Launch of the UK Conference And Meeting Survey (UKCAMS) 2022

UK conference and meeting venues are being encouraged to take part in the 2022 ‘UK Conference and Meeting Survey’ (UKCAMS), which is being launched today. This vital research into the UK’s conference and meetings sector, now in its 29th consecutive year, has a specific focus on the value and volume of the market and the performance of meeting venues. It also highlights key market trends identified by venues.

This is crucially important in 2022 as we seek to calculate the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and monitor the progress being made towards a recovery and a return to pre-pandemic activity levels.

Findings of the UKCAMS research are widely used to:

• Demonstrate the volume of the UK conference and meetings sector and its value to individual venues and to the national economy
• Highlight key trends from a venue or supply-side perspective
• Ensure continuing support and investment for the industry at national, regional, and local levels.

The 2021 UKCAMS research revealed a drop of 86 per cent in the volume of conferences and meetings held in 2020 compared with 2019. At the same time, the estimated value of the sector fell from £17.6 billion in 2019 to £1.7 billion in 2020. However, looking forward, half of venues indicated that they expected their conference and meetings business to recover to 2019 levels by 2023, with a quarter more optimistic and indicating by 2022.

The 2022 survey asks UK venues to provide data on their conference and meeting business during the calendar year 2021. It includes questions on the number of events hosted, rates achieved, event duration and size, client type, levels of residential and non-residential business, origins of business, and capital investment undertaken. It also includes sections on the proportions of hybrid events now being staged, and what venues expect to be future priorities for meeting organisers.

All UK conference and meeting venues are strongly urged to take part in the 2022 research, which entails completion of a short questionnaire. Those that do so will receive a complimentary, personalised summary report enabling them to benchmark their performance in 2021 against other comparable venues. The online questionnaire can be accessed at:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/UKCAMS-2022

The research is being carried out by Tony Rogers and by Richard Smith of RJS Associates. The results are expected to be published in the summer.

VisitBritain is the sponsor of UKCAMS 2021, supported by venuedirectory.com.

VisitBritain Head of Business Events Paul Black said: “VisitBritain is very pleased to once again be supporting this important business events initiative. As well as providing timely and valuable insights, research and data to businesses across the sector, the ‘UK Conference and Meeting Survey’ is a useful tool in building our understanding of the industry, supporting its recovery and demonstrating its vital importance to the UK economy.”

Tony Rogers says: “The UKCAMS research has a proven track record as a source of reliable and robust information and market intelligence. It helps venues and destinations, as well as other industry stakeholders, to assess their business performance and to understand the latest and emerging trends in order to target their marketing and investment decisions to greatest effect.”

Further details of the research are available on the dedicated website: http://www.ukcams.org.uk

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For further information: contact Tony Rogers tel: +44 (0)7887 596727 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.