Losing out from trading down

BRITISH industry has relied on trade exhibitions for many years. They have helped to create jobs, to win contracts and to increase the prominence of firms.

And, crucially, they have also helped to market UK talent and to win kudos overseas.

But gradually cutbacks at the Department of Trade and Industry have eroded the funding that used to be given to encourage overseas buyers to attend UK trade fairs. This is jeopardising the UK's position at the cutting edge of industry.

In the 1970s and 1980s, most UK organisers of 'international' trade exhibitions held in the UK worked closely with the British Overseas Trade Board to ensure that there was extensive promotion of the exhibition in all key export market countries of the world.

The show organiser received considerable financial assistance from the BOTB to achieve this.

The organiser identified what portion of the exhibition promotional budget could be spent on overseas buyer promotion and the BOTB added a further 25% to this to ensure that the promotional opportunities were maximised.

DTI cutbacks in the early 1990s brought an end to this Overseas Advertising Scheme although the British Tourist Authority launched a similar project for a couple of years in recognition of the number of overseas visitors that the trade exhibition business brought to the UK.

Now all funding for overseas buyer promotion has to be provided by the show organiser despite the best efforts of the Association of Exhibition Organisers to lobby government to reinstate some financial assistance to bring these key overseas buyers to our many excellent exhibitions.

The attitude in the rest of Europe is significantly different and there is little wonder why many buyers prefer to visit the exhibition centres in Paris, Milan and so on.

The difference with the UK is that these cities appreciate the business which a major trade exhibition brings to the region. The city authorities put finance behind the organiser to ensure the event brings in the maximum number of exhibitors and visitors.

The city gets branded to the event, the hotels and restaurants do not put up their prices to take advantage of the influx of visitors, but they know - as does every retailer - that they will prosper by the event taking place in their city.

The success of trade exhibitions has caused a massive expansion in the number of these events held in the UK, but in recent years buyer numbers from overseas have declined, much to the concern of show organisers and exhibitors with export potential.

The UK exhibition industry has conducted extensive research to examine how to reverse this trend. Some factors have emerged that can be corrected, but two fundamental cost issues will need Government intervention to get our trade exhibition export potential back on track.

The lack of financial assistance and the high venue rental charges in the UK are making many show organising companies consider relocating their 'international' shows to other European centres.

Brintex presents some 16 exhibitions each year, specialising in events for the transport industry with a series of exhibitions and conferences currently held in the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, ExCeL in London's Docklands and in G-Mex, Manchester.

A recent offer to relocate their major international trade exhibition on intelligent transport systems to Hanover has proved tempting.

The city of Hanover, combined with the state of Lower Saxony, will provide 'sponsorship' amounting to some €70,000 while the exhibition venue owners, Deutsche Messe, will offer a subsidy of €170,000 on their exhibition/conference hall's rental fee. Four-star hotel room rates around the Messe are priced at €90 against a typical £120 on the NEC complex.

All of this financial support enables Brintex to offer low-cost stands to exhibitors, the exhibition gains greater scale than would be possible in the UK and the visitors can stay comfortably in the locality at affordable prices.

Sadly the UK will continue to lose out until central and local government recognise this competitive threat.

Malcolm Hemming is managing director of the The Hemming Group, which includes Brintex.