Bridget Baker Consulting
CONFERENCE MARKET DEMAND STUDY PLYMOUTH
JUNE 2020
1 Bridget Baker Consulting Ltd
Plymouth City Council – Conference Demand Study
Bridget Baker Consulting Ltd
30 Southdown Avenue Brighton BN1 6EG Phone +44(0) 1273 560655 Mobile +44 (0)7941 461 180 [email protected]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3 2. Executive Summary 4 3. Supply & Pricing of Conference and Events Facilities in and around Plymouth 8 4. Conference & Events Demand in Plymouth 11 5. Regionally Competitive Destination in the UK now and in the Future 24 6. Overview of the Demand Trends in the Conference & Events Market in the UK & South West of England 27
Appendices
A – Plymouth Organisations contacted & Conference Plymouth members B – Events Bookers Interviewed in Telephone Research C – Local Conference Venue Survey D - Recent/Booked Large Events at Venues in the South West
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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
Plymouth City Council (PCC) are keen to understand the current situation regarding the conference and events market in Plymouth. The study is also be used to identify opportunities and strategies to support ‘MICE’ activity and subsequent economic growth in the city. A summary of the key aims are: • An overview of the current volume and value of ‘MICE’ (Meetings, Incentive, Conference and Events) activity within the city; • Identification of gaps in provision within the city and its immediate environment; • An overview of the current national and international ‘MICE’ sector; • Identification of key market opportunities both short and longer term.
This report responds to your brief.
1.2 Methodology
In order to meet your objectives we undertook the following research.
• A start-up meeting with you both to understand your rationale and aspirations regarding the study.
• Meeting with the Chief Executive of Destination Plymouth to understand recent trends, developments and the future strategies for tourism in the city.
• An audit from various published sources to understand the range of event venues in the Plymouth area. • Discussions with your team to understand potential new hotels and event venues that are in the planning stage, or already under development.
• From weddings data provided by your registration officers we identified the number of weddings that are taking place in Plymouth.
• Attended a meeting of Conference Plymouth to meet local venues and seek their support in providing performance data to us via a short survey, and also held short interviews.
• Meetings with selected venue management in the Plymouth area to understand local trends. • Conducted telephone interviews with regional and national conference buyers - this included corporate associations buyers and agencies – to explore what the drivers might be to encourage corporate, association and agency event buyers to place their annual conferences in Plymouth.
• An assessment of relevant recent trends of the UK conference & events market based on published data. This included identification of competitive destinations/venues, now and in the future, within the UK and the South West of England in particular.
• From our local venue survey research, we assessed the sources of the events business, and volume, value, type and seasonality of demand.
• Recommendations as to MICE Marketing activities going forward.
Our findings are set out in this report.
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2.0 Executive Summary
2.1 The UK Events Market
• Prior to the current COVID-19 crisis the number of conference events held in the UK was buoyant and 2018 was a record year with almost 1.5m events held throughout the country. This was significantly higher than the average number of events for the last decade, at £1.33m.
Table 2.1 - Volume of business events in the UK 2008 - 2019
Source: UKCAMS 2019
• Most events in the UK are for fewer than 200 delegates with only around 5% for 200+, and one percent for more than 500 participants. The latter group however are important for major venues in leading UK destinations in terms of economic impact.
Table 2.2 – Size of Events 2016 - 2018
Source: UKCAMS 2019
• Based on our extensive knowledge of the UK MICE market, smaller meeting rooms generally have higher occupancy levels than the largest rooms due to the higher demand for small scale events. Large conference rooms at major venues in the provinces frequently achieve
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occupancy levels in the range 30% - 40%, particularly if they are not multi-purpose and able to host different types of events. • London is used by more than 70% of UK event organisers, and Birmingham and Manchester are the next most used. The nearest destinations in the South West/West that feature in the top 20 most popular UK conference destinations are Cardiff (7th) and Bristol (8th). Plymouth is not ranked. (BMEIS 2019). • Leading South West venues that host national conferences are the Riviera Centre in Torquay, Sandy Park in Exeter and various venues in Bristol. The new Wales International Conference Centre (WICC) opened in Newport last year and is already attracting large events. It is located at the Celtic Manor resort which is already an established hotel, leisure and conference destination. 2.2 Plymouth Venue Supply • Currently Plymouth has around 76 venues that offer space to hold conferences and other related events. Around a third of these are hotels, 14% academic, 12% entertainment, 12% country club/banquet, 6% sporting, 6% municipal venues, the rest are various types of venues. • The largest venue is the Pavilions which is mainly an entertainment venue, although it is used for some trade show style events. • The Guildhall is the second largest venue that can host theatre style events in its Great Hall of more than 700 delegates and has other smaller spaces for breakout sessions. The Great Hall is an attractive venue for gala dinners and weddings with many historic features. Since the venue re-opened in 1959 however, very little redecoration or modernisation has been undertaken, which makes it unappealing and not suitable for professional conference organisers. • Most of the venues in Plymouth have one large room but do not have the benefit of adjacent space for exhibition use, breakout sessions and catering.
2.3 Current Plymouth Conference and Events Demand
• We conducted a survey of the current activity at the conference events venues in Plymouth and of potential bookers who place events in the South West, Plymouth and/or nationally.
• All of the larger venues in the city centre responded to our venue survey. Our findings show that there were around 2,800 events in 2019 at these venues. As these are the largest venues locally this gives a good indication of the main events that take place in Plymouth.
• The survey highlights the prevalence of local events; smaller meetings, board meetings, private parties and Christmas parties. All of these are also less likely to generate overnight stays and additional spend as they cater for a local audience. There are very few larger Corporate and Association Conferences, and only a limited number of larger residential conferences (over 200 delegates). The city is therefore not benefiting from the increased visitation, and expenditure, that larger conference events can bring to a destination.
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Table 2.3 – Number of Events by Type at Plymouth Venues
CC = Corporate Conferences Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
2.4 South West England Events Supply & Demand
• Unlike other destinations in the South West Plymouth does not have a dedicated non- residential conference venue. Key competitors regionally are the Riviera Centre in Torquay and Sandy Park in Exeter. Bristol is set to have two new venues in forthcoming years.
• All of these destinations are able to attract large national and regional residential conferences and associated events. This includes National Association and Corporate conferences. These bring new visitors to the destination and the associated economic benefits.
2.5 Plymouth as a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conference, Exhibitions) Destination & Critical Success Factors
• Aside from the attributes of the local venues, there are a number of critical success factors in order to attract large national, and international, conferences and the associated economic benefits. These are: Table 2.4 – Critical Success Factors of a MICE Destination Key Factor Plymouth Rating Suitable venues Lacking large non-residential venue Hotel Supply Good Range Marketing of the Destination Poor Other activities for Delegates Wide range of different activities Access / location Less attractive than some destinations
Source: Bridget Baker Analysis
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2.6 Recommendations for MICE Marketing Moving Forward • On 1 April 2020 Destination Plymouth and Conference Plymouth merged. We were advised that going forward the merged organisation will be responsible for promoting venues across the city working with key local partners. The merger should assist in addressing the historic limited MICE promotional activities. • When the new organisation is fully functioning and funded we would expect more activity to promote and raise awareness of Plymouth as a conference destination. We would suggest that this would include, but is not limited to, the following initiatives: ➢ Setting up an enquiry office/hotline for events (Convention bureau/team); ➢ Detailed dedicated conference venue promotional materials; ➢ Effective website and social media strategy; ➢ Press coverage in relevant trade journals; ➢ Raising awareness with agents; ➢ Familiarisation trips for agents and bookers to include involvement/sponsorship from local hotels, venues & attractions; ➢ Representation at relevant trade shows; ➢ Sponsoring/partnering/hosting industry events with associations/booking agents; ➢ Researching potential events and preparing bid in conjunction with local venues/suppliers; ➢ Setting up a local ‘Ambassador’ programme’ to bring events to Plymouth, this would include areas where the city, and university, has significant local strengths; ➢ Join industry associations to benefit from the shared knowledge of other destinations; ➢ Consideration of a Subvention policy; ➢ Benefit from support services from Visit Britain (Events are Great). • The foregoing are being undertaken by other leading conference destinations around the country, including in other towns and cities in the South West, and those attracting specialist events such as medical events in Newcastle, Liverpool etc. • Some of the initiatives could be achieved in a short time-frame with a limited budget; others will need to be phased and will require more resources and funding. Most events/enquiries going via a convention bureau are for large events, as bookers generally are able to source venues for small events quite easily. • Generally members, which could include venues, hotels, visitor attractions, entertainment venues, restaurants etc would pay a base membership fee. The fee would vary in terms of size of business, type of membership etc. Additional charges would be made for advertising – such as in brochures/websites and commission on bookings placed. If the city is bidding for a specific event it is likely to be in conjunction with the main venue/venues where the event will occur and this may involve significant costs – for example travelling to present the bid, visiting past host destinations etc. The costs for this would need to be shared with the main venue/hosting the event.
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3.0 Supply & Pricing of Conference and Events Facilities in and around Plymouth 3.1 Supply of Plymouth Venues The website venuefinder.com is widely acknowledged to provide one of the most comprehensive listings of UK conference venues. Currently there are some 10,100 venues listed in England including around 62 within a 15 mile catchment of central Plymouth. Our local research has identified 14 others that are not marketed on this website. We detail as follows the broad breakdown of the Plymouth venues listed on venuefinder.com and supplemented by our own research.
Table 3.1 – Supply of Plymouth Venues Type of venue Number % of Average Average of meeting number capacity venues room of theatre supply meeting style* rooms Academic venues, research centres, institutions 4 14% 11 275 Business / science Park, office clusters 4 8% 6 105 Castles, historic buildings 4 3% 2 80 Civic/charitable/religious spaces 4 6% 5 330 Country clubs, golf clubs, banqueting/wedding venues 6 12% 6 222 Hotels 25 32% 4 156 Other 2 2% 3 160 Pubs, restaurants, bars 7 3% 2 65 Serviced office/meeting spaces, training centres 3 4% 4 15 Sporting venues, activities centres 8 6% 3 242 TV studios, theatres, cinemas, music venues 9 12% 4 697 Purpose built conference centre - - - - TOTAL 76 100% - Source: Bridget Baker Consulting Analysis of venuefinder.com * Largest room
Just under one third of venue supply is within 25 of Plymouth’s hotels. However, academic venues such as the University of Plymouth (with 30 event spaces) have on average more event spaces per venue. The largest capacity spaces are found within the city’s theatres and concert venues. The most recent major addition to the Plymouth venue market venues is the Plymouth Argyle FC at Home Park. The venue has four event spaces, the largest of which can take 500 delegates theatre style and accommodate 440 for banqueting. ‘The Box’ was due to open on 16th May at Drake Circus opposite The House (Plymouth University’s theatre). The Box is a new £46m museum and gallery created by Plymouth City Council and is the flagship project of the Mayflower 400 Commemorations. The original City Museum and Art Gallery has been completely refurbished and extended. The Box will be available for corporate event hire as well as weddings. It will feature a flexible purpose built meeting space as well as ‘South Hall’ for larger events, with a combined capacity of up to 500. Online conference rates are advertised as starting from £45.00 – if achieved, this will be the highest in the market for a non-hotel venue according to our survey of venues in Section 4. A new opening date is yet to be announced after the lockdown.
3.2 Large Venues in Plymouth Venues in the area that operate in the conference sector and can seat more than 300 theatre style are listed below. We have excluded the events spaces at the University of Plymouth as the majority are only available in vacation periods.
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Table 3.2 – Selected Plymouth Venues that can seat 300+ Theatre Style Venue Largest Room 2nd largest Max Ceiling room Height (m) Hotels/Conference Centres: Plymouth Pavilions 2,500 n/a 10.3 Crowne Plaza Plymouth 500 120 5 St Mellion International Resort 500 150 2.5 Plymouth Athenaeum 352 n/a n/a New Continental Hotel 350 150 4.2 Best Western Duke of Cornwall Hotel 300 80 4.0 Future Inn Plymouth Hotel 300 200 3.0 Entertainment/Sporting Venues: Boringdon Park Golf Club 500 150 n/a Home Park Stadium 500 80 2.3 Plymouth Albion RFC 300 120 n/a China Fleet Country Club 300 300 n/a Other: Theatre Royal 1,200 n/a n/a The Guildhall 728 180 n/a Oceana Plymouth 900 n/a n/a Vue Plymouth 457 n/a n/a Source: Bridget Baker Consulting Research
As shown, there are a range of types of venues that can host large conferences, and some are venues that are normally used for other activities such as sports or entertainment. The Pavilions is a key example, they host major entertainment shows (comedy, music etc) and are the main regional venue for many acts on their national tour.
The majority of the venues have one large room, but limited secondary rooms that can be used for large breakout sessions. There are some exceptions, such as the Guildhall and Future Inn hotel or venues that are outside of the city centre such as the St Mellion International Resort.
3.4 Pricing & Day Delegate Rates
Venues may offer a room hire price with catering and other services charged separately, this is particularly popular where the venue does not have their own catering team/kitchens. Or a delegate package can be offered that includes Room hire, beverage breaks, lunch and sometimes audio visual equipment.
We set out as follows selected day room hire prices currently available for venues in Plymouth. Many venues do not advertise any prices on their website, and it is necessary to make an actual enquiry to get a true picture of an event cost.
As shown above, a large room for up to 500 delegates can be hired for around £950 (inc VAT) per day. Prices for medium rooms that can seat up to 100 delegates theatre style range £200 - £500. Small rooms for around 30 delegates are available at £150-£240.
In our venue survey, discussed in the next section we set out the responses of the average delegate rates achieved by the responding venues.
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Table 3.3 – Meeting Room Hire prices (inc VAT) at selected venues in Plymouth Capacity Price (£) No Rooms Suite Theatre Cabaret Boardroom Mon Tue Jurys Inn Plymouth 10 Suite 6 120 n/a 40 400 400 Suite 10 40 n/a 18 250 250 Suite 11 30 n/a 14 225 225 Suite 5 10 n/a 10 130 130 The Copthorne Plymouth 5 Blackland 200 120 40 320 400 Meavy 100 40 36 200 251 Saltram 50 24 24 140 175 Shaugh 30 20 12 120 150 Home Park Stadium 4 Argyle 500 440 25 954 954 Players 20 50 10 252 252 Captain's 25 30 25 240 240 Boardroom 40 40 25 234 234 Kitley House Country Hotel 4 Library 100 80 n/a 500 500 Regency 75 60 n/a 250 250 Drawing 20 20 n/a 150 150 Regus Express Drake Circus 2 Boardroom 2 n/a n/a 6 143 143 Regus Plymouth, Sutton Harbour 1 Boardroom 1 n/a n/a 6 119 119 Grosvenor Plymouth 1 Drake Room 16 n/a 12 100 100 Source: www.meetingsbooker.com/Headbox
3.5 Summary Based on our research we estimate there are around 76 venues within 15 mile radius of Plymouth that are available for events. These range from venues and visitor attractions that have a few small rooms to venues with large spaces such as the Pavilions. The latter is mainly an entertainment venue, but are used for some trade show style events. As illustrated in Table 3.2 many of the venues that have one large room but do not have adjacent space for exhibition use, breakout sessions and catering. Some of the venues that have one large room are in the entertainments (theatre, cinema) or are sporting venues and have limitations on the type of events they can host in their largest room. This may be due to fixed style auditorium seating, low ceilings, pillars, varying shaped rooms or other operating constraints. Other venues are ideally suited for banqueting/weddings but again not set out in a way that appeal to the meetings sector. For banqueting use however, the provision of adequate kitchen space immediately adjacent to the main banqueting hall is important to the success of the function. The largest banqueting space in Plymouth is the Pavilions, although as an exclusive hire venue, third party catering is required for events.
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4.0 Conference & Events Demand in Plymouth
4.1 Introduction
In this section we describe the current demand trends in Plymouth for conference and events. This follows our local research programme, interviews with venues, local venue demand survey and telephone interviews with event organisers.
We also set out the critical success factors for a conference venue, based on our extensive knowledge of the MICE sector in the UK and overseas.
4.2 Value of Tourism
The table below shows the income generated from tourism – around £353m - and the number of trips and overnights in Plymouth in 2018. Overnights were some 2.9m which is around 7,900 per night.
Table 4.1- Value of Tourism in Plymouth in 2018 Trips Nights Spend (£) Staying Visitors 741,000 2,887,000 160,037,000 Day Visitors 4,679,000 - 177,918,000 Other related - - 14,862,000 Total 352,817,000 Source: The Economic Impact of Devon’s Visitor Economy 2018, The South West Research Company Ltd
The South West Research Company estimated that 6% of workers in the area are employed in tourism. This is around 8,000 people, working on both a part-time and full-time basis.
4.3 Plymouth as a MICE Destination & Critical Success Factors Aside from the attributes of the local venues, There are a number of critical success factors to attract large national and also international conferences. These are: • Marketing of the Destination • Hotel Supply • Access • Other activities for Delegates. The foregoing are in terms of Plymouth are evaluated over the following pages. Marketing At the time of our research Plymouth was marketed by Destination Plymouth under the tag line ‘Britain’s Ocean City’. The campaigns focus on the local scenery (including Dartmoor National Park), culture and heritage of the city, maritime and outdoor activities. Plymouth has previously attracted a number of major national and international events to the city (MTV Music Week, America’s Cup), however none are currently occurring on a regular basis. We were advised that around £10-£15k per year was spent by Destination Plymouth on promoting the city to the events market. This is a very small sum. Plymouth’s conference scene was marketed by Conference Plymouth, a local network that provides a platform for sharing the experiences and challenges of members (who pay a subscription) as well as acting as a platform to attract conferences into the city. A list of the 40+ members is shown in Appendix B. We understand that the group is funded largely by the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership (PWP) Business Improvement District and has limited staffing and resources. It is a separate entity from Destination Plymouth which is Council led and funded.
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From our database of journals and magazines, going back several years, aimed at conference and event organisers we have found no articles promoting Plymouth individually. In the few articles promoting Devon, Plymouth only featured once, however, Torquay has been covered a number of times. Furthermore as far as we have been aware the city has not been promoted at any industry specific trade shows. Again Torquay and also Bristol are much more active in this regard. Exeter University is also a frequent participant at academic venue events. Overall we would remark that the promotion of Plymouth as a conference destination outside of the immediate local area has been very limited and thus awareness amongst bookers has been low. We have been advised that since 1 April 2020 Destination Plymouth and Conference Plymouth have merged. Going forward the merged organisation will be responsible for promoting venues across the city, working with key local partners. To be effective the Head of Destination Plymouth estimates that they would need a minimum of £100k per annum to dedicate resources and Business to Business (B2B) marketing activity for this task. The merger should assist in addressing MICE promotion issues in the future. When the new organisation is fully functioning, and funded, we would expect more activity to promote and raise awareness of Plymouth as a conference destination. We provide suggestions for future MICE marketing initiatives going forward at the end of this section. Hotel Supply & Performance The provision of a wide range of hotel bedrooms, and availability of bedrooms for large events are one of the key success factors a conference venue if they are to attract residential business. Colliers International prepared an extensive review of the Plymouth Hotel & Other Accommodation Supply and Demand Study in January 2019 which updated their September 2014 report. In their report they identified 30 hotels with 1,734 bedrooms. The split of bedroom supply by type is shown as follows:
Table 4.3 – Plymouth Hotel Supply by Category 2019
Source: Colliers International/AMPM/STR
The performance of a set of full service hotels up to August 2018, also shown in the Colliers report, is detailed as follows:
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Table 4.4 – Plymouth full Service Hotel Performance 2012 – Aug 2018
Source: Colliers International/STR
A performance of around 80% is high compared to many regional UK destinations. There are a number of new hotels under development or at the planning stage. The following were advised to us by Plymouth City Council. Table 6.4- Potential New Hotel Supply Plymouth Project Location Status Estimated Category bedrooms Premier Inn Derry’s Royal Parade Under construction, 110 Budget Cross Opening summer 2020 Moxy Planning consent for 175 175 3-star rooms, additional 25 under consideration Premier Inn? Milbay Road Has planning consent, 126 Budget due on site 2020 Hotel & apartments Crescent Planning application 255 3/4-star submitted Railway Station Railway Station Earliest completion 2026 130 n/a Travelodge Embankment road Due to start on site this year n/a Budget Holiday Inn Express Home Park Reserved matters approval 107 Midscale Former Quality Hotel Hoe Site to be re-marketed, 80+ 4-star /1620 medium term project (2023)
Source: Plymouth City Council
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Around 110 new budget bedrooms are set to open this year. There are other projects that could progress in the short to medium term. We would anticipate that there will be some delays due to COVID-19 and impact on the economy. This is likely to lead to a staggered increase to bedroom supply in the city. Access Train travel from London to Plymouth has recently been reduced to (and expensive) travel times 2hrs29mins. For other relevant major cities the travel times are; Birmingham (3hrs49mins), Manchester (5hrs10mins). This is a factor that would be off-putting to larger conferences with delegates travelling from a variety of locations, as well as those more sensitive to price. This is likely to limit the number of such events that can be attracted to the city. The recent failure of regional airline Flybe is likely to further strain connection to Plymouth and the wider South West. We are aware that in the past some delegates have arrived by air to Exeter Airport with the Flybe flights and transferred by coach (or train) to Plymouth. Since Flybe ceased to trade recently, some of the Scottish routes have been taken over by Logan Air, but other routes have been lost for the moment. Thus the ongoing situation with routes at the airport will be influential in the potential of attracting some larger events to the city. Activities for Conference Delegates Plymouth has a range of attractions and activities that could be used as part of a conference package, a venue for meals or team building. These include: • Events focused on the historic Maritime heritage, Mayflower and the Hoe; • Boat trips and water based activities; • Royal William Yard; • Visitor attractions such as the new ‘Box’, Aquarium, Gin distillery; • Historic houses/castles – Mount Edgcumbe, National Trust Cotehele, Royal Citadel. • Golf and other sports. This year the Mayflower 400 events were set to have a positive impact on visitor numbers and also generate publicity for the city. At the time of writing (late April 2020) the celebrations have now been delayed until a start in September 2020, with some events planned to occur in 2021 4.4 Local Venue Survey Through introductions from Destination Plymouth and Conference Plymouth we contacted 42 venues and institutions within 15 miles of Plymouth to participate in a survey of the MICE market. We received 12 responses (29%), which notably included all of the largest providers of conference space within the city centre, both hotels and non-hotels. A list of all contacted organisations and their affiliation to Conference Plymouth can be found in Appendix A. Analysis of some of the key metrics can be found below, followed by further commentary on the market provided by respondents and also other interviews in the local area. All survey data refers to business hosted in 2019. Further data from the survey is shown in Appendix C. The Sampled Venues The table below shows the largest capacity of any meeting room of the venues surveyed, by different types of room layout. The largest room, and exhibition space, by square metres is shown in Appendix C.
