According to Princeton Education, an event is, 'Something that happens at a given place in time.' Events are not a new spectacle, they have been around since biblical times and before. These events range from informal religious and cultural gatherings to huge events such as the first Olympic Games which was held in 776BC. The relationship between tourism and events go back to Thomas Cook organising excursions to the great exhibitions of London and Paris. Hospitality, Tourism and Events are all intrinsically linked, in a hospitality and tourism context, an event becomes a special event, this can range from a local village event to an international sporting event with participants from all over the world. In more recent years, the events industry has grown as people are looking for more interesting and cultural experiences which can provide them with interesting life experiences.
There are many different reasons for staging an event, these can be split into three classifications, including 'Leisure/Cultural' events, 'Personal' events and 'Organizational/Corporate' events. 'Organizational/Corporate' Events are often referred to as the 'M.I.C.E' sector. M.I.C.E (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) is a specialized group of tourism dedicated to planning, booking and facilitating conferences, seminars and other events. Events are intrinsically linked with hospitality and tourism, due to the fact that events occur in all sectors of the hospitality and tourism industry. Travel, tourism, catering, accommodation and entertainment are all part of the events process. There are many different venues which can used for events, these include, hotels, purpose built venues, unusual and academic venues. Three to five star hotels are acceptable to use for conferences, exhibitions and banquets. Purpose Built venues are multi-purpose venues with facilities specifically designed for conferences, exhibitions, arts and entertainment venues. Unusual venues involve a lot of different venues ranging from discovery centers to castles or museums. The final events venue is academic which includes universities an colleges, accommodating for conferences, graduations and can also be used as entertainment venues. There are many industries involved in the set up and running of an event, these include accommodation providers for visitors, delegates and other participants of the event. Hospitality and Catering is another major industry involved both indirectly and directly involved in the event. Event Management Companies and Conference facilities and services are two major industries involved in the creation of an event, they provide professional and specialist services including hire companies, lighting and electricals, health and safety, security, cleaning companies and exhibition stands.
The UK exhibitions sector staged almost 1,600 events for both public and trade audiences, generated £11 billion in spending and contributed £5.6 billion to the UK economy, which was equivalent to 0.4% of the UK's total GDP, in 2010. Over 265,000 exhibitors participated in events with 20% coming from outside of the UK. Exhibitors spent almost £2.7 billion in 2010 on goods and services to demonstrate at events in 2010. Almost 13.1 million people attended events in 2010, spending over £1.4 billion on accommodation, travel and other purchases. UK exhibitions directly contributed almost £2.6 billion and over 76,300 jobs to the UK economy. Although there are all of these positive statistics about the events industry, Key Note estimates that 'the UK exhibitions and conferences market declined by 1.5% in 2013, despite experiencing an uplift in demand within the exhibitions sector and benefitting from renewed business confidence over the past year.' (Key Note 2014) However, the UK meeting industry contributed £58.4 billion to the country's GDP and supported 148,500 jobs, which is equivalent to 0.5% of the UK's total employment, in 2013. The legacy of major events such as the 2012 Olympics helped to promote the events sector on a global scale from the UK's strong performance during said event, bringing in huge revenue for the country. There are many tangible items which have been left behind from major events such as the Olympics, such as, huge Olympic stadiums and the upgraded transport system which was installed in London city centre.
