This blog brings you the next instalment on the six part series to the PESTLE impacts on the events industry. Click here to find out more about the PESTLE Analysis and what to expect over the coming weeks.

The economy can impact businesses in both positive an negative ways, of which the following factors can be applied to any business - However, here we highlight how these issues can be seen impacting the events industry specifically.

Travel

According to the RAC, 2018 has seen the biggest monthly increase in the price of fuel since 2000. This can be seen having a large impact on the cost of travel, in particularly air travel, as companies are now needing to increase their ticket prices to cover costs. Long-haul flights are one of the major ticket prices currently increasing due to the rise on Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax. A large number of business people travel on long-haul flights to attend events such as trade shows and conferences. An increase in travel costs could impact events such as these, as it may discourage people from travel to them.

Fall of the pound

There are positives and negatives to a decreased value in pound for the events industry within the UK. There is the potential that a weaker pound could provide opportunities for UK events, as a weaker pound makes the UK more of an attractive and economical destination for hosting events. People overseas are also taking advantage of the weaker pound. Reports show that visitors to the UK decreased shortly after the 2016 Brexit referendum, however numbers are starting to increase again. In 2017, there were 8.3m overseas visits to the UK in the three months to March, up 9.9% compared to the same period in 2016, because of this the money spent in the economy grew 15.6%. This is a huge opportunity for businesses in the UK to play host to events such as conferences and trade shows, as people from overseas will spend money within the UK which will help boost the economy. However, even though a weaker pound is currently good for events within the UK, it inevitably means travelling to events outside of the UK will be costlier with increasing travel prices.

Unemployment

Reports show that the unemployment rate within the UK is currently the lowest it has been since 1975. This is good for the UK, as low unemployment means that the economy is getting better as there is an increase in demand for labour. A fall in unemployment brings benefits on the events industry. An example of this could be, an increase in demand for training events for new recruits. This is beneficial for event organisations, as a rise in the number of training events required means more money would be going into the industry.

Written by: Paige Cradduck - Events Assistant for Grapevine Event Management