MICE industry faces ongoing cost challenges and the need for larger budget increases.

Global DMC Partners has published the findings from its Q3 2024 Meetings & Events Pulse Survey.

The survey, conducted from June 27 to August 9, includes 165 respondents, primarily event professionals from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Europe. Respondents represented corporate planners, agency planners, and freelancers, among others.

Key insights included:

Budget Disparities Worldwide - International planners may experience greater budget challenges, with only 27 percent reporting budget increases compared to 44 percent of U.S. and Canadian planners.

Budget Increases Are Not Enough - Among those with budget increases this year, 57 percent saw a 10 to 20 percent rise, which in many cases does not even cover inflationary increases, reducing purchasing power for planners and leaves no additional budget for creative or experiential program elements.

Continued Rising Costs - Higher costs remain the top challenge for planners, holding the top spot since Q4 2022.

Hotels, F&B, and A/V - When it comes to working with hotels and venues, higher accommodation, F&B and A/V costs are top challenges for planners, with nearly 80 percent struggling with accommodation rates and over 70 percent facing higher A/V costs most or all of the time.

AI Adoption - AI adoption within the MICE industry has increased substantially since the last survey at the end of 2023/early 2024. Thirty percent of planners in the last survey reported using it in their day-to-day lives, and now nearly half of planners say they use it frequently. ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot are the most widely adopted.

Budgets & Costs
From 2023 to 2024, thirty-nine percent of respondents saw budget increases, though these adjustments mostly cover inflation rather than allowing for creative expansions. Increases were typically between ten and 20 percent. Rising costs in hotels, F&B, and A/V have forced many planners to have serious budget discussions with their clients and adopt strategies such as reducing A/V expenses, shortening program durations, consolidating events, and using early contracting.

Planning Challenges
Higher costs have been the top challenge for event planners since late 2022. Additional issues include limited availability, budget management, and slow approval times from decision-makers.

Lead Times
Event lead times remain compressed, with 43 percent of planners reporting they have four to nine months to plan on average. Twenty-six percent of respondents report event planning timelines of 10 to 12 months in advance, up from 15 percent in the last survey.

Sustainability
International respondents were more likely to incorporate sustainability practices than U.S. planners. Just seven percent of organizations in the U.S. indicated that they integrate sustainability practices all the time or into every program, whereas 31 percent of their international counterparts reported the same. Sustainability measures include using locally sourced food, reducing plastic waste, and incorporating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

AI
AI adoption in the industry has grown, with 48 percent of respondents now using AI in their work, up from 30 percent at the end of 2023. Chatbots like ChatGPT and CoPilot are among the most used tools.

For the full results of GDP's Meetings & Events Pulse Survey, please access it here.