Subvention: Destinations Want Change

But What Do Associations Need?

28 May 2025

Subvention – the financial and in-kind support that destinations offer to associations for hosting events – has long been a key driver in the global conference landscape. But as the industry faces increasing pressure to become more sustainable and impactful, are current subvention models keeping pace with these ambitions?

To explore this potential, we conducted a global survey in collaboration with #MEET4IMPACT and the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement), gathering insights from over 115 destinations across five continents.

💡 Here’s what we found:

• 91% of destinations say they want to use subvention to drive positive change.
• But only 6% have fully embedded social or environmental impact criteria into their funding programmes.
• 66% cite budget constraints as the main barrier to offering more purposeful subvention.
• Nearly 40% plan to introduce formal sustainability requirements in the next two years.
• Today, only 17% of current subvention schemes require any form of environmental or social outcomes.

These insights reveal a striking mismatch between ambition and action. While there’s momentum for change, the mechanisms haven’t caught up — most destinations still fund events based primarily on traditional economic indicators like room nights and delegate spend.

Full Press Release – Early Insights Report

Now we want to hear from you 👇🔎

As we prepare to launch the full report in September, we are collecting association perspectives to understand what support you actually need — and whether current funding models align with your goals around sustainability, inclusion, and long-term impact.

Associations:
Whether you’ve worked with subvention before or not — and even if you’re unsure about the topic — your opinion matters. We want this to reflect the reality of the association experience.

Please take 5 minutes to complete the survey 

Everyone else:
Please help us amplify this message by sharing the survey with your network of association professionals. Their insights are essential in helping destinations adapt and improve.

Thank you for helping us bridge the gap between what’s offered and what’s truly needed in our industry.

Warm regards, 

Bregje & Nienke

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