Cover Feature
business visits, bringing a further £5.3bn into the
UK economy.
When EN first contacted the DCMS minister,
with three pages of carefully constructed notes,
and questions, including; do you believe the
government is fully equipped with a sufficient
understanding of the sector when negotiating
with the EU, and other nations? The DCMS
embarrassingly replied with a just few lines.
EN challenged the minister, asking her if a
‘few lines is all they could come up?’ despite
being told that every agreement they reach with
the EU is likely to have an impact on the event
industry (i.e. movement of goods, customs,
tariffs and paperwork, movement of workforces,
skills gaps etc.). Worrying evidence that the
government doesn’t take our industry seriously
enough, and is clearly absent of a joined-up,
strategy for negotiations with the EU.
These concerns are shared by EIB member
and chair of the Events Industry Board Talent
Taskforce, Sarah Wright. She said: “Given the
size of the UK events sector, and the fact that it
underpins a vast amount of activity across all
sectors that form part of the BEIS Industrial
Strategy, I truly believe that it warrants having
our own minister.
“I admire the work that the EIB is doing -
trying to move forward the Action Plan with
DCMS, and also the work of the GREAT team
and DIT, however without serious commitment
from government in terms of resource and
investment - acknowledging the importance of
the sector - I fear that we will lose home-grown
talent, incoming international events and the
UK’s position as a global leader in the sector -
which in turn will impact UK PLC.”
INDUSTRY FEEDBACK
Diversified Communications UK, MD, Carsten
Holm, who has followed the Action Plan with
interest, adds: “Unlike most other countries,
somehow the UK Government has never quite
understood the importance of trade shows in
facilitating business and promoting the UK
to the outside world. The industry is not just
a huge employer, supporting an estimated
500,000 jobs, but also an important reason
for foreign business visitors coming to the UK,
with around 30 per cent of the visitor economy
attributed to events.
“But, unlike so many other countries, where
20 — March
the importance of trade exhibitions lies at the
heart of economic and political thinking, we lack
a clear strategy and support from both national
and local government. This equally applies
to the government’s approach to trade shows
abroad, where the UK is often underrepresented,
or we participate with minimal involvement,
compared with the often large, professional
government sponsored pavilions you see from
other countries, who see trade shows as the
most important platform to stimulate business
and promote their industries to the wider world.
“The government talks about wanting to do
more business with the world and if they are
serious, the best place to start would be to
engage with our industry, and to implement
a coherent, long-term strategy. The UK’s
exhibition industry is the single most effective
and important platform for promoting trade
and so far, we have done a reasonable job. But
I often think about what we could be like,
and the implications for the UK, if we had a
better understanding and more support from
Government.”
A spokesperson for the DCMS, said: “The
government recognises the huge economic
contribution the events industry makes to
the UK both through direct spending and
also indirectly with the billions of trade and
investment facilitated at events held across the
country. Our International Business Events
action plan sets out a range of commitments to
support and boost this growth further, working
alongside VisitBritain and the Events Industry
Board.”
Chairman of the EIB, Michael Hirst, who has
succeeded in opening the door to government
dialogue adds: “The EIB will continue to offer
guidance to Ministers in developing more
support for the sector. This includes evaluating
how best additional resources might be provided
and where they might be the most effective.
Industrial
Strategy
Building a Britain fit for the future
The Industrial Strategy,
2017
“Unlike most other countries, somehow the UK
Government has never quite understood the
importance of trade shows in facilitating business
and promoting the UK to the outside world”