WHERE IS THE DATA ?
Tourism minister Nigel Huddleston told the Meetings Industry Association conference that data was the key to getting the industry recognition . Martin Fullard reports
onsolidated and credible data is critical for the UK treasury to understand the true economic value of the business meeting and events sector , tourism minister Nigel Huddleston has said .
Speaking during at the Meetings Industry Association ’ s Ignite conference 4 November , he said the Government “ was committed to working closely with the sector ” as the UK emerges from the pandemic .
In response to a question from Conference News about what the Treasury specifically wanted to see , the minister reaffirmed that accurate , auditable data was the only way to prove the sector ’ s value .
While the minister did not talk about Standardised Industrial
Tourism minister Nigel Huddleston
Classification ( SIC ) codes , they remain a key tool used by both the Treasury and Office for National Statistics ( ONS ) when gauging the scale of an industry . At present , only four of the 752 SIC codes relate in any way to the events industry , and even then are classified among other sectors and miscellaneous services .
Anecdotally , it could take at least 35 codes to correctly measure the industry in full , on the premise that all events businesses opted to use them .
In essence , for as long as the events industry cannot be measured accurately by the UK Government , it must provide as much auditable data as possible , which can be presented via the trade associations .
On the topic of data , Huddleston said : “ We want to work closely with the sector to ensure it is set for the future . We want it to be ambitious in its sustainability , offering quality careers for young people across the country , as well as being a sector that makes data-driven decisions .”
As such , the minister expressed his support for the association ’ s in-house data portal , miaTouchstone .
“ On this point , I do want to commend the mia for their work in developing the miaTouchstone data platform as this is exactly the type of information that we value as we look to build a more detailed data picture of the UK event and tourism sector as a whole .
“ I ’ d encourage those members , and indeed non-members who haven ’ t done so already , to take a closer look at it ,” he added .
Taking questions from delegates he stressed the importance of the sector providing unified data to government . He said : “ It empowers me to have meaningful conversations with the treasury about the size and scale of the sector and how important it is . Fragmentation causes real problems dealing with the relationship between government and business .”
Adding to this , he said : “ The integrity of the data is key and that is why the mia and other industry bodies are so important . The more you can come together and get that data in a comfortable format , consolidate it as one informed industry voice , the better it is for the sector and enables me to do my job better as well .”