IBTM World Trends Report 2024 addresses some of the biggest problems today

The leading global trade show, IBTM World, has opened its doors to the 2023 edition to ten of thousands of visitors today in Fira, Barcelona with the launch of its World Trends Report 2024. The annual report addresses some of the biggest macro-economic, political, ecological, and next-generation technological issues affecting the meetings and events industry in 2024.

Authored and presented by Alistair Turner, Managing Director of Eight PR & Marketing, on the IBTM Main Stage on days one and three of the show, the insightful sessions will look at different aspects of the far-reaching report. Central subjects include the influence of AI on the meetings and events industry, the growing importance of accessibility, from physical, to sensory and intellectual, and the economic outlook for businesses working in meetings and events.

The report also covers the global outlook from a geological position, investigating the move from an Atlantic to a Pacific economy, the complexities of the Middle East and Africa, and the powerhouse of the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, the report looks at the fortunes of vertical industries, from Esports to Pharmaceuticals, and how the dynamics of these industries are impacting their meetings and events spend.

Alistair Turner, author of the report, comments: “It is no understatement to say that 2024 will be one of the most important years of the 21st century. The economic, political, and ecological outlook of our planet is on a knife edge and the advent of AI can swing it in a number of ways. Our industry has a crucial say in these outcomes and this year’s report looks to understand what this role should be, and how we can act to create positive environments around the biggest conversations of our time.

IBTM World Trends Report 2024 is both optimistic and worrying

“This report is at the same time scary, optimistic, insightful, and in-depth. We’ve once again benefited from over 60 sources and some of the great thinkers, both within and outside of our industry. The results are fascinating and I’m looking forward to trying to bring them to life at IBTM World 2023.”

Outside of the many themes addressed in the report this year, one of the main insights will be the new ‘Generation Me’. Here the report looks at hyper-personalisation, the role of accessibility, and issues around individual security, data, and agency in the creation of experiences, events and meetings.

You can read the report in full here.

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You’ll find the final details of this year’s expo here.