The last two years have been a real drama for the meeting and event industry. Events cancellations, rescheduling, safety protocols, events no, events yes, lockdowns, reopening, shutdowns… in a few words a real nightmare. The meeting and events industry has faced incredible uncertainty, the world has been turned upside down and we are all eager to see how the industry will shape up in the next future.
What is clear is that we have experienced an acceleration of the digital transformation. Virtual events have enabled the meetings and events industry to survive throughout the worst of the pandemic and acquired greater prominence following the movement and travel restrictions that have been imposed, have helped to expand audiences, but have not been able to replace many aspects of the in-person experience, for instance the engagement of the audience which has been a big challenge. As soon as it could, the business has pivoted from virtual to hybrid events and emerging technologies such as augmented reality and artificial intelligence have been adopted to expand event possibilities and metaverse has experienced a certain growth.
Things are now getting back on track and 2022 has shown a gradual return to in-person meetings. Even, if forecasting has become quite challenging after these turbulent years of pandemic, the outlook for the future of the meetings and events industry looks quite optimistic and there is an overall sentiment that 2023 can provide a great opportunity to recover part of its lost revenue and improve profits.
As president of MPI Italia Chapter and part of the ItaliaLive network, and with a continuous exchange of information and debate within our national and international community, we are seeing a general recovery of the industry which has also been confirmed by the different surveys and studies conducted by the big players of our industry, among those the ‘Global Meetings & Events Forecast’, by American Express, which predicts for 2023 a return to in presence meetings for 67 % of respondents.
This prediction reflects somehow the awareness of the importance of human interaction as a key factor for improving productivity. According to the study, in two years we will go 100% back to in-presence meetings even if with a reduced attendance. Event professionals are aware that most people are thrilled to be coming back to in-person events, but that there are a lot of people asking why should I leave my home or my office to attend and event, that I can also get digitally.
This means that event designers and planners will need to work on compelling content and experiences to spark attendance. Besides technology, which will play a big role in the meetings and events industry, sustainability and social corporate responsibility have become much more than trends and are the foremost demands influencing the management of events. Planners have become more aware of the impacts that hosting meetings and events can have on the environment and sustainability is becoming a key driver of most activity aiming at minimizing the negative impacts by adopting sustainable practices across social, economic and environmental issues. Many iconic MICE destinations and venues will be reconfirmed but also out of the ordinary ones will be emerging.
Although the general optimistic perspective the horizon is not very clear, there are some clouds, new challenges to face with such as the impact of the Ukraine war, inflation, energy crisis and labor shortage which stretch the budgets tighter than ever. Inflation, for instance, is a major issue as it impacts on events’ attendance, due to the rising cost of travel, accommodation, food, venues… According to CWT’ s ‘Global Business Travel Forecast’, the cost per attendee for in-person meetings and events this year is around 25% higher than in 2019 and is forecast to rise by 7% in 2023. Airfares have increased by 48,5% in 2022 and are expected to rise by 8,4% in 2023.
The world has changed and so the meetings and events industry. It’s time to level up creativity, bring innovation to our industry under stretched budgets, economic and social issues and communicate in a more coherent and cohesive way.
GIUSEPPINA CARDINALE
PRESIDENT OF MPI ITALIA CHAPTER
SALES & MARKETING MANAGER AT FH55 HOTELS
