The latest annual survey carried out by the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) has revealed that the top concerns for convention centres heading into a period of gradual economic recovery are international competition and government policies towards meetings and events.
The survey, carried out between April and June 2013, achieved a 65 per cent response rate from centres in 54 countries, with a high representation in Europe.
“Growing competition among centres worldwide has been an issue for some years, but this is a real spike in concern about government attitudes toward business events is a disturbing new development,” said AIPC President, Geoff Donaghy (pictured). “At a time when economic growth and stabilisation is a big priority among governments all over the world, we would have hoped they would have made the connection this has with business and professional interactions, but our member experiences are suggesting otherwise.
“This shows we need to work even harder on making sure our value proposition is better understood and appreciated by policy makers.”
Other key findings included:
- While centres have seen 6-7% revenue growth in the past few years they are anticipating slower growth (1%) for 2013 in the fact of ongoing stagnation in economic recovery. European centres are lagging other parts of the world due largely to economic conditions there
- Recovering corporate event business is driving growth in many areas while conventions and exhibitions remain stagnant
- Many centres are pursuing alternative revenue streams including event creation, sponsorship and advertising and enhanced services, and are also engaging in increased risk sharing with clients to encourage more business
- Centres are challenged by rapid change in event formats and explosive growth in technology and connectivity demands, both of which require greater facility investment in a time of only modest revenue growth
- Challenges arising from hotel and airline capacity and pricing were also cited in many areas as factors potentially limiting centre business.
“Overall what this tells us is that there is no instant business upswing on the cards for centres in the near future. As in many other sectors in today’s economy, success in ours will have to be based on innovation, flexibility and an ability to be competitive in a highly contested market,” said Donaghy.
Do you have a news story for CN? Email: zvernor@mashmedia.net
