HAP11

HEADQUARTERS A S I A- PAC I F I C

the Asia-Pacific Magazine for Association Executives Supported by UIA, Union of International Associations, Brussels

11

Headquarters Magazines Meetings Industry Publishers (Singapore) Published 4 times a year Edition October 2012

Interview

Sapta Nirwandar

Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy

Focus

ICCA & UIA 2011 Stats

HQ ASIA PACIFIC THE ASIA-PACIFIC MAGAZINE FOR ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVES

PROFILE

PRODUCTS

+ Global distribution of 7,500 copies (paper + digital)

PAPER

DIGITAL

+ Magazines: published 4 times a year + Destination reports + Flyers, gatefolds, wrappers, brochures…

+ Online magazine, with iPad and Android applications + E-zine newsletters + Banners + Preferred Partners directory + Personalized emailings

+ Readership: the Asian-Pacific and international associations organizing congresses, the Asian-Pacific meetings industry, international professional agencies

RATES

ISSUE PUBLICATION # MONTH TOPICS

HAP9

The eventful life of association executives

April

BOOKING ADDITIONAL DEADLINE DISTRIBUTION

PAPER

DIGITAL 4,500 € E-zine 5,100 € Banner small

2/1 publicity 2/1 advertorial Febr. 28

IMEX

1/1 publicity

2,950 € Banner big 3,350 € Preferred 1,750 € partners directory

1/1 advertorial

HAP10 July

Emerging association markets June 25

HAP11 October

Meeting trends Sustainability

Sept. 10

CIBTM IT&CMA ITB Asia

HAP12 December

Marketing your association and events

Nov. 26

EIBTM, AIME

1/2 publicity 1/2 advertorial

1,950 €

Outside back cover

3,600 €

Inside back cover

3,400 €

Inside front cover

3,200 €

DESTINATION REPORTS ALL INFORMATION ABOUT HQ EMEA CAN BE FOUND ON WWW.HEADQUARTERSMAGAZINE.COM > MEDIA KITS

12 PAGES

Within the magazine 12 pages

13,000 €

Within the magazine 16 pages

16,000 €

Loose supplement 12 pages

14,000 €

Loose supplement 16 pages

18,000 €

1600 € / month 400 € / month 600 € / month 350 € / month

Contact: Headquarters Magazine PTE Ltd 1 Scotts Road #21-08 Shaw Centre Singapore 228208 Requests for proposal: sales@headquartersmagazine.com Press releases: press@headquartersmagazine.com

>>

DOWNLOAD OUR 2012 MEDIA KITS ON WWW.HEADQUARTERSMAGAZINE.COM

5828

2012 PLANNING

HQ > contents

marcel’s comment Colophon Headquarters Asia-Pacific or HAP is a niche publication for local, regional and international associations based in the Asia-Pacific region dealing with the organization of worldwide congresses.

Published 4 times a year. Circulation: 2,500 copies in 14 different countries.

Subscriptions Subscriptions amount to 85 euros (all incl.).

The online version of the magazines is available at www.headquartersmagazine.com Editor in Chief Marcel A.M.Vissers T: +32 (0)3 226 88 81 marcel@headquartersmagazine.com Managing Director Cécile Caiati-Koch T: +32 (0)2 761 70 52 cecile@headquartersmagazine.com Account Manager - International Sales Kelvin Lu T: +32 (0)2 761 70 59 kelvin@headquartersmagazine.com Managing Editor Rémi Dévé T: +32 (0)2 761 70 58 remi@headquartersmagazine.com Design Wallrus, Kortrijk - Belgium T: +32 (0)56 24 94 44 info@wallrus.be Print The Neu Print PTE Ltd - Singapore neuprint@singnet.com.sg Supported by UIA, Union of International Associations Address Headquarters Magazines PTE Ltd 1 Scotts Road #21-07 Shaw Centre Singapore 228208 Responsible Publisher Headquarters Magazines PTE Ltd - Singapore Marcel A.M. Vissers marcel@headquartersmagazine.com

The growth of the Asian association market I was really looking forward to the China & Asia research results launched by Right Solutions last September during the CIBTM fair in Beijing, because I knew it would contain some remarkable figures. What clearly stands out in the report is that the Asian association market is coming into bloom (more on this on page 28). Last year, the same bureau showed us that the association market in the Gulf States was rearing its head for the first time. With certainty, I can say India is a good example for all other Asian countries.

Right after the IT&CM India fair in New Delhi, the 2nd India Association Congress (IAC 2012 - organized by CIMGlobal) took place in Mumbai.

About 200 delegates were present - not bad for an emerging country.

There I heard India will become

the biggest association country in the world, bigger than China.

New associations are constantly emerging, and existing ones are going international. The association congresses are becoming more and more professional, and the mindsets of their members are maturing.

The medical sector is growing particularly fast there as well. To give an example: in December 2013, the annual conference of the Indian Orthopedic Association takes place in Agra, bringing 6,800 delegates to the city. Indian associations have also started to venture farther for their conferences. Another example: the conference of the Real Estate Developers Association of India took place in Barcelona this September, attracting about 1,000 attendants. It was held in Europe for the first time.

Marcel A.M. Vissers Editor in Chief

Are you noticing the evolution here?

A big new association landscape is enfolding. And I’m really enjoying the fact Headquarters Asia Pacific magazine is doing its part in this.

» Read more on www.headquartersmagazine.com

CONTENTS General News association Portrait UIA

RESEARCH 4 6 16

Cover interview Cécile Caiati-Koch

Sapta Nirwandar, Vice Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia 9

ICCA & UIA 2011 Statistics IBTM Report

13 28

Destinations Australia Malaysia India Geneva, Switzerland Berlin, Germany

19 21 23 24 27

Rémi Dévé

HEADQUARTERS 3

HQ

> headquar t ers n e w s

Top 10 Trends of China’s MICE Market 1. The global market has already recovered, but the profound impact of the economic crisis still remains, so the requirements for cost control and accountability are raised for the procurement of conferences and incentives.

2. The hotel market supply is becoming increasingly saturated in first-tier cites, and the market in second and third-tier cities will see a rise in competing hotels within the industry.

3. International buyers, for example pharmaceutical companies, have realized stable growth in Chinese market, but the growth rate is lower than that a few years ago when they just entered China.

4. China, whether as an international destination, a tourist source or an emerging MICE market, will remain a hotspot; local pharmaceutical companies are expected to rise.

5. Domestic cities have turned their attentions to the MICE industry, focusing on conventions and exhibitions.

6. The domestic market is scattered and lacks professional PCO. 7. Centralized management in local business travel management market emerges.

8. Impact and revolution of new technology: virtual conference and App. 9. CSR/Corporate Social Responsibility is no longer just a notion, but also a crucial industrial consideration.

