LAUNCH OF NEW RESEARCH: THE UK CONFERENCE AND MEETING SURVEY 2020

UK conference and meeting venues are being encouraged to take part in the 2020 ‘UK Conference and Meeting Survey’ (UKCAMS), which is being launched today. The UKCAMS 2020 report is scheduled for publication in June.

This vital research into the UK’s conference and meetings sector, now in its 27^th consecutive year, has a specific focus on the value and volume of the market and the performance of meeting venues. It also highlights key market trends identified by venues.

The results provide a definitive insight into the conference and meetings sector and are widely used to inform investment, advocacy and marketing activities. Last year’s research found that the conference and meetings sector was worth an estimated £18.3 billion to the UK economy, with some 1.48 million meetings taking place in 2018.

The 2020 survey asks UK venues to provide data on their conference and meeting business during the calendar year 2019. It includes questions on the number of events hosted, rates achieved, event duration and size, client type, levels of residential and non-residential business, origins of business, and capital investment undertaken.

UKCAMS 2020 also includes a section on the targeting and securing of international events by UK venues, as well as a question on factors likely to affect venues’ level of business over the next couple of years.

All UK conference and meeting venues are strongly urged to take part in the 2020 research, which entails completion of a short questionnaire. Those that do so will receive a complimentary, personalised summary report enabling them to benchmark their performance in 2019 against other comparable venues. The online questionnaire can be accessed at:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/UKCAMS2020

The research is being carried out by Tony Rogers of Tony Rogers Conference & Event Services and Richard Smith of RJS Associates.

VisitBritain is the sponsor of UKCAMS 2020, supported by venuedirectory.com.

Kerrin MacPhie, Head of Business Events at VisitBritain, comments: “The Conference and Meeting Survey is crucial to our understanding of the industry, and we are delighted to continue our support to this important business events initiative.

“The survey enables VisitBritain to see how destinations and venues across the country are performing in the global business events market and supports our role as we promote the UK as a leading destination for international meetings and events.”

Tony Rogers says: “The UKCAMS research has a proven track record as a source of reliable and robust information and market intelligence. It helps venues and destinations, as well as other industry stakeholders, to assess their business performance and to understand the latest and emerging trends in order to target their marketing and investment decisions to greatest effect. UKCAMS also plays a key role in highlighting the significance and value of the conference and meetings sector to the national economy.”

Further details of the research are available on the dedicated website: http://www.ukcams.org.uk