TMI / BACD “Hot Topic” Event

21 May 2008

National Tourism Framework Review

Business & Conference Tourism

INTRODUCTION

DCMS has asked VisitBritain to review the structure and co-ordination of tourism in the UKand report back to government with its recommendations. In response, VB has set up a number of Working Groups to consider specific areas of activity. The T3 Working Group has been set up to review major issues relating to tourism in England. To assist its work, a specialist Focus Group met on 4 April to consider issues relating to Business & Conference Tourism and to submit its findings back to the T3 Group.

The purpose of this paper is to set out the conclusions and recommendations of the Focus Group to enable delegates at the TMI / BACD “Hot Topic” event to consider if they would wish to propose any amendments or additions. This process has been officially recognised by VB through theTMI / BACD event beingincluded in the timetable of the National Tourism Framework Review.

The members of the 4 April Focus Group are listed at the end of this document.

CONTEXT

At its meeting, the Focus Group was aware of a view emerging from the T3 Working Group that it was likely that their final conclusions would include a recommendation for a new England Tourism body to be created within or alongside VisitBritain. The Focus Group neither challenged nor endorsed this recommendation. However, it did consider what Business Tourism actions might be best undertaken at an England level, and what actions might be best undertaken at a Britain level.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP

  1. Business, conference and event tourism is of enormous value to the UK tourism industry. In many city destinations, it is of equal or greater value to the economy than consumer (holiday) tourism.
  1. The development and promotion of business and conference tourism is primarily the responsibility of venues and Destination Conference Bureaus. There are a limited but important number of key support responsibilitiesrequired from national tourism bodies.
  1. One of these national responsibilities is a strategic understanding of the role of business and conference tourism; and of the potential impact of other public sector policies on the business tourism sector, including transport (especially rail and air policies), taxation and skills. It is felt that this responsibility is unlikely to be properly discharged until there is genuine business tourism expertise on the Boards of VisitBritain and the anticipatedEngland tourism body.
  1. There is an urgent need for a tourism strategy for England; and business & conference tourism should be a core part of the strategy. There was a general feeling in the Focus Group that there was a lack of policy and leadership at national level, including considering the implications of research findings, identifying best practice and joining up the regional and nationalpolicy agendas.

MARKETING AND BRANDING

  1. The promotion of England as a location for conferences and business events by an England tourism body should be primarily about building image and brand identity. The destinations and venues should remain responsible for tactical activities, converting interest into bookings. England marketing should be primarily focussed on emerging international markets which the destinations and venues are unable to reach without national support.
  1. At a domestic level, there is no particular need for national co-ordination of business and conference tourism marketing. However, there is felt to be a clear need for a co-ordinated promotion of England internationally as a location for conferences and business events – giving English destinations and venues a better platform. Currently England’s identity at exhibitions is felt to be often lost within an overall “Brand Britain” whilst Scotland, Wales and London have been funded to develop their own identities and business tourism activities, in addition to being promoted as part of Britain.
  1. “Meet England” business and event marketing activities should continue to include attendance at exhibitions, web and e-mail activities (building up contact databases), and introductory print. Conference bureaus outside the premier league have expressed an interest in being offered a package of activities by “Meet England” that they can buy into (at a planned level), rather than being continually asked to support activities on an individual, ad hoc basis.
  1. The marketing of England for conferences and business events should be integrated with other (consumer) tourism marketing activities, not located in a different department. The organisation of exhibitions should be undertaken by a specialist exhibitions team within the national tourism body, not the business tourism marketing team (who should act as clients to the exhibitions team as appropriate). A similar relationship should be established with other appropriate functions, including the web design team, and the Press and PR team.
  1. The role of VisitBritain in supporting bids for major international events and conferences by arranging political and diplomatic support (for example Ministers and Ambassadors) was welcomed and appreciated by destinations. It was understood that this support was only appropriate for major events in which a single British destination was competing against a number of other cities from around the world.

MEASUREMENT AND METRICS

  1. There is a need to improve the measurement of business tourism at a national level, to be able to compare the value of the sector over time and between destinations, and to track brand values and visitor satisfaction. Before this can be done, there is an urgent need for standard research methodologies and metrics to be agreed; and this should be one of the early priorities of the English Tourism Intelligence Partnership (ETIP).

VENUE AND DESTINATION GRADING AND ACCREDITATION

  1. There was little enthusiasm for the development and introduction of a conference and event venue grading scheme, to sit alongside the QIT / AA hotel accommodation star grading scheme. The Meeting Industry Association (MIA) is currently developing a venue accreditation scheme (not grading), which it was felt may have value if it has a strong customer focus: Utilising User Generated Content / Feedback – as Trip Advisor does for accommodation. VB’s role should be limited to using / promoting such a scheme, not carrying out assessments.

Business & Conference Tourism:

Focus Group Members

Attendees at the Business & Conference Tourism Focus Group on 4 April were:

VISIT BRITAIN (VB)

Joss Croft – Head of Business Visits and Events

Laurence Bresh – GeneralManager, England Marketing

TOURISM MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (TMI)

Paul Hemphill – President, TMI / Network Manager, One NorthEast (RDA)

Adam Bates – Head of Conferences, Tourism & City Marketing, Visit Brighton

VISIT LONDON

David Hornby – Commercial Director

MARKETING BIRMINGHAM
Tim Manson – Director of Operations & Policy

EVENTIA (Event Trade Organistion)

Izania Downie – Board Member / Global Account Director, Starwood Hotels

MEETING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (MIA)

Jane Evans –Chief Executive