10. Social Media and industry blogs are beginning to have their run of market promotion, media, brand building, etc.

Great Wall of China

China MICE Cities Alliance Eight cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Kunming, Sanya and Xi’an have jointly sponsored the establishment of the China MICE Cities Alliance. This new alliance is a core strategic measure for promoting the development of China’s MICE industry, which aims at establishing premium brand market integration for MICE cities and focuses on the cooperative principle of ‘strengthening cooperation, sharing resources, complementing each other’s advantages’, and implementing a win-win strategy. The Alliance will form a bridge among the MICE cities enabling them to face challenges collectively and work together to enhance the attraction and influence of China’s MICE destinations through mutually complimentary and cross-regional cooperation.

Website under construction

20th International Congress of the International Musicological Society (IMS) in Tokyo The 20th International Congress of the International Musicological Society

HEADQUARTERS 4

will take place in Tokyo in 2017. As the first Asian city to host the IMS, it is anticipated that more than 1,000 participants will travel to the Japanese capital from all over the world, where they will gather at Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku). In addition to round-tables, keynote and free-paper sessions, concerts will also take place at the university’s Sogakudo Concert Hall (1,100 seats). Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (TCVB) and Dr. Higuchi worked closely together in order to win this competition against two other candidate cities, one from Europe and another from the Asia-Pacific region. www.tcvb.or.jp

Tokyo

> headquar t ers n e w s

New riverfront function spaces at the Adelaide Convention Centre

Celebrating success of 2nd India Association Congress 2012

The Adelaide Convention Centre has opened four new function rooms that overlook the River Torrens, taking advantage of the picturesque setting.

One of the four rooms, the Riverbank Foyer, looks directly onto the Riverbank precinct, towards the north of the city and provides an ideal location for prefunction and cocktail events. The space is set on the former Regattas Bistro & Bar, which has moved to a new purpose built complex on the riverbank. Meetings in the riverbank rooms will soon be serviced by a new dedicated office, set for completion in 2014, exclusively for conference organisers and clients. www.adelaidecc.com.au

The 2nd edition of India Association Congress was successfully held on 24th25th August 2012 at Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai, India. The two-day program witnessed panel discussions on various subjects like the role of association in nation building, the future direction for India’s associations sector, fostering great connections with member and stakeholder engagements and role of events, opportunities and challenges for international associations, recruitment and retention for associations, etc. www.indianassociationcongress.com

on both iPhones and iPads, making this essential information easier to access anywhere, anytime. www.meetinbrisbane.com.au

Foundation of CityCube Berlin has been laid The foundation stone for the CityCube Berlin has been laid. A start has now been made on the main construction work for the new trade fair, congress and event arena in the German capital. The starting signal was given in early July with three symbolic hammer blows. The first events will be taking place in just 18 months in the multi-purpose hall on the Berlin ExpoCenter City grounds. CityCube Berlin is expected to open in 2014, and will be able to accommodate up to 10,000 people. www.citycube-berlin.de

Brisbane

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre unveils new website Look beyond - was the key behind the design of the new website of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre).

The newly-revamped website incorporates technologically-advanced features for its overall design, layout and usability to elevate user experience to another level. Emphasis was also given to content management to strengthen the Center’s unique value-added propositions. Not underestimating visual power, the website cleverly maximizes the use of distinct visual spaces with signature shots of interior and exterior of the Centre, its food and beverages, and facilities. www.klccconventioncentre.com

New online Brisbane event planning directory Brisbane Marketing Convention Bureau launched Australia’s first dedicated online city directory, the Brisbane Event Planning Directory, for the business events industry incorporating venues, accommodation and services. Driven by the demand from the meetings and events industry for online business tools, the directory will be the go-to tool for corporate, association, government, university and professional conference organisers planning meetings, events and conferences in Brisbane. The new Brisbane Event Planning Directory will complement the Convention Bureau’s www.meetinbrisbane.com.au website and will include a powerful search engine and dynamic, up-to-date content. Planners will also be able to view the new directory

CityCube Berlin

2012 - 2013 Meetings Industry Fairs Worldwide: Make Your Choice!

IMEX America // 9-11 October 2012, Las Vegas // www.imexamerica.com EIBTM // 27-29 November 2012, Barcelona // www.eibtm.com AIME // 26-27 February 2013, Melbourne // www.aime.com.au IMEX // 21-23 May 2013, Frankfurt // www.imex-frankfurt.com

HEADQUARTERS 5

HQ

> A ss o cia t i o n P o r t rai t

Introducing AIPMA

The All India Plastic Manufacturers Association Jayesh Rambhia, the President of the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association, sincerely believes ‘it takes just a small team with focus and dedication to achieve miracles’. He tells us here about the way AIPMA functions, the challenges he’s come across and the achievements he’s most proud of.

Interview Rémi Dévé

HQ: Could you briefly present the AIPMA? Jayesh Rambhia: Established in 1945, AIPMA, the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association is a not for profit association serving the Indian plastic industry. We have members from the entire chain of the plastic industry, from raw material manufacturers, machine makers, mould makers, processors to consultants service providers and education institutes.

Jayesh Rambhia

HEADQUARTERS 6

AIPMA is headquartered in Mumbai and has branches in Delhi, Chennai, Banglore

and Kolkatta. Through affiliated regional and product specific associations, we reach 22,000 plastic processors across India.

AIPMA is largely managed by industry entrepreneurs working on honorary basis with the support of professional staff.

HQ: What do you find most challenging to achieve as an association?

Jayesh Rambhia: As most of our members are from the SME segment, they don’t usually have plenty of time to dedicate to the association. It’s quite a challenge to engage them into association life!

> A ss o cia t i o n P o r t rai t

Equally challenging is changing the mind sets of more senior members about the evolving needs of the industry and the need to change the management style of AIPMA for instance.

A third challenge we come across is how to measure the impact of our initiatives.

We know the money we spend when we look at our balance sheet, but the impact we create is quite subjective!

HQ: What kind of events do you organize?

How do you decide where to go?

Jayesh Rambhia: We organize trade shows, delegations, seminars, factory visits and training sessions and workshops. Trade shows are organized based on market opportunities for the Indian plastic industry. They serve as a cost effective platform for our members to showcase their products and network with the industry across the globe.

PlastiVision India is now amongst the world’s top 10 plastic shows. In 2011, it had 1,000 exhibitors from 17 countries spread over 53,000 m2, 100,000 business visitors. I’m quite confident Plastivsion India 2013 will reach new heights.

There also was PlastiVision Arabia (PVA), the first international trade show to be launched by an Indian association. We have come a long way with this one, from being a nodal agent for foreign trade fair to joint organizer of an event whose brand belongs to the association. The PlastiVision brand is now recognized worldwide. With 150 exhibitors from 19 countries, 7,000 visitors from 66 countries, live machines on display, it was a real success - the majority of exhibitors expressed the desire to participate in the 2014 edition. It was great to see flags of India and AIPMA hoisted in foreign soil.

We also launched Kenyaplast, making it easy for Indian SME to enter the African market. We take delegations to the K fair in Germany, Plast Italy and ChinaPlast, so members meet their international

counterparts and stay in tune with the latest trends of the industry.

make sure the Indian plastic industry get global opportunities.

