There’s no denying the power that events have — they bring communities together, they offer invaluable opportunities for engagement and they are a great source of inspiration and entertainment. Well now, the true value of outdoor events, including corporate events, has been analysed in what’s thought to be the first comprehensive study of the market.

New research, carried out by Bournemouth University on behalf of the Events Industry Forum (EIF), has revealed that outdoor events have a gross value of more than £30 billion and provide employment for 589,000 people. In particular, outdoor corporate events, which bring people together for corporate or business reasons such as product launches and experiential events, have a gross value of £534,000,000 and are attended by 3.9 million people each year. These are huge figures that provide a snapshot of the size and scale of the sector. So, imagine the procurement opportunities within what the report described as a previously “undervalued” marketplace.

According to the research, which interviewed more than 4,400 people on their perception of outdoor events, events are creative and attractive (80 per cent). The average spend per person visiting a corporate event is £175.16 with total spend at £690 million. On a further positive note, 84 per cent of attendees are satisfied with the way that events are organised.

However, the research, funded by sales of The Purple Guide, found that respondents believed that organisers could improve a number of measures, including waste (11 per cent). Weather conditions (21 per cent) were also seen as a challenge — those surveyed said that they would like organisers to bear in mind how visitors should cope with variable weather, suggesting that solutions and products are required to make events more comfortable should inclement weather strike.

Rentuu is working hard to ensure that organisers are aware of the great products and solutions that are available to them when organising a breadth of events; from product launches to corporate conferences. And with positive statistics such as those featured within the study, we’re certain that by working together, the events industry is sure to grow.

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