This report focused on a few main topics: expenditure by inbound business visitors to Britain, behaviour of delegates extending their trip for leisure, travel choices, sustainability & other findings.
The business visits and events sector is incredibly diverse – covering trade fairs, conferences and congresses, outdoor and entertainment events, as well as business tourism.
Report highlights:
- Average delegate spend at business events in the UK has risen well above inflation since 2017, primarily due to longer stays.
- International business events attracted much higher average spend than their domestic equivalents (4:1), as international visitors stayed longer and paid higher attendance fees.
- Delegates from outside Europe spent £1,824 on average, compared to £872 for delegates from within Europe, and £328 for UK delegates.
- Extending a trip increases spend by a factor of 2.5. Among those who extended their trip for leisure, the average spend was £1,760. Without the extension, the same delegates would have spent £714 on average.
- Looking at differences among event types, the average trip spend for association events (£854)  is significantly higher than for corporate events (£651), and both types are higher than exhibitions (£326).
- Average spend (within the UK) for incentive trips is £2,113 per delegate.
- The main motive to attend an event is networking/collaboration (64%), followed by learning (53%) and career development (33%).
- The majority of delegates hope to return to the city/region for leisure and/or business.
https://www.visitbritain.org/research-insights/business-events-research