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Table 4.6 – Maximum Capacity in One Room at surveyed venues – theatre Style
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
As shown only one venue can host a 1,000+ theatre style event. The capacities for other room layouts are shown in Appendix C and the below shows the number of meeting rooms offered at each of the venues.
Table 4.7 – Number of Meeting Rooms
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
The venues surveyed have between 1 and 10 meeting rooms. Three of the venues have 10 meeting rooms each, and only one venue has one meeting room.
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Bedroom Accommodation
On-site accommodation is offered by 7 of the respondents. The remaining 6, which are non-hotel venues do not offer accommodation. They offered a total of almost 1,000 bedrooms. These are the hotels with the largest conference capacities in the city centre.
Market Pricing A day delegate rate (DDR) usually includes room hire, beverage breaks, lunch, basic audio visual equipment. A 24hour rate in a residential rate would additionally include bedroom, breakfast and an allowance towards dinner.
Venues were asked to provide their average range (lowest to highest) of day delegate rates (DDR). The lowest rate reported in the market was £18.00, whilst the highest was £45.00. The range of DDR for hotels was higher than the non-hotels surveyed (from £25). These rates show Plymouth command lower DDRs than is the average across the South West (see Touchstone Survey Section 8). The table below is based on the 9 venues which offer day delegate rates. The range of rates is shown in Appendix C.
Table 4.8 – Day Delegate Rates at Hotels and Non-Hotels (including Vat) £
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
Of the venues that have bedrooms on site, or are able to offer an inclusive 24hour package with an agreed hotel the chart below represents the highest and the lowest 24-hour delegate rates offered at the venues which responded to our survey. Prices range between £99 - £249.
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Table 4.9 – 24 hour Delegate Rates (£)(including Vat) £
Source: Bridget Baker Research
Room hire costs per square metre in the market varied from £0.21 to £12.82. There is a greater average range for the hotels than non-hotels. In general, the larger venues offer cheaper rates on a square metre basis, as much of the space is under-utilised by smaller events. These are shown in Appendix C. There is a premium in the market for quality, however, with higher-graded hotels commanding stronger DDRs and room hire prices. Number and Types of Events Our findings show that there were around 2,800 events in 2019 at the venues that responded to the survey. As these are the large venues this gives a good indication of the main events that take place in Plymouth.
The survey highlights the prevalence of local events; smaller meetings, board meetings, private parties and Christmas parties which are also less likely to generate overnight stays and additional spend as they cater for a local audience. There are very few larger Corporate and Association Conferences.
All venues surveyed reported hosting corporate conferences in 2019, with most venues hosting the full range of corporate events from small meetings (up to 20 delegates) to large conferences (over 200 delegates). The low reporting of incentive days and out-door team building is likely due to the urban nature of the Plymouth event spaces that responded to the survey, most of which are indoor with limited other facilities to host activities. All but one of the venues within the city centre reported hosting exams. We would note that this is unusual, and highlights the volume of academic and training institutions in the city: Plymouth University, Marjon University, Derriford Hospital etc.
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Table 4.10 – Number of events by type at Plymouth Venues
CC = Corporate Conferences Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
Event Size
We asked the venues to indicate the average number of delegates/covers attending each type of event. The results are illustrated in the table below.
We estimate that 2,800 events attracted around 127,000 delegates/covers. Corporate Events and meetings attracted 45% of the delegates, while banqueting events attracted 42%. Christmas parties are the most popular event across all venues, bringing in 15% of the total delegates/covers.
The survey results show that on a monthly basis, on average, hotel venues in Plymouth host the larger attended events less than once a month. In contrast they host on average 17 meetings with an average of eleven delegates and around seven board meetings of a similar size. The most frequently held corporate conferences are those with 20-50 delegates. Hotels are likely to host six of these per month , averaging of 33 attendees. Furthermore it highlights the prevalence of local events; smaller meetings, board meetings, private parties and Christmas parties which are also less likely to generate overnight stays and additional spend as they cater for a local audience. The results of the survey are in line with further comments made by respondents who noted the decline in larger corporate events (as companies move these in-house or reduce their number) as well as a significant drop in Rotary and Association business over the last decade. Christmas was reported to be a busy time for most venues for parties in addition to a strong level of demand throughout the years for private parties and weddings on weekends. Additionally, Conference Plymouth reports that there are no large-scale (500+) conferences occurring on a repeat-basis in the city. Historically the city has attracted a number of large medical, union and religious conferences, but these have declined over time in number and those that remain have very long lead-ins (5+years). In 2017 the 100thGMB Congress was held at the Plymouth Pavilions. A number of interviewees mentioned that they consider that Plymouth competes (relatively unsuccessfully) against other UK cities for these types of events, including Brighton, Glasgow, Liverpool and Cardiff.
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Table 4.11 – Number of Delegates by Event Type
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting estimates & analysis of survey data
Weekly Trends As would be expected, the majority of conferences and meetings in the market take place midweek, predominantly Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with slightly less frequencies on Mondays. For the non-residential venues in Plymouth this average increases from 88% to 95%. The majority of banqueting events and weddings take place on Fridays and Saturdays, with very few events on Sundays. The chart below illustrates the slit of events by days of the week for holding events. Table 4.12– Conference & Banqueting Events by Day of the Week %
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
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Seasonality of Large Events Respondents highlighted their busiest months of the year for large conferences. As is the national trend, none reported large events during the school holidays (Christmas, Easter and Summer) with August and December completely clear. The most popular period reported is Autumn (September to November), followed by January, March, May and June. It is notable these secondary peaks are also the common months for exams and so may indicate some correlation (the average number of exam attendees in the non-residential venues was over 100). It was noted by all responders that lead-in times for smaller conferences and events have reduced substantially in recent years. This follows national trends. We asked the surveyed venues to indicate the most popular months for holding large conference style events. The results are presented in the chart below.
Table 4.13– Seasonality of Conference Events %
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
Bedroom Demand Three of the hotel venues who submitted data generated a total of around 2,600 room nights through MICE business. The total number of delegates was around 63,600, so around 4% of all delegates staying overnight.
Income
The venues were asked to provide an approximate number of the total income generated by conferences and events, including room hire, food & beverage and equipment hire, not bedroom accommodation. Only five venues provided this information. The lowest venue generated just £5,000 per annum and the highest was around half a million pounds. Three venues generated in the order of £200-£250,000.
Summary Key findings from our survey and local interviews are: ➢ Plymouth has a wide range of venues that cater for the MICE market, including the largest conferencing and banqueting space in the South West (The Pavilions). The quality and suitability of these spaces for modern conferencing requirements is mixed;
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➢ There are no purpose-built venues suited to large conferences (500-800 capacity, with a ceiling height of over 4m); ➢ Demand in the market is largely repeat, local business. Large national and international business is scarce. There is a fair degree of movement between venues with existing business as organisers seek better value or switch to newer facilities as they become available. This has caused rate compression in the market; ➢ Many venues cited contracts they had lost over the last decade due to firms re-locating, taking meetings in-house, or reduced spending on company events. Technology has also enabled companies to streamline their need for meetings through digital conferencing. Two hotels reported significant declines in revenue (both meeting hire and bedrooms) compared with ten years ago; ➢ The new facilities at Home Park were considered a positive addition to the city’s offer by all respondents, although some acknowledged they had lost business to the new venue; ➢ None of the participants in our survey have turned away business in the past due to capacity issues, with most reporting that they would like to increase their share of the MICE market, which was steady, but not strong; ➢ Three respondents noted the lack of a purpose-built conference centre (comparable to the Riviera Centre, Torquay) in Plymouth, however without a demonstrated increase in demand from the market they felt this would cannibalise existing business; ➢ Future sources of volume in the MICE market have not been identified. There is a hope that the legacy of the Mayflower 400 celebrations and investment to the city will be a catalyst for new demand, however, the venues surveyed were not optimistic regarding this due to a lack of specific marketing initiatives focusing on Plymouth as a MICE destination; ➢ All respondents noted the poor transport links to Plymouth as the major factor behind the city’s lack of large national MICE business. It was noted that Plymouth is offers a unique destination, but is let down by challenging transport connections and inadequate destination marketing to the MICE community; ➢ It was further noted that there is confusion of the branding and purpose between Destination Plymouth and Conference Plymouth. The latter was perceived as helpful, but not as supportive as some Member’s would like given the costs of membership, whereas Destination Plymouth was seen as not taking a strong enough approach; ➢ Recommendations to improve and develop Plymouth’s MICE market from the surveyed venues included; refurbishment of the Guildhall, partnerships with transport providers to subsidise MICE businesses, pro-active bidding for major events and conferences contracts nationally, investment in large-scale attractions (e.g. an arena), creation of one unified entity to support all elements of the destination marketing agenda and the launch of a pro-active national campaign to promote the city. 4.5 Telephone Interviews with Event Organisers We completed phone calls with more than 30 event organisers, this included agencies, associations and bookers of other types of events. A list of the organisations that we called and interviewed are shown in Appendix B. When selected the organisations to call we included those that either hold/or have held events in the South West previously. The booking agencies generally hold events all over the UK and some overseas. Not all interviewees were able to answer all questions. It should be noted that we were unable to contact via telephone via switchboard or direct line around 20 organisers since the stay at home policy came into effect.
We set out as follows the locations mentioned in our interviews that are located in the South West of England where they had booked events. Others booked events elsewhere is the UK/overseas and had not used South West venues recently. It is encouraging that three bookers had used Plymouth.
