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The recovery of corporate travel, professional meetings, conventions, and events are critical to our nation’s economy. Despite making up only 20% of total trip volume, business travelers account for 40-60% of lodging and air revenue in the United States.

However, U.S. Travel’s most recent forecast projected that this critical sector is not expected to make a full recovery until 2024. Until business travel, meetings and events are fully restored, the pace of economic recovery will continue to suffer.

Data has already proven that in-person meetings and events can be safe—and new studies show that there are clear benefits to resuming in-person meetings and business travel for companies both big and small. For example, six in 10 business travelers believe that increased spending on business travel has a positive impact on company revenue and profitability.

To learn more about the in-person meetings happening all over the country, visit our Meet Safe platform—a webpage powered by U.S. Travel in partnership with the Meetings Mean Business Coalition to help spearhead a full return to business travel and professional meetings and events (PMEs).

THE VALUE OF FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS IS IRREPLACEABLE

American workers are eager to take a break from the screen and get back to in-person meetings. More than two-thirds (69%) have felt the effects of “Zoom fatigue” and 63% are tired of web conferencing and eager to get back to in-person meetings. (Destination Analysts)

Masked business man and woman bumping elbows.

FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS DELIVER ADDITIONAL BENEFITS FOR BOTH THE EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER.

Not only do 85% of American workers view in-person events as irreplaceable, but they may also increase revenue. Studies found that more than four in five decision makers (85%) believe business travel leads to higher profits. (American Express)

Masked business men and women at a table with microphones.

BUSINESS TRAVELERS ARE MORE LIKELY THAN GENERAL POPULATION TO BE VACCINATED

In general, business travelers are significantly more likely to be vaccinated. According to Destination Analysts, 81% of Americans who have traveled for business in the last two years have been vaccinated, compared to 77% of American travelers overall.

Two business people with masks talking at a conference.

ANALYSIS CONFIRMS EVENTS "HAVE NOT BEEN SUPER-SPREADER EVENTS."

In light of more contagious COVID-19 variants, Epistemix modeling found risks of infection at events to be as much as eight times less than within the local community where the event was held—and they are no riskier than most normal daily activities, like grocery shopping.

IN-PERSON MEETINGS AND EVENTS ARE HAPPENING NOW, AND THEY ARE HAPPENING SAFELY.

Science shows we can meet safely, and when we implement safety measures such as facial coverings, well-ventilated physical spaces, temperature checks and physical distancing, we can effectively eliminate COVID-19 transmission risk.

Health and Safety Practices

PMEs employ layers of risk-mitigation measures

White Paper from the Ohio State University

The scientific based evidence for conducting safe PMEs

A Spotlight on Safe Meetings and Events

In-person meetings and events are happening, and they are happening safely. Platforms like PCMA, an organized network of business and event strategists, are taking a deeper dive to develop case studies that highlight best practices for large in-person gatherings that are being implemented at meetings across the country. See their industry calendar to take a deeper look at both past and future events across industries.

Meetings like HIMSS 2021 and IBMA World of Bluegrass 2021 were held with safety precautions in place that kept attendees safe and allowed leaders across their industries to reunite in-person. We’ve highlighted the ways in which meeting organizers relied on science to guide them to execute their events—proving you don’t have to choose between safety and being in-person…you can have both.

Safe Meetings are Returning Across the U.S.

Successful and safe meetings and events are already taking place across the country—bringing people together and reminding businesses of the importance of face-to-face interaction. These meetings, occurring in controlled environments and executed by professional meeting planners, have layers of health practices in place to ensure the overall health of safety of attendees and guests. New data also shows that companies and industries that continue to invest in business travel—despite economic downturns—generally experience greater growth and increased profits in the long-run.

To view more examples of in-person meetings and events or add your own, visit our Meet Safe platform.