Business Tourism Breakfast Briefing

Facts and figures

• Annual spend on business tourism, including conferences, exhibitions, incentive travel and corporate hospitality is valued at £22 billion – out of a total £85 billion revenue from tourism as a whole.
• Business tourism generates 26 per cent of the total UK tourism revenue.
• Eight million business visitors come to the UK annually.
• 40 per cent of business visitors return to the UK on holiday with their families
• UK businesses spend £4 billion on events: of which £3 billion is spent on UK events and £1 billion on events held overseas.
• Of the £3 billion UK spend, £1 billion goes directly to the Government, in the form of corporation tax paid by venues and event organising companies; income tax from those employed in the sector, and VAT.
• According to figures published by the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow, the centre’s economic contribution in 2006 was £336.3 million. 1.5 per cent of all employment in Glasgow is connected the SEEC.
• The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) values the global meetings market (association and corporate) at $280 billion.
• ICCA’s 12,000 international assocation members currently rank the UK in fourth place in its top country destination listings. In ICCA’s top cities listings, London is currently ranked 13th, however based on forward bookings for the years up to 2017, London will fall to 16th place.
• One third of London’s theatre ticket sales come from business tourism. This support enables productions to maintain longer runs.
• The 2012 Olympics will enable four billion television viewers to see Britain.
• 59-50 per cent of the net economic benefit will accrue to tourism, of which business tourism will derive 50 per cent of the benefit. 67 per cent of the benefit will be delivered during the five years following the event.