Research and White Papers
Half of North American Planners 'Cautiously Optimistic,' IMEX Survey Shows
September 3, 2010
Buoyed by the prospects for recovery, meeting professionals in the United States and Canada are becoming more confident about the future, according to the IMEX Group, which today released the results of its latest survey, a poll of North American meeting planners taken after its May 2010 show in Frankfurt.
According to the survey, a little over half (54 percent) of meeting professionals in the United States and Canada have expressed "cautious optimism" about the return of the meetings and incentives market, and an additional 9 percent are "very optimistic."
That's good news in advance of the first IMEX America, taking place Oct. 11-13, 2011, in Las Vegas, argues IMEX Group Chairman Ray Bloom.
"We recently declared an increase in the hosted buyer program for IMEX America — we now expect in excess of 2,000 buyers — because our partners and intermediaries have a renewed confidence in future growth," he said in a statement. "This represents an increase of more than 30 percent on our initial launch figure. Our survey findings are also in line with other recent global and U.S. industry reports, which suggests that this newfound confidence is not just about mood but about real business volumes."
Canadian planners are more optimistic than American ones, IMEX reported; while 21 percent of U.S. planners doubt the market is in recovery, it found, Canadian buyers are "generally convinced that already it is 'business as usual.'"
Finally, IMEX confirmed several industry trends in its survey. Among them: Planners report that their meetings and incentives tend to be short-notice, require less or shorter travel, remain value-conscious, and are simpler and more ROI-focused than those held prior to the downturn.
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