IBTM meetings industry research america focus report

©www.aibtm.com/The Right Solution Lim
Introduction & Methodology
Welcome to the IBTM Global Meetings Industry Research
Meetings Industry Research project provides exhibitors, visitors and all those involved in the meetings
industry with valuable information on buying trends and destination choice in particular.
This report focuses on the results for the Americas region and analyses the results of
and 100 suppliers. The survey was closed
date. The research focuses on the event
in the Americas in the last twelve months
compare results with those of the 2012 surve
destinations and regions are most popu
Online surveys were set up Spring 2013
supplier databases of Reed Travel Exhibitions and
the Americas. Although their databases together hold over
were made to target the key buyers and suppliers.
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
year to year and caution has therefore been applied in drawing conclusions on trends.
The survey will be repeated in Autumn 201
trends and provide indications of ho
dedicated research for the China and Asia reg
at CIBTM 2-4 September 2013.
I hope that the findings of this research give some useful inf
your business strategy for developing business from the Meetings and Events sector. Further
information on the region can be found at
Sally Greenhill
Managing Director, The Right Solution
IBTM Global Meetings Industry Research for Americas 2013
imited 5th June 2013
Methodology
Global Meetings Industry Research for the Americas 2013.
with valuable information on buying trends and destination choice in particular.
This report focuses on the results for the Americas region and analyses the results of
00 suppliers. The survey was closed 20th May 2013, thereby ensuring the results are right up to
focuses on the events being organised by qualified buyers of events t
in the last twelve months. This year, the second year for the survey,
ts with those of the 2012 survey to monitor trends including which countries,
most popular for events.
Spring 2013 and invitations to participate were emailed to the buyer and
ases of Reed Travel Exhibitions and PCMA focused on buyers and suppliers based in
gh their databases together hold over 25,000 potential participants,
were made to target the key buyers and suppliers. The link to the online survey was also promoted via
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. With all results the participating respondents are not identical from
The survey will be repeated in Autumn 2013 for launch at EIBTM 19-21 November in
trends and provide indications of how the market has changed since the Spring. In the meantime
dedicated research for the China and Asia region is being undertaken and the results will be available
.
I hope that the findings of this research give some useful information and provide evidence to support
ur business strategy for developing business from the Meetings and Events sector. Further
information on the region can be found at www.aibtm.com.
Managing Director, The Right Solution & Analyst of IBTM Global Meetings industry research
1
as 2013. The IBTM Global
with valuable information on buying trends and destination choice in particular.
This report focuses on the results for the Americas region and analyses the results of over 250 buyers
, thereby ensuring the results are right up to
qualified buyers of events taking place
, the second year for the survey, we are able to
countries,
and invitations to participate were emailed to the buyer and
focused on buyers and suppliers based in
25,000 potential participants, selections
The link to the online survey was also promoted via
respondents are not identical from
November in order to monitor
n the meantime
results will be available
ormation and provide evidence to support
ur business strategy for developing business from the Meetings and Events sector. Further
Analyst of IBTM Global Meetings industry research