HQ: Could you tell us about the state of the association market in India and your place in it?

Jayesh Rambhia: AIPMA is one of the top 10 industry specific associations in India.

There are federations of associations like FICCI , CII , ASSOCHAM. They are well connected with the government and usually successful in helping shape policies. National associations are members of these federations.

We have started exhibiting in all major trade shows worldwide. We successfully launched two new international trade shows abroad.

Then there are promotion councils and technical institutes which are semigovernmental, ie they are partially funded by the government and managed by the industry. Its almost compulsory for the industry to be members of those councils or institutes.

India is a very large country, a land of diversity. There are associations at national level but also at district level - the latter are usually in a good position to meet local needs, as they speak the local language and they meet their members regularly. Some have connections with their national counterparts and don’t work in isolation.

Specific associations also exist representing much larger sectors. Within the plastic industry, I’m thinking about the Polybag Manufacturer Association, the Pipe Manufacturers Association or the Plastic Machine Makers Associations.

HQ: What have you achieved you’re most proud of?

Jayesh Rambhia: After carefully reviewing the needs of the industry, we have redefined the vision and mission statement of the association and made support for growth AIPMA’s priority.

We’ve also been instrumental in setting up plastic parks across 1,000 acres all over India. We have signed MOU with leading plastic associations worldwide to

Through our environment initiative we have helped reduce littering and have showed authorities how to clean up floating waste in waters.

There are many achievements that I’m proud of, it would be impossible to list them all here, but they’re all part of AIPMA’s successful activities so far, with an even more successful future ahead. www.aipma.net

Seminar on burning-environment issues

AIPMA performs various activities few of them are listed below National & International Seminars National & International Delegations Lecture Meetings Conferences Buyer & Seller Meetings Training Programmes Liaison between the government and the industry.

HEADQUARTERS 7

HQ

> C OV E R I NT E R V I E W

Indonesia

A MICE destination on the rise Interview with Sapta Nirwandar Bali

More and more, Indonesia is present at international MICE Fairs, thanks to the efforts done by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

The government has identified 14 priority destinations to be developed in the future. And there is more. The Ministry has granted 25% more to spend on its MICE promotions between now and next financial year. The Ministry will also share intelligence such as Indonesian economic indicators and developments planned for airports, MICE venues and hotels. Time to have an interview with Mr. Sapta Nirwandar, Vice Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy. He is also the acting director general of tourism marketing.

Interview Marcel A.M. Vissers

HQ: Where do you situate Indonesian MICE industry in the resources development and how important is MICE in the resources field?

Sapta Nirwandar: The Ministry is determined to develop the 14 MICE destinations. The development includes infrastructures, human resources and destination promotion. It is an ongoing process and involves all the stakeholders, with the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy as the facilitator, local governments, tourism industries and associations.

We acknowledge MICE industry has a significant contribution towards the wellfare of each region. It’s an every season kind of business and it continues to bring benefit along the year. Business tourism indeed contributes about 30% of the total tourist visits to Indonesia.

Sapta Nirwandar

HQ: Your department is part of the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. What do you mean by Creative Economy and to what extent is MICE in indonesia a creative business?

Sapta Nirwandar: There are 15 sectors of creative economy that the Ministry will be focusing on for development.

It includes various things such as Architecture, Design, Fashion, Film, Video & Photography, Craft, Computer & Software, Music, Art Market, Publishing, Advertising, Interactive Games, Research & Development, Art Show, Television and Radio.

HEADQUARTERS 9

> C OV E R I NT E R V I E W

Bali

Maimun Castle, Medana

Manado waterfront

Popular Indonesian MICE Destinations Indonesia is starting to develop 8 new MICE destinations: Batam, Medan, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Solo, Mataram, Makassar and Manado. Bali and Jakarta are the most popular Indonesian MICE destinations. Bali boasts an impressive range of international standards meeting venues and hotels and has two famous purpose-built convention centres, Bali International Convention Centre and Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre. Jakarta is famous for its heritage the Unesco Site of Borubudur Temple and the Prambanan Temples. Jakarta is also called the Oxford of Indonesia due to a number of universities in the city and we cannot forget the Conventions Halls such as Jakarta Convention Centre and Jakarta International Expo. Batam is less popular but has developed into one of Indonesia’s lucrative industrial, trade and commercial zones. Batam is also know as the Island of Resorts.

HEADQUARTERS 10

MICE is actually a means to develop all of those sectors. MICE itself is a creative business which combines resources of creative ideas such as the selection of the venue or the presentation of the social programmes, etc. - in fact, the whole package is a creative process. The events that we have already hosted are related to the 15 economy fields - let’s name the INA craft and Indonesia Fashion Week among many others.

HQ: At IT&CM India in New Delhi, you told us that there is more funding for Indonesia. What kind of promotions do you have in mind for the MICE development programme?

Sapta Nirwandar: Our extensive promotion programme include various activities: + Participating at tradeshows in several countries which are the main target markets of Indonesia such as GIBTM in Abu Dhabi, CIBTM in Beijing, AIME in Melbourne, etc. + Organizing familiarization trips for decision makers in order to promote Indonesia as a MICE destination + Becoming member of different international MICE organizations

HQ: Except for Bali and Jakarta, we know not that much about Indonesia as a MICE destination. How are your going to share intelligence about destination?

Could you tell us more about other MICE cities in Indonesia ?

Sapta Nirwandar: We will improve the quality and quantity of promotional materials (booklets, leaflets, CDs, etc.) and make it available in more varied languages. We will network even more at international events and meetings, but also at tradeshows, and concentrate on China, Japan, India, Korea, Australia and ASEAN countries.

Bali has been highly successful at gaining impressive incentive business from all over Asia Pacific with the addition of award-winning boutique hotels such as Aman hotels, Four Seasons Resort, Bulgari Resort, and the new St Regis Resort. Jakarta is the destination of choice for many international conferences and exhibitions because it is not only the capital of the country but also the economic, business, and political powerhouse of Indonesia.

> C OV E R I NT E R V I E W

Jakarta

Yogyakarta

Surabaya

Medan in North Sumatera is intensely promoting its reputation as a business destination to increase MICE arrivals.

Two new 5-star hotels opeedn there in 2009 - J.W. Marriott hotel and Grand Swiss Belhotel. This resulted in a much-anticipated increase of hotel rooms available in this dynamic city for meetings, conferences, and exhibitions.

The second largest city in Indonesia, Surabaya plays an integral part in the country’s history and development. It is a vast center for manufacture as well as trade, and many of Indonesia’s heavy industries are found here, such as sugar, plywood and cement plants. Situated on the northern coast of the East Java Province, not only does Surabaya have a huge naval base, it has the lively Tanjung Perak Port where elegant sailing vessels

from all over eastern Indonesia are moored. With many natural attractions to offer and infrastructures that are continuously upgraded, Surabaya offers excellent reasons why it has become a new and exciting MICE destination.

