The events and meetings industry, much like the travel sector, is in constant flux, often swayed by macroeconomic conditions and consumer preferences. To optimize event planning, it’s imperative to discern the pulse of traveler behavior and expectations, a mission the Ipsos Consumer Survey and the Business Travel Tracker wholeheartedly embrace. These two tools offer a fascinating lens through which event and meeting planners can craft more attendee-centric experiences.
Understanding Attendee Expectations: The Ipsos Consumer Survey
When mapping out the journey of event attendees or business meeting participants, understanding their expectations and pain points is paramount. The Ipsos Consumer Survey delves deep into what travelers foresee in the near future. For event planners, the insights can highlight potential areas that deter attendees, such as convoluted registration processes or security concerns, and present opportunities to craft a smoother experience from start to finish.
The Relevance of Business Travel: The Business Travel Tracker
Done in collaboration with JD Power and Tourism Economics, the Business Travel Tracker sheds light on the vitality of business travel, its present activity, and upcoming anticipations. For meeting planners, this tool offers a blueprint to anticipate the needs and preferences of corporate attendees.
Key Insights for Planners:
- Travel Experience Comparable to DMV Woes: A striking 60% of recent air travelers equate their air travel experience to the often tedious experience of visiting the DMV. For event organizers, this highlights the need to ensure seamless transport logistics for attendees.
- Lost Opportunities Due to Travel Hassles: The economy missed out on approximately 27 million trips, translating to a staggering $71 billion in losses, due to travelers avoiding just 2 trips yearly because of travel inconveniences. Recognizing these concerns can help planners implement measures to counteract such hesitations.
- Reasons for Avoidance: The primary deterrents for business travelers include potential flight delays, cancellations, and inefficiencies in airport processes. Addressing these apprehensions can significantly elevate the overall attendee experience.
- Advances in Security Technology: An overwhelming 59% of recent travelers believe it’s time for a governmental upgrade in certain security protocols. This showcases an area for event planners to innovate, ensuring that attendee safety is top-notch yet non-intrusive.
- Biometric Data Comfort Levels: A majority of travelers are comfortable sharing their biometric data, suggesting that event sign-ins and verifications could be streamlined using this technology for a frictionless experience.
- The Essence of Time Off: Over half the American populace and two-thirds of leisure travelers emphasize the importance of travel breaks, underscoring the role of events and meetings in providing refreshing, value-packed experiences.
The aim of these quarterly assessments is to usher in reforms and guide policy amendments that amplify the travel experience’s modernity, efficiency, and security. For event and meeting planners, these insights become a compass, steering them towards crafting events that resonate deeply with attendees and drive the sector’s progressive evolution.
