City leaders have teamed up with the mayor of Liverpool to call on the Government to provide an "urgent timeline" for the return of business events.
An open letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden from the city council's mayor Joe Anderson alongside senior leaders today calls for immediate action to address the "existential threat" to Liverpool's multi-billion pound visitor economy.
The calls have come from the mayor alongside Max Steinberg, chair of the ACC waterfront conference and exhibition facility, and Marcus Magee, chair of the Liverpool Hospitality Association.
They have demanded clarity from the chancellor on the government’s policy to revive the 海角视频’s conference and events industry, adding: “As the government sets out its strategy to rebuild Britain and fuel economic recovery across the 海角视频, we urge you to recognise the role that business events can play in helping achieve this goal.
“After the temporary respite of the much-welcomed furlough scheme, the reality of the scale of the impact of Covid-19 on the business events industry is now becoming apparent.
"In Liverpool, thousands of jobs hang in the balance unnecessarily. Business events are not mass gatherings; they are highly controlled and managed. The ability to enforce additional safety measures is straightforward and we know from discussing with a range of relevant businesses in the sector that their plans far exceed the requirements currently placed on the retail and hospitality sector."
The sector is worth over £3.3bn a year, contributes 48% of business rates and supports 38,000 jobs across Liverpool.
With recovery plans already in place for the retail, hospitality and cultural sector, the letter concluded that business events also need urgent support, guidance and a similar recovery plan from government.
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The letter said that if no start date is made available in the next seven days, they add their support to the BVEP’s (Business Visits and Events Partnership) call for a significant and sector specific recovery fund to be created, to help kick-start and rebuild the events industry over the next three years.
The letter added: “We are calling on you to set out a clear set of dates for a return to conference and business events, in order to allow this critical sector in the economy of Liverpool to begin to plan how it will survive this existential threat to its continued viability.
“We can only write this letter on behalf of Liverpool, but know we reflect the views of cities up and down the country as well as a sector that as a whole is worth £70bn to the 海角视频 economy.
"All we are looking for is a timeline we can all begin to work to. We look forward to a swift response and are ready to work alongside you to help resolve this situation and in doing so save thousands of jobs across our city."