and
domestic services, shops, housekeeping and laundry, but even
extending to services such as fire, waste management, mailroom
facilities and crèches. It is estimated that such support services have
an annual value of approximately £500 million.
Overall Trends
Some in the industry believe that overseas incentive rewards are in
long-term decline as a motivational tool, although others dispute
this. A combination of factors is contributing to this downward
trend. These include the increased long-haul holiday traffic
removing the cachet of winning trips to far-off places, and the
gradual change in motivational practices within certain businesses.
Sustainability concerns, security, and pressures of time may also be
playing a part.
The traditional method of rewarding a few top performers to
encourage others to aspire to such heights is giving way to a
broader strategy of motivating sales teams through inspirational
events that unite, entertain and reward whole teams. The increased
financial burdens created by tax and national insurance implications,
added to the growing value placed by executives on quality time at
home, are also contributing to a trend towards different types of
motivational programmes which reach wider audiences.
Client Entertainment
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The relative growth in participation-based events, including motor
racing and clay pigeon shooting, that dominated the 1990s has also
slowed as the novelty of such activities has worn off and companies
have retreated to the safer and more reliable hospitality events.
Hospitality buyers focus on entertaining fewer and more senior
clients with a trend towards greater justification and control of
spend on hospitality.
This increased cost control is often as a result of the procurement
policies of large organisations, attempting to centralise their buying
practices in order to monitor spend and improve purchasing. Many
organisations have created approved supplier lists (of widely
varying lengths!) as part of this process.
Staff Entertainment
The genuine value of a happy and loyal workforce has not been lost
on most of the UK’s leading businesses. At times of redundancies,
the challenge is to strike the right balance between maintaining
morale and avoiding criticism for discretionary spend in a hard
market.
Outside of the Christmas market, summer fun days involving the
whole family remain popular, but the overall trend is towards rolling
entertainment into conferences and internal communication events
where greater value can be achieved.
Research consistently proves that the main motivator for work is
not money, so the value of maintaining a happy workforce should
never be overlooked!
Summary
The UK is undoubtedly leading the world in many areas of the live
events industry. It can be proud of its home-grown talents –
talents that are frequently exported to deliver events across Europe
and further afield.
Trends and issues for the Corporate Events and Corporate
Hospitality Sector
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In general, the corporate events and the corporate Hospitality
market remains robust and is exemplified by the successful
reopening of Ascot Racecourse and the return of Royal Ascot to its
traditional home. The opening of the Emirates Stadium (home to
Arsenal FC) also established a new benchmark in facilities and
service that will have implications for other major football clubs
seeking to provide a new dimension to their business. The furore
that surrounds the delay in opening the new Wembley Stadium will
ensure that, when it does open, the market will be very curious to
get a glimpse of the final product.
Away from the sporting arena, those organisers offering activity
days, team building events, treasure hunts and corporate fun days
and the like have had to respond to the impact of huge events such
as the Football World Cup in 2006 and The Rugby World Cup in
2007. There is no doubt that the attraction of this sort of high
profile event tends to divert budgets away from those agencies
offering participatory events and activities.
Whilst corporate hospitality continues to be the preferred way of
building client relationships, it is a segment of the market that
depends on a growing economy and any downturn usually has an
immediate impact. This is, to some extent, characterised by the
extravagant spending seen in restaurants, bars and on hospitality
events that has followed the recent results of city financial firms.
This also translates on a more strategic level to budgets being
assigned for corporate group entertaining. As long as the economic
bubble does not burst, the market will remain buoyant.
At the same time, corporate buyers are increasingly keen to book
participative packages, rather than those in which guests merely
watch from the sidelines. There is no doubt that events are now
seen as a powerful communication medium that can change
perceptions, attitudes and behaviours and create genuine brand
experiences.
Increasingly, there is a need to match the experience with the
audience and organisers who do not seek to discover participant
preferences at the time they are planning a corporate event or
hospitality activity, are adopting a hit or miss approach that has a
significant risk of failure. So forward-thinking hosts are looking to
devise a range of hospitality opportunities that match differing
guest profiles.
In common with the rest of the B2B sector, corporate events and
corporate hospitality is increasingly being required to prove its
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worth with client companies under pressure to demonstrate return
on investment. The challenge now facing the sector is to find
appropriate methods to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of
events being organised. At the same time, clients are looking for
innovation and creativity with an emphasis on participation and,
where events are of a more passive nature, they are looking for
exclusivity and style.
g) OUTDOOR EVENTS
Definition and Background
Outdoor events have taken place in the UK since time immemorial,
but the first real information on such events, jousting tournaments
and village fairs, for example, developed from the times of the
Crusades in the 11 th and 12 th centuries. Nowadays, although not all
falling within the strict parameters of business tourism, high profile
outdoor events cover a breadth of activity from major festivals
(such as Edinburgh International Festival), music events (e.g.
Glastonbury), agricultural shows, sporting and charity events
through to small village and craft events. From the beginning,
outdoor events have drawn large gatherings whether local, national
or international; more so than ever today, the visitor from abroad is
attracted to a myriad of events in the UK, many of them being
steeped in tradition and history.
The world of outdoor events has developed into a highly
professional and quality standard industry made up of local
authorities, show organisers, event management companies,
promoters, venue owners together with suppliers of equipment and
services, entertainment agencies, consultants and practitioners in
general.
Little research into the value of the segment has been undertaken
but a few years ago the National Outdoor Events Association
(NOEA) carried out a survey and conservatively estimated that the
outdoor events industry had an annual turnover of up to £1 billion.
There are probably some 5000 main suppliers of equipment and
services in the UK, plus around 1500 show organisers, local
authorities and event management companies involved in many
thousands of events over the whole country.
The outdoor events industry is a dynamic segment of business
tourism. The NOEA represents many companies generically but
some are also members of specialist trade associations representing
their particular interests eg. Mobile Catering, Production Services,
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Marquees etc. A number of these associations are linked to
European or international organisations and NOEA has launched the
European Outdoor Events Association with the objective of
developing European Standards for Outdoor Events.
Economic Benefits
The increasing sophistication of equipment and the foresight of
organisers are now combining to ensure that the majority of events
can take place successfully, despite the unpredictability of British
weather, and not just in the traditional April to October outdoor
season, but throughout the year. Marquees, once a feature solely of
the summer landscape, are now used very successfully even in the
depths of winter with built-in floors and heating ensuring that they
are weatherproof.
Innovative ideas for different events and creative use of technology,
equipment, and venues, have played a significant part in raising the
profile and potential of outdoor events. With pop concerts being
staged on beaches, beach sports events being staged in Hyde Park,
and the solitary viewing of televised cricket matches being taken
outdoors onto big screens for mass audiences, traditional ideas for
appropriate venues are being challenged and opening up a world of
opportunity for creating unique events."
There are many hundreds of different events including exhibitions
under marquees, classic car shows, agricultural and flower shows,
craft and gift fairs, dog and horse shows, Antique fairs, farmers’
markets, countryside and county shows, horticultural shows, highland
games, steam rallies, carnivals, gardening shows, air shows, pop
concerts and music festivals, firework displays, sporting events,
cultural and arts festivals, Christmas fayres, water festivals, balloon
festivals, military events, village town and city events, charity
functions and every kind of festival catering for specialist interests and
of course national and international events and extravaganza for
people of all ages and cultures taking place all year round.
Many of these events last from 1-3 days and attract tens of
thousands of visitors, which can involve considerable travel and
staying overnight in places ranging from campsites to upmarket
hotels. They have substantial benefits for local economies and can
dramatically affect the environment of a region, bringing more
spend from visitors and tourists and hence more employment and
wealth to the community.
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Many visitors will arrive early at events and often leave well
afterwards, thus increasing their spend. Economic benefit also
derives from the hundreds of people who make the events happen:
from suppliers of marquees, fencing, staging, furniture, generators,
grandstands, pa equipment, temporary roadways, seating, sound
equipment, temporary structures etc through to the provision of
services such as catering, entertainment, medical units, health and
safety co-ordination, heating, security and stewarding and traffic
control management.
Organisation of Events
Many events have developed from traditional backgrounds but are
sufficiently flexible to adapt to new market trends and customer
requirements. Most take place on an annual basis, often at the
same location, although a few events rotate around the UK. Many
events have to obtain planning permission from the local authority
before they can officially go ahead, and take full account of the
requirements of health and safety legislation. Health and safety
issues are the number one priority for many companies and higher
standards in this area have contributed to the greater
professionalism now seen in the industry. After a number of highly
publicised accidents in the early '90s, the NOEA drew up a Code of
Practice for outdoor events, and continues to work towards raising
standards. This work impacts directly on liability insurance which is
crucial for the events industry.
