Manchester visitor tax, APPG for Events re-elects Theresa Villiers, sustainability in the US, & more

This Monday’s Insights (03 April 2023) feature brings you the latest news including Manchester visitor tax, APPG for Events re-elects Theresa Villiers, sustainability in the US, and more.

Headlines

Manchester visitor tax has gone live on accommodation bookings.

Manchester has become the first UK city to charge an overnight accommodation fee. The £1 per night charge is part of the new Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District (BID) initiative.

73 hotels and serviced apartments in Manchester’s BID zone have introduced the charge on accommodation bookings to enable BID to “deliver better visitor experiences and drive more staying visitors to the city”.

The tax isn’t new to Europe, with cities including Rome and Barcelona introducing similar charges for overnight stays.

Find out more about the thinking behind the Manchester visitor tax, here.

M&IT’s Paul Harvey spoke to Anna Valley’s team about brining back the fun to live events.

Check out the podcast below.

M&IT Agency Challenge 2023 has opened for registration.

Industry peeps are invited to celebrate the Agency Challenge’s 10th anniversary on 3-4 October 2023.

M&IT editor Paul Harvey said: “The Agency Challenge is designed to connect event industry venues, destinations, hotels and technology providers with some of the best planners in the industry. It’s an unrivalled opportunity to build long-lasting relationships in a business-meets-fun setting. There’s also plenty of opportunity for personal and professional development too. 

More info here, with the registration link for anyone who wants to take part this year.

APPG for Events has re-elected Rt Hon Theresa Villiers as its chair.

At its official Annual General Meeting, held on Tuesday 29th March 2022, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) re-elected the Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet, as its Chair.

Commenting on her re-election, Theresa Villiers said; “I am delighted to have been re-elected as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Events following yesterday’s official AGM.

The events sector provides an enormous opportunity to deliver significant growth in our economy, help every community reach its productivity potential and contribute to the Government’s objective of creating opportunities for everyone in the UK.”

Scotland’s National events strategy is getting a refresh.

Scotland’s national events strategy, ‘Scotland the Perfect Stage (2015 – 2025)’, is being reviewed and updated. The refresh will extend its term to the end of 2035. The Scottish events sector, Scottish Government and VisitScotland are working together with trade unions and local authorities to do this.

Scotland the Perfect Stage was first published in 2008 in response to Scotland’s burgeoning potential to be a global leader in the events industry. It was last reviewed and updated to cover the period 2015 – 2025. Its vision is that Scotland’s reputation as the perfect stage for events is recognised nationally and internationally. It looks to use and develop Scotland’s assets to deliver a portfolio of events that provide world leading authentic experiences for Scotland’s residents and visitors.

Although Scotland has had many successes under the current strategy, the event sector has recently endured a period of unprecedented disruption. This presents a number of challenges and potential opportunities for the sector in Scotland, as set out in Annex A. Scottish Government has therefore committed to supporting another review and update of Scotland the Perfect Stage.

Discussions in December 2022 with industry, trade union, local authority and public sector representatives have informed this survey. Those discussions considered themes of business and economy, Fair Work and skilled workforce, environmental sustainability, and wellbeing.

Its new survey provides everyone with a role in Scotland’s world-class event industry the chance to shape the sector’s updated strategy. It takes about 30-40 minutes to complete. Its target audience ranges from people who attend or would like to attend events in Scotland to organisations and people working in and with the Scottish event industry, and more.

Read more about how to take part.

UK regional airline Loganair is expanding at London Heathrow after securing access to 30 additional pairs of slots each week.

According to The Business Travel Magazine, a new agreement will enable Loganair to develop regional connectivity from UK domestic destinations, offering both point-to-point access into London itself and a broad range of new worldwide connections.

Read more here…

Why Aren’t Sustainability and Net Zero as Important in the U.S. as in Europe?

Meetings and event industry sustainability efforts such as the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative are a top priority in Europe. But, according to meetingstoday.com, ‘the sense of urgency seems to be a great deal less in North America’

Why is this, and how can travel and meetings industry professionals join the fight against climate change via self-regulation? Meetings Today interviewed James Rees, executive director, conference and events, ExCel London and former president of the International Congress and Convention Association, about the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative and other major sustainability efforts underway in Europe and North America.

Listen here…