The Events Industry Alliance says trade shows, exhibitions and conferences are part of the infrastructure that delivers government growth plans, and wants policy to treat them that way.
The Events Industry Alliance (EIA) has released a new briefing this week arguing that the UK’s trade shows, exhibitions and conferences deserve a much bigger place in the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy. Titled How Business Events Power the UK’s Industrial Strategy, the document looks at how the sector supports each of the Strategy’s eight priority sectors. Its central message is that business events are not a sideline to the growth agenda. They are part of the machinery that delivers it.
More Than a Visitor Economy Story
Business events are often filed under tourism and the visitor economy. The EIA says that view misses the bigger picture. Yes, they bring visitors to the UK, but they also work as marketplaces in their own right. Companies use them to find customers, secure investment, break into export markets and build the supply chains that growth depends on.
The briefing also goes beyond industry self-promotion. It includes first-hand testimonials from firms working at the front line of the Industrial Strategy, among them Yamazaki Mazak and Babcock, who describe the commercial value they get from attending. The sector as a whole contributes billions to the UK economy every year and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in every region.
Where the Value Shows Up: The Show Floor
The clearest evidence comes from the deals done at the events themselves.
- MACH, the UK’s largest advanced manufacturing exhibition, generates £200 million of business over five days.
- Farnborough International Airshow in July saw trade association ADS report £62.9 billion of deals announced across the first four trade days, with more than £10.8 billion of economic value expected for UK aerospace.
The EIA says the same pattern holds across technology, defence and the creative industries.
Parliament Has Taken Notice
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee recently reached a similar conclusion. It called on the government to recognise the economic potential of business events by adopting a national strategy.
The EIA sees the government’s upcoming National Events Strategy as the chance to do exactly that. It argues the sector should get its own dedicated chapter, because business events make a different economic contribution from sporting and cultural events and often face different challenges.
What the EIA Wants From Government?
Alongside the dedicated chapter, the alliance is asking for two further steps:
- A structured approach to ministerial attendance at priority business events.
- Long-term ownership of the sector to sit with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
The Regional Case
The EIA stresses that the benefits are not confined to the capital. Business events already contribute £33.6 billion to the UK economy across the regions. The briefing points to MACH at the NEC in the West Midlands, All-Energy + Dcarbonise at the Scottish Event Campus, and the Wales Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition at ICC Wales as examples.
Farnborough alone is linked to £708 million of investment, benefitting around 600 British companies and academic institutions and backing roughly 4,500 skilled UK jobs. About 90% of those jobs are outside London.
With the right backing, the EIA believes business events can help turn the Industrial Strategy’s priority sectors into lasting regional strengths. The alliance says it looks forward to working constructively with government, Parliament and the wider sector to make that happen.
What the EIA Says?
Rachel Parker, director of the EIA and CEO of AEV, said: “Business events are where the Industrial Strategy’s priority sectors win customers, investment and international partners. Other countries have recognised this and are backing their sectors accordingly. With the right support, and a return to the ambition we showed before the pandemic, the UK can strengthen its position as a global destination for trade, investment and innovation.”
