Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has published its quarterly ‘Meetings Outlook’ report which highlights a generally positive sentiment for 2014.
Over half of meeting planners surveyed (53%) predict an increase in attendance this year but the figure is even larger for virtual events, at 66%.
MPI suggests the forecasted increase in attendance at virtual meetings is yet to be a major threat to planners engaged in live meetings, as it only represents 9% of the market.
Most virtual meetings are used in conjunction with face-to-face events and around 26% of all meetings have a mix of onsite and remote meeting elements.
However MPI has vowed to "keep an eye on this data point," as virtual meetings’ 9% market share represents a three-fold increase since the last MPI report.
The report also highlighted mixed responses regarding meetings budgets.
A total of 43% of respondents were expecting a budget increase while a similar number predicted no change.
Tighter time frames continue to be a factor, with 52% saying average lead times are getting shorter, up from 46% in the last quarterly report.
