Section 7: Data & insights
Introduction
Access to reliable data and actionable insights is crucial to drive informed decision-making and demonstrate impact.
Leveraging data effectively, you can tailor marketing strategies, and build stronger stakeholder relationships, ensuring sustainable growth and a competitive edge in the UK business events market.
Collecting data
GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU law introduced in May 2018 to protect individuals personal data and privacy. It applies to organisations within the EU and those outside offering goods or services to EU residents. GDPR requires organisations to handle personal data lawfully, transparently, and securely, ensuring it is collected for specific purposes and only what is necessary. It grants individuals rights such as accessing, correcting, or requesting the deletion of their data. Non-compliance can result in severe fines, making GDPR essential for maintaining trust and legal accountability in data handling. Please check here for more information — as you will be managing and storing data you will need to ensure compliance with GDPR.
Understanding your audience
Data plays a vital role in identifying and understanding the needs of event organisers, delegates, and exhibitors. LVEPs can use audience profiling tools and surveys to gather demographic and behavioural data, enabling tailored marketing and customised experiences. Identifying key audience segments and their preferences helps shape event themes, venue choices, and programming that resonate with attendees, driving higher engagement and satisfaction.
Measuring economic impact
Demonstrating the economic value of business events is essential for securing funding, stakeholder support, and future investment. LVEPs can utilise tools such as economic impact calculators and delegate spend surveys to quantify the direct, indirect, and induced benefits of events on the local economy. This data supports advocacy efforts and highlights the vital role business events play in job creation, tourism growth, and regional development.
Business event research — delegate spend
In 2017, VisitBritain commissioned Strategic Research and Insight (SRI) to measure delegate spend by conducting face-to-face interviews at business events across Britain. In 2024, VisitBritain and SRI repeated the survey to update spend averages and capture feedback on pertinent topics such as delegate profile, travel, reasons for attending events, sustainability, accessibility needs and likelihood of returning. The final sample balance of UK delegates to overseas delegates (two thirds / one third) is the same as in the 2017 survey.
- 1,184 interviews at 80 events across Britain between April and November 2024.
- Incentive section — data from 143 trips and 8,441 delegates. North America (52 trips), Far East (41 trips), Europe (41 trips) / ROW (9 trips).
Access the full business events research from the VisitBritain website.
Average delegate spend across each type of Business Event
| £1,354 | Association conference - international delegate |
| £451 | Association conference - domestic delegate |
| £964 | Corporate conference of meeting- international delegate |
| £468 | Corporate conference of meeting- domestic delegate |
| £1,146 | Exhibition or trade show- international delegate |
| £180 | Exhibition or trade show- domestic delegate |
| £2,113 | International incentive delegate |
The full report can be found here.
The VisitEngland Business Events Team use the 2024 data to report on the potential business that has been generated for English cities from the activities and lead generation. The intention is for all English LVEPs and Convention Bureaus to then utilise these renewed figures for their own reporting to establish the value business event visitors bring to their region.
Data and data sources
Economic impact calculator
Representatives from Event Wales, Event Scotland, Tourism Northern Ireland, UK Sport are working with Legacy Delivery / Sheffield Hallam University to update the work on Event Impacts. This is used as a reporting tool for designated cultural and sporting events across the nations but now considering including business events. The Event Impacts project will include an economic impact calculator to establish the financial impact of a business event, including value, gross value added and subsequent job generation.
Leveraging market trends
Staying ahead of market trends is critical for maintaining a competitive edge. LVEPs can benefit from industry reports, market intelligence platforms, and benchmarking data to identify emerging opportunities and challenges. Whether it’s the rise of hybrid events, sustainability demands, or shifts in delegate preferences, understanding trends allows LVEPs to adapt strategies and offer innovative solutions that meet evolving market expectations.
Enhancing stakeholder collaboration
Strong stakeholder relationships are at the heart of successful business events. By sharing data and insights (adhering to GDPR legislation) with venues, suppliers, and local authorities, LVEPs can foster a collaborative ecosystem that benefits all parties. A destination can benefit from data from venues, hotels and suppliers in order to create a rounded picture of the current positioning relating to business events.