Linked to health and safety, security has become a critical issue.
With event licences being granted on pre-set visitor numbers,
attendance levels have to be regulated. Fencing contractors are
working in conjunction with security companies, for example, to
ensure effective security, particularly at high profile public events
like Glastonbury and Notting Hill. This leads to greater public
confidence, better attendance and good PR for the industry.
Events take place in every corner of the UK: city centres, rural
areas, mountain and coastal regions and even in very remote
locations.
Future Trends and Issues
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The efforts to raise standards in the UK have been so successful
that the UK is now recognised by the rest of Europe and the USA as
a leader in outdoor events with many UK companies exporting their
expertise.
There is much interest, from Europe in particular, in the
development of a national industry standard in conjunction with the
British Standards Institute, leading in the future to the possibility of
a European Standard for Outdoor Events. But there is no
complacency as the number of new initiatives currently being
developed to take the industry forward is testament to continuing
awareness of the need for good housekeeping. There are many new
people coming into the industry who need to be aware of the NOEA
Code of Practice/national industry standards.
With the vitality and ingenuity of those in outdoor events supported
by the latest technology, the future of the industry can be assured.
The demand for events will continue to grow, thus attracting greater
numbers of visitors from the UK and abroad in the knowledge that
such events will be run professionally and with higher levels of
security.
There is a great deal of information about outdoor events in the UK,
but there is scope to reference this more effectively and to promote
UK events more actively. Both business and holiday visitors could
then plan their itineraries to include visits to such events.
In summary, the economic benefits of festivals and other outdoor
events are being developed in conjunction with the various Regional
Agencies around the UK. For instance, the Northern Ireland Tourist
Board promotes festivals and events by packaging these as short
breaks/holidays. Such initiatives expand the season, generate
employment and offset the decline in traditional activities (e.g.
agriculture or fisheries), ensuring the continued protection of local
heritage and culture by giving it a tourism-related purpose.
There is a greater need to ensure more contact between event
organiser and the local tourism sector - accommodation, transport,
tourist information and restaurants, together with international
publicity.
The way forward for outdoor events is closer partnership with
Government departments, British Posts abroad, local and regional
agencies and the events industry.
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5. MARKETING AND PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES
The world of events and exhibitions is huge. Within the UK alone,
some 17 million people visit events each year and the industry
contributes £9.3 billion to the UK economy - and that's just the
exhibitions sector! More and more brands are choosing events, and
waking up to the unique marketing power of live media.
- Events offer an excellent business arena, where 17 million
decision-making customers per year (within the exhibitions sector
alone) interact and engage, face-to-face with brands
- Event attendees choose to be there, making the medium the
truest representation of ‘permission’ marketing available to brands,
and one far removed from the intrusive ‘interruption’ marketing
alternatives, such TV, radio, DM or pop up advertising
- Events offer multi-sensory marketing; the only business
environment where customers can see, touch, hear, smell, even
taste a company’s product!
At an event, the visitor is proactively choosing to come and see
what brands have to offer. In the current marketing environment,
where businesses and consumers go to great lengths to avoid media
bombardment (be it by opting out of a DM campaign, or fastforwarding
a TV ad break), there is no more valuable an accolade.
Why do events stand out from the rest? An unrivalled variety of
marketing campaign objectives can be fulfilled at events, and all in
one place at one time!
Where else can you sell one product and simultaneously launch
another, whilst increasing your overall brand awareness, networking
with industry clients and peers, digesting the latest industry
research and (all the while) keeping a close, direct eye on what the
opposition is up to?
Events deliver ROI: the majority of exhibitors expect the gross
value of sales generated from their show participation to be ‘at least
three times the cost of exhibiting’. (AEO ROI Study 2004)
Events allow direct face-to-face engagement with one’s customer,
which is still universally the preferred way to do business.
What are the key event audience strengths? Powerful, influential
attendees that choose to be there! Events offer a diverse melting
pot of attendees, bringing together an abundant audience of buyers,
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suppliers, purchase influencers, consultants and media. For
example, 79% of trade show visitors have ‘advisory’, ‘joint’ or ‘sole
responsibility’ in planning and/or making company purchases.
Furthermore, a third of trade show visitors cannot be reached by
clients/brands at their offices; they use trade shows to make buying
decisions. (AEO research)
Thousands of UK events cater for every passion each year, offering
brands lucrative audiences of relevant and influential decisionmakers.
This is not ‘push and hope’ marketing, this is ‘pull and
grab’! Fundamentally, an event audience wants to be there.
VisitBritain
VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, was created in 2003 to
market Britain as both a business and leisure tourism destination to
the rest of the world and to promote and develop England’s visitor
economy. (It was formed from the merger of the British Tourist
Authority and England Tourism Council.) Business tourism is a
crucial aspect of VisitBritain’s marketing strategies.
The business tourism sector represents almost a third of the £14
billion that Britain’s international visitors spend here every year and
it looks set to continue to grow. At the same time, the reasons for
people visiting Britain have changed dramatically since 1979. Then
almost 45% were coming for a holiday. Today that proportion has
shrunk to 34%. The fastest growth in visitor numbers has been in
people coming to visit friends and relatives, which have risen by
249% to almost 8 billion.
The next few years offer a great opportunity, as increasing numbers
of major businesses and associations will be looking to book now to
hold events and large-scale meetings in the run-up to, during and
after 2012, on the back of Britain’s successful bid to host the
Olympic Games.
International Marketing of Business Visits and Events
VisitBritain operates 23 offices in 37 markets (including the UK) and
in most regional and local offices there is a dedicated resource
whose responsibility is business visits and events. During 2005
VisitBritain took the strategic decisions to focus on the sector of the
business travel market that is discretionary and subject to influence,
namely conferences, events, exhibitions and incentives, whilst also
delivering a strategy to encourage non-discretionary business
travellers to stay longer, and bring a partner or friend. VisitBritain’s
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key objectives are to influence overseas buyers of business tourism
products (or those who have a strong influence on buying) to
choose Britain as the destination for their:
1. Business events
2. Corporate meetings
3. Incentives
4. International conferences and exhibitions
5. Extended business trips for leisure time
Research undertaken in 2006 in the US, German and Italian
markets to ascertain buyers’ perceptions of the UK showed an
outmoded perception of Britain as a business destination and low
awareness of the range and diversity of the products and services
available in the UK. As a result, VisitBritain has undertaken
significant brand positioning work to lead its marketing, based on
the core Britain values of Depth, Heart and Vitality.
Depth: attractiveness of the destination to attendees
- Britain is dynamic, modern, vibrant, unique, unusual, innovative,
prestigious
- Britain has diversity - always something new to discover, lots of
interesting things for attendees to see and do, a mix of the “old”
and the “new”, a good choice of unusual venues, a good choice of
purpose-built venues
Heart: the people
-the British workforce in the destination and at venues is
professional, flexible, welcoming to my culture / nationality,
highly trained / experienced, relationship-focused, responsive
to queries, English-speaking
Vitality: the destination’s contribution to business success
- Britain offers high quality and good value accommodation
(at all levels of spend), high quality and good value food &
drink (at all levels of spend), the latest in modern technology,
quick and easy travel to destination, quick and easy transfer
within destination
This research also identified the requirement, crucially, for (initial)
face-to-face contact with overseas buyers, following up this activity
with email and comprehensive collateral marketing material. The
research also highlighted the value placed upon familiarisation visits
by the intermediary and buyer. In response to this, VisitBritain
offers an information-rich website about destination,
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communications targeted directly at the business tourism/business
events market, professional face-to-face business relationships, as
well as prompt response time to enquiries.
VisitBritain’s Business Visits and Events team offers a wide range of
market intelligence and marketing advice. They organise a variety
of sales and marketing activities worldwide, designed to help UK
suppliers to target overseas decision makers, to attract international
businesses from this lucrative market. These include:
• Branded Britain presence at key international business
tourism exhibitions Stand-share at regional/emerging
market exhibitions
• On-territory workshops
• On-territory sales missions
• Online marketing
• E-CRM communication programmes
• Advertising and editorial opportunities in dedicated
VisitBritain print
• Advertising and editorial opportunities in on-territory
media
• Targeted product-based campaigns
• Familiarisation visits
• UK-based workshops
For market intelligence,
www.visitbritain.com/businesstourismresearch
For a full list of opportunities,
www.visitbritain.com/businesstourismopportunities
Meet England Marketing of Business Visits and Events
In addition to the overseas marketing activity, VisitBritain continues
to expand its domestic marketing through Meet England – the
department specifically responsible for marketing English
destinations and venues to conference organisers based in the UK.
