Northstar Meetings Group and Cvent reported a strong demand for new events and a busy Q4 amid rising costs in the latest Meetings Industry Pulse Survey. The September-October data (as of Oct. 6) was collected from 461 meeting planners made up of professional conference organizers, associations and nonprofits (39 percent); corporates (38 percent); third-party independent planners (24 percent); social, military, educational, religious and fraternal groups (5 percent) with sports- and government-planners splitting the remainder.
According to the survey, “demand for new events remains strong” with “68 percent of planners booking or actively sourcing,” which aligns with August activity. The industry can expect a very busy Q4 as the data showed “62 percent of planners will produce their next event before the end of the year.”
The survey also noted most respondents were optimistic in terms of the meetings industry with only 16 percent stating they were “less optimistic than they were in August.” More than 60 percent of respondents were “more optimistic” regarding how their outlook on meeting and events changed in the last six weeks.