The demand for digital services is highest among event organisers this year, found the second and latest Industry Partners Benchmark Survey released by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, while demand for services considered mandatory for running an event have experienced a steady decline in demand.
Developed by the UFI Industry Partners Working Group, the survey benchmarks and assesses the relationships between industry partners and suppliers and exhibition organisers and venues. It also identifies areas for improvement with regards to collaboration.
In analysing the demand for services of physical events, the survey finds that booth construction remains the most relied upon service (75% of respondents are continuing to use this service in 2021 versus 80% in 2020), alongside staff and security (75% in 2021 versus 79% in 2020).
Use of event technology and software has climbed from 66% in 2020 to 67% in 2021 – the only defined service that has seen greater usage this year among event organisers.
Consultancy services are among the least utilised services, and are experiencing a further steady decline in demand.
It is concluded that that demand for services considered mandatory for running an event have experienced a steady decline in demand.
The survey also discovers a growing demand for event services in Asia-Pacific, while that in Europe is declining.
In determining the impact of services on the success of events, the year-on-year change has been marginal but on the rise. Consultants are found to contribute the least impact on the success of events, while communication and marketing is regarded highly. The latter could be linked to the ability to track the success of marketing activities more effectively than other services, and are the biggest contributors to ensuring event participation.
Survey analysts suggest that consultants’ low perceived impact may be due to inconsistent quality of consultancy services across the industry. That said, there is a significant increase in the perceived value of consultants among pure venue owners, especially in countries in Asia-Pacific.
As the perceived impact of services on event success is relatively homogeneous, it is suggested that a successful event requires a wide array of services.
Findings also indicate that the demand for more innovation from service providers remains high. In rating service providers’ level of innovation, Asia-Pacific respondents gave event technology and software service providers an average satisfaction score of 3.6, with 5 indicating high satisfaction and 1 being low satisfaction. This is the highest score among all other services. Communications and marketing comes in second with an average satisfaction score of 3.5.
Event technology and software as well as communications and marketing service providers also scored highly with European respondents, at an average satisfaction score of 4 and 3.9 respectively.
“The results of our first survey showed in tangible terms the value organisers place on their suppliers and partners for the success of their events. Our second survey goes deeper and also demonstrates where the suppliers and partners relationship stands vis-à-vis the organisers for their recovery period events,” said Ravinder Sethi, chair of UFI’s Industry Partners Working Group.
Sebastian Witt, vice chair of UFI’s Industry Partners Working Group and who is responsible for the survey, said the findings provide “valuable insights for service providers in our industry”.
“We are happy to note that service providers are regarded as an integral part of the exhibition ecosystem and contribute tremendously to the success of our industry. Nonetheless, we observe that service quality is not consistent and demands from service providers are changing; service providers can and should invest more into innovation,” Witt added.
The survey was conducted at the start of 2021 with some 190 companies from around the world, with the majority based in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Complete findings of the second Industry Partners Benchmark Survey can be downloaded from the UFI website.
Industry leaders speaking at the Indonesia MICE Outlook 2022 last week in Bali have expressed optimism in the country’s business events future, with confidence stemming from a schedule of international events as well as strong domestic appetite for local meetings.
The Indonesia MICE Outlook 2022 was organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.
Raty Ning, chairman of ICCA Indonesia, said 30 international events are scheduled to take place in 2022, and among them are the 2022 G20 Bali summit, the 7th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, and an Asian Venture Philanthropy Network meeting.
She expects the G20 summit to spin off even more government-led meetings and events with in-person attendance, while the country continues to benefit from a strong showing of domestic business events.
“The year will be more exciting if the government could provide financial incentives to local associations to (encourage them to) organise events, such as annual scientific meetings and national deliberation,” she added.
Raty hopes government offices will also hold events around the country to fill available spaces and spread out the economic benefit of meetings and events.
Gary Grimmer, CEO, GainingEdge, opined that Indonesia’s recovery, along with the strength of her domestic market, was “in line with the prediction that at the end of 2021 the industry will start to move, and in 2022 it will increase as the regional market recovers”.
However, he expects global meetings to only resume in 2023.
Commenting on 2022 event trends, Grimmer said virtual and hybrid meeting formats will continue to play an important role as they allow organisers to reach larger audiences, allow for an integrated virtual contingency plan, and increase revenue.
“Future options may include multi-channel content to form a larger global event,” he added.