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Bristol was particularly popular – even though they do not currently have a major venue, outside of hotels. Exeter was also well used. Table 4.14 – South West Locations used for booking Events Location Mentions Exeter 6 Bristol 111 Plymouth 32 Cornwall 1 Wiltshire 1 Taunton 1 1One of the companies surveyed organises 10 afternoon events in Bristol, this was counted as 1 mention 2 In addition to the 2 companies that book in Plymouth:, one company confirmed going to Plymouth for a site visit, another company works with Pryzm Plymouth, but they operate a website connecting bookers & venues and do not book events directly. A third company confirmed that they have booked events in Plymouth in the past, but this happens very rarely Source: Bridget Baker Consulting Analysis of Survey Parking was the most important factor for organiser that we spoke to and size of venue and the number of bedrooms available. This is only a small sample and it would vary from event to event,
Table 4.15 – Factors considered when choosing a Venue Factor Mentions Venue Size 3 Parking 5 Accessibility 1 Access to motorway 1 Ceiling Height 1 Located near the airport 1 Number of bedrooms available 3 Source: Bridget Baker Analysis of Survey
We asked bookers for their perception of Plymouth as an event destination and whether they would use it. Set out as follows are some key comments they made. They are varied but some would indicate they would consider Plymouth if the right venue was available. For some events the destination did not fit their criteria in terms of geographical location, others mentioned the lack of awareness of Plymouth as an events destination.
Table 4.16 – Comments from Booker Survey Needs to raise awareness of the destination Hold events all over the world and would consider Plymouth. Program of events required. Rates are very competitive Have a 150 pax association event that could be a possibility South West is used for examination centre on ad hoc basis Have problems promoting Plymouth as a destination, highlighting the benefits of the visiting the destination would help Need a destination located at equal distance from the North and the South (3 mentions) Will be rotating to the South West again in 2 years Looking for a multi-purpose facility with the option of attracting all size & scale events in SW Willing to organise events in Plymouth Need 300 bedrooms Need 200 bedrooms Need 150 bedrooms Need 6,000 sq ft of space Need a large conference room Need 5 breakout rooms Source: Booker Survey
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4.6 Weddings & Marriages Although not of particular focus of this study, weddings play a major part in the events diary for many venues, and this is the case in Plymouth. Some 709 weddings were registered in Plymouth in 2018 and 767 in 2017. Of these 161 were held in external venues in 2018 and 183 in 2017. There are currently 16 venues in the city that are registered to hold a wedding ceremony, plus the two registry offices. Of these six are hotels. The registry office has recently been relocated to the Derriford Business Park. When social gatherings resume after COVID-19, weddings and other ceremonies will take place in the Council House adjoining the Civic Building. The room allocated is spacious and has good views over the city centre. It is also close to the Guildhall which could be used for the wedding breakfast as could other city centre venues. 4.7 Summary Currently the majority of demand for conference style events in Plymouth are relatively small scale events. The hotel venues are popular for these. The University also hosts events that attract national, and some international delegates. The Guildhall offers a large space for a theatre style event, but does not offer purpose built facilities and apart from the poor state of repair would not be suitable for all events. The Pavilion is a large venue but not suitable for many types of events, and is more geared to the entertainment sector. The marketing of Plymouth as a conference destination has been poor and thus it has not been a location that seems to have brought to the attention and /or been considered by organisers for large events. To some extent this is not surprising as the hotel occupancy has been strong in the city over recent years and, at sometimes of the year , there would have been limited bedroom capacity to block off for conference delegates. The other dedicated larger rooms in the city are in hotels, again they report limited numbers of large conferences, although at the same time, marketing of their facilities to the wider national market appears to be somewhat limited. There is evidence that large national events are holding their events in Exeter and Torquay which arguably have a similar perception in terms of access, although Exeter does have an airport. Bristol is a well-used destination and enjoys good train services from London. Some of the Event Organisers that we spoke to were familiar with Plymouth and some had visited, furthermore some indicated they could place events there .
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5.0 Regionally Competitive Destinations in the UK now and in the Future 5.1 Introduction
For large National events, Plymouth could competes with some other destinations in the South West of England. Some destinations have a large venues or a number of venues that accommodate large events. We consider that event venues outside of London form the key competition to Plymouth and those in the South West and seaside destination resorts in the South of England in particular.
5.2 Large Regional Venues – South West/South of England
A listing of some of the leading conference venues that are located in the South West/South Wales and the South coast are detailed as follows.
Table 5.1 – Large venues at Potentially Competitive Destinations Largest 2 rooms Largest Room
Location Location Theatre/ Theatre/ Exhibition Ceiling height Banquet Banquet Space m2 m South West
Riviera International Torquay 1,750/1,000 1,500/860 1,750 12.2 Centre (RICC) Sandy Park Exeter 825/620 327/340 700 3.5 Ashton Gate Bristol 1000/850 350/250 3,500 11.0 Wales Wales International Newport 4,100/3,080 1,500/n/a 4,000 9.0 Convention Centre South of England Devonshire Quarter Eastbourne 1,655 - n/a 588/220 480 4.41 Brighton Centre Brighton 4,450/1,000 640/350 1,941 14.8 Bournemouth Bournemouth 4,054/960 1,700/780 2,025 13.0 International Centre (BIC) 1 not including theatre Source: Bridget Baker Consulting Research
South West
The Riviera International Conference Centre (RICC) located in Torquay offers 10 meeting rooms for up to 1,500 people and a 1,750m2 exhibition hall. In the summer months a large external marquee is used for breakout sessions and banqueting. Some of the events held at the RICC include BBC Question Time, UKIP National Conference and Federation of Small Businesses’ Show and Conference. From 1st April this year the management of the venue is set to be taken over by Lex Leisure a Derby based operator. They plan to refurbish and relaunch the venue. Sandy Park home to Exeter Chiefs premiership league rugby club, is located east of Exeter, by junction 30 of the M5 motorway. It has benefited from recent road / junction upgrades in anticipation of further investment at the site. It is therefore easily accessible by road, and it offers extensive parking on site. There is also a large David Lloyd Club on the site. The event spaces at the venue can accommodate 825 theatre style, or 620 for a function. It offers other spaces for breakout/exhibitions. It hosts a number of entertainment/organised events (comedy themed, music events etc) and regional conferences - geographically between Exeter and Bristol. A new IKEA opened adjacent to the site last year. A £25m development of a 250 bedroom Marriott Courtyard hotel at Sandy Park is currently under construction and set to be open in 2021. Sandy Park have also announced plans to add 2,000 additional seats above the East Terrace, rising the stadium’s capacity to 15,000. www.bridgebaker.co.uk 24
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Ashton Gate Stadium, located in Bristol features varied spaces, including conference and meeting rooms, as well as a sports bar & pizzeria, a coffee shop and a sports store. The largest room can host 1,000 delegates for a conference or 850 attendees for a banquet. The venue also has a 3,500m2 exhibition space, with a ceiling height of over 4 meters and natural day light. In 2019, the stadium hosted Rod Stewart, Take That, Spice Girls and Muse. Upcoming events at the stadium include The Killer’s concert. Designs for a new 4,000-capacity Sports & Convention Centre next to the stadium were recently revealed.
Wales The Wales International Convention Centre (WICC) opened in September 2019. The development cost £84 million and was funded by the Celtic Manor Hotel and the Welsh Government. The WICC provides a total of 26,000 m2, including pillar free exhibition space of 4,000m2 and a double height glass atrium overlooking the surrounding woodland. The Main Hall can accommodate up to 4,100 delegates theatre style and 3,080 banqueting style. It is located at the Celtic Manor resort which is already an established hotel, leisure, and conference destination. Southern England
Arguably the key venues for large conferences in the South of England are the Brighton Centre and the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC). These are both popular venues for large Association, Political and Union conferences. Often these are chosen when these organisations wish to rotate their event in the South of England.
The BIC opened in 1984 and has been one of the most established conference venues for large national events, such as political and association conferences since. The venue was extended in 1990 and underwent a major refurbishment in 2004. The BIC is managed by a social enterprise, BH Live, in conjunction with BCP Council. They also operate the Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom, so these venues are also available for events. Earlier this year the local Council indicated they are seeking to examine further options for the BIC, this could include refurbishment or providing a new venue.
Bournemouth offers an extensive supply of hotel and guest house rooms which give organisers a good choice of accommodation to offer their delegates.
The Brighton Centre, constructed in 1977, It was recognised some years ago that significant investment was required if the Brighton Centre was to remain competitive in the future. A number of projects have been mooted including developing a new conference centre to the east of the city centre, near Brighton Marina. No progress has been made to date. During the uncertainty some large events were lost to the city to other UK and also to European destinations. The Dome complex and Hilton Brighton Metropole do however host some large conferences.
The Devonshire Quarter, Eastbourne - formerly Devonshire Park - has recently been transformed through a £49 million of investment. The scheme includes a new and improved conference venue, restoration of the nationally-important listed buildings of the Congress Theatre, Winter Garden and Devonshire Park Theatre, and major improvements to the international tennis facilities.
5.3 New Large Venues Planned to Open in the South West of England
The UK offers a good range of Conference Centres across the country. Just in the past two years three major new venues have opened (Hull, Aberdeen, Farnborough) although not in the South West of England,
There are a number of large venues that are due to open in forthcoming years which will provide additional facilities for large conferences. These are:
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Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol as detailed above, has recently revealed designs for a proposed 4,000-capacity Sports & Convention Centre next to the stadium. This will supplement the existing space.
The 12,000 seat Bristol Arena is due to be developed adjacent to Temple Meads Railway station. The Arena is due to be managed by Live Nation with ASM Global undertaking the catering side of the business across three halls. The venue is to be targeted for concerts and conferences for around 4,500 delegates. the Council are investing £90m for the project and a similar amount to come from development funds and operator rentals.
5.4 Summary
The UK offers a good range of Conference Centres across the country. Just in the past two years three major new venues have opened although not in the South West of England, although new venues are planned in Bristol over forthcoming years. These venues are all significantly larger than those currently available in Plymouth.
Many of the large conferences style venues around the UK are multi-purpose and thus are also suitable for entertainments and exhibitions. Historically most were developed from public funds and either operated by local authorities or an associated entity. Generally this continues to be the case, although now some are operated by specialist operating companies as in the case of Farnborough, have been developed in the private sector.
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6.0 Overview of the Demand Trends in the Conference & Events Market in the UK & South West of England
6.1 Introduction
In this section we present a general overview of the volume and pattern of demand in the UK business events industry as a whole and at larger venues in particular. We then focus on the South West venues,
6.2 Size of the Business Events’ Market in the UK
The UK Conference and Meeting Survey (UKCAMS) is an annual survey for the events market. UKCAMS defines venues covered in the survey as ‘a paid for facility’, offering at least three meeting rooms with a minimum capacity of 50 delegates in its largest room. The events surveyed are defined as business event or conference as ‘an out of office conference, meeting or other business event of at least four hours’ duration involving a minimum of 10 people’. This covers all types of business events such as conventions, congresses, conferences, meetings, training, sales briefings, seminars, product launches, road shows and so on. Their 2019 survey had a sample of 359 venues and presents 2018 data. Of these 16 were purpose built convention centres, 38 were conference/training centre, 142 hotels, 33 academic venues and 130 unusual/multi-purpose venues. According to this survey, the number of events held in the UK since 2018 is as follows:
Table 6.1 - Volume of business events in the UK 2008 - 2019
Source: UKCAMS 2019
The volume of events peaked at 1.48m in 2018, which is significantly higher than the average number of events for the last decade, at £1.33m.
