BEA-Zadro business event trends in Asia Pacific

Business event

trends in Asia Pacific: a research report Biz Events Asia along with leading communications agency, Zadro, conducted an Asia-wide survey on the business events industry to find out what you think .

This report outlines the results from the survey, with further insights from industry leaders including Petra Goh, Business Development Manager, CWT Meetings & Events and Dr. Felix Rimbach, Director Research & Development, Globibo.

www.zadroagency.com.au

www.bizeventsasia.com

This research is brought to you by Biz Events Asia in collaboration with Zadro.

Industry demographics Male

Female

45%

55%

68% of respondents have been in the industry for more than 5 years 84% of respondents have been in the industry for more than 2 years Age groups:

Languages spoken:

18 – 32 (Gen Y): 18.45% 33 – 46 (Gen X): 44.05% 47 – 65 (Baby Boomer): 30.95% 65+: 6.55%

English: 100% Mandarin: 41.94% Cantonese: 23.87% Malay/Bahasa/Indonesian: 9.74% Japanese: 6.45%

Thai: 4.64% Hindi/Urdu: 2.58% Arabic: 1.29% Other: Russian, German, Korean, French

Current position: 45.24% event organisers (29.7% event agency, 17.6% PCO, 10.8% DMC)

Australia

25.6%

Malaysia

11.9%

Singapore

41.07%

6.55% event buyers (91% corporate, 9% association)

Thailand Other countries represented: Vietnam, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, India, China

23.81% event suppliers (41.5% hotel, 17.1% venue, 12.2% AV plus others including bureaux, logistics, team building, transport)

5.95%

Others represented: recruiters, consultants, governments, travel agency representatives, bureaux, educators, EA/PA and media

QUALIFICATIONS: Hong Kong

9.52%

16.46% formal education (73.08% graduate degree, 3.85% post graduate, 11.54% industry accreditation, 7.69% diploma, 3.85% short course) 34.76% on the job training 34.76% from similar industry

Destination of choice experience, location and cost Most popular countries in 2016: Singapore: 48.65% Australia: 31.08%

synopsis:

Malaysia: 29.73%

Asia Pacific is a diverse region for business events and incentives with locations set to inspire, stimulate, relax and rejuvenate delegates. The results indicate the most popular countries for events in the past 12 months were Singapore, Australia and Malaysia. This partly encompasses domestic bookings from the high number of respondents from each of these countries.

Thailand: 27.03% China: 25% Hong Kong: 23.65% Indonesia: 18.92%

When booking events in the region, industry insiders indicated overall experience provided, cost and location as the three most important variables in the decision making process; outranking ease of access, reputation and technical capabilities.

Vietnam: 13.51% New Zealand: 13.51% Korea: 11.49%

Thailand is the preferred destination for groups of 200 sales executives, indicating smaller groups prefer the paradise escapes, while the region’s commercial hubs, Singapore and Malaysia, attract large groups of 1,000 or more due to the overall experience and facilities.

10

“There are a couple of reasons why I believe these

most desirable countries for business events in Asia Pacific: Singapore Australia Hong Kong Thailand Korea China Malaysia New Zealand Japan Indonesia

for incentives in Asia Pacific: Thailand Australia Japan New Zealand Hong Kong Korea Singapore Vietnam Indonesia Macau

countries are leading the industry – the first is their strong infrastructure, and the second is their central geographic location in the Asia Pacific region. Many companies have their regional headquarters in Singapore, and both Malaysia and Singapore have excellent infrastructure to support small and large scale events, including logistics capabilities for readily available audio-visual support and production buildups, as well as venue capabilities in terms of event know-how.

On the other hand, Thailand has also been, and will likely continue to be, a popular destination for events.

The country’s rich culture and diverse offerings for both corporate and incentive projects, and the lower costs compared with markets like Australia and Singapore, make Thailand an attractive destination.”

- Petrina Goh, Business Development Manager, CWT Meetings & Events.

Destination of choice for 200 sales executives with a mid-range budget in June 2017: Singapore

Australia Thailand

Vietnam

Korea

Malaysia New Zealand

Indonesia

China Macau

3 TOP

reasons for choices made: Overall experience provided, Cost, Location Destination of choice for 1,000 industry leaders with a midrange budget in June 2017: Singapore Malaysia Thailand Australia Korea Hong Kong China Vietnam Macau Japan

Destination of choice for a dual conference and incentive programme for 500 internal staff with a mid-range budget in June 2017: Thailand Singapore Malaysia Australia Macau Korea Indonesia Hong Kong Japan China

synopsis: Travel bureaux in areas with strong business event bookings need to consider the broader appeal of their destination, with poor reputation and lack of overall experience recognised as the two primary factors for not choosing a destination.

Comment:

“For a while now we’ve also been seeing Vietnam and Cambodia coming up as popular destinations for many corporate clients. Both countries have invested heavily in building their infrastructure to support larger events, with international hotel chains coming in to offer a greater choice of venues. With both countries’ tourism boards actively promoting Vietnam and Cambodia as low-cost, culturally rich and diverse destinations, we’ve seen a considerable increase in interest in both markets.” - Petrina Goh, Business Development Manager, CWT Meetings & Events.

Issues affecting the industry and emerging trends current factors when organising an event:

3 TOP

Cost

Location

Overall experience provided

factors that will be considered in five years’ time when organising an event:

74%

69%

59%

Ease of accessibility

Overall experience provided

Cost

Top issues affecting the business events industry in Asia Pacific:

53.99%

Political instability in certain countries

43.56%

Limited workforce with business events experience

26.5% ASEAN countries not working together on business events

30.77%

Governments not recognising the potential of the industry and providing relevant support

29.06%

Lack of strong networking opportunities

47.86%

Safety concerns

36.75% 42.74%

Lack of proficient language skills in the market place

28.21%

Lack of appropriate venues

Economic instability in certain countries

29.06%

The region’s perceived service and product quality globally

What influences our decisions?

