Economic impact of events

As a team of people at EDGE Venues who have been in the meetings and events sector for so long, the economic impact of events is evident to us. Yet fully defining it as an industry seems to be a challenge. 

In this blog, we look at some of the more recent industry discussions and attempts at defining the economic impact of events.

Economic impact of events

In the last few years, trying to define our industry’s value has been crucial for many reasons – survival, gaining support, recovery and growth.

Yet, it becomes complicated when you stand back and look at the bigger picture – how interconnected we are with so many other industries. And while many industry outsiders think of events as festivals and parties, eventprofs have an inherent understanding of how much more diverse our space really is.

Quantifying the impact

In March 2020, the UK Events Report put a number on it! £84 billion per year! This almost inconceivable number wrapped together conferences and meetings, exhibitions and trade shows, incentive travel, corporate outdoor events, arts and cultural events, festivals, fairs, and shows, sporting events, weddings, and music events.

Following the 2022 launch of The Power of Events (UK), the not-for-profit defined seven industry areas, placing a significant yet likely underestimated £29.3bn on the two combined areas of exhibitions and congress and business and brand experiences. The Power of Events has made big leaps in its mission to showcase, respect and value the world-leading UK events industry.

In November 2023, The Events Industry Alliance (EIA) published its Economic Impact Study to quantify the economic significance of exhibitions in the UK.

The EIA works on behalf of the Association of Event Organisers (AEO), the Association of Event Venues (AEV) and the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) to support the events industry through parliamentary meetings, presenting policy asks and providing research.

Chris Skeith OBE commented, “The new report, again created in conjunction with UFI and compiled by OE, demonstrates the scale of the exhibition sector’s influence. It provides a clear snapshot of exhibition industry metrics and direct spending, analysis of the economic impact and the methods used to calculate those.”

The report shows the UK exhibition industry generates £9.4 billion in trade and attracts 6.1 million visitors to the UK. It provides a breakdown of spending and impact, distinguishing between direct, indirect and induced impacts.

Although specific to the exhibitions industry, the report makes an interesting point – ‘induced impacts’ -‘ that correlates with what we see in Global reports such as the 2023 Global Economic Significance of Business Events study.

Global value

Since 2017, the Events Industry Council has partnered with Oxford Economics to study the global economic significance of business events. And its 2023 Global Economic Significance of Business Events study, published in May last year, aimed to evaluate the ‘full scope and economic significance of the $1.6 trillion USD global business events industry.’

The report’s research and analysis, across 50 countries, covers the far-reaching benefits of business events. Interestingly, the researchers describe many of the broader impacts of events that we often think about at EDGE Venues – the advantages delivered by business events that are difficult to measure, “areas like knowledge sharing, innovation and employee engagement—important impacts that go well beyond direct event spending.”

The report defines key terms in its Executive Summary:

What qualifies as a business event in this study? 

A gathering of 10 or more participants for a minimum of four hours in a contracted venue. This includes business events but excludes social, educational (formal educational activities at primary, secondary, and university level education), and recreational activities. Consumer exhibitions are included.

How are economic impacts measured? 

Economic impacts refer to the economic activity supported by direct spending on business events. These economic impacts include direct effects, such as jobs in planning and producing business events, as well as jobs supporting participants’ travel to attend events; indirect impacts that include supply chain effects, such as when event organisers and suppliers purchase inputs from businesses in other sectors, and induced impacts as those directly supported by business events spend their income.

What is business events direct spending? 

Business events direct spending consists of spending to plan and produce business events, business events related travel, and other direct spending, such as spending by exhibitors. In this study, it is reported in nominal US dollars.

What are catalytic effects and how do they differ from economic impacts? 

Economic impacts measured in this research refer to the activity supported strictly by the spending that occurs around the organisation, production, travel and attendance at business events. Catalytic effects refer to the important broader impacts that occur as the result of business events, ranging from new business opportunities, knowledge transfers and future sales generated through exhibits at trade shows to innovative research collaborations fostered through medical conferences, new skills learned through training, or career connections made through technology or creative sector conferences.

…Perhaps unsurprisingly, the executive summary of the research confirms that many ‘catalytic effects’ are difficult to measure and quantify, which “presents the key risk that much of the true significance of business events goes unmeasured, unreported, and therefore undervalued.” 

But – and this is a point we can hugely get behind – there is progress in understanding and communicating the importance of the catalytic effects of business events.

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