Annex
Letter dated 11 June 2002, from the Chairman
of Business Tourism Partnership to the Head of Business, Retailing
and Consumer Services at DTI
UK EXHIBITION AND
CONFERENCE INDUSTRY
Thank you for giving the Business Tourism Partnership
an opportunity to input into your Department's current external
review of its structure and activities. Therefore I am setting
out areas where we believe the exhibition, event and conference
sectors might foster stronger alliances with the Department, through
the new Business Relations structure.
During our previous discussions we concurred
that there was significant commercial advantage for participation
by companies in exhibitions and conferences to be promoted as
part of individual industry sector strategies. The benefits of
showcasing products and services at exhibitions and networking
and gathering information at conferences has been shown to be
the most effective method of competing for international and domestic
trade and developing market intelligence.
Developing trade through exhibitions and conferences
demands a highly competitive and productive form of marketing
and trade activity. Co-ordinated properly it will produce far
higher returns on marketing activity than most other forms of
business promotion.
The staging of exhibitions and conferences faces
intensive competition, within Europe and globally. In Europe,
other countries continue to invest significant public funds in
exhibition and convention facilities, their promotion and facilitation
of attendance at events (despite tougher EU rules on State Aid).
Facilities are often provided—to a very high standard—as
part of a strategy for economic and tourism development and often
represent a major municipal investment to obtain international
profile.
However the UK remains a popular destination
for trade shows and meetings. It offers an easily accessible destination
with professionally managed services and excellent added facilities,
especially in terms of leisure and cultural attractions too.
But the stakes are high and the industry needs
top-level government involvement, especially in the provision
of appropriate facilities, the bidding for international events,
the encouragement and facilitation for businesses, especially
small enterprises to participate and to benefit and in the assistance
given to key international and domestic buyers to attend.
SCALE OF
ACTIVITY
Exhibitions
The exhibition industry features events in permanent
facilities—following capital investment of around £850
million, there are 26 members of EVA, the Exhibition Venues Association,
providing a choice of venues with over 2,000 square metres of
display space. There are also substantial events in temporary
structures, such as Farnborough. Research is under way to map
the full-scale of activity. But sustained research over the last
12 years has monitored core activity in main venues.
In 2000, 11 million visitors attended 868 exhibitions
that occupied 7.6 million square metres of gross hall space. Of
this activity, 55 per cent related to trade shows; 43 per cent
to public shows.
Exhibitor spend in 1999 was estimated at £1.7
billion. Figures for 2001 will shortly be published. There are
also two further economic impacts, difficult to estimate but which
make a substantial contribution to the UK economy.
— Orders placed with UK exhibiting
companies. Over 100,000 international trade buyers attend each
year and ensure that UK Fairs make an important contribution to
export trade. In particular, they enable SME's to start exporting
in a cost-effective manner. The annual Spring Fair, Birmingham
generates £1 billion in trading activity in the giftware
and related sectors.
— Regional economic impact. The industry
is geographically dispersed throughout the UK, delivers real spending
benefits from business tourists (average daily spend of £157)
and, broadly, peaks outside traditional tourist seasons. As a
major example, the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham (The
NEC) generates £580 million per annum and secures 17,800
jobs in the West Midlands.
British exhibitions have a high reputation for
innovation and entrepreneurial flair. There are 400 organisers,
20 per cent being trade associations. These enterprises seek to
develop new business in line with economic sector trends. The
AEO, Association of Exhibition Organisers, represents over 200
members who employ an estimated 6,000 people in addition to the
EVA venue employment of more than 8,500.
Installing the 105,000 exhibition stands is
the responsibility of the contractors, represented by BECA, British
Exhibition Contractors Association. Its 300 members employ an
estimated 7,000 people in the UK (detailed research is in hand)
and invest in modern display equipment to ensure high design standards.
Conferences
An estimated 1.3 million conferences and meetings
took place at UK venues during 2000 and the sector is estimated
to be worth £6.6 billion annually to the economy.
