BUSINESS EVENTS LEADERS SUMMIT SPECIAL REPORT


Breakout sessions focus on key development themes for Scotland’s four principal meetings centres


Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow drill down on MICE challenges at #BELS18


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t the inaugural Business Events Leaders’ Summit on March 21 at the SEC in Glasgow, delegates were organised into


regional sessions to try and solve key MICE challenges. Facilitated by speakers on the day


and specially-selected meetings industry experts, the roundtables convened in the afternoon to focus on high-level strategy. Te outcomes, generated from six


randomly-generated questions from the sessions, facilitated by the 12 chairs, were as follows:


n SESSION 1 (GLASGOW): Q: What collaborations would help facilitate the growth of the business events sector in our region? A’s: n Closer work between convention bureau and small businesses n Better links with producers from Glasgow’s surrounding regions n Develop transport infrastructure with support of council and govern- ment


Q: What changes can be made in our region to encourage the growth of business events? A’s: n A greater use of city theming to


support key activities n Greater awareness and education to industry leaders on the support available n To dare, be bold and take bigger risks and be ‘first movers’ n Create game-changing new events, to have the guts to own events and not just look at the day- to-day work of replacing rotating events


Q: Why are business events important to our local economy? A’s: n Generate economic impact with money reinvested to support city infrastructure n Pride in our local institutions such as universities and hospitals n Bringing city talent talent together to help the city flourish n Events are a great opportunity to market the city and ‘tell the story’ n Delivering a higher purpose i.e. providing a platform for new cures and discoveries


Q: What are the obstacles to the growth of business events in our region? A’s: n International traveller percep- tions that Glasgow is a difficult destination to reach n Physical transport connectivity: lack of a hub airport and air-rail connections n Lack of city-wide wifi between recognised hotspots and whether venues and organisers make the appropriate investment into event technology n Prices in the ‘shoulder months’ may be a disincentive to meetings planners


Q: Who in this region would benefit from more business events taking place here? A’s: n Raises the profile host, the city and the country, as well as individ- uals such as the lead academics n Local companies and transport infrastructure n Delegates and also opportunity to engage wider public through event- related acitivities n Te wider community and the actual business events supply chain who may be unware that they are part of the industry


n SESSION 2 (EDINBURGH) Q: Why are business events important to our local economy? A’s: n Business events generate revenue across the year and extend the tour- ism season n Generating sustainable employ- ment base that retain the youth population n Helps to create communities for key business sectors n Easier to manage and more prof- itable than the leisure sector n Business delegates tend to be more respectful of their environment


Q: What collaborations would help facilitate the growth of the business events sector in our region? A’s: n Collaborate with industry-wide bodies both nationally and interna- tionally n Enhance relationships with cli- ents to understand their needs n Collaboration both horizontally and vertically, in terms of markets, across sectors


The roundtables were facilitated by MICE industry experts in the Boisdale suite at the SEC


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Q: Who in this region would benefit from more business events taking place here? A’s: n Tourism industry, key sectors, corporates, academics, higher education n Business delegates themselves through extending their stay n Enhancing the knowledge economy of the city, enabling students to access career oppor- tunities n Legacy benefits of hosting a business event will filter through, potentially leading to social, eco- nomic, education, environmental and community change n Reputational benefit to Scotland of hosting a business event


n SESSION 3 (ABERDEEN) Q: What changes can be made in our region to encourage the growth of business events? A’s:


n Tackle the myth that Aberdeen is solely about oil and gas n Support efforts to diversify the local economy and create clear city-wide messaging through appropriate leadership channels to that effect n Create promtional material which city partners can all utilise for their own individual purposes as part of a ‘one city’ strategy n Ensure the whole community understands what the industry is doing and how it can benefit them n Promote the industry as a career opportunity for young people and ensure that message is understood by people who have grown up only knowing the oil and gas story n Explore ways of financial risk sharing between organisations who stand to benefit from the hosting of business events, and then re-invest in the industry


Q: What are the obstacles to the growth of business events in our region? A’s: n Single economy perception, plus connectivity, capacity and price of services n Price of oil fluctuates causing unsustainable peaks and troughs in industry activity n Oil affects ability to release capacity into business events industry n Lack of a transistional strategy which could facilitate business events around industries such as decommissioning, low carbon economy n Aberdeen not recognised in the Economist’s special report on energy geopolitics – needs to be pushing that global message


n SESSION 4 (DUNDEE & ANGUS) Q: Who in this region would


benefit from more business events taking place here? A’s: n Academic ambassadors, local infrastructure, universities and institutions n Hospitality industry, local com- munuties n Organisers or entrepreneurs willing to work with partnership net- works to develop ‘self-created’ events along the lines of London Tech Week n Engaging local businesses/cor- porates who stand to benefit from business events in their sector, as well as the events who derive spon- sorship and branding opportunites n Key sectors which could poten- tially benefit from international events that stimulate inward invest- ment into the area


Q: What collaborations would help facilitate the growth of the business events sector in our region? A’s:


n Invest in the development of infrastructure that improves access to Dundee n Improve the perception and image of Dundee itself whether that’s locally, nationally or internation- ally and the quality of its business events-related products and services n Communications – how we com- municate across all the different regions and the communities that are involved n Having the confidence to think of Dundee as a destination for busi- ness events n A clear national and international strategy for the business events sector to understand where we can direct our energies – because resources are limited n To have a dedicated new con- vention centre for Dundee – but also invest in the people and skills needed to resource it n Build and grow the successful aca- demic ambassador programme n


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