Meetings industry warned of downturn
Martin Sirk, head of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has warned the meetings industry to be cautious ahead of a possible downturn in the sector.
“You need to have disaster plans dusted down,” Sirk told a business events forum at the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo in Melbourne.
He added, “Despite polls which show that there is a lot of confidence in the sector going into 2007, these things go in cycles and it may be that we are approaching the top of the business cycle.
“I believe the buyers’ market will return at some stage, probably as all the new meetings infrastructure comes on stream. Generally this happens just as the market starts to turn around.”
Patricia Durocher, managing director of HelmsBriscoe International in the United States said that 2006 had been a strong sellers’ market.
“From the buyers’ perspective, finding space was the challenge, not the best rate.”
Anthony Wong, managing director of Asian Overland Services in Malaysia, said countries like Australia should look at what’s happening in places like Singapore and Macau and “eat your heart out”.
He said huge world-class meetings facilities were being built in Asia. “The infrastructure is coming, but the human software to run these facilities is not there yet.”
Ian Jarrett
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