Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the largest association for meeting and event professionals, published its Meetings Outlook 2014 Summer Edition.
The newest installment of the quarterly special report shows meetings overall are expected to grow, with virtual meetings predicted to develop at twice the rate of face-to-face meetings; budgets are not keeping pace.
Key findings include the following:
- Virtual meeting attendance is anticipated to grow by 3.9 percent, almost twice the rate of live attendance (2 percent), over the next year.
- 52 percent of U.S. respondents and 59 percent of European respondents have a favorable budget outlook, expecting, on average, an increase of 2.1 percent.
- In an effort to do more with less, 22 percent of respondents are compressing meetings into less time, 13 percent are increasing the use of technology and another 13 percent are holding more local/regional meetings to reduce travel.
Meetings Outlook presents future industry trends and predictions from MPI members, including meeting professionals on MPI’s Business Research Panel.
To view the full report, visit www.mpiweb.org/meetingsoutlook.
