The business events industry is likely to see similar demand-supply dynamics in 2023, to a certain extent, as it has seen this year. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/Rawpixel.com
Expect travel and M&E prices to continue to rise
Nelson Khoo, head of events - Singapore & Indonesia at CWT
Meetings & Events says the industry is likely to see similar
demand-supply dynamics in 2023, to a certain extent, as it has seen this
year.
“It’s unclear when China will begin to reopen its borders, but that
will definitely result in further demand pressures,” he says. “We expect
that our clients’ events in APAC will become 20%-30% bigger once
attendees from China can begin to travel internationally.”
We expect that our clients’ events in APAC will become 20%-30% bigger once attendees from China can begin to travel internationally.
Nelson Khoo, head of events - Singapore & Indonesia, CWT Meetings & Events
Khoo says CWT is forecasting that travel and M&E prices will
continue to rise in 2023, although at a slower pace than this year as
the ‘revenge travel’ trend – people’s desire to travel more after
missing out on time and experiences during the pandemic, dies off.
“According to our 2023 Global Travel Forecast, airfares are projected
to increase by 8.4% next year and hotel rates by 8.2%, at a global
level,” he says. “In APAC we are forecasting a 5.4% increase in airfares
and 5.7% increase in hotel rates.”
Venues must focus on value add
Abby Gryckiewicz, venue sourcing manager, group event operations at
Euromoney Institutional Investor, says that with prices having increased
this year across the board, venues will need to be as transparent as
possible and consider providing added value if they cannot lower the
venue cost. Gryckiewicz was speaking at a recent Cvent webinar, themed
on ‘how to win an event planner round’.
“This value could be an upgraded cocktail package, a percentage off
F&B, an extra glass of prosecco for welcome drinks – venues have to
be flexible – anything that shows they are willing to go the extra
mile,” she says.
We have sent out mandatory questions at the RFP stage asking venues how they save energy, how they distribute food following an event, and while we score on these answers, sustainability is not always what matters most in the venue decision.
Abby Gryckiewicz, venue sourcing manager, group event operations, Euromoney Institutional Investor
Gryckiewicz added that sustainability is another big topic but that
hotels are not yet at the point where they need to be. She also
acknowledged that while it is important, it is not an overriding factor
when compared to cost or location for example.
“We
have sent out mandatory questions at the RFP stage asking venues how
they save energy, how they distribute food following an event, and while
we score on these answers, sustainability is not always what matters
most in the venue decision,” she says.
Sustainable business travel
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), during its recent Town
Hall event, pointed to how members are increasingly asking the
association to ensure advocacy for a sustainable business travel, by
cultivating more events with care and thought and nurturing resources.
“[Next year] we’ll establish a climate action plan and pathway for
the industry, a roadmap with concrete steps on how to decarbonise
business travel,” said Mark Cuschieri, GBTA Board vice president. “We’ll
continue to advocate with policymakers for investments in green
technologies as well as for a single global standard to calculate
emissions for business travel.”
Cuschieri added that while there was no silver bullet to address
sustainable business travel, it was important to work together
collectively as an industry.
“We want to empower buyers and suppliers to ensure we put
sustainability at the heart of their programmes and operations,” he
said.