SUPPL I ER SOUNDS OFF
Aiming high
E verywhere I look, I find people professing they are excited to once again be meeting in person. Why are they still saying it? We’ve been meeting in person for months now. Actually, it’s been over a year. And, let’s face it, if you work at Number 10 you never stopped. It’s all part of a constant wish to be seen to be engaging and to be part of a community. Unfortunately, engaging and being part of a community is pointless if it is not building business. And like it or not that is what our sector is about. Business. And Our secret supplier has spotted an opportunity to redefine the UK event sector – but will leaders be bold enough to take it?
building the sector is now what this country has a chance to do. We need to rethink the way we view our sector – and how it is viewed by others. Instead of self‐promotion and desperately justifying activity, we have a chance to be proactive and reset the business we try to win as a country. Most importantly, we should look to move the world of trade shows and business events out of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and into the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Because really, isn’t that where it belongs? The word business should be a giveaway. We run business events – we need to remember that. It is still unclear what the plans are to put the UK at the top of international events. The talking shop of the Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP) has now morphed into the Events Industry Board Working Group. Let’s hope the members
get to work on improving the UK’s standing on the world stage. Just look at the raw materials they have to work with. There is so much to be excited about in this country. We have an amazing incentive product, brilliant accessibility at several international airports, superb convention centres and enviable hotel stock. We should be a resounding success. Hopefully Paul Black, a decent chap, will now slow down the revolving door of VisitBritain and create some consistency of action. His first task should be to shake up the Events Industry Board. I know that the tourist board is only officially an observer, but there is a real opportunity here. Energy should be focused on developing business opportunities for the UK cities and suppliers rather than the current seemingly never ending schedule of meetings. This is a once in a lifetime chance to have a reset for the better – hopefully the UK events industry is able to demand it.
mitmagazine.co.uk SPRING/SUMMER 2022 17
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