Before the financial crisis of 2008, the U.S. meeting and convention industry had never done comprehensive research into its economic impact. But at that time, negative impressions of meetings in the media and at government policymaking levels were driving event cancellations, and meeting executives had little data with which to fight back.
The Events Industry Council’s first Economic Significance Study came out in 2009, quantifying the contributions of meetings, trade shows, conventions, incentive programs, and other events, and driving a broader discussion of the value of face-to-face meetings. Since then, the research has been updated several times, with reports on the U.S. market published in 2012 and 2016, and a study of the global market published in 2018.
Now, research is underway for an updated Global Economic Significance of Business Events report, with EIC’s partner, Oxford Economics, launching the data-collection phase on April 7. New this time will be an effort to quantify the cumulative losses from the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as "tactics/strategies being employed by the meetings and events industry to accelerate its recovery," according to EIC.
The survey, which can be taken here, is open until June 25. As an incentive, survey respondents will receive 1 credit hour towards their Certified Meeting Professional or CMP-HC application or recertification requirements.
“As the voice of the global events industry, we are committed to continuing to collect, curate, and share accurate and relevant data on the condition of the industry. This survey is an essential component of our Economic Significance Study, and I urge event professionals to take a few moments of their time to complete it so that we can ensure our data is as comprehensive as possible,” said Amy Calvert, CEO of EIC. “We know that business events are a major contributor to the global economy. By determining the full value of meetings in 2021 as well as prospects for 2022, we are able to actively provide a clear and credible statistical base on which to gain recognition for our industry as a vital economic driver.”
The reports from all previous economic impact studies are available on the EIC website.
