The word ‘tourism’ naturally conjures up images of beaches and ice creams, not boardrooms and briefcases. In fact until now, ‘business tourism’ has been a market sector that hasn’t received the attention it deserves; the UK government’s tourism strategy board recently admitting it was one of the most lucrative, yet least well acknowledged components of our tourist industry. But in the build up to the 2012 Olympic Games, a strategy set up by national tourism agency VisitBritain aims to build awareness of the powerful impact business events are having on the UK economy, especially in the run up to the main event itself.
The strategy, named EventBritain, has been borne partly out of extensive lobbying by trade body the Events Industry Alliance (EIA) urging the Government to recognise the growing impact of events on the UK economy. According to the EIA there has been a recent resurgence in live event marketing, with more events, more visitors, more space and more business in the capital than ever before. And now is the perfect time for London to capitalise even further on its status by marketing itself as the ‘Olympic City’. In a nutshell, EventBritain wants to promote London as the ultimate business destination and hoover up events opportunities that might otherwise be placed overseas. So how will it do this and more importantly, who will benefit?
According to Trevor Foley, CEO of the EIA, the buzz of excitement now surrounding business tourism has been a long time coming. The VisitBritain initiative recognises the fact that events deliver their highest paying visitors and that the Olympics present an opportunity to capitalise on it, he says. And it’s little wonder when figures the body recently published speak for themselves. According to its statistics, the average spend per visit by a person attending a business exhibition, trade fair or large conference is 44 per cent higher than the spend of a general leisure visitor. What’s more, it is estimated that business visits and events are likely to accrue up to 50 per cent of the overall benefit from the London Olympics. Even more concrete evidence of the strong interest in event marketing came from VisitBritain earlier this year; the Confex show the biggest event of its kind for organisers of conferences, meetings and exhibitions in Europe grew visitor numbers by 16 per cent to over 12,500 when it was held at London’s Earl’s Court in April. That marks its biggest hike in visitor numbers in seven years.
As the Games are still some way off, benefits that business brands can seek to reap are largely speculative. But according to the EIA the signs are good; it already puts ROI at 300 per cent for the average stand at a show, with 25 per cent of the harder working exhibitors gaining up to ten times ROI. Live event marketing pushes all the right buttons and rings all the bells, says Foley. It’s a fun, hugely effective way to bring a brand to a highly focused audience. Marketeers like the way their target groups can experience their whole brand right in front of them, (it) doesn’t get anymore direct. There are already cases in point that back the EIA’s estimations up; in January, toy manufacturer ITeddy hired a stand at trade show the Toy Fair for £6000 and MD Imran Hakim estimates that his ROI as a direct result of exposure at the event will top £10 million.
Luring corporates with the promise of fantastic ROI is one part of the equation, but EventBritain will also need to market London as a sexy destination for business events. It might seem strange to think that London needs to be promoted as a tourist destination for corporates. After all, English is the language of business, London is one of the major business hubs of the world and it is already well-equipped with conference and transport facilities. But Michael Hirst, chairman of the Business Tourism Partnership, points out that it can’t rely solely on its current status, as competition for corporate visitors is rising steadily across the globe. London has been subjected to extensive competition over the last decade, he warns. People used to think of Sydney and Hong Kong as far-flung destinations but not so much anymore. Look for example at the fact that people will pop to New York for the weekend now. He also says that the trick to boosting business tourism here is to marry up the corporate opportunities London can provide with the consumer ones. A driver behind many people picking a destination for an event relies on ease of access to varied social activities as well as business ones. It’s about doing business but being able to give attendees a good time as well, as a lot of them bring along partners and family. This already works well here.
To this end, major construction work in the run up to the Games is well and truly underway. The King’s Cross regeneration programme is in advanced planning, Heathrow’s Terminal Five is due to open next March and earlier this year planning permission was granted to ExCeL, allowing for the further development of its exhibition and conference centre. A £30 billion Crossrail rail link from Maidenhead, Heathrow, Essex and Kent is also in planning with a dedicated new station planned in time for the Olympics. From this, it’s not hard to understand that a lot of the benefits for the business community will actually happen after the Olympics itself.
