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Eventia publishes part one of major industry research programmes

Eventia today publishes the 2012 ‘UK Events Market Trends Survey’ (UKEMTS) research. This major research project, undertaken annually since 1993, provides volume and key trends data for the UK conference and business events market from a supply-side or venue perspective.

The survey reveals greater optimism among venue managers with 89 per cent expecting business in 2012 to be better than 2011. On the back of this, one in five venues are planning capital investment projects worth upwards of £100,000 in 2012.

UKEMTS asks venues to provide data on their conference and events business during the calendar year 2011. The 2012 report is compiled from data supplied by a representative sample of 302 venues from across the UK, 8.6 per cent of the universe of 3,500 venues used as the basis for research analysis.

Key findings from the latest research include:

• There were an estimated 103 million delegate attendances at events in 2011 (an estimated 1.3 million events with an average attendance of 80 people, slightly higher than the average of 76 delegates in 2010)
• There was an average of 369 events per venue in 2011, on a par with 2010 (an average of 371 events per venue). Conference and training centres, university venues and hotels typically hosted more events than other types of venue. However, in terms of market share, hotels accounted for 61 per cent of all business events.
• A resurgence in corporate sector events which accounted for 57 per cent of all events staged (51 per cent in 2010 and just 47 per cent in 2009), stability in association events (21 per cent, the same as 2010) and a substantial fall in public sector events, down from 37 per cent in 2009 and 28 per cent in 2010 to 23 per cent in 2011
• Venues perceive ‘price’ and ‘value for money’ as the single most important influence for buyers (scoring 93 per cent). Other key factors on venue selection include shorter lead times (76 per cent), increased competition from cheaper venues and in-house facilities (69 per cent), and lower catering spend or events being organised to avoid meal times (56 per cent).

UKEMTS 2012 has been sponsored by drpgroup, Accor Hotels, Conference Centres of Excellence, Event Assured, and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.

UKEMTS forms the first part of a huge investment in research in 2012 by the business events sector in the UK. Part two, to commence shortly, will comprise the first-ever ‘UK Economic Impact Survey’ (UKEIS), a substantial UK meetings industry collaboration powered by the MPI Foundation and using the United Nations standard methodology for measuring the economic significance and characteristics of the meetings and business events sector. UKEIS is being sponsored by many of the leading players in the sector, including Intercontinental Hotels Group, CAT Publications, International Confex, IMEX, Reed Exhibitions, ICCA, HBAA, SITE, and key destinations and venues. Eventia will act as a data partner to UKEIS.

Rob Allen, Eventia Chairman and Executive Chairman of TRO, commented: “UKEMTS is a crucial barometer of what’s happening in the business events sector and should be required reading for anyone who needs an informed view of the trends and changes in our sector. We shall be using the trends and other market intelligence revealed in this survey for education, marketing and advocacy purposes.”

Copies of the full report are available from Eventia priced £175.  Visit www.eventia.org.uk and click on research to download an order form.