The role of Business Visits & Events in Destination Management Kenny Boyle VisitBritain Director - Commercial and Marketing Services

Key facts – IPS (P) % of all inbound spend(£4.8 billion), 27% of all visits (9.2 million) and 15% of all nights (37.8 million) £127 spend per day v £64 for all sectors Out of Britain’s top 5 source markets, 2 have business spend greater than leisure (USA, Ireland) 2 out of the 4 BRIC countries (Brazil (11% v 25%), Russia (24% v 34%), India (57% v 15%), China (33% v 17%)) have business spend greater than leisure Up to 40% of business travellers may return as leisure travellers

Seasonality (IPS 2007 (P)) Business visitsLeisure visits Considerably more favourable seasonal platform than leisure tourism Without business visits there would be much less incentive to retain staff year round Without the additional revenue that business travel provides for destinations (e.g. seaside resorts) they would be less viable outside the traditional peak season

Regionality (2006 IPS) Without business travel the regions of England would be significantly poorer. There is a greater % of visits to all English regions (excl SW) outside London than leisure travel Without business travel there might never have been the regeneration of city centres (Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow etc)

Average spend per sector Average spend per day – highest of any sector High value/low impact (sustainability – also more likely to travel in large groups) Greater incentive for Infrastructure investment / training of staff Facilities for business travel benefit/support the leisure traveller offering (airplanes, hotels, venues etc)

Looking forward The WTO predicts business travel to rise at a faster rate than leisure travel till 2010 Events (business, sporting and cultural) are likely to be one of the main beneficiaries of the London 2012 Games, if the opportunity is realised. There will be considerable development in infrastructure from the London 2012 Games (transport, hotels, venues etc) that will impact the meetings and events industry. The opportunity exists to engage London 2012 TOP and local and NOC sponsors through corporate hospitality programmes and meetings and events promotion. Business travel generates increased opportunities for transactions / trade for UK plc

But…. In 1997, Britain was global number 2 in terms of hosting international peripatetic conferences (now in 4th place). In 1997, Britain was number 2 in terms of attracting the highest number of delegates to those conferences (now in 9 th place). Britain is the only destination in the top 10 to have fewer delegates in 2007 than a decade earlier. In 1997 Britain had a market share of 6.4%. In 2006 this had slipped to 4.7%. Britain does not have one city in the top 10 destinations. Only 1 in the top 20 (London 17 th ). Only 2 in the top 40 (Edinburgh 36 th ). 3 in top 50 (Glasgow 48 th ),– destinations with more meetings than London include Lisbon and Seoul, than Edinburgh include Athens and Vancouver, than Glasgow include Helsinki and Riga, than Manchester include Uppsala, Gent. Britain is losing out in a growing market.

A very familiar picture Total spend 2007 Other visits - 71% Business visits – 29%

A closer look Visits to conferences and exhibitions are DISCRETIONARY Individual business visits are NON-DISCRETIONARY VB can influence the ‘how long’ and ‘who with’ but not the real drivers of our key metrics – volume, value, regionality, seasonality: -‘Whether’ -‘When’ -‘Where’ Individual Business travel – 78% Visitors, delegates to conferences & exhibitions – 22% Business visit spend 2007

Win the events – the delegates will follow Optimised Focus Organizers & decision makers Visitors & delegates to events

The case for eventBritain Impact of events: Economic - Employment Brand / Media Softer issues Health Social inclusion Nation building Crime Regional Seasonal

What is eventBritain? Situated in VisitBritain’s Business, Visits & Events department Using VisitBritain’s international network in 35 markets Providing increased reach for partners

eventBritain: Our Vision Britain becomes the global destination of choice for all sectors of the international events industry

eventBritain: Our Mission To provide focussed support to partners so as to help in the identification, winning and marketing of the maximum new events for Britain

Why the brand of ‘eventBritain’? VB ad hoc bid supporter for many years under the auspices of “Business Tourism” name changed to “Business Visits and Events” to reflect the Olympic opportunity strategy refocused on areas which VB could influence event support strategy signed off by VB board and creation of “eventBritain”

Pre-Bid Creation of best practice & global benchmarking Delivery of compelling Britain brand for the events sector On territory support for associations & governing bodies Secure increased government support eventBritain and the event value chain Bid Deliver comprehensive on-territory key account management throughout bid process including face-to-face presentations and VIP receptions Secure bid support from relevant government ministers and departments Marketing Maximise delegate/participation level through marketing campaigns delivered by on- territory delivery channels Create an eventBritain advisory service for potential visitors using existing contact centres Event Work with government to secure relevant minister to open/attend event Maximise PR within global events industry Post-Event Establish robust & consistent measure of success through creation of relevant economic impact model Secure testimonials/advocacy for the future Deliver feedback to government to develop goodwill & build foundations for continuing government support

Will eventBritain be bidding for events themselves? Categorically NO! eventBritain’s role is to support the bids of partners, destinations & venues

Which events will eventBritain support? Those events that contribute best to VisitBritain’s overall objective of: Economic benefit Seasonal spread Regional spread Adding value to the Britain brand Those events that we can – we are not leading but supporting

Summary 1.More explicit focus on influenceable, discretionary business – identifying, winning and reporting business 2.Overseas offices to focus on sales (lead generation) and key account management - London on marketing (lead identification, collateral and support) 3.More effective coordination with other interested parties (UKTI, DCMS, UK Sport) 4.Better integration of extender messaging 5.Key measure - lead generation and conversion (rather than solely ROI) 6.Exploit commercial opportunities 7.Provide improved routes to market for UK industry

How do I contact eventBritain?

Q&A

Ongoing M&I Support Exhibitions EIBTM IMEX E-CRM Local activity Discovery Websites – and extender content