In 2006, Meet England’s role expanded yet further to include
marketing Meet England in England’s 4 priority international
markets – France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.
By offering a range of cost-effective marketing opportunities to a
wide range of suppliers, Meet England provides a route to market to
suit all budgets, thereby catering for SME’s as well as larger
organisations. These opportunities include specific marketing
campaigns, workshops and events. For further information please
go to: www.meetengland.com.
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VisitScotland
In response to the growing use of the internet as a research tool
(now used by 78% of UK corporate organisers and 50% of
association organisers according to the ‘UK Conference Market
Survey 2006’), VisitScotland’s Business Tourism Unit recently
launched a new website, www.conventionscotland.com. The redeveloped
web site offers unparalleled information on what Scotland
has to offer the meetings and incentives market. It contains a
comprehensive search engine containing almost 400 venues, a
complete index of support service organisations, direct links to the
full range of Scotland’s venues and providers and online registration
for BTU events.
Working Together for Mutual Benefit
In recognition of the linkages between economic development and
business tourism, VisitScotland’s Business Tourism Unit has
embarked on a programme of collaboration with Scottish
Development International (SDI), the agency which promotes
inward investment to Scotland. A number of joint promotional
events targeting a corporate audience have been held in-market,
and further marketing initiatives are planned.
Global Business through Globalscots
The BTU is also tapping into the Scottish Enterprise-run Globalscot
network, a worldwide affiliation of 900 Scots or those with strong
connections with Scotland, almost 50% of whom are at chief
executive level. Given their high potential to bring conferences or
incentives to Scotland, the BTU sponsored the inaugural Globalscots
Conference, held in Edinburgh in Sept 06. The event provided a
unique opportunity to network with over 150 prominent
businessmen, to raise awareness of what Scotland has to offer for
meetings and incentives through pre- and post-conference
familiarisation trips organised for selected Globalscots, and to gain
exposure for Scotland’s key messages through participation in
workshops and plenary sessions.
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Visit Wales
Visit Wales offers a number of marketing and promotional
opportunities in support of the business tourism industry in Wales.
These include:
• Advertising opportunities in Visit Wales’ Conference and
Incentive Guides and on its web site
• A range of exhibition and workshop packages enabling
attendance at events within a branded Welsh area, linked with
pre-event marketing and post-event follow-up activities
• Support to develop ambassador programmes designed to win
association business for the country.
Further information: www.meetings.visitwales.com
Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s Business Tourism Unit works
to co-ordinate a positive market awareness of Northern Ireland,
through exhibition participation, web site promotion, familiarization
and inspection visits, assistance in kind and by providing a link to
suppliers of conference services. The Northern Ireland presence at
international exhibitions is as part of an all-Ireland stand. In
September 2006 the first ever Northern Ireland ‘Business Tourism
Expo’ was held which attracted 40 international buyers to Northern
Ireland for business meetings and familiarization visits.
The Unit continues to work with conference organisers and meeting
and incentive planners once they have made a formal decision to
meet in Northern Ireland, ensuring that they have the necessary
information and contacts to run a successful event. It advises
organizers on the logistics of meeting in Northern Ireland and on
the marketing of the destination to potential delegates.
Further information: www.discovernorthernireland.com/convention
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London
Visit London offers a number of marketing opportunities across the
Long Haul (US, Asia Pacific), European and UK markets.
Marketing Objectives are to:
• Introduce London to new and existing buyers by showing
them the UK capital’s existing flexibility in terms of business
facilities and services, its value for money and future
potential.
• Continue to raise Visit London’s profile and brand awareness
through increased sales activity and marketing campaigns.
• Focus on ‘Value London’, challenging perceptions that London
is expensive. Present the UK capital as a city of constant
discovery, depth and diversity, showcasing all areas of
London.
• Continue to promote VL New York office, the Venue Enquiry
Service and visitlondon.com/business as valuable services to
clients.
• Continue to develop ways to cross-market to leisure and
business consumers.
• Develop a CRM strategy in order to qualify and maintain data,
and develop relationships with clients, especially those
participating in hosted buyer fam trips, to encourage them to
book London on a continuous basis.
• Measure, quantify and report on leads, enquiries, bids and
confirmed business generated via sales and marketing
activities.
• Keep abreast of local markets and inbound business tourism
trends.
• Continue to develop strategic relationships with key
organisations such as SITE, MPI, ASAE, VB & ICCA, ISES, and
Eventia.
• Continue to work with service providers, airlines and partners.
Further information: www.visitlondon.com/convention
51

6. BUSINESS EVENTS AND CREATIVE ENTERPRISE
The events sector represents a creative, dynamic and significant
industry, estimated to be worth in excess of £22 billion to the UK
economy. The Business Tourism Partnership believes that the sector
deserves recognition under the Government’s Creative Enterprise
Programme, the effect of which would be to have both the supply
dynamic (the event itself) and the demand dynamic (the visitor)
within the same Government department under the sponsorship of
the same Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism. Such a
development would better facilitate parallel policies designed to
realise the ‘great potential for further expansion in the visitor and
event economy’ – a key component of Tomorrow’s Tourism Today,
the Government’s Prospectus for Tourism Development.
The case for such recognition is based upon a number of factors,
including:
• Conferences and business events are the fifth largest
marketing medium on which UK companies spend around
11% of their marketing budget.
• Business events are the single most effective, productive
and competitive way of providing information,
communicating with stakeholders, evaluating and sharing
good practice, facilitating commercial and social strategies
and showcasing products and services. Business events
create social and commercial interaction.
• Britain has the largest number of world-class professional
event organisers, whose considerable skills are exported to
operate events internationally.
• Conferences, exhibitions and business events in Britain are
successful because of their high levels of creativity,
innovation and presentation skills.
• Trade and consumer events utilise cutting edge
technologies to enhance their presentation and staging
capabilities to give events greater originality and attendees
superior value-added experiences.
• Investment, estimated to be in the region of £10 billion, in
new and improved infrastructure, facilities and services is
at an all-time high throughout Britain, across all types of
venues used for business events.
52

Events Sector Qualities
The underlying theme throughout the sector is the focus on live,
face-to-face engagement, and the powerful, unique possibilities
available via event marketing.
Events offer companies true ‘permission’ marketing. TV, radio and
magazines provide ‘interruption’ marketing. With events, the
buyer/visitor chooses to attend in order to see the advertisements.
Time is the modern consumer’s/business’s most precious commodity.
Customers give both their time and permission to clients at events, at
a time when they are ready to buy. Other forms of advertising hit
their target audience ‘on the off chance’ they are ready to buy.
Events are interactive, and are centred on face-to-face
communication. All advertising and marketing seeks to
communicate appropriate messages to customers and prospects.
Events allow the client/brand to go one step further and engage in
the power of conversation with their target audience.
Events deliver buyers, and create communities. 79% of visitors to
trade shows have ‘advisory’, ‘joint’ or ‘sole’ responsibility in
planning and/or making company purchases. Furthermore, a third
of trade show visitors cannot be reached by clients/brands in their
offices - they use trade shows to make buying decisions. An event
can bring an industry together, all in one place at one time.
Events can be used to deliver a number of sales and marketing
objectives, from direct sales, through database building, account
management, entertaining, market research, recruiting, brand
building, demonstration etc.
Events are the only media channel that cannot be replicated by
online marketing. Online and event marketing are complementary
and, combined, represent the key future marketing strategy for
modern companies. TV advertising is becoming more challenging for
brands. Direct Mail and telemarketing are still perceived as
intrusive, but clients/brands increasingly want to get face-to-face
and interactive. Sponsors are now looking beyond the sports market
place into the events arena.
Events bring brands alive, and uniquely allow the use of all five
senses. ‘I saw it at an event, I touched it, heard it, smelled it,
squeezed it, discovered it, tried it and liked it!’ (AEO promotional
campaign).
53

Events Sector Link to Creative Economy
Creative industries of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport:
1. Advertising
2. Architecture
3. Art and antiques markets
4. Computer and video games
5. Crafts
6. Design
7. Designer fashion
8. Film and video
9. Music
10. Performing arts
11. Publishing
12. Software
13. Television and radio
The events sector is, by its core nature, a creative group of
industries that generate substantial financial contributions to the UK
economy. Events represent a media channel option for all of the
creative industries listed above, and, indeed, any named industry in
existence. For every passion, there is an event; live, face-to-face
communication is relevant to, and valued by any industry.
