The coming year presents good prospects for the MICE segment
Despite the possibility of a decline in meetings spending in some regions, the forecast predicts that overall in 2017 the MICE industry will experience significant growth, according to CWT's latest Meetings & Events report.
Globally, analysts expect GDP growth to be slightly lower in 2017, so now is the right time for organizers to extract the most value for money and reduce the cost per attendee. In any case, analysts expect widespread growth.
“By being flexible with dates and destinations, organizers can take advantage of the current market situation to optimize their meetings and events and produce better results,” according to Cindy Fisher, vice president and global head of CWT Meetings & Events.
THE FORECAST FOR 2017:
• North America is transforming into a buyer's market where hotel supply is expected to outstrip demand for the first time since 2009. It pays to be flexible with destinations and dates to take advantage of this market shift.
• In Brazil hotel rates are expected to fall, as the World Cup and Olympic Games have created a healthy infrastructure and oversupply.
• In Asia Pacific they could increase costs per attendee and group sizes with a 25% increase in the number of meetings.
• In Europe, strict business regulations, shrinking budgets, savings targets and growing industry regulations for buyers could benefit mid-range hotels poised to capture more meeting and event bookings.
GLOBAL TRENDS
• Restauration: prices are expected to increase worldwide due to rising production costs, changes in imports and exports and growth in attendee requests for special diets.
• Safety and Security: more markedly extended to meetings and events, beyond the traditional location of airline passengers and including all meeting attendees to facilitate planning in case of an emergency.
•Virtual Attendance: there will be an increasing use of technology that enables remote attendees to engage and participate through two-way interaction capabilities.