6.3 Average Number of Events per Venue The UKCAMS 2019 Survey showed that there was an average of 428 events per venue in 2018, continuing the growth trend over recent years, 373 per venue in 2017, 419 in 2016. Some 58% of events were held in hotels, 19% at hotels and conference & training centres and 18% at unusual/multi-purpose venues.
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Although in excess of an average of one event a day (on 365 days) many venues host many small events e.g. less than 20 people for board meetings, training etc. furthermore some events use one room others a range of rooms, so this figure should only be seen as a measure that the events had grown year on year. Most business events occur in the Monday to Friday period and outside of summer holidays, bank holidays and the restive period. This reduces the number of day to when business events are likely to take place to 200- 200 days a year. 6.4 Average Size & Occupancy Levels The UKCAMS 2019 report that 29% of events were for 50 or fewer delegates (the most common range being fewer than 20 delegates). Only 5% were for over 200 delegates.
Table 6.2 – Size of Events 2016 - 2018
Source: UKCAMS 2019
The trends follow a similar pattern every year, whereby some two thirds of events are for less than 50 delegates, a further 18% for between 50-100, between 10-13% for 101-200 and 4/5% for more between 201 – 500 delegates and just one percent for 500 delegates or more. It is likely that London captures a higher proportion of larger events, given that there are more larger venues in the captial compared to other UK destiantions.
We are not aware of any specific data that shows how many rooms are used for specific events. It is common practice however for large conferences, particularly in the Association sector to require exhibition space immediately outside the plenary and other main conference rooms. The exhibition booths at these events are sold to organisations wishing to target/lobby the delegates with their products so exhibition space directly outside the main conference halls is preferred in order to maximise footfall.
6.5 Source of Events There are no statistics showing the geographical source of events in the South West of England, however the latest edition of the UK Conference & Meetings Survey (UKCAMS 2019) monitors the trends in amost 360 venues throughout th UK which gives a picture of the overall trends.
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Table 6.3 – Origin of UK Events
Source: UKCAMS 2019
There is a general trend shown in the UKCAMS data that only 4/5% of UK events are sourced overseas, 23-31% nationally and 65-72% in the region where the venue is located.
6.6 Event Duration For the UKCAMs sample the majority (62%) of events lasted for 4 hours – 1 day, the overall average duration was 1.6 days. With non-residential events averaging 1.5 days and residential events 2.1 days. UKCAMs estimated that 66% of delegates were attending day events, although residential delegates generated 49% of expenditure. 6.7 Source markets The UKCAMS 2019 indicated that 66% of event business is generated from the region where the venue is located. Around 28% was from the rest of the UK and just 5% of UK events are sourced overseas. The Corporate market is consistently the source market for around half of the events in the UK, with the Public Sector around 27% and Associations 19%.
In venues at UK Universities however, there are generally fewer corporate events and a higher proportion of Association and Public Sector events. This is illustrated as follows.
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Table 6.4 – Sources of UK Events - All venues & Academic Venues 2017
Source: UKCAMS 2019 & Academic Series 2019
6.8 Industry Sectors Organising events
A significant amount of events, particularly corporate, are booked via agents. In a survey of the top 50 agencies in the UK, in 2018 they were asked to identify the three most important contributors to their turnover. Financial Services, Automotive and IT were the top sectors. The full data for 2019 has not been released, however initial findings show that the financial sector dropped significantly to second place (37%), IT increased to 46% and Pharmaceutical declined but was third at 28%, taking over from Automotive which had a poor year (16%). The estimated event turnover for these agencies was in excess of £740m. The results are shown as follows:
Table 6.5 – Top Sources of Turnover For UK Agents 2018
Source: CIT State of the Industry Report 2018
In 2018 Visit Britain (‘Events are Great’ initiative) in conjunction with Skift, issued a report on Events in the UK in Advanced and Creative Industries. The report covers many aspects of attracting events to UK destinations. It identifies the 14 key sectors that the Government Department for International Trade identifies where the UK has world leading clusters of innovation. These are:
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Table 6.6– Key UK sectors With Leading clusters of Innovation – UK Dept. International Trade Advanced Manufacturing Education Aerospace Energy Automotive Financial Services BioEconomy Food & Drink Consumer & Retail Health & Life Sciences Creative Infrastructure Defence Technology & Smart Cities Source: How Cities Excel at Hosting Conferences in Advanced and Creative Industries/Visit Britain
Although there are clearly other sectors where conferences take place the foregoing are areas where UK destinations are well placed to host events and also attract international delegates. These conferences can be organised and hosted by both the private and public sectors, including universities and associations. In order to attract these specialist conferences it is frequently necessary to bid for them. This can be undertaken by a venue and/or local convention bureau, but they usually enlist local ‘ambassadors’ who are specialists in the sector to assist in attracting the event. These ambassadors can be leaders of industry or academics in a particular field. Manchester and Newcastle have been particularly successful in attracting Medical related events, with the latter attracting some 4,000 delegates in the Medical and Life Science field in 2018. Marine/Maritime events do not feature on the Government list of key sectors. Given the history and Navy presence in Plymouth this could be a potential target market for the city. Some organisers in this sector were included in our telephone interview programme. If these events involve displaying boats this either takes place on the sea, or inside with rooms with very high ceilings. We are aware that Plymouth University Academics attend the three day Ocean Business conference and exhibition in Southampton. It attracts more than 5,000 visitors including from overseas and has 330 exhibitors. Boats are available to view on the dockside and seminars are held in the National Oceanography Centre. A list of maritime events in Southampton are shown in Appendix D, and other related events elsewhere in the country, it is noticeable that many of these are dinners in London. Portsmouth also hosts a few maritime events. Again within the Navy presence, Defence events could be a potential market. These are on the governments list and are often focussed around an exhibition and others are very confidential and not always in the public domain. Most require extensive security. A large proportion of these are in London. We list some of these events that take place in the UK in Appendix D. In a wider European context, in the IBTM Trends report, issued in November 2019, they identify the five key sectors that heavily influence event procurement. These are largely the same as those identified in the most important sources of events passing via agencies and also in the UK government listing of key sectors. They are: • Automotive; • Banking/Finance; • Esports/Gaming; • Information & Communication Technology; • Pharmaceuticals. The new entrant to the mix is Esports, which replaced Engineering and Construction. The sector is emerging and focuses on the Virtual Experience Economy and is seen as a growing market for events in the years ahead. This may be a sector that Plymouth could pursue with the local Creative industries sector.
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6.9 Type of Events There is limited National data relating to the type of events held by both Associations and Corporates. We describe some of the types of events are follows: • AGM’s are generally one day or half a day and can be for several thousand attendees. • Conferences can range in size from around 20 to several thousand and can take place over one or more days. • Annual conferences can vary in size, but the Associations tend to hold the larger events, although some corporate entities may bring together large numbers of staff or clients. • Many Conferences also incorporate exhibitions or at a number of booths that can be sold to companies wishing to promote their good and services to delegates. These generate income for the event organisers and are critical in bringing in revenue to offset the high cost of putting on an event. • Product launches often require a long set up time and dressing of the room and staging, so can require large spaces and access to the room for cars and other large equipment is also essential. • Awards events usually involve banqueting and can be for several hundred or more people, again these are likely to be for an evening or lunchtime. • Training events tend to be smaller events. 6.10 Criteria for choosing a venue
Eventbrite, which is a software system for booking events, handles 3 million events which include commercial events and festivals. Eventbrite conducted a survey across event professionals in the UK. The table below ranks venue characteristics by the importance placed on them by event organisers.
Table 6.7 – Criteria when choosing a Venue 2018
Source: Eventbrite – Pulse Event Industry Report 2018
Event professionals indicated that the most important consideration when choosing a venue is the cost, followed by the location and the flexibility of the space.
6.11 Location of Events The British Meeting & Events (BMEIS) survey collates the views of some 500 bookers of events from the corporate and not-for-profit sector. Meetings in this survey are defined as a minimum of eight people for more than four hours.
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As illustrated below, London is used by more than 70% of organisers, and Birmingham and Manchester are the next most used. Cardiff and Bristol are ranked 7th and 8th most popular destinations for conferences in the UK. Cardiff is popular for association conferences, holding around 16% of association conferences and 6.4% of UK corporate conferences. Some 15% of corporate bookers and around 11% of association organisers use Bristol given that Bristol does not have a major large venue currently, its position in the top 10 is a good performance. Table 6.8 - Top UK Destinations for 2019
Source: BMEIS 2019
In other recent research by agency events technology provider Cvent, for the fifth consecutive year, London was the top ranked destination for booking activity through Cvent’s venue sourcing sites, in total more than US$16bn in worldwide business was sourced in 2018. UK cites that feature in the survey were Birmingham joint 15th, Manchester 20th and Edinburgh 22 nd. No destinations in the South West were ranked.
6.12 Association Events with International Delegates For International Association business, London was ranked as the 7th most popular worldwide location in 2018 with 150 international conferences, down from 5th in 2017 with 177 conferences. Many of these events rotate around the world and London is consistently the top UK destination for such events. Edinburgh and Glasgow are the next most popular UK cities. In 2018 Paris in top spot hosted 212 events, this shows that whilst these statistics are interesting it is only a small proportion of the events market. In 2018 the UK was the 5th most popular country for these events with 574 events. For the UK events London usually hosts around a quarter/third of these with a wide range of destinations hosting the rest. Some are held in convention centres and a proportion are hosted in universities. In the latest data for the size of these meetings worldwide, ICCA estimated that some 62% were for between 50-249 delegates.
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Frequently these international association conferences are booked many years ahead, usually a minimum of three years and sometimes up to ten years. In the period 2013 – 2017 around 42% of these events were held in hotels, 28% in Universities, 20% in Conference/Exhibition centres and 11% in other venue types. Association business can be more price sensitive than events from corproate sector, and delegates can be more prices sensitve regarding bedroom pricing too. 6.13 Expenditure by Event Delegates
Visitors attending conferences and other events frequently spend far more in the event destination than other visitors. For this reason, they are very attractive to destinations from an economic standpoint. Estimated pends to UK events by different types of MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Conference, Events) delegates, are shown as follows. and the next chart the average spend by item
Table 6.9 – Average spends for MICE delegates
Source: Business Events Research, Delegate Spend & Trip Extensions, Visit Britain 2017.
Table 6.10 – Average Spends for MICE delegates
Source: Business Events Research, Delegate Spend & Trip Extensions, Visit Britain 2017.
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It should be noted that The sample comprised 28% of London events, and 4% Edinburgh where the average spend would be far higher than the UK regions.
6.14 Subventions
Many destinations are able to offer subventions, often in the form of free venue hire at civic venues to attract these events. The type of subventions on offer include: • Discounts/Free Venue Costs • Free Civic Receptions • Free accommodation for organisers • Direct Subsidy • Loans/Contribution to Marketing
We understand that Plymouth offer no subventions to conference organisers however, there are some UK (and many overseas) destinations that do, even though it is not always publicly advertised.
6.15 Demand at Leading Competitive Venues in the South West of England/South Wales
We describe the types of events that some of the leading venues in the South West have hosted over recent years or have booked for forthcoming years.