©www.aibtm.com/The Right Solution Limited 5th June 2013 2
Summary of key results
The full results for the survey are outlined in this report with the key results as follows:
Volume and value
1. Average number of events per buyer/planner respondent is up to 25 from 20 last year
2. Incentive travel up to 46% from 44%
3. Over 50% had organised exhibitions, up from 44% last year
4. 59% of buyers had spend in excess of $600,000
5. 5.9% of buyers had spend in excess of $10 million
6. Average number of delegates attending events in the Americas is 249
7. Budget changes in last twelve months average 3.7% rise, but increased volume of events was
not necessarily matched by increased budgets
Destinations
8. More events took place within the Americas and fewer in Europe and Asia last year
9. Outside of the Americas region the UK, France and Germany attracted significant numbers of
events last year
10. The destinations attracting highest volume of events aren't always those attracting highest
spend - clearly offering good value can earn destinations more events
11. Top regional countries for volume of events are the US, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico
12. Top states/areas for volume of events are Florida, California and New York
13. Top states/areas for value of business placed are Nevada, Georgia and California
14. Highest satisfaction ratings are for Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Antigua & Barbuda
Forecasts for year ahead
1. 76% of planners predict increased use of new technology to shape event content
2. 63% are predicting use of new destinations for next twelve months
3. Main areas for events for next twelve months remain the Americas but around 50% of buyers
visiting AIBTM are interested in Europe and 40% in Asia
4. Budget changes for next twelve months average 5.2% rise
5. Small budget increases do not match higher costs which is a key issue that planners are
having to deal with despite signs that the economy is on the upturn
6. 52% predict increased attendance numbers yet only 37% predict increased budgets so these
will be stretched to accommodate more people
7. Top ten industry sectors for this year reveal higher placing for manufacturing/industrial, retail
and science while Government/administration has gone from the top ten.

Full Research results
The key characteristics of the buyer respondents for this survey are shown below. The buyers views
from the 251 organising events in the Americas form the main focus of the analysis outlined here with
suppliers views added in where relevant. The greater percentage of buyers were agency or third party
organisers. 102 suppliers also participated in the survey of which 38% were hotels, 31% convention
and visitor bureaus and 9% were conference and events venues.
Number of buyer respondents
Global 271
Based in the Americas 240
Reported on events in the Americas 251
Buyers’ Regions
Americas 88.5%
Europe 6.3%
Asia 2.6%
Australasia 1.8%
Africa 0.1%
Buyer respondent types
Agency/Third Party Organiser 50.0%
Corporate 22.5%
Not for Profit 10.9%
Trade/Association/Society 10.8%
Other 5.8%
The sectors below reveal that Government/administration has gone from the top ten since last year,
manufacturing has moved up from 9th position last year and retail and science are now in the top ten.
Top Ten Industry Sectors for Americas based suppliers
Financial / Banking / Insurance 79.2%
Pharmaceuticals / Medical 63.6%
Training / Education 63.6%
Electronic / Communications 61.0%
Automotive 54.5%
Manufacturing / Industrial 54.5%
Food / Beverage / Tobacco 50.6%
Construction / Engineering 49.4%
Retail 46.8%
Science 45.5%

Event types
The broad range of types of events being organised by buyers
below. Compared with the 2012 results there is
increase from 44% to 46% for incentive travel. Business
33% while other event types show very similar results. It should be
identical year on year and this can account for variations in results.
Numbers of events, regions and countries
The sample buyers organised 6,313
buyer, up from an average of 20 per buyer in 2012
of choice shown below reveal buyers making more selections in the Americas region
in Europe and Asia. This may be due to budget limitations as sho
93.3%
81.7%
32.9%
14.2%
5.0%
Americas buyers’ event regions last twelve months
ypes of events being organised by buyers in the Americas are shown in the chart
Compared with the 2012 results there is a rise from 44% to over 50% for exhib
46% for incentive travel. Business Travel has seen a reduction
while other event types show very similar results. It should be noted that respondents are not
identical year on year and this can account for variations in results.
egions and countries
,313 events in the Americas resulting in an average of
from an average of 20 per buyer in 2012, the majority of which were in the USA.
buyers making more selections in the Americas region
This may be due to budget limitations as shown by subsequent results.
81.7%
32.5%
46.3% 47.1% 50.8%
25.4%
Buyers event types
5.0% 5.8% 3.3%
29.2%
13.8% 14.2%
95.0%
4
are shown in the chart
rise from 44% to over 50% for exhibitions and an
ravel has seen a reduction from 37% to
noted that respondents are not
an average of 25 events per
which were in the USA. The regions
buyers making more selections in the Americas region and fewer events
wn by subsequent results.