However, the events sector is also a creative industry in its own
right. The sector creates products that are conceived, planned, sold,
marketed and successfully delivered by the dedicated companies
who serve it. Much like ‘Television and radio’, the events sector
features all the component parts needed to generate success within
itself, and therefore represents a self-fulfilling forum for creativity.
54

Dynamics Affecting the Success of the Events Sector
Remaining ‘creative’
The events sector’s ability to consistently redefine and reinvent
itself is fundamental to its success. Strong event propositions are
key, and the sector must be able to react and anticipate change to
consumer/business trends, Government legislation, technology
trends and changes to related (therefore, all) markets.
Education / skills
The events sector is defined by its workforce, and the ability of that
workforce to be multi-skilled and multi-disciplined. The events
sector, particularly within the event organiser and event venue
categories, consists of a relatively small amount of people
performing a large array of tasks. In addition, the skills required
within the event supplier/contractor category encompass a great
range of technical abilities, which, in turn, require the appropriate
education/skills. Throughout the sector, standards must be high to
ensure successful event execution.
Infrastructure
Events always need venues that conform to all necessary
requirements and regulations. Furthermore, these venues must be
served by solid transport mechanisms, including road, rail and air
travel. Infrastructure is a key dynamic; people/products must have
an event venue to attend, as well as a means of getting there.
Future Foresight
The events sector has a bright and successful future ahead. As a
marketing channel, events’ complementary association with online
marketing means that it is increasing in value and prominence
within the marketing strategy of leading businesses, across the
major industries.
The events sector conforms to the current socio/cultural trends of
today’s independently minded consumer/individual, who values
face-to-face interaction/engagement and ‘permission marketing’ as
a means of developing trust, which is vital to the purchasing
process.
Companies within the events sector are increasingly aware of, and
committed to environmental issues and sustainability. Companies
are working towards reducing their ‘carbon footprint’ and creating
55

sustainable events. To this end, the Events Industry Alliance (EIA)
is driving BS:8901, a new BSI Standard focused on sustainable
event management. Action is being taken to improve performance
in areas like waste management, recycling and the overall reduction
of waste.
Technology is enhancing the power of the events sector, not
replacing it. Technological advances assist events in a variety of
ways. For example, technology allows for superior and more
efficient delegate/visitor data capture and research. Event websites
are becoming increasingly interactive, and can now help to extend
the life of an event; a three-day event can become a 12-month
experience (via, for example, audio conferencing, video
conferencing and web casting).
Events are becoming multi-disciplined, with regard to the event
types that co-exist under one brand name. For example, large trade
and consumer exhibitions will frequently run relevant specialist
conference/seminar/meeting programmes alongside the show.
The events sector is becoming more focused on creating positive
and unique visitor experiences, and there are continuing trends
away from mass, and toward niche themes/markets. In addition,
the ‘show cloning’ trend looks set to continue, with successful event
brands being cloned, then distributed to regional and international
markets.
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7. EDUCATION, TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS
The relative immaturity of the business tourism and business events
industry means that education and training courses are still being
developed, although considerable provision already exists. The
industry is yet to achieve a comprehensive, structured educational
framework but recent years have seen a growth in full-time and
part-time educational programmes, combined with a somewhat
random, piecemeal provision of training courses, mostly short
courses of one or two days' duration. Demand for distance learning
and online availability of educational courses has not yet been
matched by appropriate supply. Accreditation for education and CPD
programmes is now beginning to be offered.
There is no doubt that there has been a considerable increase in the
number of universities offering event management courses and this
is to be welcomed. However, there is still concern within the events
community about the need for greater dialogue between academia
and the industry in order that courses can achieve greater relevance
to organising events in today’s highly regulated and dynamic
business environment.
While it is not essential for those looking to make a career in the
business tourism industry to have pursued a particular educational
course, certain courses can provide skills and knowledge which are
readily applicable to the industry. Details of the main current
provision are given below.
College and University Courses
For those wishing to study a course which is directly relevant to a
future career, the best options are probably business studies, sales
and marketing, hotel and catering courses and, particularly, courses
involving tourism and event management. Several hundred colleges
and universities across the UK now offer full-time courses in travel,
tourism and leisure, at a variety of levels.
Until recently, business tourism did not feature strongly on any of
these courses. This is now changing as an increasing number of
educational institutions offer dedicated ‘conference management’
and ‘event management’ degree level courses. Many other
institutions offer modules in these topics as part of tourism and
hotel and catering courses, for example.
Comprehensive details of the current provision of courses at higher
education level (i.e. full-time and sandwich first degree courses) can
57

e accessed via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
website: www.ucas.co.uk. Some examples of the dedicated
conference/event management and business tourism courses follow.
The UK Centre for Events Management at Leeds Metropolitan
University offers a BA/BA (Hons) Conference & Exhibition
Management. This is a one-year full-time degree or two-year parttime
programme for students in employment who have gained an
HND or Foundation Degree in a related discipline or have relevant
experience. The programme is sensitively timetabled on two days to
allow for event professionals, in employment, to attend on a parttime
basis. Modules studied include strategic marketing, the
strategy process, conference and exhibition production, developing
and optimising the event space, managing partners and clients, the
venue environment and a dissertation. The UK Centre for Events
Management also offers a 3-year HND and 4-year BA (Hons) Events
Management which includes a 12-month work placement in the
second year, providing a learning experience for students to
develop their skills while working in the event industry.
Further details are available from: Ruth Chambers, Course
Administrator, UK Centre for Events Management, The Leslie Silver
International Faculty, Leeds Metropolitan University, Civic Quarter,
Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 3HE (tel: +44 (0)113-283-3447; fax:
+44 (0)113-283-3111; email: events@lmu.ac.uk; website:
www.worldofevents.net
The University of Central England (UCE), Birmingham
The University launched in September 2006 a Postgraduate
Diploma/MA Event and Exhibition Management. The programme is
run in conjunction with the National Exhibition Centre and the
Events Industry Alliance. To achieve the Masters in Event and
Exhibition Management, a cumulative total of 180 credits needs to
be achieved. This can be done through either a full-time (one year)
or a part-time (two year) study programme. Keynote industry
speakers, practical assessments, a 5-week internship and a master
research project are features of the course. Both recent graduates
and people already working in the industry can apply for a place on
the programme.
Further details are available from: Mathilde Stein, Course Director,
UCE, Units 2&3 Progress Works, Bromley Street, Digbeth,
Birmingham B9 4AN; tel:+44 (0)121 204 9882; email:
mathilde.stein@uce.ac.uk; course details can be accessed at
www.mediacourses.com
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The University of Gloucestershire
The University offers a single honours undergraduate degree in
Events Management, in which the MICE module (meetings,
incentives, conferences and exhibitions) is to be made compulsory.
Further details are available from: Tracy Jones, Course Leader
Events Management, University of Gloucestershire, The Business
School, The Park, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 2RH. (tel:+44
(0)1242 543210; email: tjones@glos.ac.uk). Further details of the
module content can be accessed via:
www.glos.ac.uk/subjectsandcourses/undergraduatefields/ew/maps/i
ndex.cfm
Sheffield Hallam University offers a BSc (Honours) Hospitality
Business Management with Conference and Events/International
Hospitality Business Management with Conference and Events
course (UCAS code N225), on a four-year full time (including one
year’s work placement) or three-year full-time basis. The course is
designed for those wanting a career in the hospitality industry with
an emphasis on managing conferences and events. Study topics
include: business management; food and drink management;
facilities management; conference and events management. Further
information is available from Jenny Wade or Jenny Cockill (address
below) or visit the university website: www.shu.ac.uk
Sheffield Hallam University also offers an MSc (or Postgraduate
Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate) in International Conference
Management on both a full-time and part-time basis. Entry
requirements are an honours degree or at least five years’ industry
experience. The course involves study of general management and
special modules. These include: critical thinking; conference
management; destination marketing; innovation in conference and
meetings management; leisure leadership and entrepreneurship in
hospitality and tourism. Students submit a dissertation in order to
gain an MSc.
Further details from: Jenny Wade or Kate Morse, Faculty of
Organisation & Management, Stoddart Building, Sheffield Hallam
University, City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB - tel:
+44 (0)114 225 5555; email: ominfo@shu.ac.uk
59

Thames Valley University, Ealing, provides a full-time and parttime
BA(Hons)/DipHE in Event Management. The degree is built
around a central theme of event management principles and
practices that include the chance to manage and run a live event of
your own.
