International focus on association business

International association business continues to be a good market to target in these economic times. That was the general message at the recent ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Annual Conference in Victoria, Canada,

Rebecca Nelson, of Conventions & Incentives NZ (CINZ) was one of five representatives at the conference from New Zealand. Others were Jo Robinson, VBase venue management; Mohamed Mansour and Kate Stevens, The EDGE®, and Alan Trotter, CINZ.

‘With regard to the global economic turmoil at the moment, the general feeling was that international association business would continue to rotate, although we may see a decline in attendees,’ says Nelson. ‘Therefore, it is a good market to concentrate on at this time.’

Nelson’s job involves bidding for international conferences and she found the conference an ‘amazing’ learning opportunity.

‘It is very apparent that New Zealand needs to continue to think smart and use that number eight wire mentality that we are renowned for to overcome the comparatively small pot of funding that we have for bidding.

‘One case study presented in a session I attended on how to profit from lost bids discussed how a destination had spent Euro 250,000 on one bid - which was consequently lost. This is a phenomenal amount of money and we could never compete on that scale dollar wise.

‘Other interesting points raised during discussions included the offering of free of charge welcome receptions, or venue hireage, or just general sponsorship by the country or city - so they are essentially buying the business. This is what New Zealand is competing against but can’t offer at this stage.’

She says delegates at ICCA were issued with a SpotMe device. This is an electronic networking device which, among many features, could be programmed with the delegates an attendee wants to meet and speak with. ‘When they were close, the devise would vibrate, come up with their picture and say how close they were,’ says Nelson.

She says the overall environment was one with a strong focus on networking, information sharing and business exchange.

‘There was a fantastic educational programme and a first timers’ programme designed to familiarise them with ICCA’s business culture and networking tools and to pre-plan their individual congress programme.’

Positive outlook for Peek

Peek Display Corporation reports a positive enquiry level for both exhibition hire products and services and custom design & build stands for 2009.

‘Peek has fielded a strong level of client enquiry both for hire services and equipment for exhibitions and also custom stand design & builds and rebuilds both locally and internationally in 2009,’ general manager Eugene Fraser says.

‘We are definitely seeing a positive trend from clients who are committed to including exhibitions and trade show display as a key component of their marketing mix this year which is pleasing given the economic climate at present.’

Fraser also sees a positive trend in offshore exhibitions.

‘Another area of our business trending upwards recently has been the number of our local clients we have who are exhibiting offshore and commissioning Peek to build their stands in Europe, North America and closer to home in Australia. It is reassuring to our clients to know that Peek can build their stands here in New Zealand, but also have builders familiar with their stand travel to the exhibition, install and dismantle their stand and ship it home for a competitive price.’

Approaching logistics in a logical manner

Coordinating the freight delivery for exhibitions and conference related trade shows through a professional can have positive spin-offs in the area of health and safety as well as in time and cost.

Airryde Freight Services has a strong reputation in the music and entertainment business as well as the art gallery and museum sector, but the company also has a strong presence in the exhibition sector.

Director Sean Pudney says Airryde will be providing the logistics for at least three major New Zealand based exhibition this year and expects ‘the usual pattern’ of extra events to roll around again for this year.

‘We have a lot of involvement in the industry, but often logistics can be an afterthought - how do we get our stuff from A to B?’

Pudney says that the company has handled the logistics for the Australasian Gaming Manufacturers Association’s show in New Zealand. The event showcases the latest developments in gaming machines but also has exhibitors such as furniture makers for pubs and government departments such as Internal Affairs. The event is traditionally held at SKYCITY and attracts representatives from associations, clubs and pubs.

‘We consolidate everything at our site in Henderson and then we control the loading dock delivery. That reduces traffic at the SKYCITY loading dock and makes the flow easier. Literally, the people there are us and the exhibition builders - not individual exhibitors coming and going.

‘This is how it works overseas. It avoids having everyone turning up and creating congestion. It certainly reduces headaches for the loading dock manager.

‘It is a much safer option than having a lot of people there and it avoids having people standing and waiting for lifts when they could be doing something more constructive.’

Pudney says Airryde can guarantee on time delivery and takes goods to the site logically - ie. delivering the stand material first, then the contents for those stands.

‘We also take any debris and empty boxes away. then when the show breaks down the whole thing works in reverse.’

Airryde is a fully authorised customs broker, freight forwarder and member of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation (CBAFF), Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) and Museums Aotearoa. The company provides air and sea international and domestic freight logistics, import and export entries and clearance, freight documentation, carnets, climate controlled trucking, freight consultation and many other services.

[industry update

Aussies extend welcome mat to Kiwi bureaux staff

Convention bureaux staff and management from New Zealand are welcome to attend an educational and networking forum in Cairns later this year - but organisers say past experiences would indicate that nobody from this side of the Tasman will register.

The Association of Australian Convention Bureaux will hold its annual conference in the Tropical North Queensland region in September and executive director Mike Cannon says some 70 to 80 delegates will take part.

He says that in the past, New Zealand and Asian based bureaux have been invited to attend. Some Asian bureaux have elected to attend, but New Zealanders have not taken the opportunity.

‘The idea is to think about how we can keep conventions regional. It’s about beating the competition in places like Europe, America and China. That’s why we invite the New Zealand and Asian bureaux. We create a non-competitive environment and talk about common issues - for example the departure tax increases out of Britain - and how they effect us all.’

Cannon says the conference caters for the middle to lower levels of staff in convention bureaux. ‘We do encourage chief executives and managers to come as well, to support their staff. Our CEOs tend to facilitate meetings and manage their staff to make sure they are networking and benefiting from the proceedings.’

He says bureaux in the region need to get together to discuss opportunities for extending conference and business event programmes.

He says associations take pre and post tours not only for sightseeing but also for technical and educational trips. Bureaux in the region need to work together to fully leverage the opportunities.

‘I would be surprised if some New Zealanders didn’t come to Cairns. It is not that expensive to fly across the Tasman and we keep the registration fees around the $500 mark.

‘We’re saying, why not grab the opportunity? We are sure the New Zealanders would gain from it, and we would certainly like to talk to them.’

 

Mike Cannon, of the Association of Australian Bureaux, with Senga Greenwood of Sea Temple Resort & Spa Palm Cove during the Sell TNQ (Tropical North Queensland) Expo. The next AACB conference is being held in the Cairns region

Bayview Wairakei Resort goes green

Bayview Wairakei Resort is a step closer to achieving its vision of environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility. Recent actions include an investment in several bicycles as replacement for the maintenance vehicles and the planting of an organic garden, producing vegetables for Lake Taupo Hospice.

The resort has for a long time had a strict environmental policy believing that not only sustainability, but also rehabilitation is needed within hospitality to become a responsible hotelier. The policy has among other things involved the planting of a 50 acre forestry block, donating waste food to a local pig farmer, waste cooking oil to a bio diesel company and using geothermal energy to heat the hotel.

‘It is important to do what we can to become as environmentally friendly as possible and offset our carbon emissions by clever investments such as the maintenance bikes’, says Steve Lafferty, sales manager Bayview Wairakei Resort.

With the resort’s Eco Tidy programme in which the customer is given the option to have their room cleaned, the resort is not only lowering its costs, but also reducing the use of chemicals, whilst at the same time giving the customer more freedom to choose. It’s a winning situation for all, says Lafferty.

He says that in the hospitality industry it is easy to start over-emphasising cost savings especially in harder times, but there are smart ways of doing it, which won’t effect the environment. With Qualmark’s new green industry rating these initiatives will soon be even more important and Bayview Wairakei Resort is aiming to be at the forefront of green hotel innovation.

 

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