Despite its location in Central Java, Yogyakarta bears a special administrative status, the Special Territory of Yogyakarta. Together with the Kraton of Surakarta and the Mangkunegaran, the court of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Palace in Yogyakarta is considered the cradle of Javanese culture. Even today, the Javanese are fiercely proud of their heritage and still hold on to a culture, tradition and values that have been treasured for so many generations.
As a city of tradition and culture, Yogyakarta is reknown for its arts both traditional

and modern. It enthralls visitors with performances of classical dance, music and wayang kulit, while its skilled craftsmen produce unrivalled batiks and silverworks.

Manado is the capital of the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. It is located at the Bay of Manado, and is surrounded by a mountainous area. Some places of interest nearby are Bunaken and Siladen islands for snorkling and scuba diving. The beautiful sunset from Manado Bay, Boulevard Street is a great attraction too. MICE is being promoted as one way to attract Foreign Tourists to Manado, North Sulawesi.

More information visitindonesia.co.in

HEADQUARTERS 11

Roomigami !

Plan your event as you want it to be and not as how the circumstances might make it possible.

You are looking for variable and combinable space for your meeting or convention – with charisma and an excellent infrastructure. Congress Frankfurt provides just that, a tailor-made offer of rooms on the premises of Messe Frankfurt, 80 congress and conference

rooms with a capacity for 22,000 people and generous exhibition space are at your disposal, in addition furnishing, technology, personnel and catering services.

Everything is individually and professionally tuned to your wishes. When may we host your event? www.congressfrankfurt.de

HQ

> S t a t is t ics

ICCA 2011 statistics

A resilient, even growing, international association sector With the release of the 2011 Top 20

Number of meetings per country

Number of meetings per city

Rank

Country

Meetings 2011

Rank

City

Meetings 2011

the International Congress &

1

USA

759

1

Vienna

181

Convention Association (ICCA) is re-

2

Germany

577

2

Paris

174

3

Spain

463

3

Barcelona

150

4

United Kingdom

434

4

Berlin

147

5

France

428

5

Singapore

142

6

Italy

363

6

Madrid

130

7

Brazil

304

7

London

115

8

China-PR

302

8

Amsterdam

114

9

Netherlands

291

9

Istanbul

113

10

Austria

267

10

Beijing

111

11

Canada

255

11

Budapest

108

12

Switzerland

240

12

Lisbon

107

13

Japan

233

13

Seoul

99

14

Portugal

228

14

98 98

15

Republic of Korea

Copenhagen Prague

207

16

Buenos Aires

94

16

Australia

204

17

Sweden

195

17

Brussels Stockholm

93 93

18

Argentina

186

19

Rome

92

19

Belgium

179

20

Taipei

83

20

Mexico

175

Rankings for cities and countries,

porting another year of continued strength in international association meetings market.

For the first time ever, more than 10,000 regularly occurring association events were identified by ICCA members and ICCA’s in-house research team as having taken place during 2011, over 800 more than identified a year previously. ICCA’s city and country rankings cover meetings organised by international associations which take place on a regular basis and which rotate between a minimum of three countries, with at least 50 participants.

Compared to last year, the top 10 countries shows little change, with the top six repeating their rankings, led by the USA, Germany and Spain. The Netherlands and Austria appeared at 9th and 10th respectively, taking the place of Switzerland, which dropped from 10th to 12th, and Japan, which in the aftermath of cancellations due to the earthquake and tsunami, understandably dropped from 7th to 13th. The USA saw by far the biggest jump in the number of events held, up by 136 to a new record 759 meetings.

Compared to last year, the top 10 countries shows little change, with the top six repeating their rankings, led by the USA, Germany and Spain.

In the city rankings, Vienna retained its number one status, and below it Paris overtook Barcelona in the 2nd and 3rd place duel. The biggest climber in the top ten was London, with the 2012 Olympics effect pulling them up from 14th to 7th, and Beijing, which led the way amongst the fast growing BRIC destinations by climbing from 12th to 10th.

HEADQUARTERS 13

> S t a t is t ics

Good health ICCA CEO Martin Sirk said: ‘The most important thing to note is that international association meetings continue to be in tremendously good health when compared with the overall situation in the global meetings industry.

We’ve seen consistent annual growth in the number of international association meetings throughout the last few years of global economic instability, something no other sector can claim, even though we’re also hearing about increasing challenges in raising sponsorship amongst a sizeable minority of organisers.’ He added: ‘I strongly believe that any destination wanting to achieve long-term overall

success in the meetings business needs to invest in the research and specialised marketing and bidding skills required to attract these international association events.’

Reflecting the overall increase of association meetings is the good shape of Latin America in the international meetings industry: ICCA’s statistics show that Latin America’s market share in the international association meetings industry has grown in the last 10 years from 7.2% in 2002 to 10.5% in 2011. And for the first time ever there are currently three Latin American Presidents of major international meetings industry Associations - ICCA,

Site, and IAPCO. As for the matter, ICCA President Arnaldo Nardone from Uruguay joined Site President Alejandro Verzoub and IAPCO President Gonzalo Perez Constanzo, both from Argentina, to participate in a panel to analyze the current meetings and incentives industry in Latin America from the perspectives of their associations, in Uruguay in June.

Worth noting is that the 51st ICCA Congress will be organized in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 20-24 October, during which Headquarters will sponsor the ‘Dress to Impress’ gala evening. www.iccaworld.com

Union of International Associations (UIA) International Meetings Statistics for the Year 2011

For the past 63 years, the Union of International Associations (UIA) has undertaken, for the benefit of its members, statistical studies on the preceding year’s international meetings. The statistics are based on information systematically collected by the UIA Congress Department and selected according to strict criteria maintained over the years, thus enabling meaningful comparison from year to year.

Meetings taken into consideration include those organized and/or sponsored by the international organizations which appear in the Yearbook of International Organizations and in the International Congress Calendar, i.e.: the sittings of their principal organs, congresses, conventions, symposia, regional sessions grouping several countries, as well as some national meetings with international participation organized by national branches of international associations.

Not included are purely national meetings as well as those of an exclusively religious, didactic, political, commercial, or sporting nature, and corporate and incentive meetings, the survey of these specific markets not being within the scope of activities of the UIA.

HEADQUARTERS 14

> S t a t is t ics

Top Meeting Countries in 2011

Top Meeting Cities in 2011

Since the 2008 edition of this report (published in 2009), the UIA meetings database has been enriched by connecting it more closely to its sister database on international organizations, the source of the Yearbook of International Organizations. This enhances the data available across the time scale and in particular enables historical surveys of international organization meeting activity as far back as 1850.