Further details are available from e: thl@tvu.ac.uk or to arrange a
visit day contact: Ray Brown on t:0208-231-2771; f: 0208-231-
2744; e:ray.brown@tvu.ac.uk
The same university also runs at its London School of Tourism,
Hospitality and Leisure three further courses: Certificate of Higher
Education in Business Travel and Tourism (one year), Higher
National Diploma in Business Travel & Tourism (two years) and BA
(Hons) in Business Travel & Tourism (three years). Opportunities
exist for full-time, part-time and flexible study. These courses
specialise in meetings, exhibition & conference planning and
developing skills in compiling incentives. There are student intakes
in September and February.
Further details are available from: Programme Leader Paul Fidgeon,
t: 0208-231-2317; f:0208-566-1353, e: paul.fidgeon@tvu.ac.uk;
w: www.tvu.ac.uk
The University of Westminster provides an MA in Conference and
Events Management on a full-time (one year) or part-time (two
years) basis. The degree is specifically designed for people wishing
to enter careers at management level in the conference and
events–related industries including conference and events planning,
venue management and employment in convention bureaux. It is
appropriate for those aiming for careers in both the private and
public sectors in Britain or internationally.
Further details are available from: University of Westminster,
Course Enquiries Office, 35 Marylebone Road,, London NW1 5LS,
t:+44 (0)20 7915 5511 or +44 (0)20 7911 5000 ext. 3076; email:
davidsr@westminster.ac.uk or www.wmin.ac.uk
Other institutions offering courses in conference/event management
(at various levels including Foundation Degree, Honours Degree,
Higher National Certificate/Diploma) include:
♦ Birmingham College of Food, Tourism & Creative Studies (e.g.
Marketing with Events Management)
♦ Bournemouth University (e.g. Events Management)
♦ University of Brighton (e.g. Hospitality & Event Management)
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♦ Brockenhurst College (e.g. Event Management)
♦ Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College (e.g. Events with
Conference Management)
♦ University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (e.g. Events Management)
♦ University of Central Lancashire (e.g. Event Management)
♦ City College Manchester (e.g. Event Management)
♦ City of Westminster College (e.g. Business Studies specialising in
Conference Management)
♦ University of Derby (e.g. Events Management)
♦ University of East London (e.g. Events Management)
♦ Farnborough College of Technology (e.g. Business & Event
Management)
♦ University of Greenwich (e.g. Events Management)
♦ The University of Huddersfield (e.g. Events Management)
♦ London Metropolitan University (e.g. Business & Events
Management)
♦ The Manchester Metropolitan University (e.g. Events
Management)
♦ University of Paisley (e.g. Events Management)
♦ University of Plymouth (e.g. Events Management)
♦ Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh (e.g. Events
Management)
♦ Sheffield College (e.g. Tourism & Event Management)
♦ Southampton Solent University (e.g. Event Management with
Tourism)
♦ Suffolk College (University of East Anglia) (e.g. Event
Management)
♦ University of Wolverhampton (e.g. Event & Venue Management
and Business)
For further details on these and all other courses, refer to the UCAS
website and/or to the individual university website.
SHORT COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
Various short courses, workshops and seminars are available, run
by trade associations and other organisations or individuals. Some
of these are international in nature (i.e. both in terms of delegate
participation and location) and are described later in this Factsheet.
National (UK) provision includes:
Association for Conferences and Events (ACE)
‘So You Want to be a Conference Organiser’ is the title of a one-day
introductory course run by the Association for Conferences and
Events (ACE) twice a year.
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Further details are available from: Association for Conferences and
Events, Riverside House, High Street, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire,
PE29 3SG. Tel: +44 (0) 1480 457595; fax: +44 (0) 1480 412863;
e-mail: ace@martex.co.uk; web site: www.martex.co.uk/ace
Association of British Professional Conference Organisers
(ABPCO)
The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers
(ABPCO) runs one-day seminars on topics such: Conference
Catering, Health/Safety/Risk Management for Event Organisers,
Creating Memorable Events, Tendering for Business.
Further details are available from: Association of British Professional
Conference Organisers, 6 th Floor Charles House, 148-149 Great
Charles Street, Birmingham B3 3HT. Tel: 0121 212 1400; fax: 0121
212 3131; email: information@abpco.org; website: www.abpco.org
Association of Event Organisers (AEO)
The Association of Event Organisers (AEO) provides a range of
training programmes on sales, marketing, operations and personal
development. These courses, aimed at those working for exhibition
organising companies, are tailored to the particular business
dynamics of the exhibition industry, frequently using industryspecific
case studies.
Further details are available from: Association of Event Organisers,
119 High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire HP4 2DJ tel: 01442
873331; fax: 01442 875551; email: info@aeo.org.uk; website:
www.aeo.org.uk
Meetings Industry Association
The Meetings Industry Association’s (MIA) ‘Certificate in
Management Development’ training programme offers a series of
five one-day programmes designed for middle management and is
run in conjunction with Stonebow, the training arm of the
Hospitality Training Foundation. A certificate is awarded on
completion of all five modules.
Further information from: Meetings Industry Association, PO Box
515, Kelmarsh, Northants. NN6 9XW. Tel: +44 (0) 845 230 5508;
e-mail: info@mia-uk.org ; Web site: www.mia-uk.org
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INTERNATIONAL COURSES
A number of courses are run at an international level by
international organisations such as those listed below. Full details of
these courses can be accessed on respective web sites, but are also
summarised in the book ‘Conferences and Conventions: A Global
Industry’, authored by Tony Rogers (second edition to be published
November 2007 - see list of reference literature in Section 10 of this
booklet).
European Cities Marketing (ECM)
European Cities Marketing is a joint initiative between the former
European Cities Tourism (ECT) and the European Federation of
Conference Towns (EFCT) to form the leading tourism organization
in Europe, with effect from January 2007.
Further information is available from: European Cities Marketing, 99
rue de Talant, F-21000 Dijon, France. Tel: +33 380 56 02 04; Fax:
+33 380 56 02 05; E-mail: servicecentre@europeancitiesmarketing.com;
Web site:
www.europeancitiesmarketing.com
International Association of Professional Congress
Organizers (IAPCO)
Full details on all IAPCO courses are available from: International
Association of Professional Congress Organizers. Tel/Fax: +44
(0)1983 755546 E-mail: info@iapco.org; Web site: www.iapco.org
International Association of Congress Centres (Association
Internationale des Palais de Congrès – AIPC)
Contact details: Marianne de Raay, Secretary General, AIPC, 55 rue
de l’Amazone, B-1060 Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 496 235 327;
Fax: +32 2 534 6338; E-mail: Marianne.de.raay@aipc.org; Web
site: www.aipc.org.
Meeting Professionals International (MPI)
Meeting Professionals International, 3030 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1700,
Dallas, Texas 75234, USA Tel: +1-972-702-3000; Fax: +1-972-
702-3070; E-mail: information@mpiweb.org Web site:
www.mpiweb.org/education/cmm
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MPI European Office, 22 Route de Grundhof, L-6315 Beaufort,
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Tel: 352-2687-6141; fax: 352-2687-
6343; email: dscaillet@mpiweb.org
Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE)
Society of Incentive and Travel Executives, Europe Office, 15
Learmonth Gardens, Edinburgh EH4 1HB, Scotland. Tel: +44
(0)7717 827457; Fax: +44 (0)131 332 3325.
NATIONAL VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE EVENTS
INDUSTRY
National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (N/SVQs),
specifically designed for the events industry and awarded by the
City and Guilds of London Institute, have been developed. They are
for those involved in:
♦ organising events
♦ working at event venues
♦ exhibiting
♦ supplying goods and services for events
Events N/SVQs are available at three levels:
o Level 2 is for those working as part of a team, undertaking
activities under supervision but also having a degree of
responsibility
o Level 3 is for those working at an operational level in a
supervisory role, as team leaders (or as part of a larger team)
involved in decision-making and with a greater range of
responsibility than at Level 2
o Level 4 is for those taking on more management activities
and responsibilities including decision-making and strategic
planning.
The course is a work-based one and is not linked to any academic
year, so that candidates can enrol at any time. As the NVQ in
Events is a vocational qualification, candidates are not required to
sit examinations. Instead, they compile a portfolio of evidence from
their normal practice at work to demonstrate competence. An
assessor appointed by the Assessment Centre supports the
candidate throughout and assesses the portfolio of evidence. As the
course is run on a distance-learning basis, it does not matter where
the candidate lives. Assessors and candidates communicate through
face-to-face meetings, telephone or email.
