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based when people are in town . Attendees will be more discerning , not just about sustainability , but about the value for them and their working time , their businesses and the outcomes they want .”
Piece of the puzzle
Events , while impacted by the macro trends of the UK , face their own unique set of challenges for the coming year . Cost features heavily in the challenges facing events going forward , with energy prices and costs of services being key factors .
Paul Black , head of business events , VisitBritain : “ Resource and staffing remain challenging alongside the cost of living and energy costs within with the global economic head winds we are all facing .”
Hinds added to this , he
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said : “ Without doubt all partners involved in organising and hosting events will feel the impact of energy costs at the start of this year and it remains to be seen how that will change throughout the rest of 2023 .
“ It ’ s clear that the current levels are unsustainable for almost all businesses and so we are hopefully in for better news on this as the year progresses . The importance of costing and budgeting all aspects of event delivery from the outset will be even more significant .”
For events , being flexible and having the ability to pivot across different mediums and to appeal to entirely different customer bases is also going to be vital for the coming year according to Black . He said : “ There is the challenge of continued disruption , changing event design
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l Karen Jane Lynch , CEO and business coach , Expert Impact , is available as a speaker for events through Expert Impact Speakers , who use 100 % of their profits to support charities and social enterprises . |
l To enquire , please contact venita @ expertimpact . com . |
and the need for transformative improvements including on sustainability , both environmental and social .
“ The pandemic also highlighted the importance of being able to quickly pivot between live and hybrid business events and we will need to continue to consider and adapt event design , including in response to the climate crises .”
Moving forward
With the slate of challenges for businesses and events laid out , looking forward , what does 2023 hold for the forecasts for events ?
Black spoke about a recovering sector , where eventprofs can look to future projects with anticipation . He said : “ Enquiries for business events also picked up across last year , not yet back to 2019 levels , but growing with the North American market leading the recovery .
“ As we head further in to 2023 , and look out to 2024 , we will have a clearer indication as displaced business is completed and as regions build their mid-to-longer-term pipeline of business events and how we adapt to changing event design .”
While growth may be on the horizon , it ’ s important not to forget the strategic goals for our industry , for Hinds this is about promoting the UK as an international hub for events .
He said : “ The industry must also be far more confident in talking as a whole about its huge positive impact to the UK ’ s economy and how we are a driver for fantastic levels of tourism in our respective regions . Frankly , we have to do a better job of promoting the UK as the preeminent global events destination .” CN
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