The UK events industry is in an excellent place at the moment. Conferences, trade shows and other gatherings are being successfully held all around the country thanks to dedicated planning and the use of great venues. However, the government wants to push even harder to make the UK the best country in the world for business conferences.
This bold statement was made by Sajid Jarvid - the secretary of state for culture, media and sport - in a speech he made at the opening day of the World Travel Market on November 3rd. He told attendees of the event that the government will be joining up with the UK events sector.
"The Government will be working in partnership with the events industry to develop a joint strategy to support growth in this important sector," he said. "The wide-ranging strategy will look at the roles played by government and industry. It will describe exactly what action we’ll be taking to make the UK a more attractive destination for business travellers."
The number of international business events held in the UK is growing, but not fast enough for the government. The success of other major global events held recently, such as the G20 and NATO summits, shows that the country is capable of impressing travellers from around the globe.
Mr Jarvid added: “If we can manage international events like that – not to mention the Tour de France, the Ryder Cup and the Olympic Games – why can we not be a number one destination for business conferences?”
In order to achieve this goal, the government will be asking members of the UK events industry for their opinions on a number of different aspects of the sector. For example, the government would like to identify any conferences that could do with extra support and push them to be world-class.
Hopefully, this will provide the UK with the boost it needs to attract a number of international business events, providing the sector with welcome growth.
