Taiwan’s MICE events up 21% in 2014

News this week: The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) has recently released its 2014 MICE statistics reporting a total of US$1.23 billion in revenue generated from MICE activities during the year. The number of MICE events grew by 21% over 2013 reaching more than 500.

TAITRA’s flagship MICE promotion project, MEET TAIWAN, attributed the increases to leading trade shows including COMPUTEX, Taipei International Cycle Show, and the Taiwan International Boat Show. TAITRA also claims international trade visitors reached close to 190,000, and highlighted those originating from Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia.

Walter Yeh, deputy secretary general of TAITRA, commented, “544 MICE events were registered in Taiwan last year. With the inauguration of new convention and exhibition facilities in the northern Taipei suburb of Nangang, the southern industrial area of Kaohsiung, and more planned for centrally located Taichung.”

Separately, MEET TAIWAN announced it will focus on cities in mainland China this year, including Urumqi, Shanghai, Suzhou, Harbin and Beijing, who are eligible for its FIT programme – where Chinese tourists can visit Taiwan as free independent travellers instead of being restricted to travel as part of a tour group. Sales missions are scheduled in 2015 with the first held this week August.

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MICE event numbers up in Macau in Q3

News this week: The Macau government has released its latest MICE data via the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). In the third quarter of this year, 240 MICE events were held in the city – a modest increase of 14 vs. last year. Revenues from exhibitions in the third quarter, however, were up 81% year-on-year and exhibition revenues in the first nine months of the year were up an impressive 94%.

Overall, there were nearly 725,000 participants at MICE events in the third quarter. That is an increase of more than 16%. It is worth noting that 90% of the 240 events held in the quarter were meetings.

However, exhibitions generated 96% of the MICE visitors in the quarter – a total of 695,456 participants including visitors and exhibitors. Exhibition revenues remained low at just US$4.6 million.

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CEIR reports moderate growth in U.S. exhibition industry

News this week: Earlier this month, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released its index report on the second quarter performance of the U.S. exhibition industry. The U.S. exhibition industry grew just 1% year-on-year.

According to CEIR, all four key industry metrics of their index (net square feet sold, number of attendees, number of exhibitors and event revenues) recorded some year-on-year growth, led by event revenues with a modest 1.4% increase.

In terms of industry sector, the leading sectors in the first half of the year were food (up 6.2%), discretional goods & services (up 5.4%), and communications & information technology (up 4.3%).

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UFI’s survey: contrasting perspectives in key exhibition markets

News this week: Earlier this week, UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, announced the results of its 13^th Global Exhibition Barometer Survey, with a majority of respondents reporting a continual increase in revenues since 2011 which is expected to continue in the coming year. The survey was answered by 201 companies from 63 countries.

According to the survey, an average of 70% of companies in all regions declared an increase in revenue in 2014. However, 56% of the respondents declared that the impact of the “economic crisis” on their business is still ongoing with most anticipating its end in 2015. At a national level, a relative slowdown is expected in China where 25% of respondents declared an increase of 10% of their annual profit for 2014, compare to 52% for 2013.

Paul Woodward, UFI’s managing director, commented, “Our survey confirms that the exhibition media remains globally strong despite continuing economic challenges. UFI’s Global Barometer has become an important indicator for the industry and its stakeholders. Building on these encouraging results, we are planning to further develop the national insights that we introduced for the first time in this edition of the report.”

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TCEB reports MICE arrivals up 5% in Q1

News this week: The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently released 2014 first quarter results of Thailand’s MICE industry. Covering the period from October to December 2013, the country received 186,864 MICE visitors who contributed US$491.8 million to the local economy – that is up 5% and 6% respectively compared with the same quarter in 2013.

Highlighting the Oceania market, TCEB revealed a growth of 13% and 14% respectively in the number of MICE visitor arrivals and revenues generated during the quarter. In particular, TCEB noted visitor arrivals from China recorded significant growth during quarter – up 177% over the same period in 2013.

According to TCEB, the international convention business accounted for the largest share of Thailand’s MICE market, measured by both visitor arrivals (58,682) and revenues generated (US$178 million). Looking ahead, TCEB projects an overall 5% growth in visitor arrivals and a 10% growth in revenues for the full year in 2014.

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CEIR: 3% growth in U.S. exhibition industry in Q4

News this week: Earlier this week, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released its index measuring the performance of the exhibition industry in the U.S. In the fourth quarter of 2013, the U.S. exhibition industry posted a 3% growth year-on-year – marking the 14^th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.

The CEIR Index consists of four key metrics: net square feet sold, professional visitors, number of exhibiting companies, and gross revenue. Three of the four figures recorded growth in Q4. The largest growth was recorded in professional visitors, jumping 5.8% year-on-year, followed by gross revenue which grew by 3.6%. The number of exhibiting companies increased by 3.0%, while net square feet sold dropped slightly falling by 0.5%.

