Events sector jobs holding up well despite recession

October 4th, 2011 by Live Recruitment

What effect is the recession having on the UK events industry?

It’s clearly tough out there, but jobs in the events industry seem to be holding up very well.

Venue managers, too, are optimistic.

And spending on corporate sector events is actually rising.

That’s why it could be a great time to get a new job in events. Drop us a line at info@live-recruitment.com or call us on 0121 234 7788.

The most recent empirical research is from Eventia, the voice of the events industry. Its July 2011 report, entitled ‘UK Events Market Trends Survey 2011’ (UKEMTS11), revealed that the overall value of the UK business events market fell by 13 per cent in 2010, compared with 2009.

While the number of events staged, around 1.3 million, was similar, the level of expenditure they generated fell from £18.8 billion to £16.3 billion. This expenditure included venue spend on delegate rates and accommodation; and also spend in the wider destination by organisers and delegates.

Residential events, though, are being cut back. In 2010 only 21 per cent of events were residential, compared with 26 per cent in 2009.

And, although average event duration stayed the same at 1.5 days, this should not disguise the fact that most events (68 per cent) lasted one day or less (64 per cent in 2009).

Optimism

However, venue managers do reveal greater optimism about prospects for 2011. 42 per cent expect that business will increase and 36 per cent anticipate that it will remain the same.

UKEMTS is an annual survey carried out by Eventia, providing insight into the current state of the business events industry from a supply-side perspective.

The 2011 report is compiled from data supplied by a representative sample of 360 venues from across the UK, 10.3 per cent of the universe of 3,500 venues used as the basis for research analysis.

Other points include:

web-based marketing is now clearly the most effective and productive of all types of venue marketing activity, rated as such by 44 per cent of venues
a resurgence in corporate sector events, which accounted for 51 per cent of all events staged (47 per cent in 2009)
an estimated 99 million attendances at events in 2010 (an estimated 1.3 million events with an average attendance of 76 people)
average daily delegate rates was £42 (inc. VAT). The average 24-hour/residential rate was £120 (inc. VAT). Rates were down on 2008 and 2009 levels, reflecting budgetary constraints and price sensitivity among buyers
venues perceive ‘price’ and ‘value for money’ as the single most important selection criterion for buyers (scoring 87 per cent), followed by location (68 per cent), access (66 per cent) and quality of meeting facilities (60 per cent)

You can visit the Eventia website: www.eventia.org.uk

[image credit: master-cook.co.uk]

Tweet This Post