The industry’s future looks bright, according to American Express forecasts

Meeting professionals expect in-person events and budgets to increase in 2023, according to the 12th annual Global Meetings & Events Forecast, produced by American Express Meetings & Events, a division of American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT).

The 2023 Global Meetings & Events Forecast is based on a survey of 580 meetings and events (M&E) professionals across the value chain in 23 countries, as well as interviews with industry leaders. Key findings from the report include:

• 77 per cent of respondents are optimistic about the health of the industry heading into 2023 (rating eight or above out of 10) – a six-point increase compared to last year’s survey.
• 67 per cent said they believe the number of in-person events will return to pre-pandemic levels within 1-2 years, with internal and smaller meetings already exceeding 2019 levels in some regions.
• Budgets: 65 per cent said that overall M&E spend is increasing for 2023.

“This Forecast reflects a renewed understanding of the value of meetings and events, and the critical role they play in building company culture and driving business,” Gerardo Tejado, GM, American Express Meetings & Events, said.

“The report also finds an industry taking lessons learned during the last few years to bring positive change, including in areas such as technology, well-being, sustainability and inclusivity.”

Strong Growth of In-Person Events

Internal meetings continue to be a higher priority than they were pre-pandemic, as organisations see face-to-face interactions as key to improving productivity, connecting teams, reducing turnover and attracting top talent. Survey respondents anticipate that in-person meetings and the number of event attendees will increase across the board, with 87 per cent of meetings expected to have an in-person component.

Moreover, only 32 per cent of internal meetings are expected to be held on the corporate’s property, with 40 per cent being held in a different city from the office, and 45 per cent including overnight accommodation for attendees.

After two years of remote and hybrid arrangements, respondents also expressed growing virtual fatigue. Overall, a strong majority expect in-person M&E activity to be their main focus next year, with only 29 per cent of respondents in North America and 33 per cent in Europe expecting an increase in hybrid meetings.

Commitment to Sustainability

Sustainability also continues to be a priority for most M&E programs in 2023. Four in five respondents (80%) say their organisation takes sustainability into account when planning events. Of those who say their organisation takes sustainability into account, 76 per cent say their organisation has a defined sustainable meetings program strategy. Impactful practices cited include minimizing paper usage (22%), energy-saving and waste-reduction measures (19%) and booking green suppliers (18%).

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Efforts

Incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) into meetings and events was also a top priority for meeting professionals. Nearly nine in ten (87%) respondents say their organisation or client actively strive to incorporate DE&I in their M&E programs. These respondents say the top two ways they do this are by using diverse and minority-owned suppliers (29%) and by providing an option to attend the event virtually (28%).

Asia Pacific

For meeting professionals in the Asia Pacific region, over half (53%) of respondents say that macroeconomic changes are a top factor that influences an overall change in meeting spend at their organisation, more so than other regions. Furthermore, they fall behind other regions in expecting in-person attendee numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels in the near future (61%). This is likely due to the region easing Covid-19 restrictions later than other regions. Regarding sustainability, respondents in the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Latin America, were more likely to incorporate sustainability into their meeting and events planning (86%) and 83 per cent say they have a defined sustainable meeting program strategy for 2023.

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