Internal meetings are set to drive growth in the global meetings and events market in 2024, according to a new report from American Express Global Business Travel.
The TMC’s annual Global Meetings and Events Forecast, which surveyed more than 500 people working in the M&E sector across the world, found that budgets were on the rise for two-third of respondents.
There was also a higher level of optimism about the health of the industry with 82 per cent being positive about the prospects for 2024, up from a figure of 77 per cent a year ago.
With more organisations operating remote or hybrid working arrangements for staff post-pandemic, the need to hold internal meetings has become paramount. Nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents said they expected more attendees at internal events next year compared with 2023.
The forecast also highlights the sector’s continued recovery with 28 per cent now returning to or exceeding pre-Covid attendee levels and another 42 per cent expecting to reach this milestone in 2024.
In Europe, meetings professionals are forecasting “modest” increases in activity in 2024 compared to their counterparts based in the Americas, with internal meetings playing an “important role” in their programmes.
Just over half (57 per cent) of those in Europe expect an increase in meetings spending next year compared with 2023, and another 18 per cent think budgets will stay the same. Overall meeting spend is expected to rise by 2.8 per cent in Europe during 2024, which is down from an anticipated 3.2 per cent increase this year.
In terms of the types of meetings being held in 2024, European-based respondents expected the majority (63 per cent) of events would be entirely in-person, followed by hybrid meetings (18 per cent) and a similar number (19 per cent) of purely virtual gatherings.
Just under one-third of European respondents have already seen attendee numbers return to or exceed 2019 levels with another 35 per cent expecting this to happen in 2024. Cost is likely to be biggest factor in potentially “dampening” these numbers, according to the survey.
The list of the top five destinations in Europe for meetings and events next year is expected to be led by London, followed by Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam and Paris.
Gerardo Tejado, SVP of professional services at Amex GBT, said: “With more distributed workforces than ever, companies are re-evaluating the importance of internal interactions for team cohesion, productivity, creativity, engagement and employee welfare.
“It’s never been clearer that in-person meetings and interactions are irreplaceable, with face-to-face connections and building relationships serving as cornerstones of personal and professional success. Our forecast indicates that 2024 will be a dynamic year – not only are budgets and attendee numbers rising, but we’re also seeing technology adoption accelerating dramatically.”
The report highlights how technology is changing the events industry with AI increasingly being used for personalised communications to attendees: 42 per cent of respondents said they expect to use AI in 2024.
The use of mobile apps continues to be important with more than 60 per cent of meeting professionals using them, while virtual reality is also being utilised more frequently – 41 per cent respondents expect to use this technology in some way next year.
Sustainability is another priority with 78 per cent of meeting specialists saying that their organisation would have net zero goals in place by the end of 2024. Although this does create some challenges such as identifying certified suppliers, the impact on budgets, measuring CO2 from meetings, and finding locations that can be reached with minimal travel.