Want to know which destinations are hot? Where are events likely to be held in the next twelve months?
At AIME in Melbourne Tuesday 21st February Sally Greenhill launched the preliminary results of a new research project which The Right Solution are working on for the IBTM portfolio of Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE).
The results for the Asia Pacific region showed how 83% of buyers are choosing to stay within the region for their events, with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore taking top slots as destinations in the last twelve months. Other countries in the top ten in terms of number of events are Fiji, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Vietnam. Outside the region the only countries in the top ten are the USA, UK and Italy. For the next twelve months the countries being used remain very similar although Thailand is looking to over take Singapore in number 3 position. 51% said they will use new destinations in the next year with Indonesia, Korea, and Vanuatu mentioned in the region and Mexico, UAE , Austria and Belgium listed as those further afield. A total of 68 destinations are mentioned, reflecting the fierce competition for this business worldwide for the year ahead, with buyers averaging use of 6 destinations each.
Average spend per event for the region was US$34,712 over the last year with events outside the region clearly requiring higher budgets.
Predictions for the next twelve months show 42% of buyers in the region predicting an increase in volume of events, compared to 53% for buyers worldwide. When it comes to increases in individual budgets per event however this drops to 25% of buyers in the region compared to 33% of buyers worldwide. Clearly everyone is trying to ‘do more with less’.
These results are from the pilot test for the research. The long term aim is to provide exhibitors and visitors to the IBTM Portfolio with the information they need on the key areas for targeting clients, the trends in destination use for meetings and events and the major issues affecting destination choice in the meetings industry from year to year, to find out where business is coming from and where it is going to, in terms of which regions and countries.
The first survey was undertaken as a pilot test across a global database on five continents online and via email using Reed Travel Exhibitions and partners’ databases of buyers and suppliers, with research continuing up to mid January 2012.
With new countries and regions rapidly becoming major players in the meetings market as inbound and outbound generators, including those where RTE have IBTM shows such as the Middle East and China, the destinations being selected and those generating major traffic are changing dramatically. We are now monitoring the trends and helping IBTM exhibitors and visitors to understand where to focus their marketing activities and budgets, and helping destinations identify what they need to do to best meet market needs and maximise potential.
Contact us if you would like the results or see www.aime.com.au
