By Jay Boehmer
Survey Shows Chinese Meetings, Budgets On The Climb
The meetings industry in China
continues to expand rapidly, as
Asia-based planners see the num-
ber of events there growing, bud-
gets expanding and attendance
surging, according to a recent
survey.
“Despite a challenging world-
wide economic environment, the
meetings, incentive, conference
and events industry in China and
Asia is rapidly expanding,” said
Among the most popular cities
for planners to host an event in
China, Beijing ranked first, fol-
lowed in order by Shanghai, Hong
Kong, Guangzhou and Hangzhou.
Planners also are seeing average
attendance at China-based meet-
ings surpass those in other re-
gions, with the mean number of
attendees in the country hitting
200, compared with 124 in the
rest of Asia and 149 in the rest of
the world. The average number
of attendees in 2009 in China was
only 135.
“China, in light of their grow-
Contents
September 20, 2010 Vol. 34, No. 9
■ Meeting Post .......................... 6
■ Meetings Spotlight .............. 16
■ Ne wsmaker .......................... 18
■ Association Watch .............. 19
■ Viewpoint ............................ 20
■ Construction Cites .............. 22
■ Meeting People .................... 24
■ Travel Dashboard................ 26
■ CVB Showcase ..................... 30
■ Dateline: Cincinnati............ 54
■ Dateline: Las Vegas ............. 56
■ Ad Index .............................. 70
PLANNERS EXPECT GROWTH IN ASIA-BASED
EVENTS, MEETING BUDGETS
Outlook for the next 12 months
Number of events
Meeting budgets
Marketing and
promotional budgets
INCREASE
S TAY THE SAME
20%
35%
DECREASE
6%
14%
57%
31%
12%
Source: CIBTM survey, fielded in June and July and released in August, of
396 meeting planners, 67 percent of whom are based in China
GROWTH IN CHINA-BASED EVENTS
OUTPACES OTHER AREAS
Mainland China
Far East
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Rest of World
EVENTS HELD IN 2010
EVENTS HELD IN 2009
3. 7
3. 5*
3. 5*
3. 5*
5.1
*Far East, South Asia and Southeast Asia grouped together in 2009 study
Source: CIBTM survey, fielded in June and July and
released in August, of 396 meeting planners,
67 percent of whom are based in China
ing economy, is now becoming a
compelling destination for meet-
ings and incentives,” said Sally
Greenhill, managing director of
The Right Solution Ltd., who
compiled and analyzed the report.
“All indicators point to continued
growth from both within China
and outbound.”
Considering the rapid growth
in the number of meetings and the
number of attendees, planners said
meeting budgets also are swinging
upward. The research said that
respondents based in China had
a mean annual budget for events
of 2,318,900 Chinese yuan rem-
nibi (US$341,300), a 34 percent
increase from average 2009 bud-
gets. Even though 51 percent of
respondents said budgets would
continue to grow next year, 67
percent cited pressure to reduce
costs as the most influential factor
to planning meetings in the region
in the next 12 months.
MEETING NEWS (ISSN 0145-630X, USPS No.356-010, Canadian GST No. 123397457) September 20, 2010, Vol. 34, No. 9 is published monthly by Northstar Travel Media, LLC, 100 Lighting Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094. Subscriptions are
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