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The three Assessment Centres in England for Events NVQs are
Newham College, London (www.newham.ac.uk or email:
joy.gardner@newham.ac.uk), the Events Sector Industry Training
Organisation (ESITO) based in Tetford, Lincolnshire (tel: 01507
533639), and Dearne Valley College in Yorkshire (www.dearnecoll.ac.uk).
All are accredited by City and Guilds. Information may
also be obtained directly from City and Guilds (www.city-andguilds.co.uk).
Other useful information on qualifications and developments in
education and training for the sector may be obtained from People
1 st , the Sector Skills Council established to cover the hospitality,
leisure, travel and tourism industries:
People 1 st , Second Floor, Armstrong House, 38 Market Square,
Uxbridge
Middlesex UB8 1LH (tel: 0870 060 2550; website:
www.people1st.co.uk)
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8. CAREERS IN THE INDUSTRY
Finding suitable candidates remains a major challenge within the
events industry and it is interesting to note that 36% of
respondents to a survey conducted during National Meetings Week
2006 had previous experience in sales and marketing and 32%
came from a secretarial background. This tends to support the
anecdotal evidence that 75% of the workforce in the events
industry is female. There is also no doubt that the attrition rate is
high with many in the survey citing long hours, weekend working,
travel delays, pressure and stress caused by working to tight
deadlines, pre-event anxiety, having to deal with difficult people
and disrupted social life, as the worst aspects of the job.
On the plus side respondents enjoyed the variety, absence of
routine, diversity of tasks, wide range of places and locations visited
along with the interaction with people - participants, clients and
suppliers. The chance to be creative and face the differing
challenges presented by the work was seen as positive by most of
those surveyed.
Unlike many other professions, the conference and events industry
does not yet have clear entry routes or easily identified career
progression paths. It is one of the facets which illustrate its relative
immaturity as an industry. This lack of structure may be somewhat
frustrating and confusing for those, both within and outside the
industry, who have set their sights on reaching a particular career
goal but are uncertain about how best to get there. At the same
time, however, this lack of precedent and structure can encourage a
greater fluidity and freedom of movement between jobs. There is
often no set requirement to progress in a particular way, or to have
obtained specific qualifications before being able to move on.
Many of those now working in the industry have come to it as a
second or third career. This is not surprising in view of the need to
be at ease in dealing with a wide range of people, or in coping with
a last-minute crisis in the build-up to a high-profile conference -
situations which require a reasonable maturity and some experience
of life.
Previous experience in hotel and catering, sales and marketing,
business administration, secretarial work, financial management,
local government administration, training, travel and transport, or
leisure and tourism could be advantageous, depending upon the
position being considered. But many other backgrounds and
disciplines can also give very relevant skills and knowledge,
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provided that these are combined with a natural affinity for working
with people.
For those looking to find employment straight from university or
college, vacancies do arise in conference/event agencies (e.g.
administrative posts, assisting in venue finding, computer work)
and in conference/event venues (as assistant conference and
banqueting co-ordinators, or in venue sales and marketing). It can
be possible for new graduates to obtain posts in destination
marketing organisations (typically trading as a ‘Conference Office’,
‘Conference Desk’ or Convention Bureau’), although more often 1-2
years’ previous experience in sales and marketing or local
government administration is desirable.
Relatively few conference/event organisers, especially within the
corporate sector, are full-time. They are first and foremost
secretaries/PAs, marketing assistants/managers, training managers,
or public relations executives, who find themselves asked to
organise events on behalf of their department or company. Their
role in conference/event organising may, of course, develop if they
prove to have the right talents and enthusiasm and if this meets the
company’s own development needs.
Other openings arise, from time to time, in the business tourism
industry trade associations and, for those with an interest in
publishing, in the industry’s trade magazines (either in advertising
sales or, for those with some journalistic background, as part of the
editorial team).
Before beginning a career within conferencing/events, it is probably
helpful to know whether one’s interest is primarily in the buying (ie.
working as a conference/event organiser for a company,
association, public body) or supply side (ie. working for a
conference/event venue, for an audio-visual company, or other
supplier of services) of the industry. It is, of course, quite possible
at a later stage to switch from one side to the other, and an
understanding of how both buyers and suppliers operate is
obviously important and beneficial. It is a moot point whether
intermediary agencies are best described as buyers or suppliers.
Their activities certainly revolve around venue finding and event
management, but they do this by providing a service to their
clients, the actual buyers.
It should be stressed that most companies and organisations
operating within the business events industry are small, employing
limited numbers of people. They cannot offer multiple career
opportunities and endless possibilities for progression. But their
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smallness does often ensure that there is a great variety of work
with considerable responsibility and lots of scope to display
initiative. It does also mean that it is possible, quite quickly, to get
to know many of the players in the industry, building friendships
and networks of colleagues nationally and, indeed, across the world.
Many job advertisements do not cite ‘conference’ or ‘event
organisation’ in the job title, nor as a primary function, but mention
it as part of the overall duties in the role to be performed. These
advertisements can be related to marketing, public relations,
project management, communications and publishing, as well as
those relating to charities and welfare organisations. The following
job vacancy descriptions are based on actual advertisements which
have appeared in national newspapers and other sources and are
quoted to highlight the types of skills needed for different posts:
Conference Administrator: Small, high-profile conference
company seeks an administrator to organise prestigious events.
Computer literate, well organised, meticulously accurate team
player required.
Business Development Manager: Required for industry-leading
exhibition and events services contractor. You must be an
experienced sales professional able to present a portfolio of existing
services to generate a new client base. With 3-5 years’ experience
in a similar role, you will have the confidence and ability to gain
credibility at a senior level and be results-orientated. An exhibition
or events sales background would be an advantage.
Conference and Publicity Co-ordinator: Are you a graduate with
experience of organising major high-profile conferences and
publicity events? Do you have proven knowledge of media and
public relations? Have you at least two years’ experience of project
management and budgetary control? If you fit this description, you
could be responsible for the planning, marketing and co-ordination
of events, an annual conference and exhibition and public relations
for ...(a professional medical association). You will lead a small
dynamic team and, in addition to the stated skills, will be able to
prioritise and juggle tasks and will have excellent oral, written,
presentation, negotiation and decision-making skills. The post is
likely to attract candidates who are computer literate, are
ambitious, have established media contacts and enjoy UK travel.
Event Co-ordinator (with a conference centre): Acting as
principal contact between the Centre and the client, developing,
organising and managing events to ensure client requirements are
carried out to the highest standard with the main objective or
securing repeat and increased business. It is essential that the
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successful applicant has proven experience of organising events
where the focus is on high quality customer care/service, possesses
excellent communication skills together with the ability to produce
detailed and accurate documentation. Applicants must be team
players who are organised, thorough, able to work in a pressurised
environment and possess a high level of motivation. This is a role
for a dedicated and highly committed individual.
Exhibition Sponsorship Executive: High profile exhibition and
media group are looking to recruit an experienced sponsorship sales
person to develop and maximize revenues through the development
of high-value sponsorship packages with three major consumer
shows. Needs two years’ proven sales experience in an exhibitions,
media sales or other event environment, a good understanding of
concept selling, strong project management skills, experience of
working with suppliers/agencies, and an understanding of
marketing, branding and sales promotion, initiative, drive,
enthusiasm coupled with good interpersonal and presentation skills.
Trainee Conference Producers: Is business research your forte?
Are you ambitious, entrepreneurial, analytical and quick to grasp
new and complex topics? If a career producing and devising
influential, international, high-level business conferences is your
aim, you’ll need a good degree/Ph.D. in
Science/Geography/Surveying/Law, proven business experience
(minimum one year) and financial acumen. European languages
desirable.
Head of Logistics: Well established events agency handling
product launches, conferences, sports events, corporate hospitality
and incentives needs an experienced logistics person with some
knowledge of producing to head up all logistics functions. Requires
really strong organiser and team manager who has good
communications skills and previous agency experience within
international event management, who is used to covering a variety
of events..
Marketing Assistant - Conferences, Events and Promotions
(local authority conference office): As a Marketing Assistant in a
small team, you will be ideas-oriented and have sound
organisational ability. A practical person, with exceptional
communication skills, you will be keen to become fully involved in
planning, co-ordinating and implementing all factors of a project
and work well in a team. You will need at least two years’
marketing experience in order to meet the level of responsibility
required, and previous involvement in events organisation or
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conference marketing would be an asset. A tourism or marketing
qualification is not essential, but would be an advantage.
The industry is broad enough to accommodate people with various
working backgrounds and educational qualifications, but the
common thread is the ability to build productive relationships with a
wide variety of people (colleagues, clients and customers, suppliers,
the media, and others) and to enjoy doing so.
