The Joint Meetings Industry Council commissioned this research report in order to determine the state of industry value measurement and to make recommendations as to how those measurement processes might be enhanced in the future. The study was carried out in response to a series of recommendations developed by delegates to the Conference on the Value of Meetings which was attended by a cross section of industry, political, media, academic and professional representatives.

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, and involved an analysis of representative value measurement models from around the world. Amongst the study conclusions 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.

6 | The Study has provided JMIC with a framework for documenting and communicating the values associated with the Meetings sector and is available here for download.

JMIC Research Report on Meetings Value Models  September 2012