Managing conference, exhibition and event centres has been an exciting and fulfilling career. I came into this business a few years after the 1975 secondary banking crisis. I am leaving it thirty-eight years later in the wake of the 2008 banking crisis!
In between these two ‘events’, I’ve been at the coalface of an industry that has driven local and regional growth, not only in this country, but also around the world.
A prime example must be Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, opened in 1976 to become hugely successful due to the foresight and gritty determination of local politicians and business leaders. I worked successfully at the NEC during its formative years and was then invited to launch the first phase of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in 1988. This was the forerunner to a massive explosion of interest and investment in building exhibition and conference venues in south-east Asia.
Another stint abroad was spent at Toronto’s Exhibition Place, a public assembly facility proudly owned by the City of Toronto, from which the council derives a good income and considerable kudos. Over the past ten years I’ve headed up the DCLG’s Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster and paid back a cash dividend to the department in each and every year of my tenure.
During my career I’ve seen city and regional leaders grasp the notion that economic well-being can flow into their communities from well used convention, exhibition and event infrastructure. When managed and promoted properly, public assembly facilities make money at the operational level and draw spending power into local shops, hotels, restaurants, travel networks and the like. Professional conferences, trade exhibitions and corporate gatherings attract business tourists.
Sadly, business tourism does not get the recognition it deserves. In fact, it can evoke a yawn or two. Let’s wake up! Business tourists generate about £16bn for the national economy and this type of visitor spends about 50% more than their leisure counterparts. Surely this is a sector of the tourist market that should be well supported and eagerly funded.
As a nation we’re very good at organising and hosting important meetings and events for both a national and international audience – London 2012 conclusively showed this to be the case. The business case for more overseas doctors, dentists, lawyers, surgeons, planners, architects, bankers, economists and other professional groups to meet in our towns and cities is financially sound.
The issue isn’t venue capacity. It’s how to put in place the mechanism to provide real promotional clout and support and win more international meetings and events. Put simply, the job to be done now is to attract more business tourists to come and enjoy spending money in our towns and cities.
Ernest Vincent will stand down from his position as the chief executive of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster in March 2013. He was awarded OBE for services to the exhibition and conference industry in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2012
