Trend K: Local experiences
More business tourists no longer want to be locked away in a meeting room or conference hall. On the contrary, they want to experience the local area and feel connected to the destination.
More tourists are seeking out the authentic when they travel. This increasingly applies to business tourists too, where there is now greater demand for factoring the destination, and its unique local character, into the overall meeting experience. Incorporating the destination into a meeting or congress – whether before, during or after – can help motivate more people to attend in person, and will therefore be a good investment for the organiser. The experiences can be professionally relevant to the event – for example, company visits or inspiration tours – or give participants a sense of the local area (culture, people, business life). Several reports point out that the local experiences should be 'authentic'. The destination companies can play an important role in offering these local experiences and making it easy for the organiser to get an overview of them.