The chart above shows that the UK, France and Germany are
significant numbers of events outside of the Americas region
For the next twelve months their selected countries
Next twelve months top countries for events
1. USA
2. Canada
3. Mexico
4. Brazil
5. Chile
6. Costa Rica
7. Dominican Republic
8. Panama
9. Argentina
10. Puerto Rico
90.4%
26.7%
18.8%
Americas buyers’ top event countries last twelve months
the UK, France and Germany are the only countries that
outside of the Americas region last year.
their selected countries to date are all within the Americas region
top countries for events
Dominican Republic
18.8%15.0%
10.0% 9.6% 8.8% 7.9% 7.9%
5
that attracted
all within the Americas region:
7.1%

Hosted Buyers countries of choice
In contrast 694 of the hosted buyers visiting AIBTM in June 2013 listed the following countries as their
areas of interest for events in the future (outside the US), showing just how much interest there is in
areas outside the US for the future:
Country Percentage
of responses
Canada 65.1%
Caribbean 58.2%
Western and Northern Europe 56.3%
UK and Eire 47.8%
Mexico 47.7%
Southern and Mediterranean Europe 47.6%
Latin America 45.5%
Asia 39.5%
Central and Eastern Europe 32.1%
Africa 24.9%
Australasia and Pacific 23.8%
Bermuda 23.6%
Middle East and North Africa 22.2%
Russia and CIS 14.7%
The results have shown that the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico and Latin America have already
attracted meetings business from the US. However the other countries listed need to be persuasive of
their appeal and value in order to translate the interest into event bookings.

Spend, destinations, volume and value
The high volume of spend on events in the Americas is shown in the chart below. This is clearly
influenced by the fact that 50% are third party organisers organising large volumes of events. It can be
seen that 59% of buyers had spend (value of business placed) in excess of $600,000. 5.9% of these
had spend in excess of $10 million. Excluding the 5.9% with spend in excess of $10m, the mean
spend for Americas buyers was $2,134,492.
Buyers total spend on events in the Americas for last twelve months
• For 87.5% of buyers their budget changes in the last 12 months averaged 3.7% rise. 12.5% of
respondents weren’t sure of the changes.
• For the next 12 months the average budget change is +5.2%. 10% of respondents were unsure
of budget changes.
12.1%
3.6%
5.3%
5.3%
14.2%
21.3%
16.4%
16.9%
4.9%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Not Stated
US$1 - US$50,000
US$50,001 - US$150,000
US$150,001 - US$300,000
US$300,001 - US$600,000
US$600,001 - US$1,500,000
US$1,500,001 - US$3,000,000
US$3,000,001 - US$10,000,000
US$10,000,001 or more

The top ten countries with highest usage for events and average value of business placed are shown
in the table below. It can be seen that the highest volume doesn't always translate into highest value.
Perhaps this is because those destinations offering good value attract higher volume.
Country with highest usage for
events
Average value of
business placed per
buyer US$
United States 1,686,299
Canada 838,182
Mexico 748,750
Puerto Rico 616,250
Bahamas 681,250
Dominican Republic 292,647
Costa Rica 275,000
Brazil 560,417
Argentina 284,615
Panama 180,000
The regions with the highest volume of events placed by buyers are shown in the table below. As with
the countries the volume doesn’t necessarily follow into the highest value of business. Florida remains
the most popular state for events as it was in the 2012 survey.
States/areas with highest usage
for events by buyers
Mean value of
business placed
in US $
Florida 510,000
California 523,476
New York 456,356
Texas 410,000
Illinois 216,379
District of Columbia (Washington) 311,458
Nevada 720,833
Georgia 584,615
Arizona 392,361
Massachusetts 425,000
It is also interesting to see the countries with the highest volume of events are not scoring the highest
satisfaction ratings - perhaps because they are too busy? Some of the more exotic and exclusive
locations are scoring the highest satisfaction ratings.
Country Satisfaction
rating
Anguilla 3.0
British Virgin Islands 3.0

