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Meetings industry well placed to weather economic storm

How many times have you heard or read the words 'credit crunch' in the past six months? Are you sick of reading about soaring fuel prices, a global economic slowdown and cost-cutting exercises?

Well, the good news is that the meeting industry is likely to weather the storm far better than other sectors, particularly in the Middle East where the growth in demand for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions shows no signs of abating.

And, what's more, for meetings suppliers out there who are starting to get a little nervous, there is no need to be, because even if the volume of business decreases a tad, there is plenty of top-end business to go round.
History has shown that in times of trouble, the very top-end of the market is more often than not resistant to a downturn.

This means companies are willing to throw cash at luxury meetings and incentives to the point where money is no object.

There is more recent evidence to support this argument: a survey of business travel organisers conducted by YouGovSiraj on behalf of The Business Travel Show Dubai found that business travel is set to increase in the next 12 months, with conferences and exhibitions stated as the most common reasons for a business trip.

More than 80% of respondents expected their company's travel frequency to increase, with almost half expecting this increase to be big.

In addition, company travel budgets have increased in the last year and more than one-third of respondents said their main class of travel was business, complemented by five-star accommodation.

This proves that corporations continue to see value in face-to-face meetings and are willing to pay for their staff to travel in style.

What's more, when staff morale is low, companies are more likely to arrange an incentive to make valued employees feel loved.

So, forget the doom and gloom and go out there and grab those recession-proof big spenders.

Gemma Greenwood is the senior group editor of ITP Business' hospitality magazines.

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