BVEP - Business Visits and Events Partnership

Statement from the BVEP on the Budget

BVEP welcomes the Chancellor’s additional business support but will need to understand how much of this will support event businesses through to their sustained recovery.

The Chancellor has responded to the Partnership’s ask for extensions to current business support through the announcements on the extension of the furlough scheme, support for the self-employed, the introduction of the Restart Grants and the extension of business rates relief and VAT.

Read more ...

HBAA - “Once more the meetings, events and accommodation sector has been ignored by the Chancellor. It is deeply disappointing.”

“What more does our industry have to do to be recognised and appreciated at the highest levels of government?”

Simon Richards, Treasurer of HBAA and Managing Partner of Convenus says: “The Meetings, Events, and Accommodation sector urgently needs extra, specific financial support but once more the Chancellor has chosen to ignore the sector in today’s Budget.

Read more ...

Meetings with DCMS Chief Scientific Advisor

• Please see below a summary of the briefing with Tom Rodden, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Digital, Media, Culture & Sport (DCMS) to the Business Events stakeholders on Tuesday, 16th February, 2021.  

Read more ...

mia reveals business meetings events unlikely to recover until 2023

Business meetings and events budgets are not expected to return to pre-COVID levels until at least 2023, according to the latest research by the Meetings Industry Association (mia). 

Compiled in collaboration with ABPCO, AIEA, Edge Venues, Headbox, and Venue Directory and many others, the research revealed how it could take another two years for the sector to completely bounce back from the impact of COVID-19.

Read more ...

APPG for Events - STATEMENT ON THE GOVERNMENT’S ROADMAP FOR LEAVING LOCKDOWN

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) welcomes the publication of the Governments coronavirus roadmap, announced by the Prime Minister on Monday, which sets out the gradual lifting of restrictions, and in particular the optimism this provides for the UK’s event sector, which continues to face enormous challenges.

Read more ...

HBAA - 'Urgent sector financial support is needed for businesses to survive'

Juliet Price, Consultant Executive Director of HBAA commented:

“The government roadmap is a welcomed indication of when we should see the reopening of the meetings, events and accommodation sector. We now have dates for all of us to work towards and to plan the rebuilding and recovery of this resilient industry.

Read more ...

BVEP consulted on recognition of event professional qualifications as part of UK-EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement

The BVEP is being consulted by the Department of Culture, Digital, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the recognition of professional qualifications. This is part of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (Brexit Deal) which provides a framework under which the UK and the EU may agree Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs). Any agreement would potentially enable UK event professionals to secure recognition for their professional qualifications within EU Member States.

Read more ...

Prospects for Restarting Outdoor Events

The following is a summary of the briefing from Tom Rodden, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Digital, Media, Culture & Sport (DCMS), to Events Industry Forum Members on Wednesday, 10th February, 2021.

Read more ...

Event Professionals - on the Road to Government Recognition

The Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP) the official umbrella body and advocacy group for the UK events industry together with the Institute of Event Management (IEM) have submitted comments to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with proposed revisions and additions to their SOC2020 draft.

Read more ...

BVEP says latest research shows an industry on the brink of collapse

The Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) have said that with still no sign of a roadmap to reopening, event businesses, suppliers and event professionals, having faced nearly a year without trading and employment, are now on the brink of collapse from the lack of government support.

Read more ...

EIA - Thousands of businesses across England facing further job losses or bankruptcy due to local authorities failing to pay up to £1.4bn of emergency COVID-19 grants

Freedom of Information Request by the Events Industry Alliance to Local Authorities across England has shown that an estimated 87 per cent of the £1.6bn Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) funds announced by the UK Government have yet to be paid out to companies, despite the scheme being launched four months ago

The ARG scheme was announced in October to help businesses forced to close due to COVID-19 restrictions, including those in the events, exhibitions and hospitality sectors

Businesses closed by COVID-19 restrictions face being forced into making further job cuts or bankruptcy due to local council delays.

Read more ...

Letter to the Prime Minister from NOEA

NOEA has today issued an open letter to the Prime Minister  'A Tidal Wave of Tax Debt that will sink the Events Industry'. Please see a copy of the letter below.

All Party Parliamentary Group For Events Extends Collaboration across Westminster

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) has made contact with several other official APPG’s in Westminster as it looks to expand its work in support of the UK events sector.

Read more ...

Message from Steve Heap, Chair of the EIF.

Covid Crisis! Who would have thought that when we heard of those first few infections in China around a year ago, we would be here contemplating whether a 2021 season would happen, having already lost the whole of 2020?

You will know from EIF website, from the press, radio, television and the endless streams of online meetings that EIF Board have been working hard throughout the year to fight our corner for outdoor events. For your companies, for your staff, for your industry.

Read more ...

BVEP Covid 19 Partner & Media Briefing (5 Feb 2021)

The BVEP has prepared a Covid 19 Partner & Media Briefing to summarise the actions taken by BVEP since the beginning of the pandemic, with a focus on the key activities carried out between November 2020 and January 2021. 

DCMS is launching round 2 of the broadband competition for event venues

As part of the Tourism Sector Deal and the UK Government’s International Business Events Action Plan, DCMS launched a new scheme in August 2019 to improve broadband connectivity in event venues, enabling them to receive full fibre access. The second round of the broadband competition for event venues is now open until 2 March 2021. Applicants can now apply for a share of the £200,000 funding.

Read more ...

One Industry One Voice - wecreateexperiences campaign update (1 Feb 2021)

Long Term: Many supporters have been suggesting a need to look further into the idea of OIOV and how we continue and develop as an organisation/Taskforce into the recovery era, which we hope is coming onto the horizon soon.

Read more ...

APPG for Events and BVEP Submit Recommendations to the Covid Recovery Commission

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) and the Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP), have today submitted a series of recommendations to the Covid Recovery Commission.

Read more ...

Government says lap dancing clubs are worth saving but inbound tourism isn’t

The Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP), Coach Tourism Association (CTA), Confederation of Passenger Transport (CTP UK), English UK, ETOA, Tourism Alliance and UKinbound have collectively expressed their despair and disbelief that Government has again chosen to deny businesses in the inbound tourism sector, which generated £28.4 billion in export earnings for the UK economy in 2019, access to the latest Covid-19 support.

Read more ...

BVEP Submits Budget Request to Government to Support Recovery of the UK Events Industry

The Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) has today submitted a budget request to the Treasury ahead of the planned budget announcement on 3rd March 2021, in an effort to secure long term targeted support to aid the recovery of the industry.

Read more ...

APPG for Events Evidence Session Held

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) today held its first formal Evidence Session for the current Parliament.

Read more ...

Essa to Launch FOI Request to Clarify Government Decision Making

The Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) has announced that it is making a Freedom of Information (FOI) request of the government.

The request is part of an effort by ESSA to determine the reasoning behind recent government decisions, not limited to the postponement of the so-called "go date" for exhibitions, October 1 2020, being abandoned. In total, ESSA is requesting information across 16 distinct areas.

Read more ...

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

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.

Read more ...

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commitment

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).

Read more ...

Diversity and Inclusion

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.

Read more ...

Business agents facing bleak 2021 despite vaccine roll-out

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.

Read more ...