Asian sellers at IMEX Frankfurt 2024 expect European interest to remain strong this year, with inbound activity driven by the buying power of the euro in Asia, good air connections, access to valuable business and membership markets, and destination allure that is unique to the region.

Eileen Quek, head of international sales at Constellar, one of Asia’s largest tradeshow and exhibition organisers and manager of Singapore Expo convention and exhibition centre, said European event organisers continue to regard Asia as a destination for their international events with interest, as Asian event suppliers and CVBs have maintained a favourable relationship with them throughout Covid disruptions.

Asia is also an interesting region for European meetings to expand into because organisers can access a whole new segment of potential members and buyers.

“Associations that want to truly claim their international congress is global in nature will look at Asia. Singapore, especially, is a favourable destination because of its accessibility to and from so many parts of Asia-Pacific. Singapore’s visa-free arrangement for Chinese nationals is a plus too, as that facilitates attendance of Chinese attendees – a segment that many international associations want to engage with,” added Quek.

Malaysian cities have the added advantage of the current weak ringgit, which grants European event organisers stronger buying power. According to Ashwin Gunasekeran, CEO of Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau, requests from Europe have spiked and events taking place in the Malaysian state are featuring quality pre and post events while delegates have been happy to “add on family vacations” to their business trip.

Sunway Hotels & Resorts’s director of commercial, Jeanne Chan, scored “two major leads” – both association events that are looking to take place in 2025 and 2026 – that will bring in “very, very good business” due to their duration, room requirements, and range of activities.

Still, Chan believes that more destination promotions could be done to underline the Malaysia’s ease of access, cost advantage when compared to Asia’s other popular options, and product offerings.

And for European delegates who hope to gain outstanding and meaningful experiences during their business meetings, they may find Sarawak rising to the challenge.

Mok Venia, managing director of Cat City Holidays, a DMC specialising in Sarawak, said the state’s unique culture, long-established responsible tourism practices, and opportunities to interact with local communities can add value to any business programme.

“These are Sarawak’s strengths. European organisers are increasingly looking for sustainable destinations and meaningful experiences for their events and participants – Sarawak can cater to this and more. Sarawak cannot give events a Ferrari convoy – it is not our style – but we can connect event delegates with the Land Dayak (indigenous groups in Sarawak) and discover how the ancient language and script of these tribes are still in use,” said Mok.

Borneo Adventure has taken conference groups into Sarawak’s jungles, on whitewater rafting, and to private barbecues on islands.

The tour company’s marketing representative, Michael Hawkins, told TTGmice that corporate clients “have an appetite for such activities”.

Hawkins said: “Those flying in longhaul do not want to spend all day, every day in the conference room. Meetings and events need a hook – why fly all the way to this destination to meet? Conference rooms look the same all around the world, so it is the destination experience that stands out.”

He added that the biggest growth area in tourism today is experience travel, and there are opportunities to weave insightful local experiences into the objective of the business event. Citing an example, Hawkins said Borneo Adventure is supporting a conference for midwives with field trips to Sarawak, and one of the activities is taking delegates into the local villages to interact with midwives there to understand how they do their work.

Rajeev Kohli, joint managing director of India-based Creative Travel and president of Euromic, a global association of DMCs, agrees that Asia has a lot of unique experiences that would enhance an international business event programme.

“If you want to give your attendees a once-in-a-lifetime experience, come to Asia. If you want to give them a fancy dinner after their meeting, then just go somewhere nearby,” he stated.

However, Kohli believes that Asia could do a lot better to win over European organisers by not “competing”. Instead, the region should join forces with an “Asia-first strategy” for bidding.

“I think Asia has not done a strong enough job in selling the region to the western markets. There are blockages (in getting western buyers’ attention). They often worry about having to travel so far to Asia and once there, what can they eat and what hotel quality they will have to contend with – all of which we know are the least of their event challenges,” Kohli remarked.

He encourages Asian business events stakeholders to work together to secure Europe-based international events first, and “once the event is in (the region), we can then fight for it”.

“Everyone will get their fair share; after the event is done with Singapore, it can rotate to Malaysia, Hong Kong or Thailand later on,” he said.