Kingdom among top meeting destinations for 2014: AmEx
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Bangkok/Chiang Mai will be one of the leading meeting destinations in the Asia-Pacific region in 2014, according to a global forecast by American Express Meetings & Events (AEME).
Shanghai will be the most popular meeting destination in the region, followed by Singapore, according to the forecast. Sydney stands third in the list ahead of Hong Kong/Macau and Bangkok/Chiang Mai.
Asia-Pacific is expected to slow down and experience a slight decline from the previous year (-1.2 per cent) in the number of meetings. It is also expected to experience the largest decline among all regions in terms of overall spending on meetings per organisation (-3.6 per cent), due to tighter budget controls.
Across all regions, meeting organisers will likely continue to face challenges as they strive to achieve more with flat or decreasing corporate-meeting budgets compared to previous years. North America is expected to be relatively flat, while Europe, Central and South America, and Asia-Pacific are expected to see slight declines in overall meetings spending because companies across all regions are re-examining their meeting strategies to increase efficiency and control costs.
North America expects a slight increase (1.5 per cent) in the number of meetings. Orlando, Florida tops the region’s forecast followed by Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta and San Diego. In Europe, the number of meetings is expected to remain flat, and the number of attendees per meeting is each expected to decrease slightly, by 1.8 per cent. In the UK and Germany, meetings will increase due to their stronger economies. London is leading the European region’s forecast followed by Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Brussels.
In Central and South America, the number of overall meetings for the region is expected to remain flat, while overall meetings spending per organisation is expected to decrease by a slight 1.4 per cent. Brazil/Rio de Janeiro is expected to become a booming destination in the region, followed by Riviera Maya/Cancun in Mexico, Cusco/Macchu Pichu/Lima in Peru, Cartagena in Colombia and San Jose, Costa Rica.
The findings are based on a comprehensive survey, extensive meetings and events data, and in-depth interviews of meeting professionals, including planners, buyers and hotel suppliers from around the world, according to AEME.
