Events Industry Board
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 100 Parliament Street
17 October 2017
Attending:Nick de Bois, Chair
Michael Hirst, Deputy Chair
Ellen Mackrill, minutes
Dan Thurlow
Rob Holt
Chris Skeith
Tracy Halliwell
Ufi Ibrahim
Naomi Waite
Robin Johnson
Anthony Pickles
Laura Clayton
Anita Thandi
Joss Croft
Apologies:Mike Rusbridge, Simon Hughes, Will Whitehorn, Paul Bush, Martin Lewis, Stephen McGowan
Welcome
The chairman opened the meeting and apologised for not attending the previous meeting. Noting the agenda included substantive reports from DCMS, DIT and VisitBritain that this was an excellent opportunity for the board to comment and advice on government’s progress in supporting the business events sector.
The chair advised the Board that following the updates he would be opening a discussion on the future of the Board to reflect on its successes and gather their thoughts going forward.
Minutes
The board cleared the previous minutes with no revisions.
Matters Arising
Michael Hirst noted the upcoming Hoteliers meeting which is taking place in November and that a further roundtable with venues and Destination Management Organisations would take place in the new year with dates to be agreed.
Industrial Strategy
Anthony Pickles updated the Board on the progress of the proposed Tourism sector deal, which was signed off by the Tourism Industry Council in September and has now gone to BEIS.
He thanked Ufi Ibrahim and Michael Hirst for their work on the sector deal. He also noted for discussion that the that business visits and events could play a key part in the ambition to increase productivity by helping to fill the seasonal gap that confronted the wider tourism sector.
The Board discussed the sector deal and noted that:
●It was good that business events had a role in the strategy
●There is fragmentation in the events sector - with government and VisitBritain separating different types of events.
●We should consider if there are opportunities to do business events around sporting or cultural events - and learn from previous experiences
●Charities can have an ambassadorial role and can create networks.
●The board noted that widening the seasonal activity of business events was problematic but agreed that this must be examined further to help improve productivity, a key government is requirement.
Vision for Business Events
Ellen Mackrill introduced the ‘Vision’ paper put forward by DCMS and DIT, which outlines Government’s vision how they will support the industry, most notably the requirement to improve our position of 5th in European destination rankings. She then explained that Government will be working on an action plan to be presented at the next Board.
The Board discussed the paper and noted that:
●Thought should be given to the ranking used to track the UK’s performance
●The board should work with government to establish the criteria by which we measure performance - for example delegate numbers, number of meetings etc.
●The ‘peak’ season for events is November/December and it would be useful to know where capacity exists for increasing the number of events. However it can be hard to collect the data.
Action: Government will reconsider using the ICCA rankings
Action: Amend paper to include the Devolved Administrations
Priorities for DIT
Joss Croft updated the Board on the the priorities that have been agreed with their Secretary of State, within which business events can play a role, and confirming their commitment to work with DCMS:
●Working to open up markets
●Strengthening the culture of international trade in UK markets
●Ensuring UK is the best place to invest
●Contribute to Government agenda for a global Britain
The Board discussed the update and noted that:
●Industry will be able to participate with the Dubai and Tokyo Expo work, subject to normal procurement procedures.
●The Event Support Programme excludes supporting international exhibitors investing in the UK and a discussion should be had around whether we are prioritising UK exhibitors going abroad or international exhibitors coming to the UK.
●Increasing international exhibitors would also increase international visits.
●The DIT focus is on international trade and investment,with DCMS focus on increasing international business visitors
Priorities for DCMS
Ellen Mackrill updated the Board on the priorities for DCMS, which includes continuing to encourage ministers to engage in events, organising the Hoteliers roundtable and working with Border Force on a proposal to fast-track delegates through passport control.
The Board discussed the priorities and noted that:
●A key criticism of the UK is the ‘welcome’ as delegates arrive, and the proposal could improve this, however the potential cost is a concern.
●Decorating the airport would also help with this and arranging points for delegates to obtain delegate packs
●There are challenges around organisers wanting to access large numbers of rooms during busy periods.
Action: Hold planning meet ahead of Hoteliers roundtable
Action: Include Mike Rusbridge the planning meeting for the pilot
Update from VisitBritain
Robin Johnson updated the Board on the staff changes at VisitBritain since the last Board, which includes the appointment of Kerrin McPhee as Head of Business Events. He took the Board through what had happened over the past three months including holding receptions for buyers across Europe and updating the Event Support Programme to make it easier to bid for support.
The Board discussed the update and noted that:
●The focus of the Event Support Programme should be on internationalising current events, as it has had more success in this capacity than bringing in new ones. When looking to provide support on bringing in new events, this should focus on one or two larger events.
●We should be more ambitious in the requests for advocacy - beyond attend events or writing in support of them.
●Infrastructure is important - investment has helped Belfast become one of the fastest growing UK cities
Reflections of the Board
Nick de Bois opened the discussion by suggesting that two years was a good point to look at the successes of the Board and how it could evolve to reflect new priorities. He noted that inclusion in the sector deal meant that the industry had received recognition and now had a voice. He asked the Board for their thoughts on what the Board had achieved and their future role?
The Board discussed the progress made and noted that:
●They would advise that greater evidence was needed in support of the various issues on which the Board was focussed and more research needed to be undertaken as part of its future work. This is particularly relevant in terms of the work to establish spare capacity to be sold and where and when this exists to substantiate the potential improvement in productivity factor and the benefits of the Events Support Programme.
●We should look at the impact of the Board on the industry - arguably doing less well here than on impact within government where impact has presently been greater in respect of:
○The board had played an important role in engineering and advising on the Event Support Program
○Ministerial engagement
○Working groups with industry and ministers
●Internationally the board’s establishment has been recognised by potential customers and nation states as a renewed commitment of the UK to support an expansion of the UK as a business for events destination of choice
Nick de Bois closed the discussion by suggesting that regular Board meetings will continue, with the potential for working groups to be set up underneath to look at specific areas of the action plan and sector deal. He advised this would require extra support than just attending Board meetings and therefore the composition of the Board would need to be considered.
AOB
No members had any other business so the Chair closed the meeting.