Skift Take
While meetings and events are cross-pollinating more sectors in their programming, the industry at large needs to expand how it defines and measures the value of that convergence.
The Future of Meetings & Events
I gave a presentation at the annual Visit Florida Leadership Summit in Orlando yesterday about the convergence of tourism and economic development heading into 2017. Part of the discussion focused on the evolution of the meetings and events industry as an incubator for innovation across all sectors, and how that drives long-term business relationships in the host destination between visiting groups and local stakeholders.
There was a lot of interest in this subject at the Visit Florida event. Convention and visitors bureaus worldwide want to better understand, and more importantly, quantify the value of those business relationships that drive long-term economic growth in their communities. It's a challenge for them because there is almost zero research in North America about measuring the holistic value of meetings, above and beyond the short-term tourism spend.
In 2017, Skift and the Meetings Mean Business Coalition are going to be collaborating on a research project to explore the legacy impact of meetings. It's a big undertak