Part B
The MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre) is situated in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter and is considered to be 'warm, friendly and accessible'. It is one of Europe's leading art centres and has welcomed an astonishing 800,000 visitors since it opened its doors in 2012. (Discover Northern Ireland 2015). They have something for everyone, putting on average 280 live shows a year. The MAC has many versatile spaces including 'Downstairs at The MAC', a 350 seater theatre which can be used for opera, corporate events, stand up comedy and theatre pieces. The also have two other main theatres one which is called 'Upstairs at the MAC' which is a 120 seater and is suitable for intimate drama productions. The second theatre is called 'The Factory' and can seat up to 140 people cabaret style. 'The Factory' is also a very versatile space as one side of the room has mirrors and a ballet bar and therefore would be a perfect space for a dance group to use. The MAC's main tagline is 'Enhancing people's lives through art', this shows that The MAC wouldn't be what it is today without the art. There have been many local and world famous artists, such as Andy Warhol, who have had their artwork displayed in three main galleries in The MAC which are 'Tall & Upper Galleries' and the 'Sunken Gallery' . Most exhibitions in The MAC run for about 3 months, however, they do have one permanent art installation which is called 'Permanent Present', it is made from multi-coloured copper wire and is piano tuned at each end. This is attributed to Thomas Devlin who was a young boy killed on the Springfield Road, there is a memorial service held for Devlin every year in The MAC, the installation itself signifies hope for the future. Alongside all these other products and services that The MAC has to offer, they also have a restaurant called 'Native by Yellow Door'. They offer everything from a coffee to a pre-theatre meal with alcoholic beverages, again showing that all Tourism, Hospitality and Events are all intrinsically linked.
'The MAC created a bespoke market segmentation model for the first year of operation that divided potential customers into three primary groups: people excited about art who would respond to the contemporary programme; people with more traditional tastes in art; and more casual ‘dinner and a show’ customers for whom the MAC would be the focal point of a good night out.' (Penn 2015) The MAC have their own target markets and these are split into four groups, these are 'Cool Eclectics' which includes 17,019 customers this is the customers who want to try something new and are mainly motivated by art, 'Faithful Followers' which has 23,856 customers are those who take fewer risks but are quite knowledgeable and regular in their attendance, 'Treat Seekers' includes 23,611 customers who are expecting a guaranteed night out, they are occasional attendees, they are a 'dinner and show' type of audience, the final market segment is called 'Contemporary Families' which includes 17,855 customers, this is family audiences, it is not a segment in the same way as the others, but still a distinct group. (McVerry 2015) The MAC is now more focused on the customers, defining their segmentations based on their purchasing behaviours, this will allow The MAC to communicate directly with the customers based on their preferences and interests. The venue hit its initial attendance targets within eight weeks of opening and is expected to hit the one million visitor mark this autumn.(Penn 2015) Attendance at The MAC during 2012/2013 was primarily from the domestic market, with 95% of the bookings coming from household bookings in Northern Ireland, which represents 1.3% of the overall households in Northern Ireland. (Mosaic NI Analysis)
With its annual budget from Government cut by £1.38 million to £10.9 million, the Arts Council was forced to make difficult decisions that it believed were necessary to stabilise the arts as a whole. This it has done with a strategic perspective designed to protect the future, rather than simply applying the reduction in the same way to each arts organisation. (Arts Council of Northern Ireland 2015) The recent cuts of 11.2% have greatly impacted on the running of The MAC, due to the fact that these cuts have led to loss of staff and opportunities to become involved in the arts sector, there are fewer exhibitions and events being held in the arts sector and there are fewer performances being able to be put on due to not having the funding. This creates a problem for The MAC due to the fact that it costs £2.5 million a year to run the venue, the arts council funds the majority of this, however, The MAC has to bring in a quarter of a million in revenue themselves in order to stay running, this is brought in through things such as ticket sales and corporate events. This however has created problems as The MAC are not able to hold certain events and performances due to lack of funding and therefore are not able to fund this quarter of a million which they need. Although they may struggle in situations like this, The MAC are also able to create great opportunities for the local community. This can be done as The MAC offer many volunteering opportunities, they currently have 120 volunteers and only ask that you volunteer for at least eight hours over the course of each month. This is very helpful for The MAC as then they aren't having to pay wages allowing them to keep their funds so that they can fund shows and exhibitions, but it also allows for people to able to gain experience in The MAC and then they may be able to gain further paid work in The MAC or within another company within the events, hospitality or tourism industry.