Key findings identify that venues and destinations outside China must work harder to make communication with the Chinese market easier
The results of the first Chinese Meeting Planners Site Selection Survey were delivered by Rob Davidson, Senior Lecturer in Events Management, University of Greenwich, London – at CIBTM 2013 (www.cibtm.com), which took place in Beijing, earlier in the year.
The seminar presentation was based on the findings generated from an online survey, which investigated the priorities and experiences of meeting planners based in China, in terms of the process of choosing destinations and venues for their events.
Key to the findings of the research was the revelation that 35% of Chinese meeting planners experienced difficulty in getting information about destinations outside China; and 47% experienced difficulty in finding out about venues outside China.
Rob Davidson, Senior Lecturer in Events Management, University of Greenwich, London commented, “This sends an important signal to destinations and venues outside China, it shows us that they must work harder to make communication with the Chinese market easier.”
Other key findings included:
- The four most widely preferred sources for receiving information about potential destinations for events were, in order: educational trips to the destinations; destination marketing organisations’ websites; other meeting planners; and meetings industry exhibitions.
- 50% of the planners reported that they were experiencing lead times getting shorter – a possible consequence of the slowing of the economy that China was experiencing earlier this year.
- Factors influencing destination attractiveness in order of importance included: a pleasant climate, financial issues, both in the sense of economic stability and the possibility of destinations being able to offer financial or in-kind support to meeting planners, and visa requirements of host countries.
- Factors affecting venue attractiveness included: proximity to airport and public transportation closely followed by the provision of ‘fast internet’.
- Key issues identified with venues when organizing events included inflexibility on the part of venues when negotiating elements affecting the price of using their facilities. Respondents also identified that being charged for services such as audio-visual, parking and security (that they think should be included in the basic price) was also a contributor to major annoyance. Venues being generally unyielding in negotiations on price, was also identified as a major factor.
Davidson concluded, “The unique insights provided by this online survey are of considerable interest to all of those venues and destinations in China, Asia and globally that are increasingly targeting the market for Chinese meetings and events. The findings reveal not only the preferences of Chinese meeting planners in terms of the types of destinations and venues that they choose for their events, but also how they wish to interact with the sales and marketing professionals that are competing for their business.”
Following on from the success of the session, which was delivered at CIBTM, Davidson will deliver the China Meetings Summit at EIBTM (www.eibtm.com), which will take place on 19 November (15:30-16:30) in conference room 5.3.
CIBTM 2014 takes place on the 17th – 19th September 2014.
