Tourism Alliance - Hospitality and tourism sector devastated by COVID calls for further extension of reduced rate of VAT to avoid 310,000 job losses
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- Thursday, 14 January 2021

A survey of more than a thousand hospitality and tourism businesses by the Cut Tourism VAT (CTV) Campaign, UKHospitality, the Tourism Alliance and the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions demonstrates the importance of the decision by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to apply a reduced rate of VAT at 5% in protecting employment and the survival of those businesses. Given that the survey shows that the vast majority of the savings were used to retain staff, pay suppliers or passed on to customers, the hospitality and tourism sector believes it is vital that the reduction is extended well beyond March 2021 due to the incremental, long term and devastating impact of COVID-19.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment
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- Tuesday, 12 January 2021

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment
As part of the Business Visits and Events Partnership’s (BVEP) vision to support sustainable growth for the UK Events Industry, it strives to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Diversity and Inclusion
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- Tuesday, 12 January 2021

The Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP) are committed to increasing inclusion and diversity in the UK events industry. Focus is currently on those working in some capacity in events. An initial workshop was held by Ashanti Bentil-Dhue of Diversity Ally (https://www.diversityally.co.uk/) to explain diversity and inclusion and the need for action rather than just words. This was followed up by a series of virtual workshops to understand the current situation and agree actions for change. These workshops were run using Axis (https://www.axis-workshops.com), a digital platform for workshop-based collaboration.
Business agents facing bleak 2021 despite vaccine roll-out
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- Friday, 08 January 2021

First published in travelmole on 8th January 2021.
Business travel agents are set to go another 12 months with little or no income, the Chief Executive of the Business Travel Association has warned. Clive Wratton said the sector is unlikely to see any meaningful recovery until late 2021, or even the early months of 2022. It will mean corporate agents will have gone 18 months 'with no real cash coming through the till', he said.
HBAA - This latest lockdown will close the doors of many venues and agencies for good
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- Wednesday, 06 January 2021

Juliet Price, Consultant Executive Director, HBAA says: 'This latest lockdown, combined with the prospect of no live events or meetings until later this year, threatens to close the doors of many venues and agencies for good.
Despite the Bounceback loans and furlough extension, they cannot survive without any income for almost a year.
APPG for Events - Open Letter from The Rt. Hon. Theresa Villiers MP
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- Tuesday, 05 January 2021

Please click below to see the open letter.
Letter from the BVEP Chair Simon Hughes - December 2020
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- Monday, 21 December 2020

As this torrid year stumbles to a chaotic close, drafting a traditional festive message presents something of a challenge. Where to begin? Applaud our mastery of virtual meeting technology – no, you’re on mute. You’re still on mute! Unmute please! Give me strength. Then there has been what I have fondly called the BLQ or the Bad Language Quota. As we lurched from vague but bad bat news in China to ski holiday spreading and then total lockdown, I noticed that with each déjà vu month that passed the amount of bad language being used on virtual meeting started to creep up. Wrong kind of quota, with no tariffs involved, but massive queues already forming on the M20. Marvellous.
One Industry One Voice - #wecreateexperiences- Final update of the Year
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- Friday, 18 December 2020

So – firstly – a big up to everyone who supported, contributed, shared, retweeted etc etc to all the various initiatives over the last few months – we have all helped create something special here with a unique mandate of cross industry representation and messaging that can only evolve into better things for our industry into 2021 – THANK YOU.
All Party Parliamentary Group for Events Holds Inaugural Meeting
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- Tuesday, 08 December 2020

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) held its first meeting today following its re-establishment as an official APPG in Parliament, to elect its Officers and outline its objectives for the year ahead.
HBAA calls upon Chancellor to create a ‘Re-Skill and Re-Equip’ fund for viable businesses and their staff
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- Tuesday, 10 November 2020

HBAA is writing to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking him to create a ‘Re-Skill and Re-Equip’ fund to help many viable businesses across various industry sectors to Re-Skill their staff and Re-Equip their companies to enable them to adapt and stay in business.
HBAA - 'At last the Chancellor has given us clear longer term information at an earlier stage so that the industry can plan ahead'
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- Thursday, 05 November 2020

Juliet Price, Consultant Executive Director, HBAA commented; “At last the Chancellor has given us clear longer term information at an earlier stage so that the industry can plan ahead and not just wait with uncertainty until the end of lockdown.
We Create Experiences campaign brand launches
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- Wednesday, 28 October 2020

