The Business of Events (TBOE), the independent advocacy group for the events sector, has launched the second edition of its Global Destination Report.
The report, conducted by business events research agency, SFA Connect on behalf of TBOE, is looking to establish how the industry has changed since 2019.
The research focused on six main areas, including funding, volume and legacy, with the objective to demonstrate to governments and policymakers the benefits of having a strong and supported business events sector.
The survey was conducted during September and October 2022 among more than 1,100 destination respondents, most of which worked in small teams of between three and five people.
Overall, the report suggests that the sector is being taken more seriously by governments around the world, that funding has broadly remained stable, and that there is an enhanced focus on the legacy of events.
There is also an indication of a decline in international events, but to date this has been compensated by an increase in domestic events.
Relationship with government
The report found that over half (56%) of the respondents report to a domestic Department of Tourism while the remaining 44% report to various other departments and agencies. This underlines that on a global scale, the business events sector is viewed as part of the ‘visitor economy’, with governments seeing the industry as part of the wider tourism mix.
There is a clear sign that the role played by business events departments is being taken more seriously. Respondents reported that how they are regarded by their city, regional or national government had ‘increased’ (55%) since 2019.
Funding
According to the report, most responses (52%) suggest core funding remained the same or increased from 2019 to 2022. However, 42% of respondents have seen their central core funding decrease in 2022. The remaining 8% were unsure, possibly indicating that budget confirmation has been delayed.
On subvention funding, many respondents stated that there had not been a change in their international, regional, national or overall bid or subvention fund since 2019. However, several respondents (an average 20% across all four of these categories) were unsure, responding ‘don’t know’.
This suggests that government (or budget setter) attitudes to business events are unchanged.
International events
Compared to 2019, a significantly larger proportion of respondents reported seeing a decrease in the volume of their international business in 2022. This is in large part a knock-on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, respondents report that there had been an increase in both regional and national business events. This will likely have been accelerated by the backlog of domestic events in the wake of the pandemic.
Legacy
The legacy of events has been a key talking point in 2022 as destinations begin to harness the power of what they can bring.
Legacy was clearly an essential element to respondents, with the majority (96%) saying it was important (62% selected ‘very important’ while 34% selected ‘somewhat important’). This left just 5% saying that it was ‘not very important’.
