



































Events and Tourism Review


  

Events and Tourism Review Vol. 3 No. 1 (Spring 2020), 1-6, DOI: 10.18060/24221 

Copyright © 2020 Nripendra Singh  

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuion 4.0 International License. 

 

Events and Tourism Review 
 

June 2020 

 

Volume 3 No. 1 

 

 

Sustainability, Social, and Technology Development Trends in 

Events  

 
 

Nripendra Singh 

Clarion University Of Pennsylvania 

 

 

 

 
  

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Recommended Citation 

Singh, N. (2020). Sustainability, Social, and Technology Development Trends in Events. 

Events and Tourism Review, 3(1), 1-6. 

 

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Singh, N. (2020) / Events and Tourism Review, 3(1), 1-6.                                                      2 

 

  
Events and Tourism Review Vol. 3 No. 1 (Spring 2020), 1-6, DOI: 10.18060/24221 

Copyright © 2020 Nripendra Singh 

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

Abstract 

 

Events have become an important segment of the hospitality and tourism industry. Events are 

recognized around the globe for their positive impact on the economy of the region, tourism, 

urban regeneration, culture, education, and community development. There are three major 

trends that are observed in the event industry: sustainability, social, and technology 

development. While these trends are benefitting the industry there are concerns and challenges 

that need to be addressed. In this paper, key facts about these trends are discussed. It is 

suggested that research on these three trends will enhance this new and emerging discipline 

and business event industry.  

 

Keywords: Businerss Events, Sustainability Trends, Social Development Trends, Technology 

Development Trends  

 

Introduction  

 

Events have become an important segment of the hospitality and tourism industry. Events 

are involved in almost all aspects of hospitality businesses like tourism, lodging, transportation, 

food and beverage, catering, and retail, providing direct and indirect benefits, such as income, 

employment, and investment (Getz & Page, 2015). Events are recognized around the globe for 

their positive impact on the economy of the region (Jago & Shaw, 1999). Events have an impact 

on tourism, urban regeneration, culture, education (Mair & Whitford, 2013), leisure time and 

surplus income (Allen, O’Toole, McDonnell, & Harris, 2002), and community development 

(Bowdin, Allen, O’Toole, Harris, & McDonnell, 2006).  

Recent reporting from the Events Industry Council (Events Industry Council [EIC], 2018) shows 

that 1.9 million meetings were held in the United States in 2016, resulting in more than $330 

billion (USD) in direct spending with over 250 million participants. Regarding numbers of 

people attending conferences, it can have anywhere between hundreds to thousands of people in 

one place from one to five days. These gatherings have an economic impact but simultaneously 

have many negative implications too. For example, there can be large amounts of waste 

generated from these gatherings, negatively impacting the environment. Moreover, with growing 

sustainability and technology trends and awareness among consumers, conference organizers are 

concerned and exploring possible ways to overcome the negative image and make conferences 

effective and efficient (Booker, 2017). Thus, there are three major trends in business events 

development: sustainability, social, and technology trends. These trends need further attention of 

researchers to strengthen the industry and develop knowledge in this discipline.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Singh, N. (2020) / Events and Tourism Review, 3(1), 1-6.                                                      3 

 

  
Events and Tourism Review Vol. 3 No. 1 (Spring 2020), 1-6, DOI: 10.18060/24221 

Copyright © 2020 Nripendra Singh 

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sustainability Trend in Events 

 

Meetings and conferences have been criticized for having a negative impact on the 

environment being resource-intensive (Hoyer & Naess, 2001). While travel-related carbon 

emission is on top, paper waste is the other major source of negative impact on the environment 

from this sector (Case, 2013). This statement summarizes the reason sustainability is being 

considered a priority by event professionals, and recent trends confirm this. Sustainability has 

been one of the most important trends in the event industry (Case, 2013).  Recent examples from 

Rio and London Olympics show the International Olympic Committee (IOC) committed to 

building a sustainable future by delivering innovations in event planning, staging, and design 

(Olympic, 2016). An event professionals survey (Pelham, 2011) concluded there was “no time to 

wait” for embracing sustainability as both government and corporate clients request sustainable 

events. This was in line with growing environmental awareness and concern among consumers. 

A recent study by Fenich, Scott-Halsell, Ogbeide, and Hashimoto (2014) found that millennials, 

a key target segment of the events industry, are highly focused and interested in “sustainability” 

and “green” initiatives. Forced by such demographic preferences, event organizers have started 

organizing paperless events that reduce cost, facilitates transactions, and protect the environment 

(Orantes-Jimenez, Zavala-Galindo, & Vazquez-Álvarez, 2015). 

