UK conference and meetings industry showing ‘solid demand’

“Solid demand” in the UK conference and meetings industry has been forecast by a leading travel management company.

A survey by BTI UK highlights “continued signs of confidence and growth” and predicts increased client budgets for the coming 12 months.

The average meeting size rose to more than 18 delegates in 2005, up from 16.3 delegates in 2004, reversing a trend seen in the past two years towards smaller delegate numbers.

The survey found a generally buoyant conference and meetings industry, with fewer events being booked at short notice – less than 20% in 2005 compared to 33% in 2004.

The average length of meetings has decreased from 1.8 days in 2004 to 1.6 days in 2005 – indicative of clients’ continued preference to invest a higher proportion of their budgets in day meetings as opposed to residential events, according to BTI UK

The survey also found the number of clients booking more than eight weeks in advance rose to 23% in 2005 from 15% in 2004.

Domestic conference and meeting bookings far outweighed those made internationally. London was the most popular UK conference destination in 2005, with Manchester and Birmingham also seeing “significant” bookings. In Scotland, Edinburgh was highlighted as the premier conference location, followed by Glasgow.

Internationally, nine of the top ten conference destinations are in Europe with Dubai the only long-haul city to make it onto the 2005 league table in ninth place.

BTI UK head of corporate development Carol Randall said: “Dubai’s popularity is assured as the country focuses on a major development programme building substantial numbers of luxury hotels featuring extensive conference facilities.

“However, as organisations continue to focus on cost and invest a significant proportion of their budgets in shorter meetings and events, domestic cities will continue to top the popularity stakes and will then be followed by European cities such as Brussels, which takes the number one slot on the 2005 international conference destinations list due to its excellent transport links, very short journey time from the UK and good amenities.”

She added: “However, the conference market tends to be led very much by what cities are ‘en-vogue’ and we would expect the most popular destinations to shift significantly over the next 12 months. For example, Rome is currently experiencing high levels of interest and is seen as a fashionable conference and event location for UK travellers but does not feature in the 2005 listing.”

Venues’ terms and conditions, particularly cancellation policies, have been a major cause for concern for meetings and conference bookers, BTI UK said. This has resulted in companies provisionally holding meeting spaces for excessive periods of time due to a general reluctance to confirm because of possible cancellation charges.

The company said: “To ease this scenario, many suppliers relaxed their terms and conditions and showed a greater degree of flexibility to secure confirmed business. However, in a buoyant market there is evidence to suggest that venues are becoming more stringent to avoid having last minute empty meeting rooms.”

Randall said: “Our survey indicates solid demand within the meetings and conference market and we are seeing signs that this will continue over the next 12 months.

“Many clients already have a dedicated hotel programme in place but book meetings on an ‘ad-hoc’ basis – often using the same venues. As suppliers firm up their policies once more it is increasingly important for clients consider the value of a consolidated programme, covering meetings/events and hotels, to ensure that they obtain maximum return on their investment and less restrictive conditions combined with added service benefits for their travellers.”

Top 2005 international conference destinations:

Brussels

Paris

Amsterdam

Dublin

Berlin

Prague

Barcelona

Dusseldorf

Dubai

Monte Carlo  

Report by Phil Davies