Agenda item

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to seek approval for amendments to the current Conference Support Scheme in order to ensure that Belfast can compete more effectively in the highly competitive international conference market.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Members of the Committee are asked to recommend that, in accordance with the Council decision of 4 May, the Chief Executive exercise her delegated authority to:

-       Approve the proposed amendments to the Conference Support Scheme.

-       Approve the annual budget of £200,000.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Belfast City Council works with Tourism Northern Ireland (TNI), Visit Belfast (VB) and a range of key strategic stakeholders to position Belfast as a destination of choice for Meetings, Incentive events, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE). This business is lucrative, with the average MICE delegate being worth on average three times that of the leisure visitor. Business Tourism brings valuable business to Belfast during mid-week and shoulder season periods when there are less visitors and more available capacity. 

3.2       A report commissioned by Belfast City Council into the impact of Covid-19 reinforced that Business Tourism had contributed significantly to the city’s growth in recent years. However, this has also made the industry particularly vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic and unable to solely rely on adapting their business model to the domestic market to aid recovery.

3.3       The viability of the expansion of accommodation in the city including 1200 new bedrooms had been based on the success of business tourism including assets such as ICC Belfast. This in turn brought wider spend into the visitor economy – taxis, restaurants, etc.  Belfast’s ability to compete in this market was in part due to the operation of a successful Conference Support Scheme, which sought to de-risk conferences choosing Belfast as their destination of choice.  This type of scheme is common practice in the global MICE industry.  Belfast City Council and Tourism NI match fund the Conference Support Scheme for Belfast, to the level of £200,000 per partner, creating a fund of £400,000 per annum, which is administered by Visit Belfast. 

3.4       Conference support is critical for Belfast given we are still considered a ‘challenger’ destination in the MICE space. For a conference to relocate to Belfast compared to a city on the GB mainland, it will incur more costs such as venue hire, flights, increased transport costs for exhibitor set ups and the potential decrease in delegate numbers as additional travel is required, as opposed to delegates driving or using public transport.

3.5       The scheme commenced in 2013 and in March 2017 the current model was established with Tourism NI being an equal funder with an investment £200,000 per year. In August 2019, Council agreed an extension of the scheme to run up to 2030 in order to enable bidding for conferences that are planned several years in advance.

3.6       By 31 March 2019, the Conference Subvention Scheme for Belfast had secured 101 conferences with funding of £1.6 million, generating £97 million in Economic Impact - a clear indication of its critical role.  NISRA statistics for conferences and business tourism in Belfast for 2019 estimated a total economic impact of £70 million.

3.7       The onset of COVID and the devastating impact on the MICE landscape, has intensified the need for a more flexible scheme.  70% of Belfast’s conference and meetings business is from the GB market and with a future post Brexit and Covid macro landscape, investment in this sector and market is essential to support recovery.

3.8       Visit Belfast on behalf of the partners have worked throughout 2020/21 to review support and current letters of offer for conferences in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Assistance was provided to conference organisers who were making decisions whether to move dates, go hybrid or virtual.  Belfast’s commitment to honouring support agreed in advance of the pandemic has resulted in the retention of the majority of conferences ensuring that even with new targets in place, economic benefit to the city will be delivered. Visit Belfast has worked with BCC and industry partners to retain 103 conferences due to take place in Belfast (2021 – 2028) worth £72.9m in potential economic impact for the city.

3.9       Officers have investigated a number of options over the past 12 months to ensure that the scheme can continue to deliver an excellent return on investment whilst being flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. This is necessary of Belfast is to continue to secure new business. 

3.10      Liaison with colleagues in GB and Ireland has been informative and we are aware of other competing destinations that have been reviewing and seeking to increase their Conference support – i.e. Failte Ireland will increase their ‘Per Delegate’ award from 10 Euros to 30 Euros basic support, further enhanced with additional monetary support based on a range of bonus point elements. This is under review with potential for further enhancement to basic support.  The pandemic has also resulted in a change in strategy for a number of UK cities away from international conferences to bidding for events closer at home, thereby the market is even more competitive than before.

3.11      Whilst a realistic approach must be taken to setting new key performance indicators for a return on investment, this is the recommended approach to allow for stability that can then lead to renewed growth in future years. This risk is that without amendments to the scheme that business will be lost to the city that will have a greater detrimental effect on economic impact for the city, at a time when the tourism and hospitality industry is in crisis.  In addition to direct return on investment a number of non-monetary benefits should also be considered when reviewing the impact of the scheme. These include:

-       Destination Perception: A move to increase financial support for meetings and conferences will be positively viewed by Professional Conference Organisers (PCOs) where financial viability is now their paramount concern.

-       Corporate reputation for Belfast:  Meetings and Conferences not only generate economic impact but also position Belfast and Northern Ireland as leaders in specific sectors including Life Sciences and Fintech, linked to FDI and aligned to investment priorities of Belfast City Council and Invest NI.

3.12      Working together with Tourism NI and other strategic partners, a number of options have been examined and it is recommended that the scheme should move to a model of £50 per head conference subvention, to ensure that Belfast can compete more effectively on a national and international stage in the highly competitive conference market; thereby continuing to deliver a return on investment, and contribute to recovery, sustainability and growth. This replaces the current model where funding is granted based on a banding system aligned to economic impact. Economic impact is calculated by the number of delegates x bed nights per delegate = the total number of bed nights x the delegate spend per day = total economic benefit. As the proposed new model is still based on the primary input of number of delegates, economic impact remains the key consideration. However by having a clear per delegate rate increases transparency and is considered an easier sales tactic when positioning the city to compete and secure business.

3.13      The table below illustrates the proposed conference subvention and resulting economic return from a £50 per head support for conferences with a minimum of 100 delegates and up to a maximum of £100,000. Support for larger conferences would be considered on a case by case basis.  Economic return is based on industry average of delegates staying for 3 nights.

3.14      In addition to driving economic impact for Belfast the scheme will move to delivering additional outcomes for funders and the destination.  Greater focus will be on how the event organiser will promote the destination in their marketing and where relevant, partnering on pre and post extender campaigns for international delegates.   This ensures the scheme will deliver mutual benefits. Consideration will also be given to sustainability and legacy.

3.15      Council will work together with Tourism NI and Visit Belfast to agree and implement governance, monitoring and evaluation arrangements through a revised Service Level Agreement.  As recovery progresses the Conference Support Scheme will be reviewed regularly.

3.16      Financial & Resource Implications

            £200,000 provided from within the existing Tourism, Culture, Heritage and Arts budget.

3.17      Equality or Good Relations Implications/Rural Needs Assessment

            None.”

The Members of the Committee recommended that, in accordance with the Council decision of 4th May, the Chief Executive exercise her delegated authority to:

·        Approve the proposed amendments to the Conference Support Scheme; and

·        Approve the annual budget of £200,000.