Biddings a tough sell

My knowledge of the conference industry is limited to the convention industry — the global and regional congresses of 800 passengers upwards. We hardly control the destination, although I wish we could. This means that the outlook and 2004 review of the conference market is mainly represented by corporate conferences and the like, hence in the control of the meeting planners of the world. Growth for us would be in areas that could potentially host a congress. Pricing, as discussed in this year's CEI Annual Report is generally discussed after the destination has been selected. For us congress organisers, the focus is more on what we can get for our buck, rather then for how much we can get it. To create a better understanding of what drives the decision-making process of association congresses I have split this into three simple points, namely local interest, political will and salability. Locality, viability, saleability Firstly local interest — as it is a local society, association or member of some sort that must have the interest to host a major congress for global association it is part of. Without this, there is no chance getting a major congress to choose your location. The local committee must sponsor a bid, whether is requires a formal bid or an informal one. And then there's political will. The world association must be supportive of the local bid, and this mainly comes down to politics. If you are a strong and confident member, who garners respect from the global arena, you will have an easy time. And finally saleability. The destination must be accessible and interesting for the global members to travel to. So 'challenging' locations are hard to finance, resulting in a possible loss in the conference by lack of participants and sponsors. To link this point back to the results of the CEI survey, it is therefore clear that most proactive destinations who can control the above three points will be the big winners for the large congress market segment. Speaking from experience, China, again, becomes the winner as many global organisations see the need to bring their global membership into the China playing field and little persuasion is required. Other clear winners are proactive destinations such as Thailand and Hong Kong but Australia is also a player I often face at biddings. Regional markets to watch Markets such as Vietnam will still have difficulties clinching major congresses. Vietnam generally does not participate in global associations as an active player and it is this element it will need to address, together with building actual congress facilities capable of handling large congresses. But markets such as Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia are getting ready for change and will, in a couple of years, be stronger on the congress playing field. If the control of the external threats — earmarked as key issues in the 2004 survey as security and political stability — can be strengthened for Indonesia and the Philippines, then they can also ride the wave of growth. The Philippine congress industry is chiefly driven by association events and hardly sees any support from the Philippine Government. But Filipinos are at the forefront of many global associations, aided by their Western influences and exemplary English. It should not take much for them to capitalise on their influence to attract more congresses. Infrastructure-wise, the country has some challenges to overcome also including adequate pricing of hotels in Manila for conventions. Malaysia's convention industry has long been spearheaded by a Government that organised large subsidised meetings, topped by the final year in office of Prime Minister Mahatir Mohammad. Now, Malaysian events must progress from heavily state-subsidised congresses to commercially viable congresses, a whole new experience for organisers. The new Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) opening late 2005 will contribute to levelling the playing field for Kuala Lumpur. India, with five percent market share deserves a special mention, as this is clearly one of the most challenging markets in Asia. It has huge potential but the infrastructure makes is difficult to tap into. First of all, airline connectivity remains a major problem, and if you bring a huge congress to India, people do not travel from all parts of the country to your event either, because the infrastructure does not allow easy travelling either. Ticket prices for travel within India can be more expensive then flying via Bangkok. You still have many small scam operators on the streets who trap tourists. Scamming tourists for a few dollars is just too common and no one seems to care. Road travel requires a lot of creativity and a love of small cars. But India has huge charm, if you can see through these challenges. For congress organisers it remains a hard sell, that can only be overcome with the promise of a great and exceptional congress.