Meetings business is predicted to rise by up to 6.4 per cent in Asia, but figures are expected to fall across North America, Europe and Central/South America. The findings are part of the 2013 Meetings Forecast by American Express Meetings and Events, the group’s second annual report on the Mice sector. The general slump in events is supposed to be a reflection of the cautionary approach due to budgetary constraints that companies will exercise this year when planning meetings and events.
In his introductory note to the survey, Issa Jouaneh, Global Vice-President, American Express, Meetings and Events, says, “The desire to grow meeting programmes [in 2013] remains, but the uncertainty of the global economy, and the financial situation in the European Union in particular, is forcing meeting planners around the world to proceed with caution.”
Local over global
Despite the decrease in meetings overall, some trends shine through across regions, leading among which is the shift towards more locally hosted meetings, a direct result of reduced budgets. The American Express survey found an echo in ITB Berlin’s World Travel Trends Report. Released in December last year by IPK International on behalf of ITB, the figures in comparison to 2012 show only a marginal increase in travel, varying between 0 per cent and 2 per cent for North America, South America and Europe.
“Besides existing challenges such as the European debt crisis, drastic rises in energy costs and in some cases food costs will also impact significantly on the travel industry,” says Rolf Freitag, President and CEO, IPK International. The Asia-Pacific region, however, defies global trends to register a 6 per cent increase in travel from last year.
The upward trend holds true for Asia-Pacific in the Mice industry as well. “Meetings industry growth will be led by companies in the Asia-Pacific region with an average 6.6 per cent increase in meetings activity expected,” says Jouaneh, adding, “North American and Central/South American planners are predicted to keep their activity and budgets essentially the same as 2012 as they take a wait-and-see approach before allowing their meeting investments to rise. European meeting planners indicate they will proactively reduce their activity by just over 2 per cent on average as they face the greatest economic uncertainty in 2013.”
Overall meeting spend across North America, Europe and Central and South America is expected to decrease from last year with percentages varying between 1 per cent and 6 per cent — only Asia expects spend in the region and among suppliers to increase by up to 4.2 per cent in 2013.
Smaller budgets
Planners are also being asked by companies to do more with less, putting increased pressure on already decreased lead times. It reflects in the top five meetings trends predicted by planners worldwide in the American Express survey with combined meetings and incentives coming in third behind decreased budgets and increased local meetings.
Demand therefore is increasing for properties that offer outdoor team-building activities, a finding mirrored in the top ten trends released by Benchmark Hospitality International, a leading American company operating around 35 renowned hotels, resorts and conference centres. Venues that offer team-building activities with options for hosting cookery classes, beach volleyball or golf lessons are finding more favour with planners.
Shorter time frames
Attendance in meetings is also on the ascent with six out of ten planning to attend the same number of events as last year and 23 per cent set to visit more exhibitions in 2013, as revealed in findings by the Centre of Exhibitions Industry Research in November last year.
The duration of meetings keeping budgetary constraints in mind will also be affected, albeit marginally, in comparison to last year.
Meetings in North America, South America and Europe become shorter, varying between 0.9 per cent and 3.8 per cent. “Clarity on spend, ensuring transparency on why meetings are held and who attends them as well as measuring the degree to which meeting objectives have been achieved will help companies ascertain returns on their investment,” says Jouaneh.
Asia yet again chooses to defy the odds with planners predicting meeting durations to increase by 2 per cent.
How safe is it?
Safety and security are major concerns when choosing destinations. While perceptions around resort destinations continue to influence destination choice, particularly in North America, concerns regarding safety and security as well as economic and political instability are expected to have an equal, if not higher, impact.
While meetings in the Middle East are expected to stay low because of sustained negative perceptions as a result of the Arab Spring, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi show promise as destinations of choice among global planners, thanks to the nation’s reputation as a safe haven and in part due to the surfeit of five-star properties being erected in the UAE.
Dubai heads the charts in a list of top ten cities for hotel openings in 2013 in the American Express survey with an overall increase of 41 per cent from last year, followed by New York with 22 per cent, London with 21 per cent and Abu Dhabi with 17 per cent.
#Trending now
Social media was all the rage in the Mice industry last year with designated event apps the top draw. The trend is only expected to intensify in 2013. Imex Frankfurt goes a step further, predicting that more and more apps will lose their free price tag status and get monetised, proving how they have become a business essential.
Imex also predicts that gamification will explode in 2013 as Facebook social gaming, in-browser gaming and other gaming platforms for mobile phones gain favour among smartphone and tablet users in the industry.
Jouaneh stresses on the fact that industry players need to embrace social media and quickly to realise its many advantages. “Meeting planners who don’t proactively integrate this phenomenon into their events will relinquish control over how their event is perceived in the ever expanding social media world. Those who do harness the power of social media will take advantage of an incredible opportunity to increase and extend the value of their event far beyond its physical dates,” he says.
