According to Perrine Edelman, Associate Director of Coach Omnium, all these factors contributed to an overall decline in all types of events last year. Continuing the trend, caution seems to be the order of the day for 2025The business travel market in France is expected to remain sluggish, between a tense economic climate and geopolitical uncertainty. MICE budgets are expected to remain stable for most of the 315 companies surveyed as part of the study on the development of business tourism in France, carried out by the consulting firm for the 32e oncefor the last three years in partnership with 1001Salles.
This downward trend is continuing, as half of all sponsors believe that MICE activity has declined over the last three years, with two-thirds even agreeing that their budgets have taken a beating. Paradoxically, however, the budgets allocated, not as a whole but for a particular event, are increasing.
The average range of expenditure is tending to increase, with a budget of €241 to €300 per participant for residential seminars, compared with €201 to €240 last year. Similarly, the bracket for study days, ranging from €100 to €160, is also clearly up on 2023. " This can be explained by the fact that companies are organising fewer events away from their premises, for shorter periods and in closer proximity.explains Perrine Edelman. We meet less often, but we focus on quality. "
Developments in office property, driven by teleworking, are leading to a greater emphasis on state-of-the-art meeting facilities on their premises, resulting in an increase in in-house meetings, up from 39% in 2023 to 46% last year. 38 % of the organisers questioned said they used their rooms for most of their meetings, and 41 % for less than half. But when companies leave their premises, it's to go to a hotelThe trend is for people to remain loyal to their usual establishments, in 70% of cases. This is a return to favour, given that the share of hotels was only 40% in 2019, without however returning to the ultra-majority level of the beginning of the millennium (91% in 2005).
Whether for study days or residential stays, seminars are still the most popular type of event organised by companies. And according to Coach Omnium, four-star hotels will be the most popular choice in 2024, with almost 9 out of 10 sponsors, compared with two-thirds of companies in 2022. Behind these establishments, the unusual places (55%) and châteaux and residences with character (54%) are the other preferred solutions. Meetings in an original setting - former industrial sites, rooftops, stadiums or golf courses - or seminars in the great outdoors: these venues meet a growing demand for events - of interest to 56 % of companies, compared with 39 % in 2017 - and for incentives, which have risen from 17% in 2017 to 45 % in 2024.
While motivating employees or the network has been the number one reason for MICE events for at least two decades, team cohesion is taking on new importance in the post-covid era, with links weakened by teleworking. Hence the need for seminars that are less 'business-like', but more convivial, and therefore more 'business-friendly'. more federating. "The MICE sector has become more 'event-based' and needs to be impactful, immersive and experiential, notes Delphine Bouclon, in charge of strategic coordination for the trade at Châteauformquoted in the Coach Omnium study. Celebrations, festivities, cohesion and rewards are the order of the day." .
Fun makes a comeback
Coach Omnium is seeing the return of the "fun" factor in seminars. In great demand until 2019, complementary activities and entertainment had dwindled by 2023. In 2024, many companies have returned to these services, in particular participative activities such as quizzes, escape games, cookery classes or treasure hunts. Adapted to each individual, fun activities account for 85 % of demand, compared with 65 % in 2017, and are ahead of cultural activities (55%), Olympiads and other sports team-building activities (43%). As for CSR activities - beach clean-ups, humanitarian days, escape games on the theme of ecology, etc. - these are on the increase, but remain in the minority.
" The CSR theme is much in demand in team building activities, but not necessarily adopted." points out Olivier Gouvernal, CEO of For Event, who is also quoted in the study. Even so, and in a more general context, the subject of CSR provides a framework for professional events, with three-quarters of event sponsors saying that they are committed to CSR.t take account of the environmental impact of their events. In particular, companies prefer destinations accessible by train in France (67 %) or Europe (10 %).
With regard to service providers, 84% include CSR criteria in their specifications. At the same time, 35 % of companies carry out a carbon assessment of their MICE events, usually using in-house tools or solutions such as Climeet and Greenly. However, according to Nathalie Leduc, Communications and Marketing Director of the 1001Salles Group, " we see a gap on the ground, where factors such as the availability, accessibility and budgetary constraints of purchasing departments remain decisive" . Capacity firstThese are the three main criteria for choosing a venue, far ahead of eco-responsibility (2%).
