Cover story
DESTINATION
PROJECTIONS
Australia
OUTLOOK
2019
Geopolitical tensions
are not enough to put
a damper on inbound
business events
performance in the
region, while Asian
bookers are demanding
more personalisation
and smarter use of
their event budget. By
TTGmice reporters
Australia is expecting to see robust activity for
business events in 2019, with most event seg-
ments seeing strong growth and Asia source
markets regarded as a key contributor.
Penny Lion, executive general manager
events at Tourism Australia, said: “(We have)
overall growth of six per cent for business
events arrivals and five per cent for business
events expenditure in the year ending March
2018. In particular however, we are seeing
strong growth out of China, with an 11 per cent
increase in business events arrivals during this
time, and 12 per cent growth in expenditure...
so we expect a robust 2019 and beyond.”
Lion’s vote of confidence is echoed by As-
sociation of Australian Convention Bureaux’s
(AACB) CEO Andrew Hiebl, who projects that
the number of international delegates travel-
ling to Australia to attend almost 400 business
events in 2019 will break the quarter-million
mark for the first time since AACB reporting,
contributing to a total delegate spend of more
than A$1 billion (US$722.9 million).
“Association meetings and conventions will
continue to be Australia’s strongest performing
international segments,” said Hiebl. “(But) in-
ternational corporate meetings and incentives
won dropped by 18 per cent (suggesting these
may prove the weakest areas next year)”.
However, corporates are where convention
centres like ICC Sydney are banking on for the
strongest growth, with CEO Geoff Donaghy
seeing incentives and product launches
increasingly booking Australia.
“Our close proximity to Asia provides us
with an enormous advantage and opportunity,”
he said. – Adelaine Ng
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is leveraging improved cross-
border access via the new High Speed Rail and
the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to grow
business travel and events traffic.
Nicholas Chan, director of sales with Kerry
Hotel, Hong Kong, foresees an increase in
business arrivals in 2019, driven by global
interest in the new international transport link
to support international meetings.
Chan expects the US to be Hong Kong’s
strongest geographical market for business
travel and events, while IT will be the top
performing industry sector.
Other industry sectors slated “to shine” in
2019 are medical and healthcare, he said.
At Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition
Centre (HKCEC), exhibitions remain the ven-
ue’s key business segment, with most events
specialising in luxury products and services.
The HKCEC spokesperson added that niche
exhibitions on diving & resorts and technology
for elderly people are growing.
HKCEC found that clients were also paying
more attention to environmental issues, and
expects this trend to continue.