This year’s MPI World Education Congress (WEC), which took place May 20-22 at the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC) in Louisville, was anything but a “one-size-fits-all” conference.
Centered around a “Craft Your Experience” theme, WEC Louisville looked different for each of the event’s nearly 2,000 attendees, almost 1,900 of which attended in person, with more than 700 being meeting planners—a 33% increase in comparison to last year’s WEC in Mexico at Barceló Maya Grand Resort in Riviera Maya and the largest WEC since 2019. (In total, the hosted buyer program included 180 buyer participants and 175 suppliers, resulting in a record 2,000 appointments.)
WEC Louisville was the first time in the conference’s 28-year history that attendees had the opportunity to personalize their schedules and build an agenda tailored to their interests using MPI’s WEC event app, which launched weeks ahead of the event and gave attendees the opportunity to peruse education sessions and connect with other attendees before arrival.
The conference was full of many other firsts as well, such as being the first time Louisville played host to WEC, and approximately 50% of the crowd at the KICC were first-time attendees.
“If you look at Freeman's research, 68% of our workforce is new in the last three years in this industry,” said MPI President & CEO Paul Van Deventer at the WEC Louisville press conference. “Almost 80% of our workforce was laid off or left the industry during Covid. It's being replaced by a whole different set of professionals, and we're now starting to engage with them and get them involved in associations like MPI to work on their professional development.”
[Related: Live From Louisville: A Conversation With MPI President & CEO Paul Van Deventer]
Education at WEC Louisville
Because of the need for professional development in the meetings and events industry, education remained a top priority at WEC Louisville, all of which was curated by the MPI Academy.
To start the education planning process, the team looks at data from the previous year’s WEC as well as data from webinars, certificate programs and digital education events to determine exactly what kind of information attendees are looking for.
“In addition to that, we also take our creative team’s context in mind,” said Jessie States, vice president of MPI Academy. “So, they've been working on the theme for the year, and this year that is ‘Craft Your Experience,’ and that also plays a huge role not only in the individual education sessions, but most especially for our mainstage. So those components—we take data, we take our creative team, the process, the marketing, the theme—and all of that comes together and we use that as the lens and the focus through which we view all of the education for our event.”
To no one’s surprise, AI was one of the biggest topics attendees were interested in learning more about. (Since launching the AI-Enhanced Event Professional Certificate program in January, MPI Academy has given out more than 230 certifications to event professionals looking to improve their AI skills.)
WEC Louisville attendees had the opportunity to earn 13 hours of individual CEUs through five general sessions, which skillfully integrated performance and the arts into the main stage educational experience as a nod to Louisville’s rich history in the arts. Sessions featured:
- Mark Schulman, a celebrity drummer who has toured with Pink and Cher, paired with neuroscientist Heather Crider to combine rock and roll with brain science to elevate confidence and deliver world-class performance.
- Filipe Gomez, a virtuoso pianist, brought a grand piano with him on stage to provide an entertaining learning experience. Attendees discovered and developed the virtues that to help them reach peak performance.
- Pamela Schuller, a comedian living with Tourette Syndrome, helped attendees embrace their “messy” parts and leverage their individuality and unique talents to conquer their goals.
- Princess Sarah Culberson, a storyteller and activist whose life is being adapted into a major motion picture for Disney Studios, taught the audience how to build a culture that is meaningful, passionate and sustainable.
- Jessica Lee Goldyn of Moulin Rouge!, Kyle Taylor Parker of Kinky Boots and Fergie Phillippe of Hamilton discussed training, career growth and development and how their unique skill sets have helped them become leading forces in the Broadway industry.
Additional education included nearly 150 speakers that delivered 115 unique breakout sessions within eight educational tracks, such as: a Featured Track with keynote-caliber speakers, a Senior Professionals Track, a Tech/AI Track, a Games (for Business) Track, a Back to Basics Track, a Wellness & Sustainability Track, a Medical Meetings Track and a Partners & Communities Track.
“What Jessie [States] prides herself on is finding content, finding speakers or entertainers that may not be quite as known yet,” Van Deventer said. “We have an opportunity to showcase something new and innovative that other planners then can take and bring out to their own audiences.
[Related: Live From Louisville: MPI Academy's Jessie States on Efforts in Education]
“And then, for the last eight years, she's been really on an intentional path of diversifying our stage,” he continued. “We were a very, very male-dominated stage eight years ago…We moved from 90% men to 70% women over a short period of time. Then, she said, ‘We need more diversity of color on the stage,’ and the last several years, we've made a really intentional effort of doing that. And now, she's trying to get more hidden disabilities up there with neurodiversity.”
Neurodiversity also happens to be the focus of one of several new programs being introduced by the MPI Academy (launching in June), with other new programs focusing on events psychology and golf.
“We're really excited about looking into [these topics] and ensuring that we're giving our community the tools they need to be successful,” States said.
Insights from MPI’s Meetings Outlook Spring 2024 Report
At the WEC Louisville press conference, Van Deventer also shared insights from the Meetings Outlook Spring 2024 report set to be published by early June.
Notable report revelations include a pullback in expectations for favorable business conditions over the next year, with only 68% of respondents saying they anticipate positive conditions, marking the lowest confidence level since Q1 2022. This shift suggests a normalization in business expectations, aligning more closely with pre-pandemic levels.
“What we're seeing is a continued favorable optimism, but a lessening of the optimism,” Van Deventer said. “So, people are still feeling good about our business. They're feeling good about the economy. They see conditions strengthening but not as much as they did. They're still hiring but maybe not as much over the last year. And budgets are increasing but a little less than they were [before,] so it’s a weakening optimism.”
Van Deventer also noted the types of destinations and host properties planners are currently sourcing, with data showing that:
- 28% of respondents are looking for a new property in a new destination.
- 23% of respondents are looking for a new property in a destination they’ve been before.
- 19% of respondents are returning to a property/destination they use every year.
- 17% of respondents are returning to a property/destination they’ve been to before, but not since 2019.
- 8% of respondents are looking for properties that can provide buyouts.
- 5% of respondents are looking for all-inclusive properties.
In terms of financial outlook, 66% of respondents expect budget growth over the next year, but fewer anticipate significant increases. Only 34% predict budget growth of at least 6%, down by 7% from the previous quarter and significantly less than nearly half of respondents a year ago.
MPI Global Membership Updates
Michelle Allgauer, 2023 MPI International Board of Directors chair and senior vice president, education and engagement at Financial Services Institute, spoke at the WEC Louisville press conference about MPI’s global membership.
MPI is experiencing its highest member count since April 2021 with nearly 12,500 members, approximately 7,000 of which are planners. The association has seen a 9% year-over-year increase in 2023 and an additional 6% increase year-to-date.
Looking at regional year-over-year growth:
- North American membership has increased by 4%.
- Latin American membership increased by 7% to more than 500 members for the first time.
- EMEA membership has increased by 15%.
More than 4,500 new members fueled MPI’s membership growth in 2023, and the association expects to surpass 13,000 members by the end of the year.
Attendees at Churchill Downs at MPI WEC. Credit: MPI.
