What will 2023 have in store for meeting planners?

Colm Clarke, partner, Exempla

It seems that international associations have generally had strongly performing events in 2022 in large part thanks to the enthusiasm of their communities at being finally able to get together in person again – but we can’t be complacent and just count on that continuing.

2023 will test the true value of in person events with economic turbulence added to the mix of “everything else”.  As competition for attention continues to increase from all manner of association, for profit, and self-publishing content producers, the pressure will be on organisers to design events that justify the time, money, and CO2 to travel to.

For onsite events, we’ll be focused on making experiences that are uniquely different, better, and much more enjoyable than anything we can get online (with today’s tech). At the same time, we’ll keep developing online sessions that allow communities to learn, exchange and connect in regular and convenient ways.

Don Welsh, president and CEO, Destinations International

Barring any unforeseen re-emergence of Covid-19 at a global level, the positive trend of recovery globally should continue. We know there are isolated economic challenges including the energy crisis as well as areas that are dealing with the effects of the war in Ukraine; we hope to see a peaceful resolution in the coming year.

 Based on recent reports from the airline industry and the major hotel companies, we are seeing a strong recovery in the vitally important business sector that we know is critically important for mid-week business within destinations around the world. With the continued recovery of this segment, along with meetings and events taking place in-person, this will certainly help local businesses, including restaurants, boutiques, and attractions, recover from the global pandemic. In the meetings and conventions market, sustainable meeting practices and tools will be critical.

 Additionally, many destination organizations and convention bureaus have achieved a long overdue seat at the decision table with elected leaders around the world and it is critical that their work, on behalf of their communities, is recognized by residents and governments.

 

Marjorie Anderson, Community by Association

We saw a boom in 2022 for in-person events and meetings. People were eager to get out of their homes and be face-to-face with colleagues and friends again as the pandemic eased.

While this powered the meeting industry, I'm not certain this momentum will increase. Associations should still strategically incorporate online events and meetings in their planning as people continue to assess where they want to put the effort into travel for this type of interaction since in-person is not the only method of engagement.

The pandemic allowed us to be more innovative and inclusive when bringing people together for events and simultaneously showed people they could still get a lot of value and connection online.

Many are making very intentional decisions about when they are choosing to make the effort to attend a face-to-face meeting or event and when it makes sense for them to attend online. Meeting planners should keep a pulse on the needs of their attendees and be flexible and creative when it comes to event/meeting planning to ensure inclusion and keep people engaged.

Martin Sirk, international advisor, Global Associations Hub Partnership

We’ll start to think about the business environment as though there’s no war going on in Ukraine or start believing that the course of the war is predictably incremental, then we’ll receive a horrible reality check, then hope things will be finally over in 2024.  It may very well go on for longer.

We’ll keep predicting the return of Chinese delegates overseas and the reopening of international events in China, but eventually decide neither will happen till 2024.  Asia-Pac business events will outperform anyway!

Traditional corporate meeting and travel budgets will be slashed back. Remote work-driven corporate meeting budgets will increase but nowhere near enough to balance the cutbacks, leading to (MAYBE!) better hotel rates available for association meetings - hooray!

The focus on quality will increase. Third or below ranked events aiming at the same attendees will suffer disproportionately, with many likely to sell up or disappear.

AI will be the buzzword of the year - with multilingualism and matchmaking leading the way.

”Impact" will move from theory and niche to mainstream practice for evaluating events!

Competition for top, young talent will intensify, whilst shortages of lowest paid staff will increase even as some economies slip into recession, especially in US and Europe, and key Asian markets.

One prominent event will receive unwanted spotlight attention as an irresponsible generator of tons of carbon emissions - will the industry be ready to react to such negative PR?

At least one huge Black Swan will glide into view (given the damaged & fragile state of the global financial system). And we’ll realise (yet again) how terrible we are at predicting the future!

Mark Cooper, CEO, International Association of Conference Centres (IACC)

In the context of talent shortages, inflation, and the push towards net-zero sustainability goals, I can see signs of the ways in which venue operators are positioning themselves for the challenges and opportunities facing the meetings and events industry in 2023. 

Related to the return of live meetings and conferences, IACC sees the meeting industry on its final stretch towards full recovery, with a full recovery projected for most venues by next year.

This trajectory is, however, uneven across different variables. European venue operators are generally reporting a stronger recovery than those in the Americas. Marketed, residential and academic venues are also seeing meetings returning at a faster rate than their counterparts. The picture is not rosy everywhere quite yet. 

As client expectations, preferences and behaviours shift, venues are prioritising investment in their technological capabilities. They are also upgrading their conference and meeting spaces, as a return to in-person events becomes increasingly preferred. Often investment following optimism and rate and volume levels, linked to improving employment and easing supply chain issues, fuel the optimism. 

Some venues remain limited in their investments, however, with improvement budgets yet to return to their pre-pandemic levels. Meeting professionals should evaluate venues carefully, including their staffing levels. These venues could face challenges if they are unable to effectively compete in such a fast-moving industry. Another challenge that needs to be faced head on in 2023, is operators meeting the rising client expectations regarding environmental and social responsibility policies, which are likely to become increasingly scrutinised.

Audrey Alloul, chief digital officer, Kenes Group

The discussions in the meetings industry have evolved from an operational to a conceptual approach. What does it mean to gather? How do we exchange knowledge? What and when is physical presence needed and when is it not? All of these are questions that we have been reflecting on and building new strategies upon. Next year we will see the outcomes of a new approach to the whole industry, where multidisciplinary education, online learning and collaboration between societies and companies will be at the core.

As the circumstances of the past few years have pushed humanity to reach a higher level of perception and a more global understanding of the world, the number one driving force of today is the value that each one of us can bring to our specific fields and the purpose behind our everyday actions.

Looking into the future, 2023 will be the year when we utilise the digital tools of this era in alignment with the higher purposes that we have in common to create a multidisciplinary cross-learning network with a larger reach and capacity for meaningfully impacting many more regions of the world than ever before.  And while we will see the upbringing of virtual adaptations to the different global communities’ purposes, we will also experience an evolved version of presential gatherings. Conferences will be critical accelerators of science and global relationships within the fields, ensuring association members won’t want to miss travelling to and attending.

At Kenes, we understand what it is to be purpose-driven; for 57 years we have been working closely with healthcare professionals enabling knowledge exchange that leads to the rapid development of scientific research and ultimately leads to improving patient outcomes. We have pioneered the industry and we continue to do so thanks to the expertise and permanent drive to excel that characterises our team. In 2023, our greatest contribution to global professional development will come in the form of a digital initiative for associations, called Unlok, which aligns with the foreseen future, with the need of generating new revenue streams and offering educational value to the whole community, all year long.