Business confidence in the event sector rose slightly in Q3 compared to Q1 2024. With an average score of 7.5 out of 10, event professionals indicate that they are rather optimistic about a positive future for the organisation they work for and their own professional activities in the sector. So learn the research results of the sector survey conducted by Event Confederation together with iVOX in July among 141 Belgian event professionals.
Challenges, despite hopeful key economic indicators
Things are improving in event country. Compared to the first quarter, turnover and profits increased in the second quarter of 2024 at over 48% and 39% of organisations respectively. This is more than double the previous quarter’s results. Collaboration with freelancers and permanent staff fell at barely 9% of organisations in quarter two.
But of course, there are still many challenges. From the sector survey, we learn 68% of event professionals need more flexible working regimes in the organisation they work in. Over 48% want to use the status of flexijobs and over 62% need more deployable tax-exempt overtime.
Wishlist for new government
Belgian event professionals not only hope that our new government will take actions in the coming years to enable more flexibility in the event sector, but also for more support. They also hope the government will encourage fair competition in the sector and between the different types of organisations (private vs. public). Event professionals want there to be less focus on micromanagement and more on uniformity between regions. But the main desire is for the event sector to be recognised as an essential and official sector in our country, with its own joint committee and the recognition of the status of event manager with its own NACEBEL code.
‘For this, the government and our new government in particular first need to better understand our event sector,’ according to Christine Merckx of Event Confederation. ‘In this, the (often influencing) role of the press still plays a (too) important role. Ultimately, public opinion is still one of the most decisive factors driving policy-making, and that does not always benefit the business climate in our country. It is therefore the task of our confederation to give a voice to the many thousands of event professionals in our country, to represent them and to bring their wish list to the attention of our new government.’