Rank

Country

Meetings 2011

Rank

City

Meetings 2011

1

Singapore

919

1

Singapore

919

2

USA

744

2

Brussels

464

3

Japan

598

3

Paris

336

4

France

557

4

Vienna

286

5

Belgium

533

5

Seoul

232

6

Korea Rep

469

6

Budapest

168

7

Germany

421

7

Tokyo

153

Meetings taken into consideration include those organized and/ or sponsored by the international organizations which appear in the Yearbook of International Organizations and in the International Congress Calendar

8

Austria

390

8

Barcelona

150

9

Spain

386

9

Berlin

149

10

Australia

329

10

Geneva

121

11

Netherlands

299

11

Amsterdam

118

12

UK

293

12

Madrid

116

13

Italy

269

13

Stockholm

109

14

Hungary

221

14

Copenhagen London

105

15

Switzerland

219

15

Sydney

103

16

China

200

16

Melbourne

99

17

Canada

186

17

Lisbon

96

18

Norway

169

18

Istanbul

92

19

Sweden

161

19

Beijing

90

20

Portugal

160

20

Bangkok

88

What counts UIA divides meetings in 3 categories : meetings of international organizations, 3-day other international meetings and 2-day other international meetings.

Meetings of international organizations are organized or sponsored by ‘international organizations’, i.e. international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) that are included in the UIA’s Yearbook of International Organizations, with at least 50 participants. The Yearbook of International Organizations profiles the organizations whose meetings are a focus of these statistics, and catalogues all ‘non-profit’, ‘international’ organizations according to a broad range of criteria.

Three-day other international meetings are not organized or sponsored by ‘international organizations’ but nonetheless of significant international character, with at least 40% of participants who are from countries other

than the host country, with at least 5 different nationalities, lasting at least 3 days, with either a concurrent exhibition or at least 300 participants. By significant internation character, UIA means notably meetings organized by national organizations and national branches of international organizations.

2-day other international meetings are not organized or sponsored by ‘international organizations’ but nonetheless of significant international character, with at least 40% of participants who are from countries other than the host country, with at least 5 different nationalities, lasting at least 2 days, with either a concurrent exhibition or at least 250 participants. www.iccaworld.com

HEADQUARTERS 15

UIA ı Union of International Associations

Sustainable development after Rio Picking up the pieces The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development of June 2012 - commonly known either as The Earth Summit 2012 or as ‘Rio+20’ - achieved a miracle. It ended up as a glass more than half full, and at the same time more than half emptY! Text Cyril Ritchie, Vice President of UIA

Cyril Ritchie

HEADQUARTERS 16

The entire world of associations gravitating around this Conference - NGOs, trade unions, human rights bodies, women’s organizations, farmers, scientists, youth, indigenous peoples, and more - had over months and indeed years placed their hopes and expectations on the Earth Summit 2012 taking major steps forward towards achieving sustainable development, as had been the case at the Earth Summit 1992, also in Rio. But the closer we came to June 2012 the more it became apparent in the governmental negotiating process that short-term electoral, financial and political considerations were winning out over the long-term imperative of ensuring that future generations inherit a livable planet.

Over the year-long planning process, citizens and their associations put forward to governments often in specific detail - their ambitions for a Rio 2012 outcome that would lead to the social, economic and environmental transformations needed to make the planet truly sustainable. Some made it into the Final Declaration, even if in weak terms: green economy policies; a procedure to lead to establishing Sustainable Development Goals; strengthening the UN Environment Programme; going beyond the constraints of GDP to better measure human welfare and quality of life; corporate sustainability accountability.

But we live in the real world, the political world. So it is now up to all the many diverse categories of associations referred to above to redouble commitment and work: to hold governments to the few commitments they did make in Rio; to ensure implementation measures are put in place both at the UN and national levels; and to press ever harder for filling the gaps.

This will require using to the full the consultative processes within the United Nations System. It will require actively and imaginatively seeking partnerships across sectoral boundaries. And it will require pooling of human and financial

We live in the real world, the political world. So it is now up to all the many diverse categories of associations to redouble commitment and work and to hold governments to the few commitments they did make in Rio

But many eminently desirable - and eminently logical - goals fell by the wayside as negotiations dragged on until virtually the Conference Opening plenary, when Heads of State and Government arrived to do little more than endorse the negotiators consensus text. The declaration lacks commitment to zero deforestation goals, to women’s reproductive rights, to establishing a High Commissioner for Future Generations, to technology transfer, to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies.

resources to achieve effective results.

And most likely it will require overcoming some of the incomprehensions between the business sector and the non-profit sector, in the superior interest of ensuring a better future - a sustainable future - for the world’s people.

It won’t be easy. We must start today.

For more information, please contact uia@uia.org

What’s the Union of International Associations (UIA)?

The Union of International Associations - UIA - is a non-profit, independent, apolitical, and non-governmental institution in the service of international associations.

Since its foundation in 1907, the UIA is a leading provider of information about international non-profit organizations and a premium networking platform between international organizations and the meeting industry worldwide.

Main activities + Yearbook of International Organizations - contains information on over 64,000 international organizations active in all fields of human endeavour, in all corners of the world, and over centuries of history.

Available online and in book form. + International Congress Calendar - with information on over 350,000 international meetings. Available online, in pdf, and on paper. + Annual Associations Round Table features both open-space / networking and discussion oriented sessions as well as practical skills training sessions for associations.

See www.uia.be/roundtable Who can use the UIA’s research and networking platform? Everyone with an interest in international associations and cooperation: international associations, the businesses which provide services to them, media and press, research centres, universities, libraries, government offices. Associate Members have quick access to first quality material to benefit their business.

To join, see www.uia.be/associate-members.

HEADQUARTERS 17

There’s nothing like A ustralia to inspire the world’s grea te st minds

This year we chose Australia for our global congress. It was an easy choice, as Australia’s proximity to Asia gave us the opportunity to attract many new delegates.

The program was one of the best in years.

New Australian developments in our field attracted a lot of interest and strong international research partnerships were established.

Australia is on everyone’s list to visit, and it lured our highest number of delegates yet.

There’s no doubt they’ll be talking about this convention for years to come.

Dr Louise Wong International Board Member Visit businessevents.australia.com/associations for everything you need to plan your Australian event.

HQ

> AUSTRALIA

What draws delegates to a convention in Australia?

Australia has proved to be a magnet for delegates who are keen to combine a convention with the opportunity to

in diagnostic tools and vaccines, including developments in the fight to eliminate dengue fever which currently infects more than 50 million people worldwide every year.

enjoy some of the world’s greatest landscapes, cities and experiences.

Australia’s world-class convention venues are set among inspiring scenery.

Congress Chairman, Professor Chris Burrell, AO, Professor of Virology at the University of Adelaide and Head of the Infectious Diseases Laboratories said he was delighted with the success of the congress.

region which has been the centre of many recently emerging viral infections.’

The congress featured workshops and a major scientific exhibition where delegates had the opportunity to speak with specialists about innovations in the field as well as providing a vibrant centralised area of informal networking among colleagues.

The Uluru Meeting Place, for example, will open in late 2012 and is within stone’s throw of iconic Uluru (Ayers Rock) and offers access to a range of memorable experiences including sunrise camel treks, dinner under the stars and Aboriginal dot painting workshops. For a larger event, the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre is based in the centre of Brisbane’s cultural precinct, with easy access to the Southbank entertainment zone, Queensland Art Gallery and central city.

