AIPC launches road to recovery survey

A new survey by the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) found congress centres are achieving reasonable growth.
 
The Road to Recovery, The AIPC Annual Member Survey was comprised of three years of extensive input from AIPC members all over the world and compared regional perspectives on key issues affecting congress centres with those held by the global group as a whole. It was carried out in collaboration with Michael Hughes of Red 7 Communications.
 
“The industry is not yet where most of us had hoped it would be even a year ago, and this is largely due to on-going global economic challenges that are beyond our control”, said AIPC President Edgar Hirt “At the same time, we are showing reasonable progress under what for many are adverse conditions, which is a testament to the resilience of the industry and the creativity that many centres have shown in adapting to new conditions and exploring alternate business models.”
 
The survey found that while the general sense in most parts of the world was that prospects for economic recovery were still elusive (and actually declining in some areas), centres were still achieving an average 5.7 per cent growth in gross revenue achieved in 2011 and a further 4.7 per cent anticipated for 2012.
 
In terms of economic recovery, the survey found there were essentially “two worlds” with just over half of respondents (56%) referencing a “moderate to strong” recovery and just less than half (44%) seeing “weak to no recovery” or actual recession. Just over two thirds of centres were reporting strengthening pricing for space versus five years ago and the same number were acknowledging that they were engaging in more subvention activities to retain business.
 
More centres are now engaged in renovations of existing facilities than pursuing expansions or new builds, reversing a multi-year trend and illustrating the challenges of finding major project funding in many areas, the survey also found.
 
“These annual surveys are providing essential information to our members that help them compare their own permance and experiences with those of colleagues in other parts of the world, and this is a highly valuable planning resource in challenging times,” said Hirt.
 
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