According to the 2000 ONS International Passenger
Survey, an estimated 851,000 conference visitors from abroad brought
£591 million to the UK spending more per visit (£694)
than both the average visitor (£507) and the average business
visitor (£554). Visitor spend is considerable: a party political
event in 1999 in Bournemouth generated £11 million.
Conference and convention activity features
national and international association meetings, as well as an
array of corporate presentations and company meetings. Around
a quarter of meetings and conferences involved delegates having
an overnight stay at the venue.
In 2000, around half of all conferences were
classified as corporate events (48 per cent), 32 per cent were
government events and 20 per cent were association events. National
association conferences, many of which attract international delegates,
comprise 24 per cent of the sector. Some 27 per cent of residential
conferences were attended by some overseas delegates compared
to 19 per cent of non-residential conferences.
The British Association of Conference Destinations
represents a large proportion of the public and private funded
conference facilities.
Major investment is taking place in all regions
in a combination of new build and redevelopment and refurbishment
of existing facilities. A number of destinations have proposals
for new, purpose-designed conference centres. These include Bath,
Folkestone, Liverpool, Nottingham and Perth.
Projects nearing completion include the £18
million redevelopment of the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference
Centre with a capacity for 2,000 delegates; the Baltic Centre
in Newcastle/Gateshead with facilities for up to 2,400 delegates;
£7 million redevelopment of the Telford International Centre
for 1,300 delegates; the £30 million restoration of the Dome
Complex in Brighton and the £12 million refurbishment of
the Villa Marina in the Isle of Man.
However a much needed International Convention
Centre for London capable of holding over 5,000 delegates still
requires public and private support and backing from the Greater
London Authority and London Development Agency.
Employment benefits are illustrated by the provision
of 22,000 jobs in Birmingham through its four main event venues;
68 per cent of all tourism jobs (4,750) are employed in the conference
and exhibition sector and the recent extension to the Scottish
Exhibition and Convention Centre creating over 3,500 jobs in the
Glasgow region.
International conventions are won through an
exceptionally competitive bidding process for each event. This
involves detailed documentation, packaging of amenities, accommodation,
transport and local attractions. Arrangements for familiarisation
visits; endorsement by senior figures for tourism and trade promotion
and local and national politicians and often has to contend with
subsidies by overseas competitors both in the provision of travel,
infrastructure and organisation cost and the facilitation of attendees
to the event.
CURRENT ISSUES
In view of the importance of sustaining a competitive
exhibition, conference and trade event sector within the UK economy
consideration by the DTI and its agencies should be given to the
following areas:
1. Export trade potential of UK exhibitions
and meetings to be better understood, with adjustment to the limited
promotional support available to organisers of International events
held in the UK—rather than overseas.
2. The development of policies and schemes
that will enable the UK to respond to heavily subsidised competition
for important sectors of the international market?
3. Top Ministerial support for bids made
for major European and World events and similar attendance at
opening ceremonies etc., matching the practice of leading competitors.
4. Integrating into national and regional
trade sector strategies, the use of exhibitions and conferences
for the promotion of goods and services.
5. Consideration in transport policy for
improving access and avoiding congestion around the exhibition
and conference venues, improving the impression given to key international
visitors.
6. Specific attention to some regional investment
issues eg Northern Ireland and the delivery of "joined-up"
thinking and more consultation with National and Regional agencies,
including the RDAs. The industry believes this issue needs to
be pursued within the debate over sufficient funds being allocated
to ensure that the BTA, the National Tourist Boards of England,
Wales and Scotland—and the RDA's—address promotion
and research into the development of business tourism infrastructure
and facilities.
7. Further joint promotion schemes to increase
the involvement and training of SMEs in UK-based exhibitions.
8. Benchmarking investment by competitor
economies, particularly in Europe. Identifying how investment
in national infrastructure can generate greater rewards.
The Business Tourism Partnership is most appreciative
of the excellent support it already receives from the DTI. We
believe that further integration of exhibition, events and conferences
to promote trade opportunities, within your department's development
strategies will make UK industry more competitive and productive.
We hope your external review can incorporate
the proposals in this submission within its final recommendations.
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