Survey predicts healthy meetings future
Meeting professionals are looking forward to healthy attendance and budget increases this year, according to the annual FutureWatch 2008 survey.
Overall, meeting and event professionals expect a 19% spike in attendance in 2008, according to an organization release.
The finding was matched by a prediction that interest in webcasts and other compliments to live meetings will also rise, but clearly will not displace the strategic value of face-to-face meetings.
“This year’s study showed that while meeting and event professionals are embracing technology, its greater role is in enhancing events, not replacing them,” says Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO of Meetings Professional International (MPI).
Among findings:
—FutureWatch respondents expect their industry to globalize rapidly in the coming year. Twenty percent expect their organizations to extend their global reach in 2008, compared to less than 1 percent who foresee a decrease in globalization.
—Fourteen percent of all respondents, 16% of respondents in Canada and 31% in Europe, said they had seen increased interest in holding meetings in the Middle East.
—Among its economic findings, FutureWatch found all respondents expressed concern about an economic downturn in 2008. Despite this perception, corporate planners remain bullish on budget expectations, predicting a 27% rise in 2008.
—FutureWatch also found that interest in environmental sustainability has not bypassed the meeting planning industry. A growing number of professionals, 19%, list conservation and environmental concerns among the top three trends affecting their work.
The sixth-annual international study, conducted by MPI and sponsored by American Express, surveyed 1,643 meeting and event professionals and suppliers from around the world, marking the largest response ever to a FutureWatch study.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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