 

Social Trend in Events 

 

Communication and interaction are core activities of human life, such as meetings and 

conferences in the work arena. Zelinsky (1994) pointed out this social trend due to business 

Technology Social 

  

 

Sustainability 

Business Events 

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Singh, N. (2020) / Events and Tourism Review, 3(1), 1-6.                                                      4 

 

  
Events and Tourism Review Vol. 3 No. 1 (Spring 2020), 1-6, DOI: 10.18060/24221 

Copyright © 2020 Nripendra Singh 

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

meetings and called the USA as a "conventionland". He pointed out that staging conventions are 

an emerging phenomenon that needs site-specific amenities to attract visitors to cities. In short, 

business meetings on one hand have an economic impact and on the other, satisfy the social 

needs of pleasure and fun (Zelinsky, 1994). Events Industry Council, the global apex body of 

events industry, in its recent report on 2018 Global Economic Significance of Business Events, 

mentioned that in just one year, 2017, 1.5 billion participants from more than 180 countries 

participated in different business events (Events Industry Council, 2018). This is almost 21 

percent of the total world population. This social trend has a huge economic impact every year. 

In 2017, it resulted in $2.5 trillion of output (business sales), and 26 million jobs. With $621.4 

billion of direct GDP, business events stand as the 22nd largest economy in the world. The event 

landscape has undergone a drastic change in the last decade, and technological tools such as 

mobile applications and social media are helping to create economies of scale, operational 

efficiency, and customer engagement in such social gatherings (Meeting Professionals 

International [MPI], 2014, 2015, 2016). 

 

Technology Trend in Events 

 

A survey of the meetings industry experts revealed that events are increasingly becoming 

tech-savvy by using state of the art technology (Incentives, Business, Travel, & Meetings 

[IBTM], 2013). A survey of “managing event technology ecosystems” by MPI on how event 

professionals currently adapt to event technology found that 50% of meetings and event planners 

who responded agreed their technology budget in the past three years has increased (MPI, 2015). 

One such technology in use is a mobile conference app, which is defined as standalone software 

that can be operated through a mobile device to serve the needs of conference organizers, 

planners, and attendees (Singh, 2019). Mobile conference apps are used for different purposes 

before, during, and after conferences (Event Marketing Institute [EMI], 2015; Torres, 2017); for 

example, distribution of schedule, notification of changes, task management, feedback or polls, 

name badges for registration, and integration with social media. Research shows the top three 

reasons for its use are “ease of dissemination of information,” “engagement of participants,” and 

“convenience for not printing the handouts” (Aksentyeva et al., 2012). While it is heartening to 

see the technology adoption by the event organizers, it is upsetting to read that conference 

attendees are reluctant to use technologies such as conference apps because they do not find it 

attractive (Singh 2019; Schrier, Erdem, & Brewer, 2010). Therefore, it looks like while the 

technology trend is accepted by the event industry, it is yet to be fully embraced by the 

participants or event attendees.     

 

Conclusion 

 

As discussed above, the three major trends of the event industry are quietly visible in 

action. While it is benefitting the industry some concerns and challenges need to be addressed. 

For example, how to minimize the resource-intensive nature of the meetings. One solution can be 

to use technology to minimize the negative impact on the environment (Esfahani, Nilashi, 

Rahman, Ghapanchi, & Zakaria, 2015). Recently, the conference app was used in a five day 

UNEP conference that provided cost benefits (USD 30,189) and helped in a huge amount of 

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Singh, N. (2020) / Events and Tourism Review, 3(1), 1-6.                                                      5 

 

  
Events and Tourism Review Vol. 3 No. 1 (Spring 2020), 1-6, DOI: 10.18060/24221 

Copyright © 2020 Nripendra Singh 

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

waste reduction (1,400 paper reams) for the environment (United Nations Environment 

Programme [UNEP], 2016). Due to recent trends, this sector has been characterized by “three 

highs” (growth, added-value, and innovations), “three larges” (output, employment 

opportunities, and industry associations), and “three advantages” (human resources, 

technological know-how, and asset utilization) (Aksentyeva et al., 2012), which reflects the 

importance of this sector on the economy, sustainability, society, and technology.  It is proposed 

to do further research on the three trends, sustainability, social, and technology, to assess the 

intertwined nature of their relationships. Additionally, there is a need to establish new ways to 

create a balance between sustainability, social needs, and technology, to protect the environment 

and economic growth. Furthermore, there is a need to examine how hospitality and tourism 

educators are adjusting their curriculum to meet these three trends. 

 

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Singh, N. (2020) / Events and Tourism Review, 3(1), 1-6.                                                      6 

 

  
Events and Tourism Review Vol. 3 No. 1 (Spring 2020), 1-6, DOI: 10.18060/24221 

Copyright © 2020 Nripendra Singh 

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

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