19 February 2008

National survey envisions meetings boom in 2008

What's ahead for US hotels and meeting centers? Big growth, says a national survey of meeting and event planners.

The "FutureWatch 2008" study forecasts a 19% growth in spending and revenue this year. The predictions were made as part of an annual outlook put together by Meeting Professionals International and American Express.

In addition to finding that more will be spent on meetings, the study also found that interest in webcasts and other complements to live meetings will rise but will not displace "face-to-face" meetings, according to a news release.

"FutureWatch 2008 is further evidence that there's no substitute for the power of human connections through live interaction," said Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO of MPI.

Among the other findings in the report were:

~§ Fourteen percent of respondents, including 16% in Canada and almost one-third in Europe, said they had seen increased interest in holding meetings in the Middle East

~§ Despite their expectation that the economy will slow, corporate planners predicted a 27% rise in spending in 2008

~§ Less than one-fifth of meetings business is expected to be outsourced in 2008, but that still represent a 14% increase in volume of outsourced meeting planning events.

~§ A growing number of professionals, 19% overall, list conservation and environmental concerns among the top three trends affecting their

The sixth-annual international study surveyed 1,643 meeting and event professionals and suppliers from around the world.

Report by David Wilkening