My recent travels in Asia and Europe have me convinced that our highly regarded meetings industry is facing stiffer competition than ever and we’re going to have to become more nimble if we are to retain, let alone increase, our place in the international meetings sector.
It may be argued that we can make our way with well attended national and regional meetings, but the reality is we need strong international events to bring fresh money and fresh ideas into our convention centres.
Centres like Dubai and Shanghai are forging ahead and one only has to look at the disparity between the construction cranes on their skylines and those of Sydney to gauge which cities are powering forward. And this in a time of powerful economic activity and near full employment in Australia’s largest city. The operators of the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre are maintaining a brave front, but it must be galling for them already to see opportunities lost due to a lack of meeting and exhibition space.
Hotel construction in Sydney has virtually stalled entirely. The owners and managers are enjoying strong rate growth, but this may well be another pinch point for the Sydney conference market. The big meetings usually come during quieter months, but if corporate business fills the hotels, they’re going to be less accommodating to the conference sector.
Two years ago Dubai wasn’t a significant player with regard to attracting quality international meetings. Today it is, and indications are that Abu Dhabi is not far behind. These destinations operate on significantly lower labour costs and it’s essential we continue to optimise our attraction as a world-class conference destination.
We are a resilient industry, but we need to be smart and get some of the cur rent logjams cleared.
Roslyn McLeod is the founder and managing director of Tour Hosts, a Sydney-based conference and event management company.
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