As the U.S. economy continues its struggle to rebound in 2011, EIBTM reported some encouraging trends for the Meetings and Events Industry in their Annual EIBTM Global Industry Trends and Market Share Report.  While not completely out of the woods yet, the report highlights some trends that show significant improvements for the year ahead.

Highlights of the report include:

• Corporate restrictions on business travel have eased significantly
• Cost management for corporate meetings continues to be a key issue for Buyers but keen negotiations and a greater focus on “basics” is the driving force
• Lead time for corporate meetings has shortened from 30-45 days
• Incentive travel has also show a recovery, although not as dramatic as meetings
• Average number of nights for incentive travel has decreased from 6.5 to 4
• Greater focus on domestic or short-distance international destinations to reflect shorter trip lengths
• Predictions for travel in 2011 and 2012 show a positive growth trend