The International Business Travel Association (GBTA) continues its series of studies to take the temperature of the markets business travel and MICE. A new report - the 14th since the start of the health crisis - has just been published. Dedicated to the meetings & eventsThe GBTA is reassuring about the market outlook for the coming months. Dave Hilfman, GBTA's Interim Chief Executive, said: "The market is expected to remain buoyant for the next few months. a number of reasons for the business travel industry to be optimistic for 2021in particular to the middle of the year ". He added: " While the deployment of vaccine is growing and we are seeing a corresponding drop in positive COVID-19 test results, this survey suggests a return to personal relationships and face-to-face meetings and events in the workplace. ".
Based on testimonies gathered by the GBTA between 7 and 13 December from 760 membersThree out of four professionals expect employees to take part in face-to-face meetings or events in the second or third quarter of 2021. A large majority of employees (89 %) expect to take part in an event with participants from outside their company by the third quarter of 2021. The proportion is roughly the same for internal company events (87%) between now and the third quarter. Europe seems to be a more favourable ground for recovery than the US market. In fact, the majority (55 %) of European professionals say that their company has started planning meetings or events for 2021, compared with 36 % in North America.
Lastly, the resumption of face-to-face meetings should mechanically reduce the number of hybrid events which had multiplied with the health crisis. While one employee in two (48%) will take part in this format in the first quarter, the figure falls in the second (27%) and third (14%) quarters, according to the GBTA study.