SOURCES OF JOB VACANCY INFORMATION AND ADVICE
Would-be entrants to the industry should aim to get some work
experience in the industry, even if this means working unpaid for a
short time. The experience itself will be invaluable (and count for a
lot on CVs), and it may also provide useful contacts for full-time
posts.
There is a steadily expanding range of information on sources of job
vacancies, which include the following:
• The Association for Conferences and Events (ACE) produces a
‘Job Spot’ vacancy list every month, available on a subscription
basis. Details from ACE on tel: 01480 457595; website:
www.martex.co.uk/ace
• The Association of Event Organisers has a ‘careers centre’ on its
website (www.aeo.org.uk) which includes details of job vacancies
as well as other information on careers within the exhibition
segment
• National newspapers (broadsheets) are a reasonable source, with
‘The Guardian’ being especially useful (Monday and Saturday
editions).
• The industry’s own trade magazines have vacancy pages, many
of the vacancies being with conference/event agencies.
The Association for Conferences and Events (ACE) initiated the first
Careers Fair for the conference and event industry in London in
October 2003 in support of National Meetings Week and has held a
yearly one in London in subsequent years. In 2005 and 2006
Careers Fairs were also held in Leeds in conjunction with Leeds
Metropolitan University. The ACE Careers Fairs are designed as a
conference industry awareness day for students and is also open to
those who are already at work and may be considering a career
change. They also provide opportunities for those attending to learn
about the different types of careers available within the conference
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and events sector. Short seminars on related topics are also run
alongside the Fairs.
Useful web sites include:
♦ www.ae-assocs.com and click the Jobs-UpData® logo
♦ www.meetpie.com
♦ www.bacd.org.uk (news and jobs pages)
♦ www.meetings.org
♦ www.abpco.org
♦ www.businesstourismpartnership.com
♦ www.mia-uk.org
♦ www.springboarduk.org.uk - Springboard UK is a national, non
profit-making organisation with a mission to attract people into
career and job opportunities in hospitality, leisure, travel and
tourism to meet the industry's staffing needs and the aspirations
of potential recruits. It operates from five regional centres
(London, Nottingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow) and a
network of local centres nation wide, providing careers advice
and working with partners in education and industry. Further
details are given on the web site
♦ There are a number of specialist recruitment consultancies,
although mainly dealing with vacancies for those with some
relevant working experience. Such consultancies include:
1. ESP Recruitment, Unit 2a, Hillgate Place, 18-20 Balham Hill,
London SW12 9ER (tel: 020 8772 9199; fax: 020 8772 9188;
email: info@esprecruitment.co.uk) – contact Liz Sinclair,
Director.
2. Anne Ellington Associates, 35 Gloucester Place Mews, London
W1U 8BF (tel: 020 7935 2028; fax: 020 7935 4980; email:
jules@jobsinevents.com ; website:www.JobsinEvents.com) -
contact Jules Wilkinson, Sales & Marketing Director.
3. The Praxis Partnership, Kings House, Audley End, Gestingthorpe,
Essex CO9 3AU (tel: 01787 461990) email:
moira@praxisrecruit.com) – contact Moira Wilson-Turner.
4. Dragonfly Recruitment, Gainsborough House, 2 Sheen Road,
Richmond, Surrey TW9 1AE (tel: 0208 973 2484 website:
www.dragonflyrecruitment.co.uk – contact Bill Pretty or Rob
Grant.
5. pfj, 3 rd Floor, Threeways House, 40-44 Clipstone Street, London
W1W 5DW (tel: 0870 048 9100 website: www.pfj.co.uk –
contact Paul Farrer, Director.
6. JB Event Recruitment, Unit 1, Hitcham, 30 West Street,
Coggeshall, Essex, CO6 1NT (tel: 01376-563679; fax: 01376-
563681; email: cvs@jbeventrecruitment.co.uk; website:
www.jbeventrecruitment.co.uk – contact Jackie Bonner.
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9. LIST OF REFERENCE LITERATURE
The Meetings Industry Association produces annually the ‘UK
Conference Market Survey’ (UKCMS). The UKCMS monitors trends
in both the corporate and association sectors. The UKCMS is an
invaluable source of reference and can be obtained through the
MIA’s web site.
The British Association of Conference Destinations undertakes
annually the ‘British Conference Venues Survey’ to assess the volume,
value and other characteristics of the conference sector from a supplyside
perspective. Copies can be ordered via the BACD web site.
Conference and Business Tourism/Events Textbooks:
Allen J (2002) The business of event planning, John Wiley & Sons
Appleby P (2005) Organising a Conference: How to Run a Successful
Event, How To Books
Bowdin G et al (2001) Events management, Elsevier Butterworth-
Heinemann
Carey T (ed) (1999) Professional Meeting Management – A European
Guide, Meeting Professionals International (currently out of print)
Convention Industry Council (2005) International Manual (1 st Edition)
Craven R E and Johnson L (2006) The Complete Idiot’s Guide to
Meeting and Event Planning, Alpha
Davidson R and Cope B (2002) Business Travel: Conferences,
Incentive Travel, Exhibitions, Corporate Hospitality and Corporate
Travel, Pearson
Davidson R and Rogers T (2006) Marketing Destinations and Venues
for Conferences, Conventions and Business Events, Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann
Fisher J (1998) How to run a successful conference, Kogan Page
Friedman S (2003) Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies, John
Wiley & Sons
Goldblatt J J (1997) Special events: best practices in modern event
management, 2 nd Ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold
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Harrill R (2005) Fundamentals of Destination Management and
Marketing, IACVB and The Educational Institute of the American
Hotel & Lodging Association
Hoyle L (2002) Event Marketing: How to Successfully Promote
Events, Festivals, Conventions, and Expositions, John Wiley & Sons
Lawson F (2000) Congress, convention and exhibition facilities:
planning, design and management, Architectural Press
McCabe V, Poole B and Leiper N (2000) The Business and
Management of Conventions, John Wiley & Sons
Montgomery R J and Strick S K (1995) Meetings, conventions and
expositions – an introduction to the industry, Van Nostrand Reinhold
O’Toole W and Mikolaitis P (2002) Corporate Event Project
Management, John Wiley & Sons
Peterson C H (1999) Convention centers, stadiums and arenas,
Urban Land Institute
Price C H (1999) The complete guide to professional meeting and
event coordination, The George Washington University
Rogers T (2003) Conferences and Conventions: A Global Industry,
Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann
Seekings D and Farrer J (1999) How to Organize Effective
Conferences and Meetings, Kogan Page
Shone A (1998) The Business of Conferences, Elsevier Butterworth-
Heinemann
Shone A and Parry B (2004) Successful Event Management,
Thomson Learning
Swarbrooke J and Horner S (2001) Business Travel and Tourism,
Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann
Tarlow P E (2002) Event Risk Management and Safety, John Wiley &
Sons
Weber K and Chon K (eds) (2002) Convention Tourism:
international research and industry perspectives, Haworth
Hospitality Press
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10. THE BUSINESS TOURISM PARTNERSHIP
Aims and Objectives
The mission of the Business Tourism Partnership (BTP) is:
‘To lead the way in supporting a competitive, high quality and more
profitable business tourism sector in Britain’.
Access to full BTP information is via the web site:
www.businesstourismpartnership.com
b) Membership
Membership of the Business Tourism Partnership (as at February
2007) comprised:
Association for Conferences and Events (ACE)
Riverside House, 160 High Street, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire,
PE29 3SG
T: 01480-457595; F: 01480-412863; E: ace@martex.co.uk;
W: www.martex.co.uk/ace
ACE acts as an information centre and forum for member
organisations involved in organising, marketing, accommodation
and servicing of events. It also organises training courses on
aspects of event planning and management.
Association of British Professional Conference Organisers
(ABPCO)
6 th Floor, Charles House, 148-149 Great Charles Street,
Birmingham, B3 3HT
T 0121-212-1400; F: 0121 212 3131; E: information@abpco.org
W: www.abpco.org
The aim of ABPCO is to raise standards of professionalism across
the meetings industry and to increase business for its members.
Membership requires a high level of professional competence and
experience, and members are also offered opportunities for training
and personal development.
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Association for Events Management Education (AEME)
UK Centre for Events Management, Tourism, Hospitality and Events
School, Leeds Metropolitan University, Civic Quarter, Leeds LS1 3HE
T: 0113 283 3484; E: G.A.J.Bowdin@leedsmet.ac.uk
AEME exists in order to support and raise the profile of the events
discipline through the sharing of education and best practice. It is
also the first international organisation to draw together events
management educators and will act as a channel through which
industry, professional bodies and the media can liaise with events
education providers. Membership is open to individuals and
organisations.
