TTGassociations Publications January 2019 | Page 8
Going for sporting gold
What has a major sporting event got to do with association meetings? Plenty of
good found the Gold Coast, but not quite for Japan yet, writes Karen Yue
I
t was on November 11,
2011 when the Common-
wealth Games Federation
General Assembly an-
nounced that the Gold Coast
in Australia would be the host
city for the 2018 Common-
wealth Games (Gold Coast
2018).
The victory led to even
more sporting events being
drawn to the sunny destina-
tion. In the year leading up to
the Games in April 2018, the
Gold Coast welcomed the Pan
Pacific Swimming Champi-
onships, Sudirman Cup for
badminton, triathlons by the
International Triathlon Union,
and more.
But another positive
development also emerged.
According to Anna Case, direc-
tor – global business events
with Destination Gold Coast,
many sporting associations
relocated their headquarters to
the Gold Coast following the
announcement on Gold Coast
2018.
“Our local city council and
state government collaborate
very closely on big events
like the Games because they
require a lot of resources to
support,” said Case, adding
that it was also imperative to
get more events into the city
to use the new and improved
facilities that were developed
to support the Games.
With the stronger presence
of sporting associations in the
Gold Coast, the destination
started to see “a lot of sporting
events and meetings rolling
our way”.
By mid-2018, the city
secured at least 47 events
under the category of Sports,
Health and Wellness, most of
which are association meet-
ings scheduled to take place
between 2016 and 2020.
Association meetings that
have taken place at press time
include: International Foot-
wear Biomechanics Sympo-
sium 2017; Sports Chiropractic
Symposium 2018; Australian
& New Zealand Sports Law
Association 2018; and World
Squash Federation Level 2
Course & World Coaches
Conference & World Squash
Federation Coaching Meeting
2018.
While the Gold Coast has
been rising as a global meet-
ings city, Case said winning
the hosting rights to Gold
Coast 2018 has further elevated
the destination’s profile, as
well as that of the wider
Queensland state.
“We are already a contender
(for international meetings),
particularly in our core mar-
kets. However, securing such
a prominent event – although
sporting events are different
from conferences, the logistical
parts are similar – puts us in
the global media (limelight).”
Over in Japan, where the
2019 Rugby World Cup will
take place across 12 cities
from September 20 to Novem-
ber 2, and the 2020 Summer
Olympics will be held in Tokyo
from July 24 to August 9, local
convention bureau representa-
tives have reported a rise in
interest and enquiries from
associations keen to meet in
the country. However, nothing
has been converted into actual
bookings at press time.
Etsuko Kawasaki, executive
director of the Japan Conven-
tion Bureau, said the enquir-
ies were “not restricted to the
sector of sports and related
“Our strategy is to
get sporting events
that have a confer-
ence component.
Quite a lot of them
have that, such as an
annual general meet-
ing or a coaches’
conference.”
Anna Case
Director – global business events,
Destination Gold Coast
areas”, and pointed to the
upcoming G20 Summit & Min-
isterial Meetings scheduled for
June 2019 in Osaka as another
catalyst for the spike in plan-
ners’ interest.
Hironobu Fujimura, director
of sales, business events team,
with the Tokyo Convention
& Visitors Bureau (TCVB),
has also observed a leap in
the number of enquiries from
associations and meeting
planners, again for events not
restricted to sports and related
areas.
To covert that interest into
bookings, Fujimura said the
TCVB Business Events Team
is working with the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government to
entice large associations with
the provision of financial and
in-kind support.
TCVB has chosen to cast a
wider net to lure meetings to
Japan on the back of the high-
profile Games, preferring not
to focus only on sports, sport
medicine, sport technology or
health and wellness-related
associations.
Limited supply of event
venues, hotel accommodation
and travel services in the host
cities of both the 2019 Rugby
World Cup and 2020 Summer
Olympics – already stretched
thin by Japan’s fiery popular-
ity among corporate event
planners and holidaymakers
– have affected associations’
willingness to give Japan their
final nod right away.
Susan Maria Ong, MICE di-
rector, Asia Pacific with Japan
National Tourism Organiza-
tion, said many enquiries for
large-scale business events
keen on Tokyo, Osaka and
Kyoto were being waitlisted as
far back as mid-2017. These
would likely only be con-
firmed once the 2020 Summer
Olympics is over.
Justin August, director of
business development with
Osaka-based Sakura Interna-
tional, said: “(While) there
has certainly been an increase
(in enquiries from overseas
business event clients), as-
sociation enquiries have fallen
as organisers do not want
to schedule meetings at the
same time as a major sports
event due to the pressure this
puts on accommodation and
venues.
“Even now we only have a
couple of confirmed bookings
so the percentage (of busi-
ness conversion) is very low.
High pricing in Japan means
overseas agencies are fishing
for comparative quotes and
reluctant to sign off on any-
thing until they are sure they
are getting a good deal.”
August expects to see more
confirmed meeting bookings
over the next six months.