At the World Meetings Forum in Mexico‘s Riviera Maya this past weekend—a gathering of convention and meetings industry leaders and insiders—Martha Sheridan, president and CEO of Rhode Island‘s Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau and board chair of DMAI, shared her list of relevant stats, facts, figures and insights on the overall state of the MICE industry. We looked at the first three trends earlier this week; here are four more worth knowing about.

Focus on ROI has broadened

Event ROI has traditionally been considered in terms of sales or leads. Today, the MICE industry is embracing a broader understanding of event ROI and retooling to generate these returns.

These can comprise professional development, including certification and development tracks; business advancement, including increased networking opportunities and facilitated programs for connecting with other professionals; personal enjoyment, including destination-focused experiences; and social good, including fundraising opportunities or local service opportunities.

Clients are coming to DMOs “and asking us to put our destination knowledge to work,” Sheridan said. They want to meet and socialize in nontraditional places–both venues and locations within a given area. A refitted warehouse could be good for some types of meetings–or maybe they can gather someplace without walls at all. The important thing, she said, is to make sure the event schedule has enough time for attendees to get the “essence” of a destination. “The Cereal Chemists will have dinners all over the city,” she noted.

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