In the fast-paced world we live in, how do we predict the changing factors that will influence our event decision-making in the next five years? Lucky for us, not too much adjustment in our motivators is expected. Cost is likely to remain the primary influencer in event decisions, while location and accessibility will become less important.

The changing global environment, political instability and safety are the three issues currently affecting travel in the business events industry in Asia Pacific, while shortage of skills, language proficiency and lack of government support were also recognised as barriers to the industry’s future growth.

industry interests Return on investment

Changes ahead Safety

Sustainability/ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Accommodation Catering AV/Technology

Support of bureaux/ destinations

Accessibility Attractions

Possible cause for leaving the events industry: Industry challenges

Pay

25% 49%

29%

Recognition

43%

Trends ahead

Lack of industry opportunities

Technology currently being utilised: New AV screens/ projection/lighting/sound technologies 49% Event apps 46% Tailor-made apps for my event 25%

To strengthen the industry and prepare for the future, here are the key changes the industry would like to see: • Increased recognition for Event Management as a profession, and the expertise, creativity and innovative thinking required to deliver large-scale events • Internationally accredited Event Management training • Stronger alliances between destinations across Asia Pacific to cooperate and share information for the benefit of the whole region • Consistent pricing for all event buyers, removing local and international pricing differences • Greater government recognition of the industry and its economic and cultural impact on locations • An improved relationship between business events and the hotel industry, with largescale contract purchase prices on par with prices readily available online

3D projection mapping 18% Wayfinding 9%

Multisensory event experiences 24%

Stacker/streaming technology 9%

Webcasting/off-site participation techniques 22%

None of the above 25%

From the rise of technological innovation to the unchartered territories of global instability, here are the upcoming trends industry leaders are expecting to see surge • Virtual reality, 360° video content, new technology and innovative event programs are all going to contribute to the rapid transformation of the events industry • Food and Beverage will embrace molecular gastronomy to deliver unique and unexpected experiences – inspired by the likes of The Fat Duck and Noma • Culturally immersive experiences, providing delegates interactive activities that engage with the local community, including multilanguage and visual sensory experiences • The emergence of regional associations that connect professionals across Asia Pacific and represent the region as a collective on a world stage • Increased focus on sustainable travel and events with greater awareness of the industry’s environmental footprint

Strength of the business events industry in Asia Pacific %

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22%

strongly agree/ agree the sector is a significant contributor to their country’s economy

20%

75%

n

strongly agree/ agree the sector is well supported by government and industry

c

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1

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strongly agree/agree the business events industry in Asia Pacific is going from strength to strength

isagree/st

57%

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e.

strongly agree/agree the industry is well supported by wider industry associations (e.g. travel, hospitality etc.)

on the fence.

%d 18

e re

74%

%

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strongly agree/agree business events is growing in importance within their country’s economy

ag

63%

19

78%

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4% dis

isagree.

4% disag

% a re o n t h e 32 f en

e gr sa di

d 3%

on the fence.

on the fence.

49%

a re

a re

63%

strongly agree/ agree the industry is quick to take up new technologies

agree/strong dis ly % 7

strongly agree/agree their relationship with their bureau is strong and helps their business

27 %

65%

strongly agree/ agree the industry is innovative

isagree.

“

Digital media has advanced from being a promotional channel to a platform that complements almost every function of marketing; from research, product definition, pricing to aftersales and customer feedback. Organisations without a digital strategy don’t just risk the appeal to a specific demographic, but potentially risk their entire organisation’s existence. Understanding key performance metrics and behavioural patterns of corporate and individual stakeholders appears to remain the main priority in the current transformation.

Dr. Felix Rimbach, Director Research & Development, Globibo.

“

d 9%

30

e.

isagree.

e.

d 6%

Media, marketing and consumption HOW DO YOU ACCESS YOUR BUSINESS EVENTS MEDIA?

Online

Print

87.1%

63.71%

How often would you prefer to receive/access business events news?

Weekly Twice weekly Daily Monthly Fortnightly Every two days

41.94% 15.32% 14.52% 13.71% 9.68% 3.23%

Social Media

57.26%

None

4.84%

WHAT NEWS ARE YOU INTERESTED IN?

87.9% 70.97% 65.32% 57.26% 53.23% 45.97%

Trends New venues Technology Professional development New suppliers Your competition

My company uses the following tools to communicate with our customers: 89% email 82% website 71% social media 61% EDM/E-newsletter

50% hard copy/printed collateral like sales brochures 29% public relations 34% paid advertising in the media

What social platforms are being used to communicate with customers/audience?

88%

65%

54%

48%

Other 14% including WeChat, Pinterest, WhatsApp, YouTube, Flickr

The news of events Online media has well and truly taken over as the primary source of news for business event professionals, with a whopping 87.1 percent of professionals accessing their news via the internet. Bucking the global trend, over 63.7 percent of the sector read print publications for the latest industry news, demonstrating the value of print advertising remains strong.

Unsurprisingly, the data shows we’re a social bunch, with the vast majority of us using the top three platforms of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to communicate with our customers. Insights also show event professionals prefer regular, weekly, industry updates on up and coming trends, new venues, technology, professional development, new suppliers and industry competition.

Companies have embraced digital communications with email, websites, social media and e-newsletters the primary communication tools, above printed collateral, public relations and paid media advertising.