'Future of Meetings & Events' identified five trends to impact the future of Business Events

Biodegradable meeting spaces, artificial intelligence and serendipity will all play a significant role in the future of meetings and business events.

Those trends, along with others, were discussed by leaders from a wide range of industries for a recent study supported by the PCMA Foundation and Marriott International. The 'Future of Meetings & Events' identified five trends with the potential in the next five years to dramatically disrupt the business events industry. The study was presented during 2019 PCMA Convening Leaders "Disrupt + Deliver" program taking place Jan. 6 -9 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The five trends identified by research firm Fahrenheit 212, which conducted the study, were:

- Emotional Intelligence: How to design events with the end user in mind.
- Orchestrated Serendipity: Engineering unexpected, but meaningful moments.
- Multi-modal design: Creating adaptive spaces such as one that is a biodegradable, and 3D-printed.
- Bigger than Oneself: Think social impact, sustainability and meaningful.
- Clear Sense of Place: Leveraging the surroundings where business events are held.

“PCMA's vision is to drive global economic and social progress through business events. Supporting valuable research like this project is paramount to our organization's ability to help professionals within and outside our industry better harness and understand the power business events have around the world," said Sherrif Karamat, PCMA president and Ceo (in the photo). "We want to help our audience stay ahead of the curve and embrace the disruptors that will shape the business events industry."

Tammy Routh, senior vice president for global sales at Marriott International, added: “The meetings and events industry’s future is being shaped by so many factors — from people’s desire to be part of a broader community to their expectations when they travel. This study brings a real-world and provocative lens to where planners, attendees and suppliers will be heading in the years to come.”