The German National Tourist Board (GNTB), the EVVC European Association of Event Centers and the GCB German Convention Bureau present the results of the new "Meeting & Event Barometer 2021/2022". The key figures on the market for meetings, congresses and events in Germany in 2021 confirm that hybrid and virtual formats, as well as sustainable event planning, are here to stay. Hybrid events in particular are emerging as one of the future drivers for business events. Despite numerous challenges, attendance is expected to return to a high level in the coming years. The change driven by the coronavirus pandemic is thus becoming increasingly tangible.
Development of the incoming business travel market
Following the sharp losses in the first year of coronavirus, the total number of business travelers from Europe to Germany fell by a further 12% in 2021, according to analyses by IPK International. Nevertheless, Germany continued to lead the ranking of European business travel destinations by a wide margin. Of the 29.7 million business trips made by Europeans in 2021, 4.4 million went to Germany. France followed in second and third place with 2.4 million and Italy with 2.3 million. The promotable business travel segment contributed 2.1 million trips to the German inbound business travel market. The volume of business travel from the USA stabilized in the second year of coronavirus at 300,000 business trips, 71 percent of which were MICE trips.advertisement
The forecasts for 2022 are positive: according to studies by IPK International, 23% of respondents worldwide are planning business trips abroad. In Asia (38%) and America (33%), business travel intentions are much more pronounced than in Europe (14%). Compared to global travel intentions, the demand for MICE trips among those interested in Germany (79%) clearly exceeds that of traditional business trips (49%).
Petra Hedorfer, Chairwoman of the GNTB Executive Board: "As a leading international business travel destination, Germany is well prepared for the new normal. On the one hand, the players have adapted to the future requirements of the market with innovative products: Hybrid formats combine the strengths of virtual events with the special atmosphere of face-to-face meetings. At the same time, digital networking can increase the impact radius of events without increasing the carbon footprint due to constantly growing travel volumes - a valuable contribution to a more sustainable business travel segment. On the other hand, we are seeing a clear pent-up demand. In markets that were more affected by the coronavirus travel restrictions, travel intentions are increasing disproportionately. This confirms the great importance of face-to-face participation in the mix of online, analog and hybrid events. We see great opportunities to expand Germany's top position as a business travel destination in the combination of innovative offers, awareness of resource-conserving tourism and high demand."
The German event market
The second year of the coronavirus pandemic shows clear prospects for the event market in Germany. The number of in-person participants has risenby 10.3% compared to the previous year. In addition to pure face-to-face participation, this is due in particular to the sharp increase in those opting for on-site participation in hybrid formats. Of all 68.4 million people who attended an on-site business event in 2021, 50 million took part in a pure face-to-face event (2020: 60 million) and 18.4 million (2020: 1.8 million) in a hybrid format. While the number of participantsin purely face-to-face events fell slightly due to the pandemic, hybrid formats, i.e. face-to-face events with the option of online participation, proved to be the driver of the market. In 2021, a total of 4.2 million events (2020: 2.3 million) with 432 million participants (2020: 232.5 million) took place in Germany across all formats - online, hybrid and analog. The supply side, i.e. the number of venues, remained stable in the second year of the crisis. The emergence of new venues with adapted services, for example through the conversion of existing buildings, underpins the fundamentally positive expectations for the future.
Business trips are increasing again compared to the previous year, albeit with capacity adjustments and limited international travel. These restrictions are also reflected in the numbers of international participants. Their share amounted to an average of 2 percent in 2021.
Digitalization meets sustainability
The importance of digitalization has been strongly driven by the coronavirus pandemic. Virtual formats have structurally changed the event market and at the same time also shaped a greater awareness of sustainability at business events. 79% of the event organizers surveyed stated that sustainability plays an important role for them and significantly influences their decision-making. Mobility issues surrounding events are particularly important. In view of the interlocking megatrends of digitalization and sustainability, hybrid events are becoming doubly important. With 0.36 million events held in 2021, they achieved outstanding growth of 280 percent. With 3 million events, the proportion of virtual formats also increased by 120%. The number of purely face-to-face events was 0.8 million, a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, on-site participants inhybrid formats, together with participantsin purely face-to-face formats, form a growing group of people who want to meet in person.
Business events of the future are multidimensional
These figures illustrate the need for a dual focus on personal encounters and virtual networking, which is confirmed by both the event organizers surveyed and the providers with a view to market development in the coming years. The flexibility that participants experience as a result also noticeably increases the reach of the events. "The differentiation of the type of participation reflects an overarching development: the future of business events is not one-dimensional, but opens up different scenarios," says Matthias Schultze, Managing Director of the GCB. "While some want maximum flexibility for remote offerings, others prefer personal contact in an authentic environment. These changing customer requirements need to be considered in an even more differentiated way in future and appropriate offers created. Germany as a conference and congress location is well prepared for the diversity of demand with its equally diverse range of services."
