The global business events industry is being driven by AI and an unwavering focus on sustainability, say speakers on The Future of MICE: Key Trends to Watch webinar last Thursday.
Naina Vishnoi, senior regional sales director at Cvent, projected a robust future for the sector, anticipating that the global business events market will reach US$1.9 trillion by 2028. This growth will be intrinsically linked to technological advancements, and in particular, AI.
“Recent insights from Cvent’s largest planner sourcing report indicate that 86 per cent of planners anticipate increased use of AI tools during the venue sourcing process,” she elaborated.
Vishnoi shared that Cvent has been actively investing in AI, with a dedicated team of 200 people, and the launch of over 20 new AI innovations on its platform to date. These AI innovations range from fresh content creation and data analysis, to smarter scheduling and venue search, all of which aim to alleviate time-consuming administrative tasks to “make planners’ life easier”, and free them up for other tasks.
She also touched on how sustainability is an “essential criterion for success and longevity” in the events industry, as it is “a crucial measure that planners consider when deciding whether to submit RFPs to a venue over others”.
Hotels can contribute to the sustainability movement by implementing energy efficient technologies, recycling programmes, sourcing locally, obtaining green certifications, and listing themselves as being sustainable on the Cvent network, Vishnoi noted.
Fellow speaker, Pavnesh Kumar, director of project management, PATA, acknowledged the value of AI usage in the business events industry, but emphasised the need for planner to “understand attendee behaviour”.
“We can automate certain things, we can streamline the processes. We can make it possible that the user has the least amount of friction or resistance with the ability to utilise the maximum that a venue has to offer, whether it’s about having AI enabled translation tools or summary tools or navigation tools – everything should work towards one goal, which is to elevate (a delegate’s) experience,” he elaborated.
Kumar also encouraged planners to continuously measure and report sustainability efforts, as it is essential for optimising resource usage and achieving sustainability goals.
