2024 is set to
be a balancing act for event professionals as the sector engages with some of the
“biggest conversations of our time” according to the IBTM World Trends Report 2024.
The annual
report addresses some of the biggest macro-economic, political, ecological, and
next-generation technological issues affecting the meetings and events industry
in 2024.
Authored
and presented by Alistair Turner, MD of Eight PR &
Marketing, central subjects include the influence of AI on the meetings and
events industry, the growing importance of accessibility, from physical, to
sensory and intellectual, and the economic outlook for businesses working in
meetings and events.
“2024 will be a balancing act in so many
different ways" the report concludes. "Within our industry we have to balance responsible growth with
an ever-expanding to-do list of ethically driven and environmentally critical
ambitions that make for a more robust and sustainable industry."
The report covers
the global outlook from a geological position, investigating the move from an
Atlantic to a Pacific economy, the complexities of the Middle East and Africa,
and the powerhouse of the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, the report
looks at the fortunes of vertical industries, from esports to pharmaceuticals,
and how the dynamics of these industries are impacting their meetings and
events spend.
“It
is no understatement to say that 2024 will be one of the most important years
of the 21st century," said Turner. "The economic, political, and ecological outlook of our
planet is on a knife edge and the advent of AI can swing it in a number of
ways. Our industry has a crucial say in these outcomes and this year’s report
looks to understand what this role should be, and how we can act to create
positive environments around the biggest conversations of our time.
“This report
is at the same time scary, optimistic, insightful, and in-depth. We’ve once
again benefited from over 60 sources and some of the great thinkers, both
within and outside of our industry. The results are fascinating.”
Outside of the
many themes addressed in the report this year, one of the main insights is the new ‘Generation Me’. Here the report looks at hyper-personalisation, the
role of accessibility, and issues around individual security, data, and agency
in the creation of experiences, events and meetings.
To read the report in full, visit: https://www.ibtmworld.com/en-gb/about/industry-trends.html