The Australian meetings industry has the contacts and expertise to tailor a convention to your association’s needs with access to logistics specialists, a range of talented speakers including world leaders in fields such as technology, health, resources and automotive, and special events experts to give your gala dinner the ‘wow’ factor.

The event - The Asia Pacific Congress of Media Virology, June 2012 Viruses affect all humans at some stage in their lives including the common cold, influenza, chickenpox and sometimes even AIDS and SARS. A shared desire to combat the mortality and morbidity caused by these viruses, bought 240 top virologists to Adelaide in June 2012 for the 9th Asia Pacific Congress of Media Virology.

Australia was selected as the host country thanks to its positive profile in the field of media virology. Australian researchers were able to share some ground-breaking findings and present major developments

Adelaide Convention Centre

WPC 2008

‘The quality of the program and the science discussed was absolutely first rate,’ said Professor Burrell. ‘It provided a terrific opportunity to share truly groundbreaking research and present major developments in diagnostic tools and vaccines, from all over the world.

Ultimately, this all contributes to our collective ability to better understand viral diseases and develop strong public health and research bases to better control them.

This is particularly important in the Asian

‘Australia has a good profile in the field of medical virology. Hosting the congress here for the first time enabled us to further reinforce the serious role we are playing, among some of the Asia Pacific’s most senior and well respected scientists,’ Professor Burrell said.

If you are considering holding a convention in Australia, go to businessevents.australia.com for information and contacts.

HEADQUARTERS 19

HQ > M A L AYS I A

Case Study

25th World Gas Conference

2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Music & Light Festival The commitment and efforts of Datuk (Dr) Abdul Rahim Hashim, President of the International Gas Union (IGU) 2009 - 2012 Triennium, Malaysian Gas Union, and the National Organising Committee who put on a good show during the recently concluded prestigious 25th

Opening gala dinner

Asia, and for the first time in Southeast Asia.

To celebrate the occasion, the organising committee has put together the inaugural Kuala Lumpur International Music & Light Festival with performances from some of the best ethnic bands from this region. These shows were made even more spectacular with the display of lights and fireworks each night of the conference.

World Gas Conference 2012 (WGC2012), have certainly been nothing short of outstanding.

Touted as the Olympics of the Gas Industry, the theme chosen for the conference in Malaysia is ‘Gas: Sustaining Future Global Growth’ and gathers global gas and energy leaders from around the world. This year, the world-class conference has attracted a record breaking number of 5,299 delegates from 90 countries and 13,803 visitors to the exhibition, including exhibitors from 43 countries around the globe. The conference itself has attracted over 712 abstracts another record number.

The WGC2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the World Gas Conference. Supported by Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), it is a significant milestone for Malaysia as this is only the second time in the IGU’s 80-year history that WGC is held in

Another significant mark for WGC in Malaysia is the introduction for the first time, a Youth Forum. About 216 youth from around the world were invited to share their views, hopes and aspirations with regards to the gas industry, befitting the theme of this year’s event. The inclusion of young people is part of a wider objective of the 20092012 Triennium to enthuse the younger generation and to ensure a constant pipeline of fresh talent into the industry.

Datuk Anuar Ahmad, Chairman of the National Organising Committee for WGC2012 said: ‘We’d like to see future organisers refer to WGC2012 as a benchmark, as something they want to emulate’, and they have achieved just that.

The conference in Kuala Lumpur was held from 4th to 8th June, 2012 at the country’s award-winning business events facility, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Other conferences to be held in 2013

+ Estimated number of delegates International Dragon Award (IDA) Annual Conference 2013 5,000 delegates Wounds International Conference 2013 1,000 delegates World Marketing Summit 2013 2,500 delegates Asian & Oceanic Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Congress 2013 1,000 delegates 8th International Symposium of Digital Earth 2013 1,500 delegates Regional Congress of the International Society of Blood Transfusion 2013 1,500 delegates CINP Pacific - Asia and Malaysia Psychiatric Association Special Congress on Drug Addiction 2013 1,000 delegates Global Summit of Women 2013 1,000 delegates For further event listing, visit www.myceb.com.my

Contact Ho Yoke Ping General Manager, Sales and Marketing Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau T. +603 2034 2090 www.myceb.com.my pingho@myceb.com.my

HEADQUARTERS 21

HQ

> M ee t r o p o l is

Five good reasons for The Meetropolis + The central location with an outstanding infrastructure guarantees maximum accessibility and mobility for journey and stay. + Concentrated experience of conventions, know-how, a wide variety of venues plus quality of service establish the basis for stress-free success. + Various synergies offering excellent scientific and research skills in the region provide an extra edge, interested parties and speakers for your topic. + The proximity to German and international business ensures inspiration, insight, audiences and valuable multipliers. + The Rhineland embodies a piece of Germany's traditional and modern culture, and its people with their cordial mentality turn it into a unique experience.

KÖLNDÜSSELDORF

The Meetropolis: We custoMICE your meeting Two metropolises, one experience, The Meetropolis: Discover this unique destination for your successful convention.

With their concept KÖLNDÜSSELDORF - The Meetropolis, the Rhine River metropolises have been awarded project support from the European Union and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia designed to further strengthen MICE business. The two diverse metropo-lises on the Rhine have bundled their attractive offers and will market themselves even more strongly on the international market as a congress destination region: Come and visit us at the IMEX America in Las Vegas on October 9-11, 2012.

The Meetropolis offers the best conditions for your successful MICE activities!

Cologne & Düsseldorf.

The Meetropolis is waiting for you.

Contact Verena Vaßen v.vassen@meetropolis.de www.meetropolis.de

CustoMICEd Conventions

KÖLNDÜSSELDORF – For custoMICEd conventions on the Rhine. Perfect access thanks to two international airports and an outstanding meeting infrastructure combined with a cheerful Rhineland welcome – that’s what makes KÖLNDÜSSELDORF such a special venue for your event. We’ll be happy to assist you with your wishes and ideas.

Come and meet our Meetropolis team at the IMEX America at Booth 424-35.

www.meetropolis.de

We custoMICE your meeting.

HQ > INDIA

India in the spotlight

The new IT&CM India trade fair taught me that Russia and the CIS countries (Commonwealth of Independent States) are emerging as hot markets for MICE in India. But I learned much more than this. That’s the fun part of a professional fair concentrated in a certain area. Incentive Travel & Conventions Meetings India is the third instalment in a series of professional MICE fairs organised by TTG Asia Media (the others are in Bangkok and Shanghai).

MICE in Asia In Asia, the term is simply MICE. The discussions about definitions like Meeting Industry or Business Travel are not really important here. IT&CM India, held in New Delhi this August, was no exception to this rule. The first edition was small but pleasant and the atmosphere was one of enjoyable bustle. To me, there were not enough Indian exhibitors, but they will come in time. Much more important is that a country - in India’s case more like a continent - is being put in the spotlight.

Because what do we really know about India as a MICE destination?

In and outgoing When we look at the travel behaviour of Indians concerning the congress market, big changes are happening. Several Asia Pacific countries lie in wait to breach the Indian market, and India itself is trying to seduce the surrounding countries.

