Majority of planners prefer to err on the side of caution, with no intentions to travel. Photo Credit: Business Events Australia
After 20 months, Australia's international borders have reopened,
allowing vaccinated Australians to travel abroad. So, are corporate
decision-makers ready to take their meetings abroad? And what are the
factors influencing event confidence?
In
the sixth wave of a Domestic Corporate Sentiment Research released by
Tourism Australia — and the first after news of border reopening — it
appears planners are still hesitant to host international events, with
94% of businesses likely to host in their home state/territory in the
next 12 months, and most (41%) saying their events will involve zero
travel.
This is consistent with the previous survey conducted in May 2021,
where 93% of planners said they will likely to host events in their home
state/territory in the next 12 months, and no travel still the top
preference (40%).
However, the four main factors influencing event confidence over the
next 6-12 months have also remained consistent, but concerns have
increased. At the top, 61% of planners cite restrictions on the number
of people (up 10%) as a deterrent, another 61% are concerned about
Covid-19 travel restrictions (up 8%), 49% have location reputation
concerns (up 2%), and 47% cite existing domestic border restrictions (up
12%).
While planners still believe in sending staff to support more
trade/consumer shows (55%), concerns over Covid-19 and bans on
interstate travel have increased (up 9% and 15% respectively).
In fact, 42% say Covid-19 safety overrides any other factors related to travelling interstate for corporate events (up 9%).
Nonetheless, the majority (58%) of planners are still indicating
demand for in-person events, although there is recognition of the need
for virtual (22%) and hybrid (20%) events.
Additional findings from the latest 29 September - 5 October survey include:
- Seven in 10 will exhibit or send staff to an exhibition in the next
year and three-quarters claim they will support the same number of shows
or more in the next 12 months versus 2018-19
- No change to the 74% who are comfortable with the idea of interstate travel for corporate events
- 89% who usually host annual events overseas are likely to relocate
at least one event to Australia over the next 12 months (down 4%)
- No change to the 14% citing the potential for snap border closures and getting stuck interstate as a barrier to event resumption
The survey polled 452 decision makers who hold the final say for events in their business.