London is the top European destination for meetings
and events, according to the American Express GBT Meetings & Events 2024
Global Forecast.
The report forecasts that UK capital is
likely to remain the most popular European destination for the foreseeable
future, despite a predicted 9 per cent increase in hotel rates next year.
The report surveyed more than 500 meetings
and events professionals from around the world, with additional commentary from
more than a dozen industry leaders.
The survey found that the top two factors
influencing location selection for European meetings and events planners are
ease of travel for attendees and the specific type of location required.
European meeting professionals expect
modest increases in activity next year compared to respondents in North America
and Latin America. Europe also has the lowest percentage of expected domestic
air travel for attendees, at 33 per cent.
Additionally:
• European
respondents said 52 per cent of internal meetings will be held at a hotel, 48
per cent will require overnight accommodations, and 46 per cent will be held in
a different city than the corporate office.
• Considering
this in tandem with Amex GBT’s recent findings from its Hotel Monitor 2024 –
that London will see a 9.1 per cent increase in hotel rates – this will have an
impact upon the M&E industry.
• However,
respondents chose “ease of travel and transportation to location for attendees”
as the top factor influencing meeting location selection, meaning London will
likely remain the most popular European destination for places to host meetings
& events for the foreseeable future.
Internationally, meetings professionals
expect internal meetings to see the strongest growth of all meeting types in
2024, with 48 per cent of respondents predicting more attendees.
• 28 per cent say programs have already met or exceeded pre-pandemic attendee levels
and 42 per cent expect to reach that goal in 2024.
• 72 per cent of meeting planners expect lead
times in 2024 to be the same or shorter.
• Only 25 per cent said they were likely or
very likely to look for a job within the next year; of those, more than 65 per
cent plan to stay in the same industry – further evidence that meeting
professionals remain bullish about the future of the industry.
Gerardo Tejado, SVP, professional services, Amex GBT, said: “With more distributed workforces than
ever, companies are re-evaluating the importance of internal interactions for
team cohesion, productivity, creativity, engagement, employee welfare. It’s
never been clearer that in-person meetings and interactions are irreplaceable,
with face-to-face connections and building relationships serving as
cornerstones of personal and professional success. Our forecast indicates that 2024
will be a dynamic year – not only are budgets and attendee numbers rising, but
we’re also seeing technology adoption accelerating dramatically.”
You can download the report now.