CEIR’s economist Allen Shaw, Ph.D., chief economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates, Inc. was quoted, “With the fourth quarter’s results and 14 consecutive quarters of growth, and our predictions closely matching outcomes, we are confident in the continued growth and progress of the industry. The exhibition industry has survived and emerged from the Great Recession and we are confident that the upswing will continue.”

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TCEB attracts 747,072 MICE travellers in first 3 quarters

News this week: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) reported good performance on the back of a 12% growth for the MICE industry in the first three quarters this year (October 2012 – June 2013).

During the nine-month period, Thailand received a total of 747,072 foreign MICE travellers generating 64 billion Baht (US$2.0 billion) in revenues. Thirty percent of all foreign MICE travellers attended international conventions and generated revenues of 22 billion Baht (US$687 million). The incentive segment contributed 26% of the travellers generating revenues of 13 billion Baht (US$389 million). While the corporate meetings segment generated 23% of MICE travellers and 18 billion Baht (US$565 million) in revenues, the remaining 20% of MICE travellers participated in international exhibitions which generated 12 billion Baht (US$358 million) in revenues.

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Macau exhibition visitors jump 72% in Q2

News this week: Last week, the Macau Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) announced MICE statistics for the second quarter of 2013. A total of 228 MICE events were held in the quarter, a year-on-year decrease of 6%. There were a total of 219,000 MICE visitors in the quarter, compared with 130,000 recorded last year.

Among the 228 events, 220 were meetings and conferences, which is down slightly from 226 in 2012. A total of 24,000 participants attended the meetings and conferences in the quarter, which is a significant increase over 17,000 in the second quarter last year. The number of exhibitions held remained flat at eight during Q2, while the number of attendees jumped 72% to 194,000, from 113,000 in 2012.

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Macau’s meeting numbers fall, exhibitions rise

News this week: Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DESC) has released an update on the MICE industry for the first quarter of 2013. A total of 230 MICE events were held in the quarter, down 41% year-on-year. The number of participants at these events was about 203,000 and floor area used for the events totalled 161,000 m² in the quarter.

Amongst the 230 MICE events held in the quarter, 217 were meetings, compared with 259 in 2012, while the number of participants at meetings dropped 48% to about 29,000 – down from 55,000 last year. The number of exhibitions held in the quarter was up one rising from 12 to 13 this year, and the number of attendees jumped 64% from about 106,000 to about 175,000.

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Singapore’s tourism posts growth in the first half of 2012

Singapore, 30^th November: Last week, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) reported its statistics related to the Tourism Sector Performance. In the first half of 2012, tourism receipts grew 7%, while international visitor arrivals were up by 8%.

During the first six months of the year, tourism receipts came in Singapore at S$11.5 billion (US$9.4 billion) and a total of 7.1 million international visitors arrived in Singapore.

It is expected that in the second half of the year, the tourism industry in Singapore will begin to slowdown. This slowdown will be driven largely by an anticipated weakening of the global economic environment.

Yvonne Low, executive director, The Traveller DMC, said, “Singapore’s strong currency has been particularly off-putting for regional leisure markets such as China and India. Not only are customers looking at other less expensive South-east Asian destinations such as Thailand, even Europe and the Caribbean now offer significantly better value than Singapore and some are actually choosing to head there instead.”

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MICE visitors to Macau increased in Q3

Macau, 27^th November: Macau’s Information from the Statistics and Census Service has announced that 223 MICE events were held in Macau in the third quarter. This is a drop of 13 events year-on-year, but the total number of participants and attendees increased by 34% year-on-year to 699,805.

 

In the third quarter, 22 exhibitions were held in Macau – an increase of seven exhibitions and attendees also increased by 38% to 684,268. There were 201 meetings and conferences held in the quarter attracting 15,537 delegates.

 

In the first nine months of 2012, Macau hosted 728 MICE events. That is down 45 events compared with the same period in 2011, but the total number of attendees increased by 29% to 991,602. The majority of those visitors (903,444) attended exhibitions.

 

 

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ICCA reports over 10,000 meetings held in 2011

News this week: According to International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), there were more than 10,000 regularly occurring association events in 2011, compared to 9,120 in 2010.

The top three ranked countries in 2011 are the same as in 2010: the USA (759 meetings), Germany (577 meetings) and Spain (463 meetings). In Asia, China (8^th worldwide) ranked first in the region with 302 meetings held last year, while Japan with 233 meetings dropped from 7^th to 13^th due to cancellations caused by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

In Malaysia, there were 126 meetings in 2011, of which 78 were held in Kuala Lumpur, up from 119 in 2010. Malaysia’s global ranking was 29^th in 2011 and seventh in the Asia Pacific/ Middle East region.

In terms of city rankings, Vienna was number one worldwide with 181 meetings. Singapore was 5^th, the highest ranking Asian city with 142 meetings and Beijing was 10^th with 111 meetings in 2011.

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