Staffing requirements are one of the major challenges for the recovery of the market
Cancellations and postponements due to government coronavirus measures, in particular event bans and capacity restrictions, also impacted revenue development in 2021: providers generated around 62% less revenue than in 2019, but an increase of 0.7% compared to the previous year. The outlook for the future is positive: event centers, conference hotels and event locations expect constant growth in the coming years, which in some cases will even exceed pre-crisis levels. The biggest challenge will be the issue of personnel: a large proportion of companies are looking for new employees across all qualification levels, but are currently struggling to meet demand. "German event venues are currently still severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but can look to the future with optimism in view of future-proof offerings," says Ilona Jarabek, President of the EVVC. "However, in order to meet future demand in the usual high quality and attract workers to our industry, we need new working time models, support for young talent and targeted further training. This is all the more important as a comprehensive range of services is one of the top deciding factors when choosing a location."
Transformation continues under current developments
The results of the 2021/2022 Meeting and Event Barometer show that Sustainability and digitalization are the basic prerequisites for the successful recovery of the German event market. Providers and organizers have recognized the benefits of digital and hybrid formats as well as the desire for meaningful personal encounters in authentic locations and are adapting to the correspondingly changing needs in the market. Events with a high proportion of on-site participants continue to form the core of a sustainable industry in transition.
In addition to megatrends such as digitalization and sustainability, the transformation of the market is also being shaped by current developments. In a recent analysis commissioned by the GCB, Oxford Economics presents three different forecasts, taking into account the development of the coronavirus pandemic, the restrictions on international supply chains and the war in Ukraine. According to the middle "baseline" scenario, the analysts expect the market to largely recover in terms of the number of event attendees by 2024.
About the Meeting & EventBarometer Germany
The Meeting & EventBarometer is the only study that examines the entire event market - both the congress and event sectors - in Germany and paints a meaningful picture of this industry. The initiators are the EVVC European Association of Event Centers e.V., the GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. and the German National Tourist Board (GNTB). In 2022, the partners have commissioned the European Institute for the Meetings Industry (EITW) to shed light on the events market for the 16th time.
About the GCB German Convention Bureau e.V.
The mission of the GCB German Convention Bureau e.V. is to secure and further expand Germany's position as a globally leading and sustainable congress and convention destination. As a driving force for innovation in the meetings and conventions industry, the GCB offers its members high-quality market research data. By developing target group-specific marketing activities, the GCB is present in international markets as well as nationally and supports its members and partners in marketing their offerings. Over 150 members, representing almost 300 companies, are among the leading hotels, convention centers, venues, city marketing organizations, event agencies and service providers in the German meetings and conventions industry. Deutsche Lufthansa, Deutsche Bahn and the GNTB German National Tourist Board support the work of the GCB as strategic partners. The IMEX Group is a strategic trade fair partner. Premium Partner 2022 of the GCB is Kassel Marketing. The Frankfurt Airport Marriott Hotel - Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel & Conference Center, the CCH Congress Center Hamburg and the Schleswig-Holstein Tourism Agency support the GCB as Focus 2022 partners. Further information on Germany as a conference destination can be found at www.gcb.de
About the GNTB
The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is Germany's national tourist board. It represents Germany as a tourist destination on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and is funded by the latter on the basis of a resolution passed by the German Bundestag. The GNTB works closely with its partners from the German tourism industry, associations and commercial enterprises to develop strategies and marketing campaigns to enhance the positive image of German travel destinations abroad and promote tourism to Germany. The GNTB promotes sustainable and forward-looking tourism in line with the objectives of the German government. The focus is on sustainability and digitalization.
Sustainability has been a key topic for over a decade and is strategically addressed across all areas of the company. The organization pursues a three-pillar strategy that combines external knowledge transfer and an accompanying communication approach with an internal sustainability initiative. The GNTB is addressing the future issue of responsible tourism by positioning Germany as a destination with sustainable and inclusive offerings in the international marketplace. The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the shift in values towards greater socio-ecological responsibility in international travel behavior.
The GNTB is setting the pace in the implementation of immersive technologies (virtual, augmented and mixed reality), the use of conversational interfaces (e.g. voice assistants) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as chatbots. To ensure the visibility of tourism products and services on AI-supported marketing platforms, the GNTB is coordinating the German tourism industry's joint open data project to develop a knowledge graph.
The GNTB has 27 regional offices and manages them from its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.
Further information at www.germany.travel/presse
About the EVVC - European Association of Event Centers e.V.
The EVVC - European Association of Event Centers e.V. represents around 650 event centers, congress centers, arenas and special event locations in Europe. Event planners and suppliers complete the spectrum and make the EVVC the most versatile network in the industry.
It offers its members and partners a platform for trusting and open communication, important information and support for daily work as well as impulses for industry-relevant topics of the present and future. The basic premise is the commitment to sustainable action and the implementation of corresponding measures.More at www.evvc.org
About the European Institute for the Meetings Industry (EITW)
The Europäische Institut für TagungsWirtschaft GmbH (EITW) specializes in the current analysis of innovative projects in the meetings and events sector; the EITW provides decision-makers at congress destinations with concrete market data and differentiated economic power calculations. The EITW conducts trend research in the MICE market throughout Germany and Europe, cooperates with umbrella and trade associations and maintains contacts with international scientific institutions. More at www.eitw.eu
Image source: GCB German Convention Bureau e.V.