5 Trends Reshaping Meeting Planner FAM Trips

The trends reshaping meeting planner FAM trips may seem like a niche topic—but it’s an important one. As the Successful Meetings University International (SMU) event, hosted by Northstar Meetings Group, takes over New York this March, the entire MICE industry is looking for ways to work better between buyers and sellers.

Understanding the value of FAM trips is key to building stronger relationships with planners. Knowing what meeting planners don’t want and the trends guiding them is vital to making sure FAM trips are done right. 

The meetings and event industry are churning like never before—that’s the good news. But the evolving landscape of what meeting planners need and want is a moving target—that’s what we’re here to walk you through.

Know the trends shaping FAM experiences to win over decision makers and planners to choose your destination.

1. Emphasize Local Experiences

Meeting planners don’t want traditional sightseeing opportunities. That’s too obvious and routine. Immersive cultural activities are one of the travel industry’s biggest trends shaping the way everyone travels—including meeting attendees.

Destinations need to present unique local culinary experiences or other offbeat opportunities to engage with local culture. Meeting planners won’t choose your destination for its postcard-ready experiences, but instead for the memorable, once-in-a-lifetime encounter that they can offer their attendees.

2. Reinforce Sustainability Angles

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability concerns continue to guide meeting planners’ decisions. And that won’t soon change. FAM trips need to introduce meeting planners to your destination’s eco-friendly practices, to underscore how they can hold an event with the smallest possible carbon footprint.

Integrate these elements into a FAM trip itinerary to ensure meeting planners understand your commitment. Wider destination-wide sustainability initiatives are also vital to showcase how it’s not just the convention center that’s in on the greener activity.

3. Focus on Wellness

A growing desire for wellness to be built into events means destinations have an opportunity to incorporate yoga or meditation offerings. Meeting planners want to provide downtime and relaxation to attendees instead of constant excitement and on-the-go activity.

Partner with local wellness leaders and studios to bring these experiences to a meeting planner FAM trip, making it clear that attendees, too, can benefit from embracing some work-life balance.

4. Remember Virtual and Tech Capabilities

In-person events are back—we love saying that—but that doesn’t mean technological advancements in meetings will disappear. For example, destinations need to lean into using VR/AR to enhance in-person experiences when possible. Meeting planners will be excited to see positive applications of technology on FAM trips.

At the same time, those FAM trips themselves can start looking differently—and perhaps more hybrid. Planners will benefit from efficient, targeted trips that show them things that virtual experiences can’t convey. For the rest, hold a video event later to explore topics for MICE planners that don’t need to be shared in-person. These types of hybrid FAM experiences give destinations a chance to prolong their time with planners, too.

5. Personalize, Personalize, Personalize

FAM trips for meeting planners must be like the experiences they hope to organize in your destination—customizable and tailored to their preferences.

This means providing options for different group sizes and interests to ensure your destination is connecting genuinely with planners. It also means paying attention to details and accommodating diverse needs like dietary needs and accessibility assistance where applicable.

Showing meeting planners on a FAM that you create an experience that meets their needs in a unique, memorable way is the big win that destinations need.

Is your destination looking to update and enhance your MICE FAM strategies? DCI is here to assist. Get in touch with Pamela Laite at pamela.laite@old.aboutdci.com to learn more about elevating FAM trips with meeting planners to get your destination top of mind.