One Industry One Voice, the coalition of events industry associations and businesses supporting the coordination of individual sector campaigns, are now planning a national and regional media campaign #WeCreateExperiences, aimed at the public and corporate buyers.
The campaign planning work started in September and is aiming to launch before the end of the year, subject to the prevailing national situation and any developments in relation to the consumer/business market guidance for events re-opening into 2021.
VisitBritain launch new business events campaign: Events. Reimagined.
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- Friday, 23 October 2020

VisitBritain have launched their new international recovery campaign, ‘Events. Reimagined’, as part of their international hosted buyer partnership with The Meetings Show.
EVENTS INDUSTRY MAKES DIRECT PLEA TO GOVERNMENT £30 billion industry faces ruin over winter months
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- Wednesday, 21 October 2020

The outdoor events industry, which provides entertainment for millions each summer, is on the verge of collapse following the lockdown this year, according to the Events Industry Forum, the organisation that represents the sector.
Already some 50 percent of the full-time workforce have been made redundant and another 25% will lose their jobs when furloughing ends at the end of this month (October). In addition, thousands of freelance operators and part time employees have had little or no income this season.
New Research Provides Baseline for UK Meetings Market Recovery
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- Tuesday, 13 October 2020

New research into the UK’s conference and meetings sector, entitled the ‘UK Conference and Meeting Survey’ (UKCAMS), provides a baseline against which the future recovery of the UK’s meetings and conference market can be measured.
BVEP Partners Update w/e 9th October 2020
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- Friday, 09 October 2020

By Simon Hughes, BVEP Chair. Suspense and Strain - The constant media references to Churchill when the PM makes a speech or addresses the nation in this moment of national crisis are wearing very thin with me, particularly as I’ve been ploughing through Churchill’s ‘The Second World War’, which I quoted from in the last update. There is simply no comparison between these two leaders once you learn how the former used expert advice, dealt with the detail, delegated effectively and built a Cabinet around him based on trust, strength, unity and talent. I realise these updates are reading more and more like the manic thoughts of deranged blogger, but I’m trying to keep it real despite everything that’s going on, so please either bear with me or just stop reading now.
EIA Delivers Open Letter to PM and Chancellor
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- Monday, 05 October 2020

On 2nd October, the EIA, comprising ESSA, the AEV and the AEO has delivered an open letter to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak after the continued lack of support provided to the event industry, despite DCMS having communicated approval of both guidance and a pilot exhibition.
Guest Blog - And So Onwards to The New Season
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- Tuesday, 15 September 2020
Post by Steve Heap, General Secreatary AFO, Chairman EIF - The Covid-ravaged 2020 festival season is best put behind us for those of you who can. May I now encourage you to get moving as soon as possible on your planning cycle for 2021. Clearly, we may not know whether Covid is over and done with but if we don’t start planning now we will be too late for another season and as we all know, that would be devastating.
Event First Steps and C&IT Launch Research on Racial Diversity in Events Industry
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- Monday, 31 August 2020
Event First Steps (EFS) & CIT have released a sector wide survey on Racial Diversity in the Events Industry. EFS is an initiative for industry newcomers founded by Caitlin Kobrak, Elena Clowes and Priya Narain.
Latest mia research reveals the true cost of COVID-19 on the sector
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- Wednesday, 19 August 2020

The Meetings Industry Association’s (mia) latest research reveals the business meeting and events sector has been decimated by the impacts of COVID-19 and is urgently calling on government intervention.
HBAA survey finds Venues will be more flexible on cancellation terms but are adding more robust contract clauses after Covid-19 experience
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- Thursday, 06 August 2020

Venues will be more flexible on cancellation terms but are adding more robust contract clauses to cover potentially similar issues, according an HBAA survey on venue attitudes to commercial terms following the Covid-19 crisis.
The survey of 35 member venues, including 18 venue groups and 17 independent venues, also revealed that nearly all are still planning how to handle the additional costs resulting from social distancing and extra cleaning at present.
PLASA - Watch and share the latest #WeMakeEvents campaign video
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- Tuesday, 21 July 2020

While the world re-opens, the events industry is still left in the shadows without the support we urgently need.
The £1.57bn arts rescue package and the re-opening of outdoor events only addresses the tip of the iceberg and will do little to support the weakening supply chain.
AEO, AEV, and ESSA Launch the All Secure Standard
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- Monday, 20 July 2020

A combined group of members from the Association of Event Organisers (AEO), the Association Event Venues (AEV) and the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA), led by the associations, has today launched the All Secure Standard, a risk assessment based framework of Covid-19 secure industry best practice and guidance for business events and consumer shows which take place in meetings, conferencing and exhibition centres.
NOEA - Events Festival Industry Left on the Shelf
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- Monday, 20 July 2020

- Industry will lose major festival brands
- Half of event businesses face losses of £100,000+
- Job Losses could reach tens of thousands.