Capitalising on the international business
events planner potential
SESSIE MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS
Eric Bakermans
Noordwijk, 24 juni 2014
Objective
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESSES SEASONAL AVERAGE
SPREAD 2003-2013
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Markets
Market analysis
Market dynamics
Accessibility
Reason for
planning a
meeting
Length of event
& frequency
Trends &
developments
Search and
booking venue
and/or services
Competition
Propensity to plan a
meeting & repeat to
Holland
Market dynamics
Expressing Interest
PARAMETERS BEFORE ORGANIZING A MEETING:
Market dynamics
Market dynamics
SWOT
Strengths
Weaknesses
• Accessibility, infrastructure, compactness and diversity of
the Netherlands
• Professionalism of the Dutch meeting sector
• Quality of meeting facilities in the Netherlands
• Attractiveness of Amsterdam
• Economic and Political Stabile Climate
• Strong Holland brand (ambassador)
• Appealing and highly appreciated campaign by partners &
target audience
• Strong loyalty and strong relationships with M&C partners in
Holland
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Unawareness of destinations outside Amsterdam on middle
and long-haul markets
Price/quality ratio compared to other Northwest European
countries
Group hotel rates are on the rise
Availability in /occupancy rate of Amsterdam
Service level within Dutch hospitality sector
Size of total target segment is unknown (Research?)
Insufficient Market Intelligence (fact & figures) available
(*)
No long term vision within Dutch Meetings Industry
(partners)
Marketing budgets of the Dutch Meetings Industry
(partners) under pressure
Opportunities
Threats
• Security & Stability impacting the destination choice
• Significant economic impact of the international meeting and
convention market on the Dutch economy
• Business most likely to increase in Germany, UK and USA
• The current strength of the US dollar against the euro means
that Europe has become a more attractive destination for US
buyers
• In general, pick up in business travel expected in due course
2015
• Ongoing Global Economic Crisis
• Meetings industry largely dependent on state of global
economy.
• Cuts on business travelling and outside meetings
• Relevance of business events industry is not acknowledged
• Significant and increasing international competition
• Very expensive and time consuming to keep the attention
and awareness of the international meeting planner.
Summary of conclusions from Swot
•
Holland is accessible, compact, diverse and has a political climate that is secure
and stable. In particular this political climate will be more and more important
within the decision making process. Within our communication we have to keep
underlining these USP’s and arguments to choose Holland as a potential
meeting destination to distinguish ourselves from the strong international
competition.
•
The international competition is strong and the availability and price level of
Amsterdam are in our disadvantage. Within our communication we have to
keep promoting the other conference cities to increase the awareness of “the
other Holland” on the middle and long-haul markets in order to offer an
alternative to Amsterdam.
•
There are faint indications for a recovery of our market, but we’re dependent
on the world economy. With the use of our appealing campaign and our strong
Holland brand we will keep the attention and awareness of the international
meeting planner to make sure that as soon as the market recovers
international meeting planners will choose Holland for their business event.
Market approach
High
Low
High
Seasonality
Low
Regionality
Summarizing Potential
High
High
Low
Tactical
Low
Awareness
How to tap into potential
•
•
•
•
WISH OF CLIENTS REMAINS AT # 1
SPREAD IN SEASONALITY FOR CONVENTIONS IS A NO-BRAINER
SPREAD IN REGIONALITY FOR CONVENTIONS ON LIMITED BASIS (TOPSECTOR)
PACKAGING IN REGIONALITY AND/OR SEASONALITY NEEDS TO BE BASED ON
ARGUMENTS AT MEETINGPLANNERS’INTEREST
Questions?
NBTC Holland Marketing is verantwoordelijk voor de branding en marketing van de bestemming Nederland.
NBTC Holland Marketing is actief in 13 markten waar zij opereert als NBTC Nederlands Bureau voor Toerisme & Congressen.