Higher costs are the main factor slowing the travel industry’s recovery from the pandemic, according to the Q4 Meetings & Events Pulse Survey by Global DMC Partners (GDP). The study covered subjects like hiring trends, sustainability, and other current MICE travel challenges.
88% of those polled indicated inflation has caused their budgets to rise, with 68% of event planners impacted by airline expenses. To reduce these costs, some event organisers have chosen to hold events in locations closer to their guests or use other modes of transportation.
Global DMC Partners president and CEO Catherine Chaulet reported that clients are facing the issue of escalating expenditures in relation to their budgets. Some are now tasked with making budgets that were set more than a year ago function in the current environment, while others are required to identify savings in order to give the best solution for the same budget. Global DMC Partners is able to assist clients with some of these present problems due to its worldwide network and presence on almost every continent.
Event organisers reported that their budgets had grown in the previous year, with 15% of planners seeing their budgets rise due to inflation. Attendance at in-person events is at or above pre-pandemic levels, and MICE participants are increasingly enrolling at the last minute.
Event organisers feel pressured to only hold in-person events due to the success of hybrid components. Over half of event planners who negotiate contracts with event venues acknowledge that cancellation or rebooking policies are the most crucial clauses in the agreement, a trend that has become more prevalent due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This is the primary concern for 48% of planners when negotiating a contract.
Hotels have tightened cancellation policies and asked for larger deposits up front, causing event planners to hesitate. International event planners are more concerned about sustainability, with 73% now having sustainability targets for their clients.
Although fewer event planning firms are currently hiring, 45% of them still claim to be doing so or expect to in the near future. There is a need for mid-level and entry-level positions, and 10% more planners are hiring independent event employees. To encourage additional hiring, 13% more planners have raised their salaries or compensation packages.
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