The Riviera International Conference Centre (RICC)
The RICC hosts a number of large events every year. A list of historic and upcoming events is provided in the table below. Table 6.11 - Events at the Riviera International Centre in Torquay Attendance Type Start Date Days Event Estimate C&E 15/03/2017 1 ERBID Tourism Exhibition and Conference 300 F 13/10/2017 1 Open University Awards Ceremony - Torquay 2,000 CA 06/09/2018 2 National Association of Retired Police Officers - Torquay 550 12/09/2018 1 Caring UK Care Providers Conference 2018 – Torquay CA 12/11/2018 3 The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches - 600 Torquay C 11/10/2019 3 Rotary International District 1145 Annual Conference 700 C 04/11/2019 1 HotSW LEP Conference and AGM 2019 300 F 16/11/2019 9 Mattel World Scrabble Championship 2019 500 F 04/02/2020 1 Business Breakfast by Torbay business forum N/A F 05/02/2020 1 Torbay Apprenticeship Fair N/A F 29/02/2020 2 Hollywood Ball N/A E 01/03/2020 1 Riviera Wedding Show N/A F 13/03/2020 1 Torbay Jobs Fair N/A E 18/03/2020 1 English Riviera Tourism Exhibition N/A F 06/06/2020 1 The Gin To My Tonic Festival Torquay 2020 N/A F 17/07/2020 15 British Chess Championships 2020 1,500 F 17/09/2020 4 Serious About Skittles 1,000 C 09/10/2020 3 Rotary International District 1145 Annual Conference 1,000 D 16/10/2020 2 Mole Valley Farmers 60th Anniversary Dinner 800 CA 10/11/2020 2 The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches 800 CA 12/11/2020 4 Christian Services Association - Torquay 200 C 13/11/2020 5 Dog Behaviour Conference 2020 1,000 1Key: C – Conference, CA – Conference Association, C&E – Conference & Exhibition, F – Function 2Attendees in 2019 Source: Bridget Baker Consulting Estimates & Research
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As detailed above, the Riviera Centre has a range of events from conferences, conferences with exhibitions, functions. Some of these appear to be local events but there are also regional and National events. Where we have been able to source delegate numbers for conferences, they range from 200 to 1,000 people.
We list in Appendix D other large events that have taken place, or are due to take place in Torquay.
Wales International Convention Centre (WICC) The venue only opened in September 2019, but has already been successful in attracting an impressive number of events. The WICC hosted a number of prestigious events, including the UK Space Conference (3 days, 2,100 delegates), the Green Party Conference (2 days, 750 delegates) and An Experience with Arnold Schwarzenegger gala dinner (1,300 attendees). Upcoming events include Alzheimer’s Research UK Conference, ACT Annual Conference and the International Golf Travel market. The table overleaf lists upcoming events at the Wales International Conference Centre. As detailed in the table, the events in the diary for the WICC are varied and include a range of events from conferences and conferences with eexhibitions, Whilst some of these due to take place later this year may be cancelled due to the Coronavirus it is an impressive start for this new venue. Anticipated delegates range from 100 to 2,500. The WICC has been actively marketed for a number of year and has had a strong presence as conference industry trade shows and in the associated press and familiarisation trips for event bookers. Table 6.12 - Events at the Wales International Conference Centre (WICC) Attendance Type1 Start Date Days Event Estimate CA 22/03/2020 3 SCTS Annual Conference 1,000 C 02/04/2020 1 Dwr Cymru-Welsh Water Annual Innovation Conference 4002 CA 12/05/2020 1 Association of Corporate Treasurers Conference 1,000 C 05/05/2020 2 Institute of Travel & Meetings Conference 100-500 C 19/05/2020 2 CYBERUK 2,500 F 23/04/2020 2 The Business Excellence Forum & Awards n/a CA 04/03/2020 3 BHS Annual Scientific Meeting 100 C 17/03/2020 2 Alzheimer’s Research UK Conference 500 C&E 20/03/2020 2 COP Wales Podiatric Medicine Conference n/a E 22/04/2020 3 MeetGB n/a E 20/07/2020 1 Kidz to Adultz 150 stands E 11/07/2020 2 Wales & West Photography Show n/a 1Key: C – Conference, CA – Conference Association, C&E – Conference & Exhibition, F – Function, 2 dels. in 2019 Source: Bridget Baker Consulting Estimates & Research
Sandy Park, Exeter and Other Exeter Venues From our analysis of the annual accounts lodged at Companies House, Sandy Park as part of The Exeter Rugby Group PLC , generated income of £1.78m in 2019 compared to £1,74m in 2018. This appears to include all non-rugby related income and the conferences and events. Sandy Park is very popular for dining in December, and in the Xmas period . Throughout December 2019, Sandy Park served 5,200 diners. We list below some of the events we were able to identify that occurred at Sandy Park in 2018 & 2019, together with bookings announced for 2020. In Appendix D are other events occurring/ or due to occur in Exeter.
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Table 6.13 - Events at Sandy Park, Exeter Attendance Type1 Start Date Days Event Estimate C 09/05/2018 2 Exeter Sports Medicine Conference 2018 n/a C 12/11/2018 1 HotSW LEP’s Annual Conference & AGM 300 C 19/06/2018 1 Smart Energy Marketplace 2018 5002 F 15/10/2019 1 Flybe Meeting 200 C 12/02/2020 Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Need to Know 100 1 Seminar CA 15/02/2020 1 BDA South West Dental Conference 2020 n/a F 01/04/2020 1 FFT LA Partner Meetings 2020- Exeter n/a C 18/03/2020 1 Exeter & North Devon Regional Conference 100-500 C 29/02/2020 1 Governance Conference n/a C 18/06/2020 1 Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners UK Tax 100-500 Conference C 04/06/2020 1 Annual SEND Conference 100-500 C&E 04/03/2020 2 VetsSouth 300 C 03/03/2020 1 School Attendance Conference n/a F 06/05/2020 2 Leading Change - The Philosophical Breakfast Club n/a C 28/04/2020 1 School Administrators Conference n/a C 25/06/2020 1 Safeguarding Conference n/a C 25/03/2020 1 Learning Disabilities Mortality Review n/a 1Key: C - Conference (Corporate), C&E = Conference & exhibition, CA – Conference Association, F - Other functions , 2 no. of companies attended Source: Bridget Baker Consulting Estimates & Research
As detailed, Sandy Park has a range of events from conferences, conferences with exhibitions and functions. Some of these appear to be local events but there are also regional and National events. Where we have been able to source delegate numbers for conferences, they range from 100 to 500 people.
Other venues in Exeter that host larger events include: the University of Exeter, Westpoint, Exeter Racecourse, Mercure Hotel, and the Northcott theatre amongst others. They appear to host a large number of local and regional events, and some national events.
Bristol
Although Bristol does not have one large recognised conference centre, the city is successful in attracting conference style events. This is evidenced by the high ranking it achieves on the BMEIs survey of event organisers. We list in Appendix D large events that have taken place, or re due to take place in the city.
Venues that are mentioned frequently include the University of Bristol, UWE, Bristol Marriott Hotel, Doubletree By Hilton Cadbury House, Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel. As with other destinations they appear to host a large number of local and regional events, as well as some national events.
Despite not having a major conference centre, Bristol was ranked as the joint 9th most popular UK location for international events in the European listing for 2018 (ICCA), with 12 conferences.
6.16 Average Delegate Rates in the South West
As a benchmark to the prices that are being quoted by venues, the MIA (monitor the achieved delegate prices in their Touchstone Report. In the charts below we show the seasonal averages for day delegate rates in the South West, South East and in Wales in 2019 and 2018.
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Table 6.14 – Seasonal Delegate Rates (£) in the South East, South West & Wales, 2019
Source: Meeting Industry Association (MIA)/Touchstone report 2019
The average day delegate rate in the South West for the period from January to October 2019 was around £38 in comparison to the rates in the South East and in the South West, which were £41 and £37 respectively.
The table below shows the seasonality of delegate rates in the South West in 2018 and 2019. Table 6.15 – Seasonal Delegate Rates (£) in South West 2018 - 2019
Source: Touchstone report 2019
In 2019, delegate rates were highest in the summer months between June and August, peaking at around £44. In 2018, the most expensive months were April and May, with prices peaking in April at around £41.
6.17 Summary The value and volume of business events continued to grow in the UK over recent years. As the events demand has grown the number of venues that seek to host them has also increased.
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Whilst 2020 is set to show a downturn in events due the cessation of travel due to the Covid-19 outbreak, it would be hoped that business returns to historic levels in the short/medium term. Some events have been postponed to be held at a later date, and other may miss a year. There are fewer venues that can host large events (500+) and that also offer ancillary space for breakout sessions and catering. This segment represents a far smaller part of the market than events for less than 50 delegates. There are a number of venues in the South West that have been successful in attracting large regional events, this includes the Riviera Centre in Torquay and Sandy Park in Exeter. Bristol has a number of hotel venues with large spaces and two new venues are under development in the city. Currently Plymouth does not have all of the critical success factors to attract larger conferences, this includes a suitable venue and also a strong marketing effort to bring the events to the city.