Building a data-driven future
Investing in data infrastructure, analytics tools, and skills development is key for LVEPs aiming to lead in the UK’s competitive business events sector. Developing robust data governance practices ensures the accuracy, security, and ethical use of information, while embracing technology such as AI and predictive analytics can unlock deeper insights and new possibilities. With a data-driven approach, LVEPs can confidently navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and position their destinations for long-term success.
See the latest Business Events research from VisitBritain
Data sources
To gain a comprehensive understanding of business events and their impact, it is essential to explore a diverse range of data sources. By leveraging multiple streams of information, LVEPs can gain deeper insights, track trends, and make data-driven decisions that enhance event planning, stakeholder engagement, and economic contributions.
Some data sources to consider
- Social Media & Digital Analytics.
- Data from platforms like Google Analytics and LinkedIn can help highlight engagement levels, content reach, and audience sentiment around events.
- Local Authority & Government Data.
- Reports from local councils and economic development agencies offer insights into business investment and regional economic growth.
- Government-backed tourism studies, such as those from VisitBritain and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), provide context on national trends.
- Event Registration & CRM Systems
- Platforms like Cvent may be able to track attendee demographics, ticket sales, and participation rates.
- Customer relationship management (CRM) systems help measure lead conversions, follow-ups, and repeat attendance.
- Sustainability & Environmental Impact Data.
- Carbon footprint calculators assess the environmental impact of events (for example, travel emissions, energy usage).
- Sustainability reports from venues and suppliers.
Enhancing reporting & benchmarking
Reporting mechanisms on the value of the business events industry are fragmented and often categorised according to each sub sector outlined below. This makes consistent economic reporting across all areas of business events complicated.
UKEVENTS
UKEVENTS is the recognised and collective voice of the UK’s events industry which represents every part of the diverse, creative and dynamic sector across the whole of the UK and champions the economic, societal and transformational value of events. The body produces its flagship report on the overall value of the events industry and its impact on the economy.
International Passenger Survey (IPS)
The IPS from the ONS collects information about passengers entering and leaving the UK and has been a consistent data source since 1961. It covers all major air, sea and tunnel ports providing detailed information on the numbers and types of visits made by people travelling to and from the UK. The study results are used by various government departments, including the Department for Transport, Home Office, HM Revenue and Customs, VisitBritain and the national and regional Tourist Boards.
VisitBritain has contributed an added question for business events across several years, which breaks down incoming business visitors according to reason for visit, including meeting, incentive/team building, conference/convention/congress and exhibition/trade show. Data is extracted to retrospectively report on inbound visitation.
Size and Scale Index for Exhibitions (SASIE)
The SASIE report, produced by Events Industry Alliance (EIA), has been running since 2014 and measures the scale and characteristics of the UK exhibition sector. The report provides in depth analysis of UK exhibitions and includes cumulative comparative data from 2015 across key event industry metrics. Data from the report is extracted to report on the previous year’s market performance.
The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
Each year ICCA releases its annual analysis of associations meetings that take place around the world. Data is collected from destinations and associations to record the location and size of association congresses, creating a ranking table of most frequently used locations. Data from the report is extracted to report on the previous year’s market performance.
These industry reports are supplemented by additional forward-thinking trend reports to support our city stakeholders understanding on the status of the business events marketplace. The team create one annual report combining multiple industry value reports as well as circulate relevant market studies four times per year to our city stakeholders as part of a quarterly update.
Effective reporting and benchmarking:
Standardised Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Visitor numbers, economic impact, delegate satisfaction, job creation, and average spend per visitor should be consistently measured.
- Consider sector-specific KPIs such as return on investment (ROI) for corporate events or engagement metrics for exhibitions.
- Look at environmental and social KPIs how are business events benefiting your destination beyond the economic indicators?
Case studies & best practices
- Incorporate real-world success stories from destinations that have used data to drive event growth.
- Highlight innovative data usage, such as AI-driven attendee matchmaking or predictive analytics for event planning.
Trend analysis
- Track year-over-year changes in visitor demographics, market share, and event sector performance. This data could unlock future funding for business events in your destination or identify gaps that conferences could help fill.
- Compare local business events data with national and global benchmarks to identify growth opportunities.