Press Cuttings Transcripts
London turns away £27M in confernce business
Expo Eye Spain, January 2005
According to a demand study prepared for the London ICC Mayoral Commission, London turns away up to £27, in conference business each year.
The study, carried out by international consultants Grant Thornton, indicated that due to the lack of a world class, large, purpose-built convention centre, the equivalent of 90,000 delegate days are being turned away by London venues. Fifteen to 18 key London conferences venues said that they regularly turned business away through lack of availability.
Commission chairman Gerry Acher, told Expo Eye; “To be turning away valuable business of this magnitude is nothing short of a disaster. And these figures do not, of course, account for the fact that many of the largest conventions do not even have London on their shopping list, as there is no purpose built, large, international convention centre in London.”
The demand study closely examined the conference and convention performances of major European cities. In 2003, London hosted some 144 international associated meetings (defined as 300 plus delegates), compared with 272 in Paris, and over 180 each for Brussels and Vienna. But, the fastest growing centre was in Spain, where Barcelona grew 7% over a twelve-month period, while London shrank by 0.2%.
In 2003, while Paris had a 25.7% share of the highly important 3-5,000 delegates conference market, the share of London was just 5.7%.
The demand study further indicated that part of the reason for the lack of conference business coming to London relates to the price. While the 2003 average cost per day in London was around £300, in Brussels it was £297, in Paris £268, for Barcelona £209 and for Vienna £177. However, although London is considered to be a more costly location, it is still very highly favoured as a business and conference destination.
Market share likely to shrink still further.
The study showed that London’s estimated share of the international association meetings market has already declined over the past 13 years. The city’s share of the c. 9,000 meetings a year market fell from 1.8% of the global market in 1991 to 1.5% in 2003.
Extrapolation from these figures, the study indicates that London’s share of this market would further decline from 1.5% in 2003 to 1.3% in 2013, while for many rival cities it demonstrates growth.
Taking figures from the international congress and conventions association organisation, the demand study showed that some 1,026 meetings of more than 500 delegates, which always rotate within Europe, have not been to London in the last 20 years.
Preliminary investigations from the demand study, indicate that London need’s a convention centre with a capacity for 3-5,000 delegates, to be able to compete with other major European convention centres and to grow its market share.
Gerry Archer said; It is quite clear from the demand study that not only is London not getting the amount of international conferences it could expect, but that the capital’s already small market share will further decline. Our study indicates the strong growth in major conference business being attracted by cities such as Paris and Barcelona, both of which have first class international conference centres, unlike London.”
Establishing the case for a London ICC
“A major international convention centre would not only place London on the map for such gatherings and enhance the UK’s reputation for this business, but also act as a ‘gateway’ for so many visitors to the rest of the UK.”
“This study forms a valuable basis for the work that the commission has yet to carry out in looking at the funding and location of any International convention centre in London, and eventually examining the economic case for such a centre. These steps are fundamental to the commission’s recommendation on whether or not London should have an ICC” added Gerry.
In December 2003, the London Development Agency established a Mayoral Commission to look at the potential benefits of building an international convention centre in London. The Commission is examining the business case for an international convention centre in London and exploring possible options to ensure London centralise its potential in the business tourism sector. The commission is also assessing the scale and the nature of the market opportunity for London and how effective other destinations have been in serving changing market needs. Over the next few months, the commission will look at possible locations, designs and ways of funding an international convention centre in London.
The London Development Agency is the Mayor’s agency for business and jobs. The LDA prepares the Mayor’s business plan for London and mobilises the support of hundreds of partner organisations to help build thriving economy for London’s businesses and communities. The LDA is dedicated to improving sustainability, health and equality of opportunity for Londoners.