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Appendices
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Appendix A – Venues & Organisations Contacted in Plymouth Contacted Venues / Organisations Conference Plymouth Participated in research Member (interviews/survey)
ACF Teambuilding ✓ ✓ Bistro Pierre ✓ Boringdon Park Golf Club ✓ Buckfast Abbey Conference Centre
China Fleet Country Club ✓ City College Plymouth ✓ ✓ Copthorne Hotel ✓ ✓ Crowne Plaza ✓ Dartington Hall
Dartmoor Zoo ✓ Devonport Guildhall ✓ ✓ Duke of Cornwall Hotel ✓ ✓ Future Inns ✓ Guildhall ✓ IBIS Marsh Mills ✓ Invicta Hotel ✓ JHAV ✓ Jurys Inns ✓ ✓ Kitley House Hotel ✓ Millfields Trust ✓ Moorland Garden Hotel ✓ Mount Batten Centre ✓ New Continental ✓ ✓ NMA - National Marine Aquarium ✓ Ocean Studios ✓ PAFC - Plymouth Argyle Football Club ✓ ✓ PCH - Plumer House ✓ Pentillie Castle & Estate ✓ PL1 Events ✓
Plymouth Albion ✓ Plymouth Boat Trips ✓ Plymouth Cricket Club
Plymouth Culture
Plymouth Gin ✓
Plymouth Marjon University ✓ Plymouth Pavilions ✓ ✓ Plymouth University ✓ ✓ PML - Plymouth Marine Laboratory ✓ Quick Store Saltash ✓ ✓ Regus Drake Circus
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✓ Regus Sutton Harbour ✓ ✓ St Mellion International Resort ✓ ✓ The Box ✓ we attended February Meeting, Conference Plymouth Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, Plymouth City ✓ Council
✓ Destination Plymouth ✓ University of Plymouth
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting
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Appendix B - Table – Companies Surveyed By Telephone Company/Organiser Location Type Event Archant Cheltenham Bride Wedding Show Association of Medical Secretaries London Association Management In Practice Brief 2 Events Chippenham Booking Agent - British Association of Removers Watford Association BAR Conference British Society for Rheumatology London Association Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology Conference Choose Your Event Ilminster Booking Agent - Nexus Venue Swindon Booking Agent - Planet Pursuits Cricklade Booking Agent Consort Medical European Conference Seager Publishing Bristol Corporate Pilot Careers Live Situ Exeter Corporate - Vibrant Venue Finders Bournemouth Website - Zenith Global Bath Corporate Global Bottled Water Awards Boarding Schools’ Association London Association Conference For Deputy Heads and Heads of Boarding British Marines Trading Association Egham Association Awards Dinner Cartus Swindon Corporate Relocation Agents Network Conference and Awards Garden Centre Association Chester Association Awards London Association D&AD Awards Global Association for Creative Advertising and Design Hale Events Axbridge Booking Agent Giving and Living Hamerville Media Group Watford Booking Agent ElexShow Healthcare Financial Management Bristol Association Summer Conference Association Informa Colchester Booking Agent Seatrade Awards Institute of Direct and Digital Teddington Association Awards Marketing International Marine Purchasing Colchester Association Purchasing and Supply Association Conference London Maritime Arbitrators London Association Annual Dinner Association National Association for Managers of Huntingdon Association Annual Conference Student Services National Association for Screen Digital Dorking Association Global Print Expo and Textile Printing Community Red Pin Devizes Corporate British Showing Awards Red Richmond Corporate OI Royal Institute of Naval Architects London Association Dinner National Association for Managers of Huntingdon Association Annual Conference Student Services Society for Endocrinology Bristol Association SFE BES Source: Bridget Baker Analysis of Survey
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Appendix C – Local Venue MICE Survey – Additional Data
Sample description
We contacted 42 venues and institutions within 15 miles of Plymouth to participate in a survey of the MICE market. We received 12 responses (29%), which notably included all of the largest providers of conference space within the city centre, both hotels and non-hotels. The University of Plymouth is excluded. The table below shows the largest capacity of any meeting room of the venues surveyed, by different types of room layout:
Table C1 – Maximum Capacity in One Room at surveyed venues – theatre Style
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
As shown only one venue can host a 1,000+ theatre style event.
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Table C2 – Maximum Capacity in One Room at Surveyed Venues
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
The number of delegates a room can hold varies according to the shape of the room, and other issues including placing of pillars and staging. Banquet style tends to need more space between tables than cabaret style – which is popular for workshop sessions - as food needs to be served to the tables.
The table below shows the number of meeting rooms offered at each of the venues.
Table C3 – Number of Meeting Rooms
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
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The venues surveyed have between 1 and 10 meeting rooms. Three of the venues have 10 meeting rooms each, and only one venue has one meeting room.
Meeting room sizes vary significantly across the sample size as shown on the following table.
Table C4 – Largest room m2
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
11 out of the 12 venues surveyed provided the size of their largest room. The most common size of the largest room is of between 201-300m2 (28%). 36% of the venues surveyed have meeting rooms smaller than this, and 36% have rooms larger than this.
The table below shows the venues’ exhibition capacities. Not all venues can host exhibitions as their rooms are too small.
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Table C5 – Exhibition Space m2
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
Seven of the respondents confirmed that they could hold exhibitions on their premises. Only one venue has the capacity to hold large exhibitions, offering 1,000 m2 of space. The remaining respondents have less than 500 m2 exhibition space.
Bedroom Accommodation
On-site accommodation is offered by 7 of the respondents. The remaining 6, which are non-hotel venues do not offer accommodation. They offered a total of almost 1,000 bedrooms.
Pricing
Day Delegate Rates
The table below is based on the 9 venues which offer day delegate rates. Day delegate rates tend to be lower at non-hotel venues, ranging between £18-£35. Hotels’ day delegate rates are set between £25-£45 (including Vat).
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Table C6 – Day Delegate Rates at Hotels and Non-Hotels (including Vat) £
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
The chart below represents the highest and the lowest day delegate rates offered at the venues which responded to our survey.
Table C7 – Day Delegate Rates at All Surveyed Venues (including Vat)
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
Residential Conference Rates (24 hour)
Of the venues that have bedrooms on site, or are able to offer an inclusive 24hour package with an agreed hotel the chart below represents the highest and the lowest 24-hour delegate rates offered at the venues which responded to our survey. Prices range between £99 - £249.
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Table C8 – 24 hour Delegate Rates (£)(including Vat) £
Source: Bridget Baker Research
Table C9 – Room Hire per m2 at the largest room (£)(including Vat) £
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
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The average prices charged at hotels and non-hotels are £3.68 and £2.89 respectively. The following table shows the range of prices charged per square meter at each individual venue.
Table C10 – Room Hire per m2 at the largest room (£)(including Vat) £
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
As shown on the table above, one of the hotels charges rates significantly higher than those charged at the rest of the venues, which increases the average over the sample.
Types of Events
Our findings show that there were around 2,800 events in 2019 at the venues that responded to the survey. As these are the large venues this gives a good indication of the main events that take place in Plymouth.
The survey highlights the prevalence of local events; smaller meetings, board meetings, private parties and Christmas parties which are also less likely to generate overnight stays and additional spend as they cater for a local audience. There are very few larger Corporate and Association Conferences.
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Table C11 – Number of events by type at Plymouth venues
CC = Corporate Conferences Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
Event Size
We asked the venues to indicate the average number of delegates/covers attending each type of event. The results are illustrated in the table below.
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Table C12 – Number of Delegates by Event Type
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting estimates & analysis of survey data
We estimate that the total number of events held across the sample venues was around 2,800, attracting around 127,000 delegates/covers. Corporate Events and meetings attracted 45% of the delegates, while banqueting events attracted 42%. Christmas parties are the most popular event across all venues, bringing in 15% of the total delegates/covers.
The survey results show that on a monthly basis, on average, hotel venues in Plymouth host the larger attended events less than once a month. In contrast they host on average 17 meetings with an average of eleven delegates and around seven board meetings of a similar size. The most frequently held corporate conferences are those with 20-50 delegates. Hotels are likely to host six of these per month , averaging of 33 attendees. Three of the hotel venues who submitted data generated a total of around 2,600 room nights through MICE business. The total number of delegates was around 63,600, so around 4% of all delegates staying overnight.
Seasonality of Events
We asked the surveyed venues to indicate the most popular months for holding large conference style events. The results are presented in the chart below.
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Table C13– Seasonality of Conference events %
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
The trend follows a traditional pattern, where the most conference style events take place between September and November. Around 20% of the respondents have indicated September to be their busiest month.
The least likely months to be chosen for a conference event are August and December. December tends to be a quiet due to the end of year celebrations, and August is a preferred month for holidays. This follows national trends.
The chart below illustrates the preferred days of the week for holding events.
Table C14– Conference & Banqueting events by Day of the Week %
Source: Bridget Baker Consulting analysis of survey data
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Conferences and meetings tend to be on weekdays, where 82% of events are held between Monday and Thursday. Around 76% of banqueting events and weddings, on average, take place on Fridays and Saturdays. Only 7% of banqueting events and 3% of conferences & meetings are held on a Sunday.
Income
The venues were asked to provide an approximate number of the total income generated by conferences and events, including room hire, food & beverage and equipment hire, not bedroom accommodation. Only five venues provided this information. The lowest venue generated just £5,000 per annum and the highest was around half a million pounds. Three venues generated in the order of £200-£250,000.
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Appendix D – Recent/Booked Large Events at Other South West Venues/Destinations
We have used the following abbreviations for different event types detail in the tables.
Appendix D - Key to Type of Events C Conference (Corporate) E Exhibition CA Association conference D Dinner IAC International Association P Product Launch Conference C&E Conference & Exhibition F Other functions Source: Bridget Baker Consulting
