The results from the latest survey jointly carried out by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and IMEX amongst international associations into how their major meetings are faring indicate that this most resilient of sectors is going to continue to be vitally important to suppliers across the world.

Compared to the previous survey carried out four months earlier, anticipated and actual attendance at association meetings continues to be strong. 30 per cent reported higher attendance than in previous years and 48 per cent reported no change. Of those who reported a fall, 12 per cent reported ‘slight’ falls and only nine per cent reported ‘significant’ reductions. These figures are a few percentage points more optimistic than the earlier survey, when more of the event figures were anticipated rather than actual.

In contrast to this healthy situation, the financial pressures on association events are increasing. 18 per cent reported higher revenue from sponsors and exhibitions than in previous years (down from 20 per cent in the previous survey), 38 per cent reported no change, but 44 per cent reported reductions in revenue from these sources, an increase in four per cent from the previous survey. 

A worrying development is that few association executives are optimistic about growth in attendance at their 2011 events.  Also 48 per cent now expect lower attendances in 2011 than in 2010, down from only six per cent in the previous edition of the survey.

Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA said, “Whilst there\'s no doubt that international association meetings have been the star performance sector over the last year, they\'re feeling the pressure of continued economic turbulence, especially as corporate sponsorship budgets continue to be cut. The picture is extremely mixed, however, and we\'re hearing that many regional (i.e. European or Asia-Pacific) events are at record levels, whilst some world events are struggling to attract attendances. The lower expectations for 2011 are also a matter for concern, but need to be seen against the backdrop of strong attendances in 2010.”

Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX Group added, “These results underline the importance of international association meetings for suppliers from all regions of the world.  The Association Day programmes at IMEX and IMEX America in 2011 are going to play an ever more important role in the two shows, and we\'re looking forward to working with ICCA and other key industry players to make sure that we attract as many of these key buyers as possible.”