The
first of the UK Economic Impact Study (UKEIS) results were announced
by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Foundation at
International Confex today.
The
results, which provide a detailed profile of the UK meetings and
events industry, are the first of their kind.
Key
profile findings include:
•
Over
1,301,600 meetings took place in the UK and attracted 116.1 million
attendees who accounted for spending just under £40bn in 2011
•
Meetings
took place in 10,127 meeting venues across the UK
•
Venue
occupied 60 million square metres or the equivalent of over 6,000
football pitches
•
Over
81% of meetings were held for the corporate sector
•
64%
of meetings were classed as small meetings with fewer than 100
attendees; nearly 30% were for between 100-500 attendees and 6%
attracted more than 500 attendees
•
The
most prominent income for meeting organisations was from delegate
registration fees (38.1%) followed by exhibitor fees (31.6%) and
sponsorship (19.5%)
•
The
largest expense for meeting organisations in the UK was venue hire
(17.4%)
The
project is led by the MPI Foundation, whilst the research has been
undertaken by researchers at the International Centre for Research in
Events, Tourism and Hospitality (ICRETH) at Leeds Metropolitan
University on behalf of the UK meetings industry.
The
findings were introduced by MPI Foundation International Board member
and MCI Group Vice President - Industry Relations, Patrick Delaney
who commented: “The level of detail provided by this research is
truly fantastic, particularly the regional and city specific
information, which allows us to develop a clear picture of the sector
within this country. Ours is a growing industry, these figures show
its current scale and set the benchmark for the future.”
Patrick
continues: “The project would not have been possible without the
support of all our investment partners and on behalf of the MPI
Foundation I would like to once again thank them for their input.”
International
Confex, event director and MPI UK & Ireland President Elect,
James Samuel: “The UKEIS is the most important research ever
undertaken by this sector and this profile data provides a clearer
picture of the industry than we have ever previously had. As the
figures are broken down and further information becomes available we
will gain a true insight into not just the size of our sector but
also its impact and position in the world around us.”
ICRETH
representative Glenn Bowdin announced the details of the profile
information, commenting: “This is the first time this level of
information has been gathered in the UK, it is also the first time
this type of study has been conducted in such detail. This is a
significant milestone as this announcement demonstrates the size and
shape of the sector. The full reports over the coming months will
show more profile information and most importantly demonstrate the
critical role the meetings industry plays in the UK economy. These
profile findings are just the start of establishing the full economic
picture, which will be announced at The Meetings Show UK in July,
2013.”
UKEIS
Profile Findings:
The
research team from the ICRETH has reviewed published reports and
other secondary data from 2011 and analysed over 3,460 survey
responses from venues, meeting organisations and destination
management organisations across the UK as well as from attendees and
exhibitors in the UK, France, USA, Ireland and Germany to provide the
following information:
•
Over
1,301,600 meetings took place in the UK and attracted 116.1 million
attendees who accounted for spending just under £40bn. Over half of
the attendees came to consumer shows and exhibitions, nearly 40%
attended conferences.
•
Meetings
took place in 10,127 meeting venues across the UK, 27.7% were large
hotels (more than 50 rooms) with meeting facilities. Almost 20% were
classed as unusual, unique or special
event venues and
14.2% were purpose built convention or exhibition centres. In total
the venues occupied 60 million square metres or the equivalent of
almost 6,000 football pitches and offered a total seating capacity of
approximately 8.5 million seats.
•
On
average each venue was used for 125 days in the year. Large hotels
with meeting facilities held all types of meetings conferences,
consumer shows, exhibitions and incentive events. More trade shows
and business exhibitions were held in purpose built conventions and
exhibition centres. Small hotels hosted more incentive events. Resort
properties, university / educational institutions and unique
and special event venues without bedrooms proved a popular
choice for conferences.
•
On
average meeting organisations staged 147 events in the year. Over 81%
of meetings were held for the corporate sector, 6.3% of meetings were
for Associations, 5.2% for Non-Government and not-for-profit
organisations and 4% for Government and public service organisations.
•
64%
of meetings were classed as small meetings with fewer than 100
attendees; nearly 30% were for between 100-500 attendees and 6%
attracted more than 500 attendees.
•
The
average length of a meeting was 2 days. Over half (53.8%) of meetings
in the UK in 2011 were a single day or less in length. Most meetings
happened in March and April (272,926) while far fewer meetings
happened in December (46,346). Within England, the Greater London
region hosted the most meetings (362,500) followed by the South East
(163,349) and the West Midlands (143,210). In other home countries,
Scotland hosted most meetings (86,524), Wales hosted 75,802 and
Northern Ireland hosted 20,447 meetings over the year.78.5% of people
attending meetings were from within the UK and 21.5% were
international attendees. In 2011, the total spending generated by
international meetings attendees was £10.8 billion and by national
meeting attendees was £21.3 billion. The total spend by people who
accompanied attendees to the meeting host destination was £7.7
billion. Exhibitors attended events that on average took place over 4
days, spending 3 nights at host destinations, attendees on average
spent 2 nights at host destinations.
•
The
largest expense for meeting organisations in the UK was on venue hire
(17.4%), equipment / production (13.4%) and food and beverages
(11.9%). The most prominent income was from delegate registration
fees (38.1%) followed by exhibitor fees (31.6%) and sponsorship
(19.5%).
•
The
largest spend for attendees was on accommodation (20.6%) followed by
meeting registration fees (18.7%). 10.3% of attendee spend was on air
transport with food and beverages from restaurants, cafés and bars
accounting for 9.5% and 5.8% spent on fees to attend optional
programs such as reception events, dinners and social events.
•
UK
venues spent most on salaries and wages (18.6%), maintenance and
repairs (17.8%) and other administrative expenses such as
professional fees and contracted services (17%). The highest amount
of revenue was gained from meeting space rental (58.1%), followed by
exhibition services (14.7%) and food and beverage (11.5%).
•
Out
of the four key business tourism markets surveyed, US attendees (£3.9
billion) spent more than the other business tourism markets Ireland
(£2.5 billion), Germany (£1.2 billion) and France (£0.9 billion).
Below
is the full list of investment partners involved in the study:
•
IHG
•
Reed
Travel Exhibitions
•
Barbican
•
ExCel
•
ICCA
•
IMEX
•
International
Confex
•
Meetings
& Incentive Travel
•
SITE
•
The
Meetings Show UK
•
Conde
Nast
•
London
& Partners
•
Q
Hotels
•
SECC
•
Visit
Scotland
•
Visit
Wales