The inaugural China Business Event Federation (CBEF) Forum, organised by the two-year-old association in conjunction with IT&CM China, reaffirmed the growing power of Asian association meetings and corporate incentives.
STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) is driving growth, said Mike Williams, senior partner GainingEdge and industry consultant specialist, in a trends keynote address yesterday.
Based on ICCA’s findings, Asia’s market share of association meetings has risen from eight per cent to 19 per cent from 1963 to 2017.
He described association meetings – characterised by smaller, shorter but more frequent events – as being the least affected by “recession and economic downturn”.
Williams noted annual growth of association meetings is around 10 per cent, with environmental management, disaster management, urbanisation, security/cybersecurity, food and water safety the hottest issues.
In addition, Williams pointed out: “Government recognition of, and investment in, the industry has also led to the development of regional associations.”
To demonstrate the rise of the region’s meetings industry, speakers at a panel highlighted the rise of “big numbers” and “big value”.
Nowadays, second-tier cities in Asia with the requisite infrastructure are capable of handling large groups and getting a slice of the pie, said Yang Jiong, president and CEO, Skyway MICE Service.
Yang added the region is also now home to big IT companies and other industries. Based on the individual industry’s growth, coupled with the economic growth of the region, will present more opportunities when combined with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
But the industry is not without its challenges. Agreeing with Yang, Jeff Zhen, managing director, Shanghai C&D International Travel Service, observed the industry landscape in China was highly “competitive” with the entry of many players. The ability to value-add and the importance of service standardisation were also discussed at the forum.
