The leisure industry is again preparing for the sector's largest UK-based trade show, the Leisure Industry Week, which will be held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham next week (21-23 September).

Seven different leisure sectors will be represented by more than 350 exhibitors at the show, which will also include hours of free education and demonstrations as well as product launches, new developments and the latest technologies.

Organisers are expecting that the three-day event will attract around 13,000 visitors.

The seven sectors include health and fitness; play and attractions; sport; licensed business; eat and drink; leisure facilities; and pool and spa.

There will be a number of seminars for each sector, with topics ranging from operations and legislation to technological advances and marketing.

Among the show highlights is the Attractions Industry Debate, during which a high profile panel of leading stakeholders in the UK visitor attractions sector will debate on whether museums should be required to charge for entry.

The debate will be chaired by Martin Barratt, chief executive of BALPPA, and panelists include James Berresford, chief executive of VisitEngland; Colin Bryan, managing director of Drayton Manor Park; and David Sharpe, managing director of The London Eye.

"We've got a great panel of industry leaders and I'm looking forward to hearing what they think about free entry to museums and other issues which affect us all," said Barrat.

"Stakeholders from across the UK visitor attractions industry are welcome to join us and contribute to the debate."

Over at the health and fitness side of the show, a wide range of sessions will be organised on Wednesday 22 October by the Independent Operators Unite (IOU) group.

There will be two sessions before lunch - one on sales and marketing and another on member retention.

The first post-lunch session will look into how to increase secondary spend while the second, closing session will offer the chance for independent operators to share the experiences and lessons learned from operating independent outlets.

Dave Wright, chief executive of Creative Fitness Marketing, and one of the driving forces behind the IOU movement, said: "These will be one of the highest attended sessions ever in the fitness industry with anywhere between 300 and 800 club owners in each session."