Country Satisfaction
rating
Antigua and Barbuda 3.0
Cayman Islands 2.8
Netherlands Antilles 2.5
Canada 2.5
Aruba 2.4
United States 2.4
Saint Kitts and Nevis 2.3
Jamaica 2.3
Typical size of events in the last 12 months
Comparing the results in the chart below with research results for other IBTM Portfolio regions show
that more events take place for larger numbers of delegates in the Americas than in countries
elsewhere in the world. The average number of attendees for all events is 249.
Market conditions
The market conditions experienced over the last twelve months are shown below with the percentage
who had increased volume of events not being matched by increased budgets .
Experienced last twelve months Increase Decrease Stay the
Same
Volume of events for last twelve months 42.3% 14.5% 43.2%
Budgets last twelve months 33.2% 14.7% 52.1%
0.0%
2.1%
13.6%
20.9%
31.9%
10.6%
8.5%
3.8%
8.5%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
2 - 10
11 - 25
26 - 50
51 - 100
101 - 300
301 - 500
501 - 1000
1001 - 2000
2001 +

Changes forecast for the next twelve months
Over 50% of buyers in the Americas forecast increased attendance at their events yet only 37%
predict increased budgets so the budgets will be working hard to accommodate more people. 76%
are predicting increased use of new technology to shape event content. Are new technologies helping
to use budgets more cost effectively or are they actually costing more? 39% said marketing budgets
will increase.
Bearing in mind that the earlier results show the vast majority of events have taken place in the
Americas in the last twelve months, it is interesting to see that 63% are forecasting use of new
destinations in future and nearly 32% are expecting increased attendees from outside the host
country.
Expected changes in the next 12 months Increase Decrease Stay the
Same
Volume of events for next twelve months 44.1% 5.9% 50.0%
Budgets for events next twelve months 36.7% 8.4% 54.1%
Marketing and promotional budgets 38.6% 12.9% 48.5%
New technology shaping event content 75.6% 0.9% 23.5%
Attendance numbers at your events 52.4% 8.2% 39.5%
Percentage of attendees from outside the host country 31.6% 8.7% 59.7%
Increasing use of new destinations for events 63.5% 2.2% 34.3%
What will have most impact on increasing meetings and events business in future?
Buyers and suppliers' verbatim comments and views centred around the following issues on what
would have most impact on increasing their event business in the next twelve months:
1. Budgets
2. Economy e.g. positive growth for the Global economy, economy slowly bouncing back
3. Rates/prices/cost issues including hotel rates and airfares
4. Business activities
5. (Better) Marketing
6. Technology and increased social networking
Decreased budgets and higher costs are the key issues that planners are having to deal with.
However the growth in volume shown earlier in this report also follows through into positive comments
such as 'pent up demand and increasing consumer confidence' and 'number of employees increased'.
The continuing reorganisation of many clients for third parties is increasing the number of events held.
Negative comments relate to 'the government restrictions placed on conference attendance and
sponsorship' and 'the Sunshine act and other anti fraud laws affecting attendance and number of
investigator meetings'.

Use of new technologies
The chart below reveals the continuing rise and wide use of new technologies. The trend for
attendees driving content on the day is possible through new technologies and accessing online
content and virtual meeting attendance is on the increasezxevt+987. It seems likely that all of these
will continue to see increased use in future.
1.5%
6.5%
8.5%
14.6%
16.1%
31.2%
31.7%
36.2%
37.7%
43.7%
46.7%
46.7%
50.3%
73.4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Holograms
Crowdsourcing
Location aware software e.g. Foursquare
Virtual meetings instead of face to face…
Cloud computing to assist with event…
Virtual meetings in addition to face to face…
QR codes (specific matrix barcodes) for…
Audience response systems
Electronic RFP products e.g. Starcite, Cvent
Smartphones / tablets handed out for delegate…
Web based access to conference content…
Apps for providing delegate information
Web based access to conference content…
Social media to communicate before/ during/…

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