FCM Meetings & Events, ahead of its global relaunch aiming for global growth, reveals that more than a quarter of clients spend half of their travel budget on the MICE sector, according to its landmark global survey on the state of the market*.
The survey, the first of its kind, carried out by Flight Center Corporate, shows that a significant portion of customers spend more than half of their travel budget on the MICE sector.
When surveying Flight Center's corporate customers, overall, 28 percent of companies said more than 50 percent of their budget was spent on travel for MICE, with 11 percent revealing an allocation of between 25 and 50 percent. percent, and 10 percent reporting that 15 percent -25 percent of their travel spend goes to the MICE sector.
Simone Seiler, global managing director of FCM Meetings & Events, said the results were achieved as the company repositioned itself globally to provide a unified offering, building on it as a subsidiary of FCM Travel and leveraging its global scale, but with regional customization.
“Globalizing the FCM M&E business will allow us to add consistency and scale for clients looking for a global meetings and events provider, with central offices in all four regions, a global consistency but local nuances to understand specific customer needs,” Ms. Seiler said.
“We now operate in more than a dozen countries around the world, with future expansion plans in the works. Australia, India and Mexico are currently booming for us, and we see North America, Asia and Europe as key regions with the greatest growth opportunities.
“FCM M&E is aiming for exponential growth and we are already expanding into countries like the UAE and South Africa, which will allow us to increase our workforce to the more than 365 people we already have serving our valued customers.
“Our overall vision for the future of meetings and travel management is focused on innovation, sustainability, accessibility and the seamless integration of technology, like our new FCM Venue Finder platform, to improve overall experience of our customers.
“By combining our event management expertise with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability, we aim to become the industry leader in creating future-proof, impactful, and responsible. »
As part of the global relaunch, FCM Meetings & Events has now welcomed a new Global Director of Corporate Sales to its London office, Joanne Shaw. Ms Seiler said Ms Shaw had extensive experience in sales and account management.
“Joanne brings a wealth of MICE sector knowledge to drive strategic growth, articulating the MICE value proposition, excelling in multi-level relationship building and stakeholder management. His dedication to understanding customer needs and developing tailored solutions will play a key role. she said.
“Companies are investing earlier and earlier in organizing large-scale travel in order to optimize air and hotel offers. Demand for new MICE destinations is at an all-time high, with destinations such as Doha, Seoul, Tbilisi and Taipei growing in popularity. Established MICE destinations Singapore and Dubai are experiencing strong demand.
“There is also a trend to reinvigorate well-known sites with new and exciting offerings to ensure fast turnaround times. This dynamic is particularly notable among companies managing multiple channels due to a peak in sales activity.
“Clients are looking for a comprehensive, holistic program that consolidates what is often fragmented. I am delighted to have Joanne join our team to demonstrate the global solutions we offer as part of our mission to truly globalize FCM meetings and events,” added Manpreet Bindra, FCM Meetings and Events Manager for Asia.
