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REGIONAL VARIATIONS The US


Early 2011 surveys of US meeting planners displayed a degree of optimism that this year would be a better year for meetings than the previous 12 months. For example, of the 952 respondents to Convene’s annual Meetings Market Survey, only 11 percent expected their meeting budget to decrease in 2011 (compared to 21 percent who projected budget cuts in 2010), while 65 percent (compared to 50 percent in the previous year’s survey) expected no change. Twenty-­‐four percent expected to work with a bigger budget in 2011.


Another indication, in the same survey, that US meeting planners were feeling more positive in their outlook came in the form of a greater expectation that their meetings would be held beyond US borders in 2011. 48 percent (up from last year’s 44 percent) of respondents reported that they would be holding meetings outside the US in the future. The international destinations that respondents were most likely to consider were:


Canada 78% Western Europe 40% United Kingdom 37% Asia 36% Mexico 34% Caribbean 27% Eastern Europe 26% South America 25% Australia/Pacific Rim 25% Bermuda 13%


But according to Meetings Professionals International’s August Business Barometer, economic unrest in the US became the main concern for meeting professionals over the summer months. According to the survey results, 69 percent of people said the US Congress, US economy and the global economy were seen to be the most influential trend on meetings. The uncertainty regarding the debt limit and its impact on the financial sector overtook rising travel costs as the most important factor impacting future business and events.


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