This news round-up brings you some of the industry and association news and views from January 2024, including UKCAMS research, beam’s new Chair, IMEX Frankfurt’s new talking point, industry AI white paper, and more.
Headlines
UK conference and meeting venues are being encouraged to take part in the 2024 UKCAMS research.
In its 31st year, The Conference and Meeting Survey (UKCAMS) has a specific focus on the value and volume of the market and the performance of meeting venues. It also highlights key market trends identified by venues.
The 2024 UKCAMS research asks UK venues to provide data on their conference and meeting business during the calendar year 2023.
UKCAMS research’s questionnaire covers the regular questions on the volume and value of the sector but also includes important questions on trends and key issues (for example, venue sustainability practices and policies, AI activity in the business events sector, international business trends).
Findings of the UKCAMS research are widely used to:
- Demonstrate the volume of the UK conference and meetings sector and its value to individual venues and to the national economy
- Highlight key trends from a venue or supply-side perspective
- Ensure continuing support and investment for the industry at national, regional and local levels.
UK conference and meeting venues which take part in the 2024 research will receive a complimentary, personalised summary report enabling them to benchmark their performance in 2023 against other comparable venues. The online questionnaire can be accessed, here.
VisitBritain / VisitEngland Head of Business Events, Paul Black, said: “VisitBritain is pleased to support the ‘UK Conference and Meeting Survey’ in 2024, a valuable tool for us to demonstrate the importance of our business events sector to the UK economy and to Government. There are some important research questions for venues to answer alongside the business level assessment, so we would be very grateful for their participation in supporting this survey.”
The UKCAMS research results are expected to be published in June.
Melissa Cherry – chief diversity and inclusion officer/SVP for Miles Partnership – is moderating an MPI Academy webinar called Building an Inclusive and Equitable Meetings Industry on 13th February.
In advance of this webinar, MPI caught up with Cherry to discuss measuring inclusivity progress, the impact of leadership on DEI initiatives and creating a sense of belonging at events.
She said: “Achieving diversity and inclusion in leadership is an ongoing process that requires commitment at all levels of the organization. It’s not just about hiring diverse leaders but also creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and has equal opportunities for growth and advancement.”
Read the full blog here, and access the link to register for the webinar.
Julie Shorrock, managing director of Hotel and Travel Solutions (HTS) has become Chair of beam, the industry association for business events, accommodation and meetings.
Shorrock has been a board director for many years and succeeds Sian Sayward. A new vice-chair position has also been introduced at beam. The vice-chair position aims to ensure the representation of both venues and agents at chair level and recognise longer-serving venue board directors for their contribution to the association. If the chair is held by an agent, the vice-chair will be a venue and visa-versa. The role follows the inclusion of venues in beam’s membership categories and board of directors.
Julie Shorrock said “What a marvellous honour! I’m taking over the reins at beam at a time when it is buoyant, thriving, and has plenty of momentum to grow further and continue to drive the industry and the association forward.
“That’s testimony to the wonderful leadership of Sian over the last 18 months and the hard work and commitment of all those who have contributed while simultaneously managing their ‘day jobs’. We’ve created so much value as a team, from new advisory boards resulting in achievements such as our Payment Toolkit to a partnership with the IACC, and more.
“I’m a great believer in collaboration, so I look forward to leading beam with so many supportive colleagues and members.”
Ahead of IMEX Frankfurt in May, the IMEX Group has announced its new Talking Point for 2024 and 2025 – Impact.
The company’s annual Talking Point forms a focal point for the year ahead, anchoring IMEX show content, research and storytelling as well as providing a topic for exhibitors and attendees alike to explore at the shows and throughout the year. Ahead of IMEX Frankfurt in May, the IMEX Group has announced its new Talking Point for 2024 and 2025 – Impact (Imp-ACT).
The company’s annual Talking Point forms a focal point for the year ahead, anchoring IMEX show content, research and storytelling as well as providing a topic for exhibitors and attendees alike to explore at the shows and throughout the year.
IMEX CEO, Carina Bauer, explains: “Impact sits at the very heart of our mission to bring the global events community together to do business, learn and drive positive change. We’re especially emphasizing the ‘act’ within Impact, forming a rallying cry for our industry to collectively address the big issues facing our planet and communities.