British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD)
6 th Floor, Charles House, 148-149 Great Charles Street,
Birmingham, B3 3HT
T 0121-212-1400; F: 0121 212 3131; E: info@bacd.org.uk
W: www.bacd.org.uk
BACD’s mission is to support, promote and represent British
conference destinations. It fulfils this mission by providing: advice,
research, education, networking, accreditation, business leads and
joint marketing opportunities, and through maximising the
opportunities for alliances and collaboration with key strategic
partners. Membership categories include Full, Affiliate and Student
members.
British Hospitality Association (BHA)
Queen’s House, 55-56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BH
T: 020 7404 7744; F: 020 7404 7799; E: bob.cotton@bha.org.uk
W: www.bha-online.org.uk
The BHA represents the hotel, restaurant and catering industry,
which has a total turnover of some £60 billion. Members range from
major hotel groups to individually-owned businesses and employ
some 400,000 people.
Eventia
192-198 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 0DX
T: 0870 112 6970; F: 0870 403 0256; E:
izania.downey@eventia.org.uk
W: www.eventia.org.uk
Eventia is the UK-based trade association for organisations that
provide business solutions through the use of corporate events –
including meetings, product launches and travel incentives.
Members include event organising companies, airlines, hotel groups,
destination management companies, tourist offices and a range of
support service providers.
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Events Industry Alliance (EIA)
113 High Street, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 2DJ
T: 01442-873331; F: 01442-875551; E:
info@eventsindustryalliance.com
W: www.eventsindustryalliance.com
The EIA is the new marketing arm for the exhibitions and events
industry, and is equally owned by the Association of Event
Contractors (AEC), the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) and
the Association of Event Venues (AEV). The EIA’s mission is to
promote, grow and further professionalise the event marketing
medium. The EIA is focused on communicating the huge
opportunities for business growth via the medium of ‘face-to-face’
marketing, and increasing the overall recognition of this powerful,
effective and unique media channel.
International Congress and Convention Association (UK &
Ireland Chapter) (ICCA)
Brian Horsburgh, Chair, c/o Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference
Centre, Exhibition Avenue, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen AB23 8BL
T: 01224 330428; E: bhorsburgh@aecc.co.uk
ICCA is now one of the most prominent organizations in the world of
international meetings. It is the only association that comprises a
membership representing the main specialists in handling,
transporting and accommodating international events. With ICCA
members in 80 countries around the world, it is the most global
organization within the meetings industry. The UK & Ireland Chapter
has some 50 members and holds a range of meetings and seminars
throughout the year. It supports industry research.
Meeting Professionals International – UK Chapter (MPI)
T: 020 7193 9232; E: secretariat@mpiuk.org W: www.mpiuk.org
MPI is one of the leading associations for the global meetings
industry and is committed to delivering success for its 21,000
worldwide members by providing innovative professional
development, generating industry awareness and creating business
development opportunities.
Meetings Industry Association
PO Box 515, Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire NN6 9XW
T: 0845 230 5508; F: 0845 230 7708; E: info@mia-uk.org;
W: www.mia-uk.org
The MIA sets the ‘Gold Standards’ for the UK meetings industry. As
a supplier-led, buyer-focused organization, the MIA is committed to
benefiting and enhancing the UK meetings industry through the
encouragement of the highest standards in facilities and standards.
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National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA)
7 Hamilton Way, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 9NJ
T: 020 8669 8121; F: 020 8647 1128; E: Secretary@noea.org.uk
W: www.noea.org.uk
The National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) is the forum for
the world of outdoor events representing local authorities, show
organisers, promoters, event management companies, venue
owners, charities, suppliers of equipment and services together with
entertainment agencies, consultants and practitioners in general. It
has over 400 members. It produces a members’ yearbook and
organises an annual convention and several regional conferences
annually.
Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB)
Business Tourism Unit, St Anne’s Court, 59 North Street, Belfast
BT1 lNB
T: 028 9023 1221; F: 028 9031 5544; E:
businesstourism@nitb.com;
W: www.discovernorthernireland.com/convention
The NITB supports the activities of the two city convention bureaux
in Belfast and Derry and the Regional Tourism Partnerships (RTPs)
to attract conference, association and incentive business to
Northern Ireland. The Business Tourism Unit facilitates the trade
through participation in overseas promotions, familiarisation
inspections by overseas conference organisers and incentive houses
and providing a link to suppliers of conference services.
UKinbound
Victory House, 14 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7BZ
T: 020 7734 9569; F: 020 7287 3217; E:
stephendowd@ukinbound.org
W: www.ukinbound.org
UKinbound (formerly the British Incoming Tour Operators
Association – BITOA) is the official body representing the
commercial interests of the inbound tourism industry in the UK. As
the only trade association focused on this vital sector of the tourism
industry, UKinbound’s 270-plus members account for some 60% of
the £12.5 billion plus export earnings generated from inbound
tourism each year.
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Venuemasters
The Workstation,15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX
T: 0114 249 3090; F: 0114 249 3091; E:
info@venuemasters.co.uk;
W: www.venuemasters.co.uk
Venuemasters is the UK’s marketing consortium representing
university and college venues who hire their facilities for all types of
event. Venuemasters offer event organizers a free venue finding
service to help them find the right venue for their events.
VisitBritain
Business Visits & Events Department, Thames Tower, Black’s Road,
Hammersmith, London W6 9EL
T: 020 8563 3251; F: 020 8563 3257; E:
businesstourism@visitbritain.org;
W: www.visitbritain.com/business
VisitBritain is the organisation with responsibility for marketing
Britain to the rest of the world and England to the British. Its
mission is to build the value of tourism by creating world class
destination brands and marketing campaigns. The Business Visits
and Events Department is responsible for marketing Britain
overseas as a conference, meeting, incentive and exhibition
destination.
Visit London
Business and Conventions, 2 More London Riverside, London, SE1
2RR
T: 020 7234 5800; F: 020 7378 6525 E: dhornby@visitlondon.com
W: www.visitlondon.com/business
Visit London is the official visitor organization for the UK capital.
Visit London’s role is to help create and deliver events to match.
Services include: free and impartial venue finding service; free
planning tool kit; facilitation of site inspections and familiarization
visits; inspiring ideas for itineraries and accompanying persons’
programmes..
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VisitScotland
Business Tourism Unit, Ocean Point One, 94 Ocean Drive, Edinburgh
EH6 6JH
T: 0131 472 2405; F: 0131 472 2009; E:
businesstourism@visitscotland.com
W: www.conventionscotland.com
The Business Tourism Unit of VisitScotland actively promotes
Scotland as a dynamic destination for meetings ,conventions,
incentive travel and corporate events. It produces guides and
brochures to help the meeting or incentive planner, and gives
impartial advice and assistance with venue selection.
Visit Wales
Business Tourism Unit, Brunel House, 2 Fitzalan Road, Cardiff CF24
0UY
T: 029 2047 5237; F: 029 2047 5321; E: businesstourism@wales.gsi.gov.uk;
W: www.meetings.visitwales.com
Visit Wales, the tourism department of the Welsh Assembly
Government, provides MICE buyers with impartial advice, assistance
with venue selection, local knowledge and support services. Visit
Wales also supplies statistics, consultations and business
information on tourism in Wales, and provides a range of marketing
platforms for Welsh suppliers.
Sponsoring Government Department
Department for Culture, Media & Sport
Tourism Division, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH
T: 020 7211 6040; F: 020 7211 6319; E:
stephen.curtis@culture.gsi.gov.uk
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Business Tourism Partnership:
Trade Associations and Government Agencies leading the way
Business Tourism Partnership
● Association for Conferences and Events
● Association of British Professional Conference Organisers
● Association for Events Management Education
● British Association of Conference Destinations
● British Hospitality Association
● Eventia
● Events Industry Alliance
● International Congress and Convention Association (UK & Ireland Chapter)
● Meetings Industry Association
● Meeting Professionals International - UK Chapter
● National Outdoor Events Association
● Northern Ireland Tourist Board
● UKinbound
● Venuemasters
● VisitBritain
● Visit London
● VisitScotland
● Visit Wales
Business Tourism Partnership
Leading the way
www.businesstourismpartnership.com
c/o VisitBritain
Thames Tower
Blacks Road
London W6 9EL
Tel: 020 8563 3253
Fax: 020 8563 3257
E-mail: btp@visitbritain.org
£25