With the U.S. presidential election just weeks away, we included some questions in the latest Meetings Outlook survey to ascertain meeting professionals’ post-election expectations.
Respondents from the U.S. and Canada are slightly more optimistic (36%) than pessimistic (22%) regarding the election’s impact on the meeting and event industry. Of the choices given, most respondents (42%) are neither optimistic nor pessimistic. (No significant differences were seen in the level of optimism between planners and suppliers.)
Meanwhile, there appears a clear favorite when it comes to which political party/presidential candidate meeting professionals believe will be best for the meeting industry, with 42% of U.S.-based respondents selecting Democratic/Biden.
With this question, there were some notable differences comparing the responses of planners and suppliers. While suppliers mostly selected Democratic/Biden (36%), they were also more likely than planners to select Republican/Trump (27%).
Considering the international nature of the meeting industry as well as the global impact from national elections, we also posed the political party/candidate question to respondents from other countries/regions.
Canadian respondents overwhelmingly view Democratic/Biden as the best option for the meeting and event industry—a choice selected by 65%.
European respondents also think Democratic/Biden is the best outcome for the industry (32%), however, many more are unsure or don't believe it matters (44% and 16%, respectively).
The fall 2020 Meetings Outlook report with additional reporting on trends and the business landscape will be published in the November issue of The Meeting Professional.
Meetings Outlook is MPI's quarterly trends survey and is emailed to our business research panel. This edition received a total of 633 respondents.
