8/6/2019 2011 MIT Market Report
1/7MeeingsCanada.com 41
This year marks our 15th annual benchmark-
ing Market Report study or the Canadian
meetings and incentive travel industry, the
most comprehensive annual survey taking
the pulse o this countrys planners. This years
results aggregate the data rom the corporate, third
party and not-or-prot/association categories.
And throughout, weve agged nine noteworthy
industry trends (numbered or easy reerence).
The good news is that a large percentage o
respondents expect the number o meetings and
events they plan in Canada this year to increase, with
a smaller percentage also expecting increased meet-
ings activity internationally and in the U.S.
Indeed, almost one-third o planners surveyed (28
per cent) expect to plan more Canadian events in
2011. Only 6 per cent predict they will plan ewer
events north o the 49th Parallel in 2011, while 60 per
cent indicate that the number o Canadian meetings
they expect to plan this year will stay the same.
For U.S. meetings, 11 per cent orecast an increase;
10 per cent, a decrease; 37 per cent expect no change.
Internationally, the numbers echo the U.S. gures,
with 9 per cent o those surveyed expecting to plan
more, 7 per cent expecting to plan ewer and 36 per
cent expecting the number to remain at.
Not surprisingly, planners are sticking close to
home, with 91 per cent expecting to hold their 2011
meetings in Canada, 24 per cent targeting the U.S.and 17 per
cent venturing outside North America.
In addition, respondents are orecasting a total,
average, per-planner spend o $886,000 in the com-
ing year, a 6-per-cent increase over their reported
actual 2010 annual spend o $837,000.
Associations and government continue to lead the
growth in spend. According to our survey, associa-
tion/not-or-prot planners predict a 16-per-cent
increase in average total spend in 2011 (vs. their actual
2010 spend), with third-party planners predicting
7-per-cent growth in spend over their 2010 actuals.
Another trend: Planners are using technology or
their attendee marketing. In 2010, 36 per cent used
social media, up rom 24 per cent in 2009. And the
numbers demonstate that its the more-experienced
planners who are using these tools.
To wit: Last year, among planners with 21-plus years
o experience, 42 per cent employed social media,
while 41 per cent o respondents with 16-to-20-years-
experience use it. As or other orms o attendee mar-
keting, 83 per cent o respondents use e-mail, 75 per
cent use websites/microsites and 12 per cent use
blogs/online orums. Technology is here to stay!
Planners continue to embrace green meetings, as
45 per cent o those surveyed said theyd either
planned (or tried to plan) a green meeting or event,
or bought carbon ofsets or a meeting/conerence.
Among that group, 61 per cent reported that green
conerences/events cost more than regular ones.
Translation: eco-riendly isnt wallet-riendly and whos willing to
pay the tab?
writen bydon douloff
