UN recognises meeting and exhibition planning as a distinct economic activity

An agreement was struck in 2004 between the World Tourism Organization, ICCA, MPI, and EIBTM. The WTO is a specialized agency of the United Nations, and lends its research and marketing guidance by using its Tourism Satellite Account, a system for measuring and analyzing the impact of tourism on an economy. TSA will now incorporate meeting industry data, allowing the partners to study how meeting spending relates to other economic measures such as Gross Domestic Product and job creation.

A forthcoming WTO meeting scheduled for this October in Iguazu Falls, Brazil, is likely to agree the methodology by which meetings data is to be included in the overall TSA analysis, the first step towards achieving worldwide consistency of reporting, but the project has
already enjoyed an immediate positive result in the publication of the latest official UN economic classifications, in which meeting and exhibition planning is included as an official category for the first time.

It was announced after the United Nations meetings; Expert Group on International Economic and Social Classifications, 20-24 June 2005 and Technical Subgroup of the Expert Group, 27-28 June 2005, that the profession of meeting and exhibition organising has been recognised by the UN in their “International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities” (ISIC, Rev 4 provisional draft) as follows:

8230 Convention and trade show organisers
This class includes the organisation, promotion and management of events such as business and trade shows, conventions, conferences and meetings, whether or not including the management and provision of the staff to operate the facilities in which these events take place.

7920 Other reservation service activities
This class includes the activities of marketing, promotion and arrangement of accommodation and other services including tours for conventions and visitors, tourist guide services, condominium time-share exchange services and other travel-related reservation services (including for transportation, hotels, restaurants, car rentals, entertainment and sport) Activities of ticket sales;theatrical sports and all other amusement and entertainment are also included.

“This is a major step forward for worldwide recognition of the meetings industry, and ICCA is delighted that this is now in place and while there is a great deal more to be done, it demonstrates the importance of teamwork between leading global organisations”, says Tuula Lindberg, ICCA’s Immediate Past President and WTO representative.