The Events Industry Board has played a role in connecting UK event industry leaders with government decision-makers. Its work has focused on sharing industry knowledge, advising on business events, and helping the UK attract and retain important events.
However, its role has changed over time. The government established the board to support its international business events strategy. It later became a working group of the Tourism Industry Council, which supported the Tourism Recovery Plan. More recent parliamentary evidence states that the board was dissolved and its work moved into the UK Visitor Economy Council. Government background and Parliamentary evidence explain these changes.
Understanding this history helps explain how industry representation can influence policy discussions, demonstrate the value of events, and support cooperation across the wider UK events sector.
What Is the Event Industry Board and What Does It Do?
The Events Industry Board (EIB) was an industry-led body created to help the UK government understand the needs of the business events sector. It brought together experienced professionals and industry representatives to share advice on attracting, retaining, and growing events in the UK.
Its work focused on business events such as conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, and professional meetings. These events can attract international visitors, support local businesses, encourage trade, and showcase the UK’s expertise in different industries.
The board helped connect industry knowledge with government planning in several ways.
Sharing industry experience: Event organisers, venue operators, suppliers, and destination representatives understand the practical challenges of hosting events. Their experience can help explain what businesses need to compete successfully.
Providing strategic advice: Industry representatives can suggest ways to attract international conferences, support existing events, and improve the UK’s position as a business events destination.
Supporting cooperation: Events involve many organisations, including venues, hotels, transport providers, tourism bodies, and event agencies. A shared discussion can help identify common challenges and opportunities.
Connecting industry and government: The board provided a channel for industry concerns and ideas to reach government decision-makers.
The board did not have the power to make government policy or guarantee public funding. Its purpose was to provide advice, evidence, and industry insight that could inform decisions.
Its structure also changed over time. In 2021, the government described the Events Industry Board as part of its wider work with the tourism sector. It was later reconstituted as a working group of the Tourism Industry Council. The council’s government webpage now states that the council has closed. These details matter when discussing the board’s current status rather than treating its earlier responsibilities as unchanged.
How Does the Event Industry Board Influence Government Policy?
Industry bodies can help inform government policy by presenting evidence about the problems businesses face and the opportunities available to the UK.
The Events Industry Board’s historical role was to advise on how the government and industry could attract more business events, help existing events grow, and make the UK a more competitive destination.
This work supported the wider aims of the government’s Tourism Recovery Plan, published in June 2021. The plan included an objective to make the UK a leading European destination for business events. The government’s plan explains the wider policy context.
Industry advice can help decision-makers understand issues such as:
The cost of hosting events in the UK.
Competition from international destinations.
The availability of suitable venues and facilities.
Skills shortages and workforce development.
Transport, accessibility, and sustainability requirements.
Support needed to attract international conferences and exhibitions.
For example, event organisers may report that a city has suitable venues but struggles to attract international conferences because of limited promotion or a lack of support for bidding. This information can help government and tourism organisations consider possible responses.
However, advice does not automatically become policy. Government departments must consider evidence, public spending, competing priorities, and the likely effects of different options.
The board’s importance therefore lies in helping industry expertise reach the people who make decisions. Its historical work also shows why clear communication between event businesses and government can be valuable.
How Does the Event Industry Board Demonstrate the Economic Value of Events?
Economic evidence helps explain why events matter beyond the companies that organise them. A conference, exhibition, festival, or sporting event can create spending across hotels, restaurants, transport, venues, suppliers, and local shops.
For example, an international conference may generate income through delegate registrations and venue bookings. Attendees may also pay for accommodation, meals, transport, and activities before or after the event.
This wider spending can support jobs and businesses across different parts of the UK.
Industry organisations use research to estimate these effects and present evidence to policymakers. Such research can help decision-makers understand the scale of the sector and consider its needs when planning economic and tourism policies.
Recent figures illustrate the sector’s importance. According to UKEvents’ industry research, the wider UK events industry was estimated to be worth £68.7 billion to the national economy in 2025. The same report states that exhibitions generated £11.5 billion in economic output and supported 126,000 jobs. Source: UKEvents industry research.
These figures cover a broad industry and should not be confused with the contribution of business events alone. Different reports may also use different years, definitions, and measures of economic value.
For the Events Industry Board, presenting economic evidence was part of the wider case for recognising business events in government strategy. Reliable research can help show how events support employment, trade, tourism, investment, and regional growth.
It can also help businesses explain why investment in venues, skills, infrastructure, and international promotion may benefit more than event organisers alone.
How Does the Event Industry Board Support the UK Tourism Recovery Plan?
The Tourism Recovery Plan was published in June 2021 to help the UK tourism sector recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and build a stronger visitor economy.
Business events formed part of this wider plan. The government wanted to attract more international events, support existing events to grow, and strengthen the UK’s position as a destination for meetings, conferences, and exhibitions.
The Events Industry Board contributed to this work by advising on how government and industry could make the UK more competitive. It also provided a way for industry representatives to share concerns and suggest practical actions.
The plan’s wider approach included cooperation between government departments, tourism organisations, and industry leaders. It recognised that attracting business events requires more than good venues. International promotion, transport, skills, accessibility, and support for event bids can all affect a destination’s appeal.
For example, an international association choosing a location for its annual conference may compare several countries. It could consider venue capacity, travel links, accommodation, costs, local expertise, and the potential for delegates to take part in related business activities.
