In November, the government called on the events industry to help develop a strategy that will make the UK the number one destination for the international business events market.
This was followed last week by an announcement from the department for culture, media and sport (DCMS) that it’s creating a Business Visits and Events Board.
The board will be tasked with identifying business opportunities and to win more events and represents new resources for the events industry to attract events to Britain.
The Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP), which has been supporting the DCMS through this process, has provided five key facts that show why the meetings and events industry is so important to the UK:
1. 1.3 billion meetings are held in the UK each year
2. Business visits to Britain are 23.5 per cent of all visits and, at £4.4 billion, 24.4 per cent of all spend
3. UK exhibitions attract 13 million visitors each year, spending £11 billion
4. The UK ranks fourth globally for international association congresses
5. Average business traveller spend is £611 per visit, £28 per head more than leisure travellers
Source: BVEP