Two examples. As read in TTG Magazine: ‘Russians are coming’. India is a new destination for Russians in search of

© Louis Allen

© Louis Allen

Report Marcel A.M. Vissers

small meetings, and they are spreading out to Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. It is said that the Russian market is growing by 20 % year on year. Generally India is attractive to the Russians because of its history and culture.

convention map like never before. It’s also home to the country’s best purpose built convention centre. In Bengaluru or the Silicon Valley of India, a promising new congress centre is being built (facts and figures are not yet available).

Abu Dhabi is also eagerly looking forward to the meetings growth from India. It ranks as the emirate’s second-largest overseas hotel guest market. Abu Dhabi Tourism is looking into the possibility of installing a representative office in India. They are of course not only aiming for the association congresses, but the interest in this niche market is growing day by day. The same can be said for Hong Kong and Singapore.

Where to go in India?

Now, most congresses take place in the state-of-the-art Bangalore International Centre of Conference Hotels. Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, is called a magnet for trade shows, but how is the congress market evolving here? There are a few big capacity centres available: Bandra Curla Complex, the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre and the National Centre for Performing Arts, but a large convention centre is missing.

Of course almost all 5-star hotels have substantial meeting facilities.

For an outsider, it’s not easy to map the Indian MICE destinations. Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, is taking the lead in the MICE sector, and after the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Hyderabad will be on the global

See you next year!

IT&CM India 20-22 August 2013 India Expo Centre & Mart, Delhi NCR www.itcmindia.com

HEADQUARTERS 23

HQ > G e n e va

Geneva

The Swiss capital of gastronomy There was a time when Geneva was known for its austerity in many fields. But it’s over now, especially when it comes to food. The city of Calvin and Rousseau will enthrall you with the creativity of its chefs, the quality of its meals, and the incredible variety of its restaurants. Definitely an added value when organizing a meeting there!

Text Rémi Dévé

Innovative cuisine Geneva. The name can be heard day by day on the news channels of the world. It is a synonym, both for internationalism and conferences as well as for quality of life. A bit less known is that the city is considered today to be the Swiss capital of gastronomy - it has, over time, benefited from the influence of nearby France and Italy. And even if the inhabitants of Geneva remain faithful to their classic fare, for instance ‘longeole’ (fresh pork sausage flavoured with fennel and cumin) and ‘cardons’ (a thistle-type-stalk vegetable, which tastes a bit like artichoke and likes to be enjoyed au gratin), the city is also driven by creativity when it comes to innovative cuisine.

HEADQUARTERS 24

Geneva has indeed many surprises in store for perfection-seeking gourmets!

Several talented chefs here produce a very high level of cooking, offering great value for money when compared with grand European restaurants. The variety of cuisines, catering to every taste, to be found is formidable: from high-end restaurants to chic brasseries, from typical cafés and bars to prestigious châteaux, the business visitor can only but be amazed. Worth noting is the unique concentration of Gault Millau and Michelin-starred restaurants (53!) in Geneva, as well as an immense variety of international cuisine (140), thanks to the large foreign community living in the city.

Experimenting with wine… and chocolate Not a lot of people would guess that the name Geneva also stands for a wine region - the third largest in Switzerland, the one which takes the most pleasure in experimenting, the one with the least compromise and the one with the largest wine-growing community, Satigny.

The days when the vineyards above Lake Geneva produced only poor quality wines, and Chasselas was just ordinary plonk, are long gone! In fact, the Canton of Geneva produces authentic wines to awardwinning acclaim, using impeccable grapes that, for some of them, are picked and sorted by hand.

Pictures: © Arnaud Childeric-Kalice

> G e n e va

The international flair of the city and its openness to new things also influences the vine city. Apart from the traditional varieties of wine, Chasselas and Gamay, other varieties are being cultivated more and more frequently: such as the White Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot blanc, Aligoté, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot gris, Gewürztraminer and Viognier; as in the reds, the Red Pinot noir, Gamaret, Merlot, Garanoir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet franc. Half of the Swiss organic wines also grow in the canton of Geneva.

And don’t forget to try some of Geneva’s most famous wine bars, where you can taste delicious local, often sulphur-free natural wines!

Geneva is also the European capital of chocolate, home of many ‘maîtres chocolatiers’ or chocolate experts. Master chocolate maker Philippe Pascoët has, for instance, managed to combine these two luxury products and come up with a Havana-cigar-flavoured chocolate!

Winner of the Prix de l’Artisanat de Genève 2006, Philippe Pascoët boldly

mixes different varieties of chocolate, fruit purees, and herbs to produce original creations such as passion fruit, black currant and saffron-flavoured chocolates.

He also organizes workshops at the chocolate factory where you can learn everything there is to know about chocolate!

Activities The good news is all these highly-likeable features of Geneva can be incorporated into a whole meeting and incentive experience. It would be impossible to list them all here, so allow me to highlight a few.

Because he had fond memories of childhood lake cruises in steamboats, it is with nostalgic pleasure that star chef Philippe Chevrier, of the exclusive Domaine de Chateauvieux, took on the task of organizing gourmet cruises on the steamboat Savoie in Geneva, commissioned in 1914 and completely renovated to its original state between 1994 and 2006. You can eat on both daytime or evening cruises, or rent the boat for a private function such as a business meeting.

If you’re more into wine and wine-making, there are a lot of ‘domaines’ that can be rented out for a conference or a seminar and that offer a tour of the vineyards or wine-tasting sessions in their cellars after a hard day’s work. The Domaine de la Clé de Sol is one of them: nested in Satigny, it welcomes groups who can enjoy the different wines produced on the premises and work at the same time!

Last but not least is the ‘Maison du Terroir’ managed by the OPAGE (the organisation in charge of the promotion of agricultural products from the canton of Geneva). In the heart of the vineyard, the Maison boasts spaces and a big terrace accommodating ‘apéritifs’ and get-togethers alike. Also typical is the Swiss night at the Edelweiss restaurant, where guest can enjoy both Swiss cuisine and music! You could hardly ask for more…

Contact Geneva Convention Bureau info@genevaconventionbureau.ch +41 22 909 70 70 www.genevaconventionbureau.ch

HEADQUARTERS 25

Meeting planners are the real stars in Berlin.

We know all there is to know about arranging meetings.

convention.visitBerlin.com

Visit us at ITB Asia, booth 7190

Do you need to arrange a meeting, convention or any other type of event at short notice? If so, the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office is on hand 24/7 to give you all the support you need. We work closely with local partners across the city and can quickly provide you with relevant advice, help and information. With the Berlin Convention Office, you can rest assured that your event is in good hands. convention.visitBerlin.com

HQ

Fernsehturm

Berlin Wall

Oberbaumbrücke

Reichestag

Berlin on the international map as never before It looks like Berlin, if the city needed it, has become even more international. The bustling German capital has indeed joinded the BestCities Global Alliance, an international network of convention bureaux, last May.