If you consider the amount of investment in the run-up; in hotels, in venues and in transport infrastructure, it’s actually after the Games you’re able to access world class facilities, says Michael Wyrley-Birch, client services & board director at marketing agency TRO Group. You can make the destination appetising to your audience afterwards by classing it a ‘London Olympic venue’. People want to visit Olympic cities.
He points out that you only need to look to past hosts for hard evidence, pointing out that not many would have thought of holding a conference in Athens prior to the 2004 Games, yet afterwards several major car brands flocked there to stage launches because the infrastructure was in place for them to do so. In terms of the sectors that will flock to London because of the Games, Wyrley-Birch cites those that already rely heavily on the use of conference facilities as part of their marketing strategy. Technology, pharmaceutical and mobile phone companies will, I expect, be up there. The financial sector too, although perhaps not so much because with the UK being a financial capital that sector is seen as a bit of a home game, he comments.
Way before this predicted boom in companies flocking to host their own successful events post 2012 takes place, the service industry sectors are the ones reaping the more immediate benefits. The travel sector is arguably making the most obvious play for revenue increases pre-2012, as showcased by growth plans outlined by the airline and rail companies. On top of the new St Pancras station, Eurostar is sitting on the opening of another station at Stratford International, close to the heart of the Olympic village. As yet it remains closed because construction work around the location means it is not readily accessible, but hopes for a pre-Games opening, which will inevitably bolster its passenger numbers, are high. In fact whether the station opens pre-2012 or not, Eurostar has outlined that that it wants to be carrying 10 million passengers a year by 2010, up from the 7.85 million it carried last year. London City Airport, a stone’s throw from the Olympic site and London’s only inner city terminal, has also submitted a planning application to expand which would increase its flight movements from the current 80,000 to 120,000. If agreed, the airport hopes to process up to 3.9 million passenger flights in 2012, up from 2.4 million in 2006. Hotel companies are getting in on the act too; last month Travelodge unveiled a brand new image designed to help it capitalise on the Games.
And as far as the service industries are concerned, the Games will have a multiplier effect, says Wryley-Birch. It’s not even just the hotels and the venue owners that will benefit, but from that the companies that supply anything from food to fixtures at these events, plus all the shops and restaurants that will see an increase in business with the influx of people.
Despite the huge potential the Games has to offer the service industry, the sector won’t go into PR overdrive for a while yet. Until the 2008 Bejing Games are complete, the International Olympic Committee has put a veto on marketing activity hooked around the London Games. It is incredibly protective of its logo, plus all naming rights and sponsorship opportunities are controlled by it, explains Kevin Murphy, deputy CEO and MD at London ExCel. In the meantime, the ExCel centre, along with other key venues, is working on raising its profile through EventBritain, which continues to lay out the groundwork before a much bigger marketing drive can happen post Bejing. So far, it has laid out a number of key strategies to bolster London’s presence amongst the business community. It is working with partners to develop the British Olympic brand to best target the events audience, commissioning a nationwide economic impact study and pooling all of the different research available to date. It is also working with the EIA on proposals to target client organisations and its marketing and brand managers, agencies, national and marketing media, Government and educational sectors. And it expects to learn from many ‘test’ events in the lead up to 2012.
If the positive figures from the EIA and VisitBritain are anything to go by, event marketing will become an increasingly popular medium as 2012 rolls closer and now is the time for the business community to think about how it can best utilise it. For years those involved in events marketing have undersold it to the business market, yet it is critical to their success. Perhaps within B2B we haven’t been aggressive enough in pushing its ROI and need to look harder at examining all the different strands available such as hospitality and trade fairs, says Adrian Brady, MD of B2B PR agency, Eulogy. Business tourism is now set for a big rise, but it’s come from a relatively low base to start with. For those of us involved in B2B now is the time to really embrace it.
Perhaps one of the most important messages for EventBritain to communicate to businesses is that they are contributors to the tourism industry. (Corporates) wouldn’t think of themselves as contributing to tourism. They think of it as a consumer thing because it’s usually associated with leisure. For me, it’s about getting them to grasp the concept of business visits, which is the right terminology to use to get the message across, Foley says. Either way the ball has started rolling and the trick is in keeping the momentum going. Winning the Olympic bid has crystalised what is happening now, concludes Joss Croft, head of business visits and events at VisitBritain. The legacy starts now to deliver business in the lead up to and more importantly, subsequently to 2012.
