Confidence in the future growth and sustainability of the
business meetings and events sector is returning, according to the Meetings
Industry Association’s (MIA) latest mia Insights.
Surveying 185 organisations, the quarterly benchmarking
report reveals 73 per cent are confident in the sector which is seeing average booking
lead times extend from 11 weeks in February 2024 to 16 weeks and the average
enquiry being £27,853.
Thanks to the rising confidence, investment continues to
increase with 78 per cent of organisations having a dedicated strategy in place – which
has risen by 10 per cent since October 2023.
Today, 85 per cent are investing in their development compared to
80 per cent eight months ago, with the average organisation investing £348,035 in the
last 12 months. Areas of focus include technology, training and development,
marketing, renovation, equipment and recruitment.
ESG also remains high on the agenda. Almost three quarters
(73 per cent) have a dedicated strategy, with 89 per cent of respondents revealing they are
clear on their organisations’ ESG goals and progress. When it comes to tracking
performance, 78 per cent of organisations have dedicated ESG KPIs in place and 60 per cent
conduct environmental audits. Similarly, 38 per cent of organisations carry out social
impact assessments.
As a result, more than half (56 per cent) of organisations have a
roadmap to achieve Net Zero by 2050, while 70 per cent are on track to achieve its Net
Zero goals for 2030 (cutting carbon emissions by 45 per cent). This commitment has seen
the majority (81 per cent) invest in areas such as energy-efficiency, waste reduction,
recycling and carbon offsetting programs in the last 12 months, as well as
renewable energy sources, water conservation measures and sustainable building
materials.
However, staffing issues continue to plague the sector with
70 per cent reporting staff vacancies – an increase of 9 per cent from October 2023. Similarly,
almost half (49 per cent) continue to consistently report a skills shortage.
Meanwhile, the government’s increase in the National Minimum
Wage in April has impacted more than half (56 per cent) of the sector – with 53 per cent of
these organisations revealing that they have had to increase their prices as a
result, while also absorbing additional costs.
Looking to the future, 81 per cent of respondents are predicting an
AI revolution, with artificial intelligence being used by just a third
(36 per cent) of the sector to perform daily tasks. This includes compiling RFPs,
handling customer enquiries and generating marketing copy.
Yet, despite AI’s growing significance, less than a quarter
(22 per cent) consider their workforce to have a high understanding of how to use it.
Subsequently, less than a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents have a policy in place
that guides the ethical use of AI within their organisations.
The MIA’s chief executive, Kerrin MacPhie, said: “Including
and measuring sentiment for the first time in areas such as confidence in the
sector has provided a powerful attribute to our latest mia Insights.
“While they largely provide encouraging signs, which are
reflected in the wider results of the survey, the perceptions of government
support, while unsurprising, does however present cause for concern.
“More than half of respondents highlighted emerging
challenges they’re facing that they would like to raise with government. This
includes recruitment challenges, public transport infrastructure and
international attractiveness among many other topics which we will present to
government following the general election.”
To download a copy of the latest MIA Insights visit
https://www.mia-uk.org/insight-surveys.
