Cost
and venue quality are the top concerns for UK planners, according to a report
by The Business of Events.
Following
the launch of its 2022 programme, The Business of Events has published the
first of its international planner sentiment reports, surveying corporate, association and agency planners across the UK, Europe and the US.
Respondents were asked which of 12
specific areas they considered to be important when selecting a destination or
major venue in a post pandemic environment.
Cost/value for money and venue
quality/suitability scored 9/10 among UK planners. The next most important
areas were accessibility/ease of travel, sustainability, and quality of
welcome, which all scored 8/10.
The least important area among the
UK cohort was sectoral strengths, scoring just 4/10.
The report highlights differing
priorities among planners across the different regions. Sustainability ranked
8/10 in importance among UK and Europe planners, but just 6/10 for US-based
planners. Equity and diversity was ranked 7/10 in importance by UK respondents,
compared to just 5/10 by those in the US.
US planners ranked accessibility,
security, quality of welcome and venue quality as their top priorities, each scoring
10/10.
European planners ranked
accessibility, quality of welcome and venue quality as their biggest concerns,
scoring them at 9/10 each.
The questions focused on 12 specific
areas, ranging from accessibility and ease of travel, through to venue quality
and suitability and respondents were asked to rank each on a simple scale of 1
- 10, with 1 being regarded as not very important and 10 as very important.
The
report is available as a free download, and can be found here.
The report is the first in a series of publications and events under The Business
of Events brand, which is supported by the Department for Digital, Culture,
Media & Sport, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Events, VisitBritain
and the Business Visits & Events Partnership.
The
Business of Events is a cross sector not for profit series of events and
reports designed to raise the importance and profile of business events in the
UK, as an economic, policy and societal driver.
