1. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed The Conference, Exhibition and Event Environment BTEC National Travel and Tourism

2. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed Introduction Conferences, exhibitions and events are a very large part of the travel and tourism market. Just the UK conference, trade fair and exhibition sectors are thought to be worth more than £10 billion per year. It is a high quality, high yield part of the travel and tourism industry.

3. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed Value and Benefits The sector lengthens the high season for many leisure tourism destinations in UK It is a year-round sector Investment by regions to attract business from this sector can regenerate areas suffering industrial decline. Places battle to host major events – ‘place marketing’

4. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed Types of Event Product launches Awareness- raising events Annual conferences Trade fairs Business meetings Corporate hospitality Sales exhibitions Fund-raising events

5. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed Types of Venue Purpose-built centres (see list in Activity) Hotels often have dedicated conference and business meeting facilities Academic institutions often host specialist conferences Sports venues are increasingly attractive

6. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed Suppliers to the Sector Conference organisers Exhibition organisers Venue-finding agencies Audio-visual suppliers Catering companies IT specialists Security personnel providers

7. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed Buyers in the Sector Companies seeking venues for business meetings, events and conferences. Associations and trade bodies. Governmental organisations. Charities and other not-for-profit bodies.

8. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed Major Trends and Issues The growing popularity of unusual venues shows the need for ‘impact’ events. Organisations relying more on venue-finding agencies as the sector grows. The growth of importance of budget-level facilities.

9. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed The Future One of the main trends is the growth of video-conferencing as: Technology allows ‘real-time’ networking at a distance Equipment costs and line charges fall (ISDN etc) Organisations become more environmentally-aware

10. http://www.bized.co.uk Copyright 2006 – Biz/ed Key Question Will technology (the Internet, video-conferencing and conference-calling) ever replace the need for business events, conferences and exhibitions?