Appendix D.1: Other Events in Torquay Attendance Type Start Date Days Event Venue Estimate C 11/09/2019 3 GEM Conference 2019 Torquay Museum N/A F 05/02/2020 1 National Apprenticeship Week Torquay Football Club N/A F 06/02/2020 1 The Royal British Legion - Volunteering Torquay Athletic Rugby Club N/A Information Event F 07/02/2020 22 Torbay Guild of Artists - Vision of Art "Torre Abbey Museum N/A C 07/02/2020 2 South West Conservatives Regional Conference Imperial Hotel N/A and Dinner E 23/02/2020 1 Imperial Torquay Wedding Show The Imperial Torquay N/A C 27/03/2020 3 Licensed Lay Ministers Conference 2020 Brunel Manor N/A C 18/06/2020 1 TTSA Leadership Conference 2020 - Nordic Oldway Primary School N/A Schools F 06/11/2020 1 The Torbay Chess Congress Livermead House Hotel N/A C 17/11/2020 2 Pension Managers' Conference Imperial Hotel N/A E 23/02/2021 1 Falmouth Hotel Wedding Fair Grand Hotel N/A Source: Bridget Baker Consulting Estimates & Research
Appendix D2 – Other Events in Exeter Venue Attendance Type Start Days Event Estimate E 15/03/2018 1 South West Business Expo Westpoint 2000 C 21/03/2018 1 Exploring Research in Cornwall (ERIC) University of Exeter n/a Postgraduate Conference 2018 C 12/04/2018 2 The 23rd International Conference on University of Exeter n/a Corporate and Marketing Communications C 20/04/2018 1 TEDx Exeter 2018 Exeter Northcott Theatre 900 C 21/06/2018 3 ANN: Britain & the World Conference University of Exeter n/a Program C 21/06/2018 3 STEP UK Annual Tax conference 2018 University of Exeter n/a C 24/06/2018 4 2018 IEEE International Conference on University of Exeter 107 Microwave Magnetics C 28/06/2018 1 Technical Services Conference 2018 University of Exeter n/a CA 29/08/2018 3 BAVS Annual Conference 2018: Victorian University of Exeter n/a Patterns C 03/09/2018 3 2018 Energy and Society Conference University of Exeter n/a CA 15/04/2019 3 ALDINHE 2019 University Of Exeter 120 C 03/07/2019 3 SAPC ASM 2019 University of Exeter n/a C 27/06/2019 3 16th Biennial Conference of ESCAS at Exeter University of Exeter n/a C 29/08/2019 4 International Society for the Study of University of Exeter n/a
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Surrealism C 11/09/2019 1 Annual TechExeter Conference University of Exeter 200 F 03/10/2019 1 South West BGS and Ageing Specialty Group Mercure Exeter Rougemont n/a CRN Southwest meeting 2019 (British Hotel Geriatrics Society) C 13/11/2019 1 Shifting power centres in scholarly University of Exeter 150 communications - The One Day Conference 2019 C 10/02/2020 1 Uplands 2030 - New Era, New Opportunities - Westpoint - Southern Conference F 13/02/2020 1 Fairport Convention 2020 Exeter Corn Exchange - C 14/02/2020 1 South-West Model United Nations University of Exeter - Conference C 15/02/2020 1 South West Global Health Careers RILD Building, Royal Devon - Conference and Exeter Hospital F 15/02/2020 1 ACORN training day University of Exeter - F 16/02/2020 1 Annual General Meeting Newtown Community - Association F 22/02/2020 1 The Big Green Event Exeter Cathedral - F 28/02/2020 1 Share Local - South West Exeter Golf and Country - Club C 29/02/2020 1 South West Orthopaedic Conference 2020 RILD Building, Royal Devon - and Exeter Hospital C 02/03/2020 1 EXETER: PfA Employment Conference Exeter Racecourse - C 03/03/2020 1 South West WedMeetup - Wedding Rockbeare Manor - Marketing Conference C 03/03/2020 1 South West WedMeetup Rockbeare Manor - C 04/03/2020 1 Farming Conference Exeter Racecourse - F 05/03/2020 1 Exeter BCSS March meeting Newcourt Community - Centre F 06/03/2020 3 East Devon Chess Congress Exeter Corn Exchange - CA 06/03/2020 1 British Association of Holocaust Studies University of Exeter - Postgraduate Conference C 12-Mar 1 Gill Steel Conference Exeter Racecourse - E 12/03/2020 1 South West Care Exhibition Westpoint - C 20/03/2020 1 Annual research conference University of Exeter - F 20/03/2020 2 AMPAH 2020 University of Exeter - C 31/03/2020 4 11th Conference on Complex Networks University of Exeter - (CompleNet) C 06/04/2020 1 Popular Visual Media and the Bible: University of Exeter - Conference C 17/04/2020 1 TedxExeter Exeter Northcott Theatre - C 17/04/2020 3 FCBG annual conference University of Exeter - C 17/04/2020 2 CFP April 2020, Conference "Worldmaking University of Exeter - around the word: Rethinking the intersections of popular media, translation and LGBTQ+ activism across cultures C 18/04/2020 1 FCBG Conference 2020: Sailing Forth University of Exeter - C 20/04/2020 5 The Sharpest Eyes on the Sky University of Exeter - C 25/04/2020 1 South West Theology and Religion University of Exeter - Postgraduate Conference C 13/05/2020 1 Occupational Therapy Adaptation Exeter Racecourse - Conference
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F 16/05/2020 1 Centenary Out of Town Meeting, Exeter Mercure Exeter Southgate - Hotel C 06/06/2020 32 IS4CE2020 Circular Economy Conference University of Exeter - C 15/06/2020 3 International conference on photovoltaics University of Exeter - and energy systems (ICPES2019)
C 18/06/2020 2 NEON Summer Symposium University of Exeter - C 24/06/2020 4 Society of Early Americanists Conference University of Exeter - C 08/07/2020 3 Extractive Industry Geology Conference University of Exeter - C 09/07/2020 2 Forthcoming EIG Conference, Exeter : 2020 University of Exeter - C 01/09/2020 2 Conference: Viral Masculinities University of Exeter - C 01/09/2020 4 Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference University of Exeter - C 02/09/2020 3 Early Modern French Conference University of Exeter - C 06/09/2020 4 Arboricultural Association Amenity University of Exeter - Conference C 18/06/2020 3 4th International Conference on Kurdish Institute of Arabic & Islamic - Studies Studies C 14/03/2020 1 New Housing Hub Regional Conference - The Mint Methodist Church - Exeter Centre F 18/02/2020 4 Discover Arts Award Week Royal Albert Memorial - Museum and Art Gallery C 15/02/2020 1 CMH Undergraduate Conference 2020 Peter Chalk Centre - C 01/04/2020 1 Early Metal Mining in Continental Europe Guildhall - C 19/03/2020 1 Mental Health 1st Aid CoLab Exeter - 31/03/2020 4 COMPLENET 2020 College of Engineering, - Mathematics, and Physical Sciences
Appendix D3 – Other Events in Bristol Start Date Days Event Venue Attendance Estimate 31/01/2019 1 Annual RE Conference 2020 - RE to save Engineers House - the Planet 25/02/2019 2 Dairy Sheep and Goat Conference Doubletree By 100 Hilton Cadbury House 09/04/2019 5 ACCU Conference 2019 Bristol Marriott 500 Hotel City Centre 10/06/2019 5 Social Media Week 2,000 26/06/2019 1 2019 HIT Conference and Networking Event 140 20/11/2019 1 12th Bristol Composites Institute 220 Conference 27/11/2019 3 Towards the Child Friendly City - Bristol City Council - international conference 28/11/2019 2 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Mercure Bristol - Intravenous Anaesthesia Grand Hotel
29/11/2019 1 Bristol Law Conference 2019 Wills Memorial - Building Tower 29/11/2019 1 Employment Law Day 2019 UWE Bristol - 29/11/2019 1 Maternity Care Assistant South West Southmead - Conference Hospital 29/11/2019 1 BRC/IEU prediction modelling meeting Engineers House - 29/11/2019 1 Bristol Anarchist bookfair 2020 meeting Kebele - Community Co- Op
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30/11/2019 1 AfSFH Members' Event Novotel Bristol - Centre Hotel 30/11/2019 1 Student Rep Conference 2019 UWE Bristol - 30/11/2019 1 Women's Health Update 2019 by MediConf UWE Bristol - UK 02/12/2019 2 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Bristol Southmead - Urological Institute Hospital 03/12/2019 1 Bristol Eye Hospital Optometrist Education: Bristol Marriott - Retina Conference Hotel City Centre 03/12/2019 1 Annual Urological Conference M Shed - 03/12/2019 1 RTPI Planning for Future Prosperity Guildhall - 04/12/2019 1 Sustainable Agriculture Conference: We The Curious - Innovating Change 04/12/2019 2 NCCPE Conference Bristol Marriott - Hotel City Centre 04/12/2019 2 Engage 2019 Bristol Marriott - Hotel City Centre 05/12/2019 1 Bristol Data Science Seminar - A University of Bristol - Generalization Bound for Online Variational Inference 09/12/2019 1 Keeping Humans Cyber Safe Citibase Bristol - Aztec West 10/12/2019 1 EOA Q4 South West Regional Network RSM - Meeting 10/12/2019 1 LGBT Bristol Annual General Meeting Unitarian Meeting - Hall
16/12/2019 1 Relauching GeogEd: ‘Geography and the UWE Bristol - student experinece conference 16/12/2019 2 18th International Studying Leadership Bristol Business 140 Conference School 18/12/2019 1 MESS meeting University of Bristol - 24/12/2019 1 Accelerate Digital Marketing Meetup Bristol The Famous Royal - Navy Volunteer 08/01/2020 2 DigiTwin Quarterly Meeting – University of University of Bristol - Bristol 08/01/2020 1 Widening Participation at UoB: Access, Priory Road - Success and Progression Conference Complex 09/01/2020 2 Frontiers in Condensed Matter Physics University of Bristol - 09/01/2020 2 Forum for Germanic Language Studies University of Bristol - Conference
10/01/2020 1 Infection and Immunity Research Network School of - Early Career Researchers' symposium Biological Sciences 16/01/2020 1 Zero West Winter Conference The Elmgrove - Centre
18/01/2020 1 GP Conference PHASE Worldwide - 22/01/2020 1 Sustainable Business Management Bristol Marriott - Royal Hotel 23/01/2020 1 New Year 2020 meeting of the Bristol Computer Futures - Salesforce 26/01/2020 1 Bogg Show UWE Bristol - 31/01/2020 2 Follow the Leader: Medieval Leaders and University of Bristol - Leadership 31/01/2020 1 Meet South West Mercure Bristol 350 Grand Hotel 01/02/2020 2 ACV 2020 Conference Registration Arts and Social - Sciences Library 03/02/2020 3 Mendelian Randomization Conference Canynge Hall -
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05/02/2020 2 UKinbound awards 2020 Annual 300 Convention 05/02/2020 1 The FIRM's Bristol Conference 2020 Princes Wharf - 05/02/2020 1 Professional Negligence Lawyers Bristol Marriott - Association - Bristol Conference Royal Hotel 05/02/2020 1 The FIRM's Bristol Conference 2020 in Bristol M Shed - 05/02/2020 3 22nd BSGAR Annual Meeting Bath Assembly - Rooms 08/02/2020 2 National Student Psychiatry Conference UWE Bristol - 2020 08/02/2020 1 The Family History Show - South-West UWE Bristol - Exhibition and Conference Centre 08/02/2020 2 National Student Psychiatry Conference University of Bristol - 2020 08/02/2020 1 Bristol BSAVA Student Conference 2020 Bristol Veterinary - School 26/02/2020 2 Bed and Breakfast Exhibition & Conference Avonmouth Old - Boys Rugby Football Club 26/02/2020 1 Mental Health in the Workplace Ashton Gate - Conference Stadium 29/02/2020 1 National Research and Innovation in Wills Memorial - Orthopaedics Conference Building Tower 05/03/2020 2 SW SAPC 2020 Bristol The Bristol Hotel - 06/03/2020 1 South West regional meeting of the Society The Bristol Hotel - for Academic Primary Care 06/03/2020 1 Umbraco Spark Innovation Conference M Shed -
09/03/2020 2 NAMSS Annual Conference DoubleTree by - Hilton Hotel Bristol City Centre 09/03/2020 2 NAMSS Annual Conference 2020 DoubleTree by - Hilton Bristol City Centre 12/03/2020 1 Early Spring 2020 meeting of the Bristol Computer Futures - Salesforce Admin Group 13/03/2020 2 A Greener Carnival conference Malcolm X - Community Centre 18/03/2020 2 ISPA UK: Supporting The B2B Marketing Expo PRYSM Group -
24/03/2020 5 ACCU Bristol Marriott - Hotel City Centre
25/03/2020 4 ACCU 2020 Spring Conference Bristol Marriott - Hotel City Centre 26/03/2020 1 South West Clinical Senate Assembly DoubleTree by - Annual Conference Hilton Hotel Bristol City Centre 02/04/2020 1 Cyber Security Expo UWE Bristol - 02/04/2020 1 Bioaerosols - Focus Meeting 15 University of Bristol - 07/04/2020 1 Bristol Synthesis Meeting 2020 University of Bristol - 23/04/2020 1 Bristol Development Plans Bristol City Council - 23/04/2020 1 Digital Gaggle Conference Watershed -
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29/04/2020 2 EV World Congress Bristol Marriot Hotel - City Centre
07/05/2020 4 Crimefest - The International Crime Fiction Mercure Bristol - Convention Grand Hotel 14/05/2020 2 AAA Scientific Meeting & BGS POPS Bristol Marriott - Conference Royal Hotel 14/05/2020 2 AAA Annual Scientific Meeting 2020 Bristol Marriott - Royal Hotel 14/05/2020 1 Late Spring 2020 meeting of the Bristol Computer Futures - Salesforce 18/05/2020 2 ACA 2020 Conference Mercure Bristol - Grand Hotel 10/06/2020 1 Criminal Law Conference Bristol Marriott - Hotel City Centre 10/10/2020 1 Adoption UK Annual Conference 2020 Marriott Hotel - Bridget Baker Consulting research
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