“Intention is one thing, but action is everything – it’s time to make a bigger, more positive Impact! Over the next year or two we’re inviting people and organizations from every corner of the global business events community to make a more positive impact through their events, their personal and professional actions, their commercial partnerships and more. We look forward to discovering how people embrace our Talking Point and incorporate the concept of impact across their whole lives.”
The IMEX team asked business event professionals to define what impact means to them. The powerful and varied responses were gathered into a short video:
SkyTeam, a global airline alliance, has announced that its data for January can reveal January’s top MICE destinations.
One offering, Global Meetings, is designed to cover MICE events in North and Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Greater China, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. According to SkyTeam, data from Global Meetings demonstrates the most popular MICE destinations for 2024 thus far – Barcelona, Cancun, Buenos Aires, Las Vegas, Milan, Nairobi, Paris, and Prague. Read more, on Conference & Meetings World:
A new white paper highlights the accelerating integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the global association conference and event sector.
The paper, authored by The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau and Ottawa Tourism, underscores the urgent need for widespread upskilling in the use of the technology as well as a need to understand the ethical implications of its use.
The research, which investigates the current and potential impact of AI within the sector, is based on qualitative and quantitative methods, including a global survey with over 100* participants from the industry.
Key Findings:
- 63% of associations and not-for-profits are already utilising AI in event organisation.
- A significant knowledge gap exists, with 72% not engaging in AI education
- 85% have no budget for AI training.
“The inevitability of AI in our sector is clear from our research. However, it’s not just about adoption; it’s about understanding and skilfully leveraging AI to enhance our industry,” said Ottawa Tourism’s Vice President, Meeting and Major Events, Lesley Pincombe.
“This upskilling is not just desirable; it’s essential for the sustainable growth and innovation in our sector. The research also highlighted the fact that there shouldn’t be fear associated with AI and the knowledge needed for its use. Ultimately, it is not for organisers to understand how to build or create AI tools, instead they should be working with technology partners and AI experts to see how AI can be integrated into the work they are already undertaking.”
The white paper not only presents a statistical overview of AI in the association events sector, but also offers in-depth analysis and actionable insights. It emphasises the importance of ethical AI use, especially in data management and privacy. The document serves as a call for industry stakeholders to not only engage in learning and applying AI in their operations but to understand the ethics behind its use and the implications for mismanagement of data and individual privacy.
“AI is rapidly becoming a key technology across so many different industries, ours is no different,” adds Bas Schot, Head of The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau. “Our industry must adapt swiftly to stay ahead, and this means investing in knowledge and skills that align with these technological advancements.
“However, we must be careful to protect our delegates and ourselves as we make the most of what AI has to offer – we already need to consider both the pros and the cons before we entrust vital information and data to third parties – AI usage is no different.”
In December, initial highlights from the research were revealed, including the fact that 63% of global association buyers are either very concerned or slightly concerned about the ethical implications of using AI in event organising. In response, although 63% think governments should legislate on the use of AI, 65% also think those same governments lack the required knowledge to be able to legislate effectively.
Ottawa Tourism and The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau advocate a proactive approach to AI education in the association event sector, emphasising the need for strategic partnerships, knowledge sharing, and resource allocation towards AI competency.
The full white paper is attached but also available for download below, offering valuable insights for association event organisers, technology providers, educators, and policy makers in the global events industry.
The research was conducted, and the white paper written by Adam Baggs from Soaring Worldwide on behalf of The Hague Convention Bureau and Ottawa Tourism. Download it here.
Key findings from an International Sustainability Report suggest sustainability is still not given a high priority in meeting planners’ dealings with suppliers.
The report, by ICCA and Destination Canada, surveyed of 248 meeting professionals, including 139 association planners. It showed that 21% of planners ‘somewhat’ integrated sustainability into RFP design, while only 20% said it was ‘very’ and 8% ‘extremely’ integrated into their RFPs.
Costs (74%), venue capacity (61%), range of accommodation (61%), and favourable contractual terms (59%) were the most important factors when it came to the RFP. Read more, here.
