Meeting Planners Face a Daunting Challenge in Rising Food and Beverage Costs
Photo Credit: Meetings and events generate tax dollars and spending for destination cities. International travelers tend to spend the most, although they still make up just a fraction of those who attend events in the U.S. Flickr / allthingsopen
Skift Take
Spending as a result of U.S. meetings and events has steadily increased since 2009, and it doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon, according to new research. Spending on food and beverage likewise isn't easing up at all.
Meetings and events represent big business, and the latest research into the sector shows just how strong the impact of meetings spending is on the U.S. economy.
The recently released Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy report, which was prepared by Oxford Economics and the Events Industry Council, used a variety of economic data and information from about 9,000 domestic business travelers to figure out the size and scope of the impacts meetings had on the U.S. economy in 2016.
Meeting planning and production accounted for 51 percent of direct spending overall, while travel spending totaled 37 percent, followed by other direct spending from exhibitors and others. Costs have increased for meeting planners in recent years, and the beneficiaries are businesses and governments in venues across a city.
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