“Good and consistent measurement procedures are essential to maintaining industry credibility in the face of increasing expectations in this regard from governments, organizers and participants”, said JMIC President Philippe Fournier. “In a time when the Meetings Industry has a great deal to contribute to global economic recovery and development, we need to be able to advance our value proposition as effectively as possible and demonstrate the ability to measure our value in terms that will resonate with the broader global community”.
The study was carried out by Dr. Leo Jago, formerly a Research Professor at the Universities of Victoria and Nottingham and now employed by the Australian Government as Chief Economist for Tourism and General Manager of Tourism Research Australia. The study involved an analysis of representative value measurement models from around the world to determine how well these served existing and future needs along with recommendations of how any identified gaps could best be addressed. Amongst the studyconclusions were:
1.That the calculation of national economic contribution estimates is well served by the use of an approach originally developed under the auspices of the UNWTO and applied successfully in a number of countries since;
2. That the use of this model was limited by the substantial cost of collecting the necessary data and the difficulties of applying the results to local or regional situations where investment decisions relating to the industry are most often made;
3. That the need for models with regional or local application requires a different approach which is outlined. It was noted that a number of models have been developed in recent times to assess the economic contribution of business events at the regional or local levels.;
4. That the ‘beyond tourism’ or legacy value of business events is substantial but very difficult to measure in a credible fashion. The contribution of these values, which include the economic, professional, academic and business advancements benefits of business events are more effectively demonstrated via case studies rather than trying to convert them to a financial equivalent;
5. That acceptance of the economic contribution of business event figures is greatly enhanced by using models or approaches that are consistent with an endorsed approach.
“The completion of this report puts us in a position to provide some guidance to jurisdictions that are now looking for credible ways to document their contribution to the economy and to supporting local business, professional and community aspirations: said Fournier. “It will also provide us as JMIC with a framework for documenting and communicating the values we see as associated with our sector and facilitate the completion of a directory of value models and a “toolkit” for using such data in advocacy, which were other recommendations arising from the Value of Meetings Conference”.
“I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this work and look forward to the role it will play in creating better and more consistent value measurement in the future,” concluded Fournier.
