As commuters from the South West of London struggled through the latest rail strike action, a survey by City venue Barbican suggests 58% of organisers think travel to UK events should be less than an hour.
The results of a survey of 120 of the venue’s booker clients also highlighted the importance of high speed travel infrastructure projects such as HS2 and the Elizabeth Line, which should substantially reduce travel time to the heart of London, Barbican management says.
“It is no surprise that organisers want to minimise travel time but keeping it to less than an hour is tough, even for many commuters,” comments Jackie Boughton, head of events at the Barbican. “It is clear from these results that delegates want to focus on productivity and work rather than logistics and travel. A fact that was confirmed by the respondent’s unwillingness to change transport as part of their travel arrangements (64% would change a maximum of twice).”
The Barbican feels it has a strong case to put forward on location, located between two Elizabeth Line stops and with direct links to Heathrow airport. It is also two stops from the London terminal of HS1 (Kings Cross St Pancras) and three from HS2 (Euston).
Boughton adds: “There will always be a need for organisers to balance accessibility and location. We are lucky to have a wide range of high quality venues with stunning facilities here in the UK. Organisers however need to juggle the appeal of each venue and its surrounding infrastructure and opportunities with ease of travel.”
