It’s always good to have market data for a glimpse at what’s happening in the meetings and events industry and know there are credentials for professionals to work toward. The Events Industry Council (EIC) has released its 2022 Q1 Global Business Events Barometer earlier this week and announced its inaugural class of CMP Fellows this spring.
The barometer indicates that 80% of global companies surveyed had resumed domestic travel as of the end of March 2022 (up 16% from 2021 Q4) and 55% had returned to international travel (up 77% from the previous quarter). However, Q1 came with significant bumps in the road as well.
“The start of 2022 hasn’t been without its challenges, with the reality of variants and adjusting to living in an endemic state as well as the Russia-Ukraine war and unstable geopolitical and economic realities impacting our performance and our people,” says Events Industry Council CEO Amy Calvert.
“While there has been an ease in recovery for the global business events sector, it is important to reflect on the progress that we have made so far and to recognize and celebrate the efforts that have been made to adapt and innovate to offer experiences that drive impact,” she emphasizes.
Barometer background
It’s important to note that the barometer monitors changes within the market relative to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 and examines two key areas: hotel group room nights and request for proposal (RFP) activity.
The Global Business Events Barometer is created by Oxford Economics using data provided by Amadeus Hospitality, Cvent, Global Business Travel Association, and STR Global.
Barometer highlights for the first quarter
- Recovery across the business events sector decreased slightly in 2022 Q1, in part due to the impact of the COVID Omicron variant in key markets. This was evidenced by both RFPs and hotel group room nights being down by 2% and 10%, respectively, when compared to 2021 Q4.
- The barometer also revealed a 3% decrease in events booked with shorter lead times (defined as within 12 months) and the fact that RFP activity for events in future periods increased 2% from the previous quarter, which remains significantly lower than 2019 levels.
- There were modest recoveries in group activity through the start of 2022, occurring in the Middle East, North America, and Asia Pacific regions as demonstrated by the hotel group room nights index.
CMP Fellows Program
Launched last year, the CMP Fellows program recognizes and rewards Certified Meeting Professionals (CMPs) and/or Emeritus CMPs who are making a significant investment toward the betterment of the events industry and the community of people working within it. The inaugural class was announced in April 2022 and includes 65 individuals.CMP Fellows benefit from access to exclusive networking opportunities, peer-to-peer collaborations, and opportunities at EIC and other industry events.
“The caliber of applications was truly humbling, and it was inspiring and motivating to read about the achievements and dedication of all of those who applied,” Calvert confirms.
EIC is the global champion for event professionals and event industry excellence and includes more than 30 member organizations that represent over 103,500 individuals and 19,500 firms and properties involved in the events industry.
