May 16, 20133 min read

MPI Foundation presents UK Economic Impact Study updates at IMEX Frankfurt 2013

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Foundation along with the International Centre for Research in Events, Tourism and Hospitality (ICRETH) and the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) will all be on hand to respond to queries and discuss the eagerly awaited UK Economic Impact Study (UKEIS) during IMEX Frankfurt 2013 at the Messe Frankfurt.

Activities will include the following:

1200-1245, Tuesday, 21 May, 2013 (Research Pod). ICRETH’s Jackie Mulligan and MPI’s Jessie States will present a session in the Research Pod during which attendees can discover the rich story that the UKEIS tells, why it’s important and what they should know about the final results launching later this year. The session will also provide an opportunity to understand more about the United Nation’s methodology, what “economic impact” really means and why the industry needs to use this information in the coming months.

1530-1630, Wednesday, 22 May 2013 (Stand E670). InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) will host a reception to highlight the UKEIS. Members of the UKEIS research team will be in attendance and on hand to answer questions about the study.

Throughout IMEX, (Stand D700). Members of the MPI team will be available on an informal basis to answer questions and provide further information about the UKEIS.

“The UKEIS will demonstrate the critical role the meeting industry plays in the UK economy. As the release of the full UKEIS data draws closer, there are many individuals who would like to discuss the methods behind the results, how it will be applied to the industry and what the study will really mean to us all. These sessions and our reception provides a variety of opportunities to learn more and prepare for the official launch of the results at The Meetings Show UK in July. ” explained Russell Green, IHG Director, Corporate Sales UK&I.

The full UKEIS is set for release on 10 July, 2013 at The Meetings Show UK in London.

MPI UK and Ireland Chapter president and Barbican head of sales, Samme Allen, added: “The profile data released to date has already caused a stir across the industry and we are looking forward to the benefit the final results will have to us all. They will allow us to demonstrate our value, not just to clients but also the government which is why we are so pleased to announce the fact that the UKEIS will be mentioned as part of the invite only IMEX Politicians Forum, where it will be used to demonstrate best practice and as a vital tool that all countries should consider using.”

Key UK Profile Data previously released at International Confex in March showed that:

More than 1.3 million meetings took place in the UK and attracted 116 million attendees who accounted for spending of just under £40 billion in 2011.
Meetings took place in more than 10,000 meeting venues across the UK.
Venues occupied 60 million square metres or the equivalent of more than 6,000 football pitches.
Over 81% of meetings were held for the corporate sector.
64% of meetings were classed as small with fewer than 100 attendees, nearly 30% were for between 100-500 attendees and 6% attracted more than 500 attendees.
The most prominent income for meeting organisations came from delegate registration fees (38.%) followed by exhibitor fees (31.6%) and sponsorship (19.5%).
The largest expense for meeting organisations in the UK was venue hire (17.4%).

The MPI Foundation led the project, with research by Dr. Shina Li and other fellows with the ICRETH at Leeds Metropolitan University on behalf of the UK meeting industry.

Below is the full list of investment partners involved in the study: