Spending on events set to grow, says MPI survey
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The total number of meetings planned, proposal activity, the number of attendees per meeting/event and expenditure per meeting/event are all likely to increase this year.
That’s according to FutureWatch 2006, an annual comparative survey carried out by Meeting Professionals International.
Corporate, association and governmental planners expect to receive a larger slice of their organisation’s budgets than last year. They also predicted lead times and hotel rates will increase in 2006.
The survey, carried out on-line, comprised a series of three e-mails sent to about 16,900 MPI members worldwide. It received 1,268 response; 40 per cent from client-side planners, 20 per cent from intermediaries and 40 per cent from suppliers.
Client-side planners and intermediaries expect the number of meetings they organise to grow by 7 per cent and 21 per cent respectively over 2005 figures.
Corporate and association planners predict a 7 per cent rise in expenditure per meeting; intermediaries predict a 14 per cent rise; and suppliers expect a 9 per cent rise.
Growth in international meetings will slow this year. European planners expect a three percentage point increase in international meetings from 26 per cent in 2005 to 29 per cent in 2006. United States planners foresee little change in their use of international meeting locations with Canada and Europe tied as lead destinations at 5 per cent each.
61 per cent of survey respondents said discussions on Return on Investment in their companies focused on cost savings and efficiencies. 35 per cent of respondents cited the achievement of strategic goals such as reduced employee turnover, revenue generation or improved loyalty as a focus of these discussions.
