Events Trends for Convention Bureaus

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a seemingly 180-degree turn to the usual conduct in the event industry. The “new normal” has been adopted by the world and the event industry is no exception. Meetings and conferences don’t look how they used to.

With these current and ongoing trends, convention bureaus are faced with several questions: What services will customers be demanding from CVBs? Where should meeting industry professionals put their focus?

DMCFinder, as a travel and events platform, compiled the top 5 event industry trends that convention bureaus should direct their focus to make events and conferences more engaging and dynamic.

1. Customer-centric service
Customers expect services to be individually tailored to their needs. To help convention bureaus totally focus on those needs, data analytics will be of great help. Making business intelligence accessible to providers will also help create a better understanding of customers’ needs. With this trend, new sets of skills are needed to be acquired by convention bureaus to be able to meet these demands.

2. Control over meeting agenda
Attendees now want control over meetings and have multiple options to meet their different interests and preferences. Personalization is the trend. Attendees are more engaged and excited over an event when they choose over the topics. Crowdsourcing the agenda, content, food and activities is one way of keeping on track.

3. Digitalization and automation
The COVID-19 pandemic has made event planners and organizers explore the tech-side of handling events in order to still connect people amidst the restricted face-to-face interactions. Difficult times led to the boom of digitalization and automation. Artificial intelligence and the platform economy helped develop groundbreaking new business models and create new criteria for measuring success.

4. Purposeful event experiences
Gone are the days that attendees are fine with sitting down in a large venue and listening to speakers. Fresh event concepts and meetings leaning towards meaning, insight, and innovation are the trend. Attendees want meetings to have a purpose, thus requiring event planners to be more innovative in creating better events experiences.

5. Destinations matter
Attendees want to join business and professional events, and feel like they are on vacation. Business and leisure in one trip. Today, destination is more than just geography. It also defines the success of meetings and events.

The demands on events and conferences are constantly changing. As demands and trends shift, convention bureaus are expected to adapt. What could better be done than staying up-to-date with the changes and listening to attendees expressing their needs through various social media platforms.

Nevertheless, DMCFinder is always ready to keep you updated. Your success is our mission.

Author: Deb Davad