After a few months of existence with preliminary members, Berlin formally joined Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Melbourne, San Juan, Singapore, Vancouve and Houston to bring the BestCities score card to ten out of ten.

BestCities Board Chair, Jerad Bachar said that the Berlin Convention Office of visitBerlin satisfied all the stringent requirements of membership to become full partners as of May 2012: ‘Berlin undertook their compliance audit against the BestCities Quality Manual in April 2012 and passed with flying colours. This requirement, that all ten cities adhere to the highest level of

service standards, is what differentiates BestCities. Whilst at the same time, it is also the common thread among all BestCities partners that they will provide the same high quality service.’

‘We are delighted, and very proud, to be joining the BestCities network,’ says visitBerlin CEO Burkhard Kieker. ‘We look forward to working closely with the other partners and extending our marketing reach even further to help us attract more international conventions to Berlin.’

The alliance also receives a perfect score for their top ten initiatives which are available to all ten partners and include: the BestCities quality standards manual, post bid and post event client surveys, bid intelligence registry, knowledge exchange sessions, shared business development resource, client workshops, business leads knowledge transfer, annual LRQA certification renewal, client forums and the exclusivity of membership by invitation only.

Berlin has indeed developed into an internationally renowned convention city and has been named as one of the top five convention cities worldwide

by ICCA for the past seven years. The German capital convinces with a large number of convention centres and locations - including the award winning International Congress Center ICC Berlin - as well as Europe’s most modern hotel landscape.

Contact visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office www.convention.visitBerlin.de t. +49 (0) 30 26 39 183 f. +49 (0) 30 26 47 48 965 convention@visitBerlin.de

HEADQUARTERS 27

© Wolfgang Scholvien

© Wolfgang Scholvien

> BERLIN

HQ > R esearch

4th IBTM Global Meetings Industry Research China & Asia Focus Taken on by UK-based The Right Solution, this summary of trends from the research focuses on China and Asia and was presented at CIBTM 2012. Annual research into the meetings market in China was launched at the first CIBTM in 2007 and has been monitoring trends each year since then. This year the research has evolved with the IBTM Global research project to track trends in popularity of destinations, budgets allocated, volume of events per destination and indicators on the growth of the meetings industry in China and Asia.

The IBTM Global Meetings Industry research was launched in November 2011 to explore the trends and characteristics of the international meetings market. Since that time the economic situation worldwide has remained challenged with the crisis in the Eurozone and the fluctuations in the US economy frequently in global media headlines. The Asian economies, although continuing to show much higher growth figures than elsewhere in the world - 8% in China and 6% in India and 5% ASEAN (IMF Global outlook July 2012) - have not been without their own challenges and China’s stock market has recently been fluctuating amid fears of waning growth.

In this climate it is unsurprising that respondents stated the issue most affecting the meetings market was the economy and the need for improvement of the economic environment. This was followed through into budget issues including rising air fares and price factors.

Do more with less This year throughout the world, conference, meeting and events’ organisers reporting on having to ‘do more with less’, meaning that they are required to organise higher numbers of events with more delegates attending, yet with no increases or even reductions in budgets. Buyers

HEADQUARTERS 28 Sally Greenhill

in China and Asia appear now to be just as affected by this trend with 62% saying the volume of events will increase over the next twelve months but only 49% saying budgets will increase.

Yet over the last twelve months the meetings industry in China continued to grow apace, with high numbers of events being organised by all buyers. Nearly two thirds of buyers saw an increase in the volume of events they were involved in over the last twelve months. 72% also predict use of new destinations over the next 12 months although the countries with highest volume of events for the next 12 months are identical to those for the last 12 months.

Just 48% of respondents forecast their marketing budgets to increase over the next year, yet up to 86% are now using social media to communicate before, during and after meetings. Up to 30% are also using apps for providing delegate information, and 11% are using QR codes.

It is possible that for buyers these new technologies are enabling them to use marketing budgets more wisely. However for suppliers who are still preparing brochures, websites and traditional collateral in addition to making use of new technologies for marketing, their budgets are being stretched further.

> R esearch

80%

80% 70%

70%

67,6%

62,2%

60%

60% 50%

50%

48%

30%

25,7%

25,7%

35,9% 31,4%

30% 24,3%

23%

28,8%

28,2% 24,4%

21,6%

20%

20,3%

18,2%

16,9%

20,5%

20%

17,9%

17,3%

Macao

Indonesia

10%

10%

0%

0% Beijing

Shanghai

Guangzhou

Hainan

Hangzhou

Chengdu

Xi’an

Shenzhen

Xiamen

Qingdoa

85,7%

China

Hong Kong

Thailand

SouthKorea

Singapore

Japan

Malaysia

Taiwan

Buyers Top Ten Asian countries for events

Buyers Top Ten Cities for events

90%

45,5%

40%

40%

Use of new technologies 82,3%

Social media to communicate before, during or after the meeting

80% 70%

85,5% 77%

Audience response systems

67,5%

36,2% 41,1%

60% Virtual meetings 50%

24,6%

49,8%

50,2%

45,9%

Apps for providing delegate information

40% 29,9%

30%

27,7%

20,3% 29,7%

Cloud computing to assist with event management

20%

13% 16,7%

Holograms

13,8% 13,4%

10% QR codes (specific matrix barcodes) for meetings management

0% Meetings

Incentive Travel

Business Travel

Conventions & Congresses

Exhibitions

Product Launches

Types of meetings for buyers active in China & Asia

The rapid development of cities and regions throughout China seems likely to influence the range of destinations being used for meetings and events in future with 72% of buyers predicting use of new destinations next year. This also applies to the outbound business from China. Although Asian countries continue to attract the greater proportion of the events business, many other countries worldwide have realised the valuable potential in China’s expanding number of business visitors and are focusing their marketing strategy in order to attract them further afield.

Not yet Sally Greenhill, of The Right Solution, comments : ‘If you asked about whether

Entertainment Sporting Special

7,2% 11%

Location aware software eg Foursquare

4,8%

Electronic RFP products eg Starcite, Cvent

5,1%

this year’s results are showing an increase in congresses and the answer is no, not yet.

This could be due to the long lead times and the focus on congresses is not yet being seen but is most likely to show in future now that Beijing has launched an ambassador programme and Shanghai already has one. This year’s results show an increase in meetings and incentive travel however.’

‘The destinations being used outside China are mainly in Asia but already there is significant numbers of meetings going to Europe, the US and Australia and this is likely to increase in future. 72% of buyers said they were looking at new destinations in the next 12 months.’

10,1%

8,6%

Suppliers Buyers

‘Worth noting is the slowing pace of growth (7%) in China together with currency inflation, rising labour costs, and air fare increases etc. are all putting budgets under pressure and more comments were made about the economy affecting business this year when up to now China has seemed relatively immune to the global slowdown.’

‘There is huge use of social media such as sina weibo in China by buyers and suppliers and new technologies seem to be well trusted, with audience response systems showing greater use here than elsewhere in the world.’ www.cibtm.com www.rightsolution.co.uk

HEADQUARTERS 29