Welcome to the latest edition of Huddle’s Event Industry News. This week we see continued growth in live events, a roadmap to a more sustainable event industry and calls to lower visa waiting times for travelers. Plus, some new data that shows how the meetings and events industry has changed since 2019. Check out our quick rundown to stay informed on the latest event industry news.
Industry giant predicts continued growth
Industry giant Informa upgrades revenue
Informa, the world’s largest trade show company, has announced an upgrade to its annual earnings target citing the pent-up demand for live events. Major sectors outperforming expectations are live corporate events in key markets like North America and Europe, as well as others. This amounts to a hefty 41% increase in revenue, bearing out what we have seen anecdotally from event planners and what public research has shown: organizations and attendees are eager to get back to in-person, live events.
“B2B market demand is growing across many industries and most geographies, with the current exception of China, which will provide incremental growth as it reopens.”
— Stephen Carter, Group Executive
However, cost pressures such as inflation and supply chain and labor market constraints weigh on profits across the industry. And while the industry still has a lot of work to do to restore pre-COVID benchmarks across a host of metrics, we are excited about the trajectory we are on.
The events industry changed forever, according to a new Skift report
New report shows meetings have changed since the pandemic
In a new report by industry experts, Skift takes a deep dive into how the meetings, conventions, and events sector has changed, revealing how the pandemic has altered the landscape and offering a glimpse into the future of events.
The report echoes others in showing a dramatic rise in activity as organizations restart event programs and meetings and event planners rush to meet rising demand. It also shows changes to event production, noting that most are hybrid events, use more technology, have smaller live attendee lists, and are organized with shorter lead times.
One piece of information the event managers at Huddle found interesting was that networking was the most important factor for 64% of those attending events live. This is definitely something we have seen at our events in 2022!
Roadmap for a More Sustainable Events Industry
Net Zero Carbon Events Announces COP27 Roadmap
We have written before about how pleased we were to sign up for the net zero carbon events initiative, the program developed through the Joint Meetings Industry Council to help meet the requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement. As events professionals gathered at the COP27 meeting in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, the organization announced a more detailed plan for how the events industry hopes to come together to meet the challenges of protecting the planet.
The comprehensive roadmap involves renewable power for events, sustainable material use, eliminating food waste, transitioning to zero-emission logistics, and offsetting or mitigating the emissions of travel to events.
We are excited to be part of the search for solutions to meet these ambitious goals and look forward to working with our event design and event planning partners to help us all reduce our environmental impact.
Report Shows Visa Delays Impacting Economic Recovery
Exhibition & Conferences Alliance calls for end to U.S. Visa Delays
A U.S. Travel Association report has found that the industry is being harmed by a severe backlog of visa processing in key markets, deterring travelers and attendees. The Exhibition and Conferences Alliance has called on the federal government to remedy the situation, noting that inflation and labor shortages are already hampering the recovery from the pandemic-induced slowdown.
Waiting times in some places are currently over four hundred days for those applying for the first time in major markets like Mexico, Brazil, and others. That amounts to an estimated 6.6 million potential visitors being prevented from traveling, with a loss of projected spending amounting to $11.6 billion.
The industry body has called on the government to lower wait times, trial videoconference interviews, streamline renewal procedures, and conduct group appointments as well as other measures to help solve the problem.
That is all the event news from us this month. If you want to know more, contact an expert below. We would love to work with you!
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