AAA White Paper The political economy of informal events, 2030 | Page 72
will go on coming to British cities in the numbers they have done.
Both the finances and international reputation of UK universities
today invite questions. Visa problems are unlikely to ease. And while
overseas student numbers have lately flatlined in the UK (up just 0.7
per cent, 2012-5), its Anglophone rivals have seen theirs soar (between
18 and 43 per cent).
Altogether, between now and 2030, events in UK cities may well
see a drop in the numbers of overseas students attending them.
More broadly, tourism as a whole has become more controversial.
Travel conditions continue to test the patience of tourists, hotels and
some cities are now hostile to Airbnb, and a media furore has broken
out about the dangers of over-tourism. Young tourists, in particular,
may come to worry more about the overall impact of their holidays.
So, if cities like the boost to tourism that events bring, both
cities and events face tough markets for tourism in future. All
the world’s major cities have long engaged in fierce inter-urban
competition, and have long used events as a weapon in this. Now
that competition could get a lot more intense.
If events have to work harder for tourists in future, cities will
have no choice but to work more closely with events.
6. TRANSPORT TO AND FROM INFORMAL EVENTS: A BIG
CHALLENGE, BUT AN OPPORTUNITY, TOO
When a music festival requires that fans camp in the countryside,
few really quarrel with the snags getting to it or getting home from it.
However, when informal events are urban, and designed to be visited
and returned from all in one day, public transport becomes vital –
especially because parking near an event can be prohibitive.
The snag is that, throughout the UK, public transport faces
difficulties. Council bus services lack funds, and have suffered major
cuts. Rail services are in a mess, most obviously in the North. So it’s
little surprise that informal events are today often ill-served by public
transport. Indeed, transport looks set to be a worsening challenge
for events to beat in the years to 2030.
By that date, though, won’t today’s new automotive technologies
change transport to and from events? Sadly, the answer here is no.
The driverless car, the flying car, even the driverless taxi or the
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