UK Business Events Sector Presses Government to Implement Committee Recommendations

More than 214 trade associations, venues, organisers and suppliers from across the UK's business events industry have signed a joint letter urging the UK Government to fully implement the recommendations of the recent Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee report, warning that continued inaction risks undermining the country's international competitiveness.

Addressed to Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the letter calls for the immediate adoption of the Committee's recommendations following its year-long inquiry into the sector. The report, published on 6 July 2026, concluded that the UK's current approach is limiting the growth of an industry valued at £33.6 billion.

Among the measures backed by the signatories are a more structured approach to ministerial attendance at major business events, the transfer of sector responsibility to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, the development of a dedicated national business events strategy, and the restoration of VisitBritain's business events team and its Business Events Growth Programme.

The Committee argued that business events should be recognised as a distinct, trade-focused sector rather than being grouped alongside tourism and major events policy, warning that the current framework is hindering the UK's ability to compete internationally.

Commenting on the Committee's findings, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the DCMS Select Committee, previously said: "The huge contribution they make to the economy demonstrates the exceptional quality of the conferences, exhibitions and trade fairs held every day across the country.

"The Government's decision to slash support for business events is utterly irrational and entirely counterproductive, when we should be supporting the sector to boost economic growth.

"It's time for the Government to show it understands the importance and distinctiveness of the business events sector."

Industry leaders also point to the UK's increasingly isolated position internationally. According to the letter, the UK is now the only major economy without a fully funded national business events team, while countries including Ireland, France, Germany and Spain continue to invest strategically in attracting international meetings and exhibitions.

The industry also highlights the impact of VisitBritain's former Business Events Growth Programme. Since its launch in 2018, the initiative generated a reported 35:1 return on investment, converting less than £1.8 million in government funding into £60.6 million in direct economic impact while helping secure 167 business events for destinations including Aberdeen, Glasgow, Sheffield, Liverpool, Cambridge and Newport.

Business events currently account for around 17% of all international visits to the UK. With the Government targeting 50 million international visitors annually by 2030, sector representatives argue that maintaining investment in business events will be essential to achieving that ambition.

A spokesperson for the business events industry said: "Jobs, trade, investment, innovation; this is what's on the line. Every month of inaction hands our competitors the advantage, and they are outspending and offering more support to win the large events we should be winning. Government has the evidence, it has the Committee's recommendations, and it has a sector standing ready to help deliver growth in every part of the country. What it needs now is the will to act."
 

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