It's a numbers game
Fast-growing economies and a rapidly expanding middle class has seen growth in trade and professional associations and a concomitant rise in business events in Asia. Elizabeth Rich talks to two industry bodies and their plans for the future.
Story by Elizabeth Rich
Interview with AACVB chairperson Suprabha Moleeratanond
Suprabha Moleeratanond, Chair, Asian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaux (AACVB) and director – conventions, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.
Q: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) hosted the 3rd Asia for Asia Meetings Industry Leaders’ Summit in October 2009. Why did Thailand decide to initiate these summits?
A: When we bid for the 2007 ICCA Congress, Asia for Asia Meetings Industry was one of our promises in the bid document. We realized the ICCA Congress will bring leaders in the meetings industry together and in order to expand ICCA’s reach in the Asia Pacific and recruit non-ICCA member, we decided to stage this summit. The purpose was to capture the opportunity of the congregation of Asian leaders to do something for the Asian MICE industry. The first summit in Pattaya in 2007 was extremely successful and it was the seed for the revival of AACVB.
Q: Are you planning another one this year in Bangkok to coincide with IT&CMA? Is it going to be a regular annual fixture on the calendar?
A: Yes, we are planning for the 4th AACVB in Bangkok again to coincide with IT&CMA. It has not yet been decided whether it will be a regular annual fixture on the calendar but we try to use this opportunity in order to save cost, so participants do not have to travel as often, and it is our effort to help promote IT&CMA in Bangkok.
Q: How do you go about deciding who should be invited as “industry leaders”?
A: Since there are limited seats at the summit, it is not so difficult to identify these leaders. The invitation only goes to CEO or marketing and sales directors of the organisations. We try to invite a cross section of the industry i.e. meeting and incentive, convention and exhibition, hotel, DMC, venue, PCO, airline, etc. from all over Asia. We try to divide the number equally between various countries in Asia but of course some destinations are more interested in the summit than others.
Q: It is fair to say that the AACVB used to be a much more prominent organisation in past decades. Lately we are seeing this profile lifting again. Is AACVB a partner with you for the summit?
A: As the president of AACVB, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau would like AACVB to be better known and recognised so we proposed that AACVB is our partner while the whole project is being funded by Thailand. AACVB is still at its early stage of reorganisation and the funding is not yet there, and since Thailand initiated this project we are ready to help. We hope that this will become AACVB’s project and become truly Asia’s project when the organisation gets stronger.
Q: Which destinations are currently members of AACVB?
A: They are China, Hong Kong, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand – eight in all. However, other destinations such as Indonesia and Taiwan and other city CVBs have expressed their interest.
Q: Do you think the Asian destinations are too competitive to come together effectively in a collegial way through AACVB? Is that a trait which is holding back the development of AACVB?
A: In my opinion, CVBs realise that there is a limit to competition. Competition does not get us as far as cooperation and society does not grow out of self-interest. I do not think that it is holding back AACVB. I see this as a natural phenomenon. We are at an early stage of development so it will take us some time to grow and reach maturity. Asia was once the wealthiest continent before it declined and now it is about time that Asia wakes up and starts to prosper again. It is the natural cycle of things.
Q: The last summit had as its theme “The Impact of Global Economic Recession on the Meetings Industry in Asia: Challenges and Opportunities”. What were the key discussion points and outcomes?
A: At the last summit industry leaders were tasked to assess the impact of the global economic recession on the meetings industry in Asia and asked themselves where to go from here by identifying challenges and opportunities for long-term sustainable growth.
A theme linked the discussion: there was consensus that Asia is today in a relatively strong position, and that the meetings sector should learn from the recession and become more united and assertive. Five key recommendations were made:
1. Engagement -- build an ‘Asia for Asia’ community
2. Promotion - build an Asia brand for face to face connections e.g. MPI – “When we meet, we change the world”
3. Rethinking - stronger focus on IT and innovation
4. New thinking - focus on talent development
5. Long-term thinking - focus on sustainable practices
The consensus outcome was that Asia is in a relatively strong position coming out of the recession. The key thing is to develop a new Asian mindset. Asia needs to set its own pace, set its own ethos and model for the industry.
The Asian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus was repeatedly pinpointed as a potentially strong driver and unifier.
Q: What do you see as the main challenges ahead for the Asian industry ... and the opportunities?
A: There are numerous challenges for Asia to develop its meetings industry. Personally, I think that the main challenge for Asia is for each CVB to develop a new collaborative mindset. Asian CVBs should get their local associations to work together as a collaborative Asian professional community so that we can grow our regional meetings without depending so much on the world’s rotation. I would call this a self-dependence effort. I can foresee that with our combined effort, we can grow the regional meetings by 10 to 20 per cent within five to 10 years because there is so much wealth and opportunity here. Our younger generation are well educated, fluent in languages and well travelled. Besides, this will not only grow our meetings industry but it will also help to grow other sectors such as education, medicine, agriculture, trade and economy, finance, etc.
ABOVE: Delegates at the 3rd Asia for Asia Industry Leaders Summit, held in Thailand, October 2009.