Industry advice can help identify where the UK performs well and where improvements may be needed.
The board’s role was part of this historical recovery effort, rather than a guarantee that particular projects or funding would be approved. The government also worked with VisitBritain and other industry partners to promote UK destinations and attract business events.
For the current position, it is important to note that the Events Industry Board was later dissolved and its work was incorporated into wider visitor economy structures, according to parliamentary evidence. Its past contribution to the Tourism Recovery Plan should therefore be understood in its historical context.
How Does the Event Industry Board Bring Different Event Sectors Together?
The events industry includes many different activities. Conferences and exhibitions support business and trade, while outdoor festivals, cultural celebrations, and sporting events can attract visitors and create social and economic value.
These sectors have different needs, but they also face shared challenges. They may depend on suitable venues, trained staff, reliable suppliers, transport, safety planning, and effective promotion.
Industry coordination can help organisations identify these shared needs and communicate them more clearly to government.
Business events include conferences, exhibitions, trade fairs, and professional meetings. They can help companies share knowledge, find customers, develop partnerships, and attract investment.
Outdoor events include festivals, public celebrations, sporting events, and outdoor shows. They can support local tourism, hospitality businesses, suppliers, and communities.
Cultural events include arts programmes, performances, heritage celebrations, and other events that attract audiences and showcase local identity.
Bringing different sectors into wider industry discussions can help decision-makers understand the full range of events taking place across the UK.
For example, a festival organiser and a conference organiser may both face challenges involving transport, temporary infrastructure, staffing, and rising supplier costs. Sharing information can help identify common problems, even when the events themselves are very different.
However, the Events Industry Board’s historical remit focused mainly on business events. It should not be described as the sole body representing every part of the UK events sector.
Other industry associations and partnerships also represent their members, carry out research, and campaign for sector-wide recognition. Coordination between these organisations can help build a clearer picture of the industry’s overall contribution.
How Can the Event Industry Board Help the UK Events Industry Access Support and Investment?
Industry representation can help decision-makers understand where support or investment may be useful. It can also help businesses explain why a particular problem affects not only one organisation but a wider part of the economy.
The Events Industry Board’s historical advisory role supported this process by bringing industry experience into government discussions.
For example, event organisers may identify a need for stronger international promotion, improved transport connections, specialist training, or investment in event facilities. Industry evidence can help explain the problem and show how addressing it might support business growth.
A coordinated approach can help in several areas.
Identifying common needs: Representatives can gather views from different businesses and highlight recurring problems, rather than focusing only on individual cases.
Making the case for investment: Economic research can show how events support jobs, tourism, trade, and local suppliers. This evidence may help inform decisions about investment priorities.
Supporting event bids: International conferences and exhibitions can bring visitors and business opportunities to UK destinations. Industry and tourism organisations can work together to help destinations compete for these events.
Improving communication: A clear channel between industry and government can help decision-makers understand changes in costs, skills, infrastructure, and international competition.
Encouraging long-term planning: Evidence about future demand and industry needs can support discussions about venues, transport, workforce development, and destination promotion.
It is important to distinguish between influencing a decision and controlling it. The board could provide advice and evidence, but government departments and other responsible organisations decided whether to approve policies, allocate funds, or launch specific programmes.
The same principle applies to current industry representation. Organisations that bring together businesses, publish reliable research, and explain sector-wide needs can help inform policy and investment decisions, even when they do not have direct authority over them.
FAQs About the Event Industry Board
What is the Event Industry Board?
The Events Industry Board was an industry-led body that advised the UK government on business events. It brought together industry expertise to support efforts to attract, retain, and grow events in the UK. It later became a working group of the Tourism Industry Council before being dissolved and its work moved into wider visitor economy structures.
What is the role of the Event Industry Board in the UK?
Its historical role was to provide strategic advice on business events, support the UK’s competitiveness as an event destination, and connect industry representatives with government decision-makers. It did not have the power to set government policy or guarantee funding.
How does the board work with the government?
The board provided a channel for industry representatives to share evidence, discuss challenges, and suggest ways to improve the UK’s business events offer. This advice could inform government discussions and plans, but final policy and funding decisions remained with the relevant authorities.
How does the events industry contribute to the UK economy?
Events can generate spending through registrations, tickets, accommodation, food, transport, venues, and suppliers. They also support jobs, trade, tourism, investment, and local businesses. UKEvents estimated the wider UK events industry’s economic value at £68.7 billion in 2025, although figures vary depending on the sectors and measures included.
How does the board support the UK events industry?
Historically, it supported the sector by bringing industry knowledge into government discussions, advising on competitiveness, and contributing to the business events agenda within the Tourism Recovery Plan. Its former responsibilities should not be confused with the work of current industry organisations or government bodies.
Conclusion
The Events Industry Board has played a role in connecting UK business events professionals with government decision-makers. Its historical work focused on strategic advice, industry representation, economic evidence, and the UK’s ability to attract and retain business events.
Its connection with the Tourism Recovery Plan also showed how industry knowledge could inform wider tourism and economic discussions. However, the board’s structure has changed, and parliamentary evidence confirms that it was dissolved and its work moved into wider visitor economy arrangements.
The wider lesson remains important: reliable research, clear industry representation, and cooperation across event sectors can help explain the value of events and inform decisions about policy, support, and investment. Understanding both the board’s historical role and the current structure is essential when discussing how the UK events industry is represented.