Bangkok and Chiang Mai of Thailand will be two of the leading
meeting destinations in the Asia-Pacific region in 2014, according to a
global forecast by American Express Meetings Events (AEME).
China’s Shanghai will top the list of the most popular meeting
destinations in the region, followed by Singapore, Sydney, Hong
Kong/Macau, and Bangkok/Chiang Mai.
The findings
are based on a comprehensive survey, extensive meetings and events data,
and in-depth interviews of meeting professionals, planners, buyers, and
hotel suppliers from around the world.
Asia-Pacific
is expected to slow down and experience a slight decline from the
previous year (-1.2 percent) in the number of meetings.
It is also forecast to experience the largest decline among all
regions in terms of overall spending on meetings per organisation (-3.6
percent), 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 predicted to see slight declines in
overall meetings spending because companies across all the regions are
re-examining their meeting strategies to increase efficiency and control
costs.-VNA