Aspire Magazine's Spring 2024 Tips & Trends

 

KEY TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE OF EVENTS

World-leading hospitality group Accor recently published 5 Key Trends from their survey, Meeting Expectations: The Future of Meetings & Events. Here is an overview of those trends: 

1. Softer Productivity – "Experiences are being curated around the nourishment and wellness of participants, including the downtime agenda."

2. Selling Belonging – Companies seek "positive ROX (return on experience) to reinforce a sense of belonging and deliver a valuable experience."

3. Designing Experiences – "By creating experiences rather than simply providing meeting rooms, we can help embed ideas, memories, and different ways of thinking… allowing us to create events that are transformative and creative."

4. Green Gatherings – Sustainability "involves sparking meaningful engagement with local communities and fostering environmentally friendly conversations."

5. Disruptive Technology – AI "has the potential to transform the meetings and events sector through its capacity to instantly crunch data…(useful) to offer amazing, immersive, interactive experiences."

 

EVENTS ARE ON THE RISE: CONVENE'S FORECAST

Convene's Annual Industry Forecast is packed with relevant data and insights. Almost 800 event professionals, primarily from North America, responded to the questionnaire. Here are a few highlights from the report that should encourage you about the future of meetings and events! 

  • 40% of events increased in attendance compared to their last pre-pandemic event. 

  • 69% anticipate increased event attendance over the next two years. Only 4% anticipate a decrease in attendance. 

  • 64% expect their overall events budget to increase by an average of 21% over the next two years.

  • 45% say they are more active on social media for their events than for pre-pandemic events.

 

WHAT EVENT ATTENDEES VALUE MOST

Freeman's Q1 Trends Report provides "the largest and most comprehensive behavioral assessment of B2B events in the industry." The report is a must-read for meeting professionals. 

Here are a few highlights from the report: 

  • Attendees want to hear about topics like innovation from industry leaders and experts. A thought-provoking, relevant topic will outweigh even the most prominent (celebrity) speaker.

  • The most valued educational content actively immerses and engages participants. Attendees believe learning is more valuable with real people and real-life demonstrations.

  • A growing number of respondents prefer to attend in-person events compared to online events (82%). Face-to-face interactions are the most trusted sources of information and an invigorating source of ideas, innovation, connection, and collaboration. 

 
Michael Novelli