What will the meetings industry look like in 2020?
A huge demographic shift is occurring in the business world, which naturally shakes down to the meetings industry. While the wheels of industry typically are powered by those in the 20-to-64 age range, many in the Baby Boom generation staying on the job.
According to the Social Security Administration, the demographic growth-rate balance will really begin to shift starting in 2010, and by 2015 the 65-and-older age group will start to grow at a faster rate than the 20-to-64 age group. A 2004 study from the AARP found that 79 percent of Boomers plan to work in some capacity during their retirement years.
Our Meetings 2020 story explores the ramifications of this shift.
We polled a large number of association planner readers for our Societal Shift feature, and the results point to more of them using second-tier cities for their meetings, transitioning to electronic mediums for promotion and placing a greater emphasis on the professional development and education content in their programs. Turn to page 39 to find out more trend results from the poll.
