A VIEW FROM THE TOP
Cameron Roberts takes a look at the BVA BDRC Meetings and Events State of the Nation report , finding out what ’ s next for the industry
eeping a finger on the pulse of the meetings and events industry is vital for organisers to compare projections and trends against the rest of the industry .
Business insight consultancy BVA BDRC has released its Meetings and Events State of the Nation report , written by Karen Small , director , and Louise Eccleston , client services manager , which tracks how the industry is looking to recover from the pandemic as well as monitor upcoming trends .
Growing confidence
While the industry was heavily impacted by the pandemic , the report shows that planners are looking forward to the coming months with increased optimism ,
Louise Eccleston
due to higher budgets and increased demand for events than in previous years .
In the report , 75 % of event planners rated their optimism about the industry at seven or above out of 10 , showing an innate sense of positivity among organisers . This optimistic attitude may be a result of returning to face-to-face events but could also indicate an upcoming boom for the industry .
Louise Eccleston , client services manager , BVA BDRC , said : “ The past two years have been immensely challenging for the sector , with restrictions limiting the size of meetings and , in the
“ If they [ suppliers ] can help to encourage delegates to attend by delivering on all parts of the events eco-system , the booker is more likely to convert the business .” early days of the pandemic , preventing meetings from taking place at all .
“ With those restrictions now gone , most planners are seeing increases this year thanks to deferred demand ( from events that had been scheduled for 2021 or 2020 ),” she continued .
Conferences show real promise for the upcoming year , with 82 % of planners expecting to arrange at least slightly more conferences than in the last 12 months .
The survey also showed high levels of comfort when thinking of booking all types of events for Q2 2022 onwards , meaning it ’ s not just conferences which are seeing a rise in positivity . Meetings and are also expected to see a rise , with 54 % of those asked expecting to see at least a slight increase in the number of meetings being booked .
Bright budgets
It ’ s not just optimism that ’ s increasing either , the report itself says that budgets are also rising to meet the demand for more memorable in-person events .
Over 80 % of corporate bookers completing the survey said their 2022 spend will be higher than their 2021 spend , indicating that events coming back in 2022 will be bigger and better thanks to more financial input .
“ The budgets for those face-to-face events are going to go up because they mean so much more than they ever did ” says a VP at an events agency featured in the report .
This newfound buying power will require suppliers to build confidence with planners to encourage them to spend , this will require suppliers to “ deliver on all parts of the events eco-system ,” according to the report .
Eccleston added to this point , www . conference-news . co . uk