Almost half of meeting planning professionals report an increase in contentious or conflict-oriented conversations or personal challenges during meetings in the recent past, according to the Meetings Outlook 2017 Fall Edition published by Meeting Professionals International. The report found that 43% of industry professionals have seen that increase. In reaction, planners report having changed or cancelled session topics, security planning, speaker selection and other meeting elements. Among the other findings in the report, respondents said they are most prepared for weather, natural disasters and active shooters while least prepared for vehicular violence and crowd stampedes. Despite those safety and security concerns, 57 percent predict favorable business conditions over the next year with a 2 percent growth in the economy. Attendance at live and virtual events is expected to grow by 0.9 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively – a slight decline in growth for live events and a slight increase in growth for virtual events.