The Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP) has published a report ‘Events Deliver Growth, Jobs and Opportunities. A Manifesto for Britain’s Events Industry’, which illustrates the sector’s contribution to the country’s economy ahead of the upcoming General Election on 12 December 2019.
The manifesto sets out the value of Britain’s events industry, which currently stands at £70bn through direct spend and accounts for over 50% of spend in the UK visitor economy. The events sector, both business and leisure, is estimated to now provide more than 700,000 jobs across Britain.
Simon Hughes, vice chair, BVEP, said: “Our starting point is one of significant economic impact, expert delivery of complex and creative events and active support from government departments that recognise the importance of establishing Britain as the destination of choice for hosting events.”
The document outlines five key areas to help position Britain as the leading European country for staging events including: working together to enhance the UK’s position as a leading European country for hosting events, creating a more competitive tax regime, supporting the industry in driving forward its skills agenda, avoiding greater regulation, growing infrastructure, enabling greater access and increasing investment.
Hughes continued: “In order to deliver this manifesto, we need more collaboration, less regulation and more investment in infrastructure on a national, regional and local level. All of these areas align with many of the requests from across different business sectors and are based on the proven success of Britain’s Event industry to deliver opportunities for great careers, real economic benefits and outstanding creative solutions and experiences.”
