Special event visas for international delegates and reduced rates of VAT for organisers of inbound international congresses are amongst recommendations put forward for consideration by the government by the Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) to attract more international events to the UK.

Following BVEP’s report on ‘UK Subvention Policy and Bid Support Practices for International Conferences’, it now wants the UK Border Agency to look at offering event visas for attendees of business events and conferences with more than 2,000 overseas delegates. To attract international congresses, BVEP has mooted the idea of potentially reducing the rates of VAT for organisers of inbound congresses and more generally on conference services and venue hire for international events.

Another recommendation is for national tourism agencies - supported by United Kingdom Trade & Investment (UKTI) - to develop a national bid support best practice paper to facilitate information sharing across leading conference and event destinations. The Tourism Unit at the Department of Culture, Media & Sport, meanwhile, is being urged to publish and disseminate across government departments a Ministerial Support Initiative Paper, to include the timely provision of support letters, assistance on bids and attendance at events.

After an industry consultation following the publication of the report last October, the recommendations will now be passed to Minister for Tourism John Penrose, the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, Home Office Ministers, UKTI and the All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG), as well as other government agencies and industry bodies.

BVEP says the events industry should also continue to raise national and local government understanding of the benefits of hosting international conferences, business and cultural events in the UK, including economic growth, scientific and industrial advancement, inward investment and employment.

Michael Hirst, chair of BVEP, said: “Subvention and bid support is an area which can be addressed positively to make our industry more internationally competitive and these recommendations have been put together to this end. A number of initiatives towards meeting many of the objectives set out in the recommendations are already underway. We shall report further in the spring on what progress has been made."

Pictured: Michael Hirst