Q: Thailand has had its challenges over the past few years, but always seems to bounce back. How’s business looking for you in 2010? What source markets are looking strongest?
A: Challenges are part of our lives and the cycles of ups and downs are much shorter than before. I think that by now the world realises that Thailand is a peaceful country and any internal differences that we may have will not affect our visitors. Thai people are always welcoming and hospitable. We care for the safety and wellbeing of our guests much more than our own. It is imbedded in our culture.
The Thailand meetings industry is getting back slowly and 2010 looks much better than 2009. We hope to achieve 25 per cent combined targeted growth from 2009 for MICE in 2010.
Q: On a more personal note, can you tell us something about yourself and your career in the industry? How long have you been with TCEB?
A: I have been with TCEB since July 2004. Prior to that I was with Thai Airways International for 27 years and was in charge of sales promotion at the airline’s head office. Then my duty was to promote the country and the airline as the destination for both general tourism and meetings. I worked very closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the private sector and had the opportunity to represent the airline on the board of many related associations such as PATA, ASEANTA, TICA and ICCA at one time. The opportunity helped me to gain in-depth experience on the airline, the association and the meetings industry.
I also worked with our Star Alliance airline partners to form the Star Alliance Convention Plus program so that we can offer seamless travel for convention delegates to come to our destinations.
When TCEB was formed and started operation in 2004, they approached me for the conventions director position. I accepted because I wanted to help the country lay the foundation for this business and I saw the opportunity to learn and grow.
Interview with ICCA Asia Pacific regional director, Noor Hamid
Noor Hamid, regional director Asia Pacific of the International Congress and Convention Association, based in Kuala Lumpur.
Q: The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) commenced life as a Eurocentric organisation back in the 1960s. It has been steadily building its Asian membership. When did it take the decision to open a permanent office in Kuala Lumpur to service this region?
A: The ICCA Asia Pacific office was established in the late 1980s when Pieter van der Hoven was the President of ICCA. The office was set up with the aim to provide dedicated service to the growing number of members in the Asia Pacific region. Since the ICCA head office in Amsterdam has 7–10 hours difference with the region, the Asia Pacific office which is located in Kuala Lumpur would be able to respond to real time enquiries from the members and meeting community alike.
Q: How many members do you now have worldwide, and in the Asia Pacific region?
A: As of October 30, 2009, ICCA has 934 member organisations from more than 70 countries worldwide. The Asia Pacific region contributed 162 member organisations from 16 countries or 18 per cent of the total ICCA membership. Asia Pacific has the second largest number of members after Europe.
Q: ICCA is well known for its valuable database on association meetings which is well utilised by its members. What other services are you able to offer specific to this region?
A: We provide training on how to use the ICCA database, hence to a certain extent we do provide business leads through the hot leads and information from the research corner. We also conduct joint promotions with members in the region through trade shows such as ITCM in Shanghai, CIBTM in Beijing, IT&CMA in Bangkok and AIME in Melbourne, to name a few. Throughout the year we organise seminars for the members, bringing in some of the best speakers in the industry. We also carry out an initiative called the Forum for the Young Professional in order to educate those who have just joined the industry. Other than that, we also provide a common platform for instant networking and business exchange.
Q: What’s coming up in the next year or two?
A: The world meetings industry will focus its attention on the Asia Pacific region when the 49th ICCA Congress will be held in Hyderabad, India from October 23 – 27, 2010. And we are delighted that two AP destinations have been shortlisted for the 52nd ICCA Congress to be held in 2013.
Q: The ICCA Congress is a must on many industry practitioners’ calendar. I hear you had record numbers at the Florence congress last November. Why do you think these congresses are so popular?
A: Yes, the 48th ICCA Congress held in Florence, Italy had a record breaking attendance with more than 900 delegates and more than 300 delegates as first-time-attendees. We believed that even during these difficult times there are more people making their way to our ICCA Congress simply because they value the education that we provide, the amount of networking available, and important business leads that could be generated within the members themselves.
We also saw a rise in Asia Pacific members attending the ICCA Congress with more than 150 delegates. Australia and the Republic of Korea led with big country contingents. Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) registered a large delegation: it sent eight people from their organisation as it believes that the congress is one of the best platforms for them to attend.
Q: What are your observations on how our industry is faring in this region in the difficult economic climate of the past 12 months?
A: Our Asia Pacific members have reported that there are slight declines in sponsorship and meetings been held in smaller numbers, but there are no major cancellations. In fact the recent survey done by ICCA at IMEX indicated that the meetings industry is not really affected. We are very positive about the industry growth, especially with many of the convention bureau in the Asia Pacific region introducing attractive stimulus packages that will help to boost the industry.
Q: Where can you see the main membership growth coming from in the next five years? Is China the obvious answer?
A: China will definitely be the ‘powerhouse’ for the region. But other countries such as India, Japan and Australia will also contribute to the steady growth of our membership in the future. As more Asia Pacific countries are realising that the meeting industry could be the niche product for their destination, we will not be surprised to see membership in other countries steadily increase.
Next edition, Elizabeth Rich interviews chairman of the Asian Federation of Exhibition & Convention Associations, Edward Liu.
