…
INCON has unveiled findings of its inaugural survey of the global association conference market. Presented by INCON Co Chairs Inge Hanser and Roslyn McLeod at the IMEX trade expo in Frankfurt, the findings paint a decidedly optimistic outlook for 2010 despite current economic uncertainty.
Undertaken against a backdrop of a radically altered meeting marketplace in March 2009, the research initiative surveyed 11 INCON Partners on a range of topics including sources of business, event attendance, industry trends, conference services, competition and employment.
Survey findings reveal that INCON Partners are focussed and upbeat about 2010 despite ongoing economic fluctuation. While they are handling fewer projects in 2009 than 2008 and attendance at conferences is down for most members by up to 15%, the downturn for the most is not carried over into 2010 with only one partner forecasting continued downturn for 2010 and 70% of INCON partners already seeing an upturn.
INCON partners are also responding entrepreneurially to the current changing landscape by increasing the range of services offered to clients. While the increased service offering is flat for 2009, most partners will offer a wider, more comprehensive palette of services in 2010 and thereby capture more of the overall conference or event budget.
“Marketing” is jointly ranked with “Procurement” by INCON Partners as the Number 1 trend in 2009. With falling attendee numbers at conferences in 2009, Associations are increasingly seeking transactional transparency, added value and best price in their acquisition of conference and event services while also seeking out new ways to increase attendee numbers.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
