Convention Centres–Economic Engines in the Asia Pacific

Two different perspectives on the role of convention centres in the Asia-Pacific region yield much the same response， further reinforcing the conclusion that centres everywhere in this area are recognized as key factors in the overall economic and professional development of their respective communities.

According to Aloysius Arlando， CEO of Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre， such facilities are typically built by governments to stimulate the economy through hosting events that exchange knowledge， share experiences， support business networking and build business partnerships in that region. While significant tourism receipts result， centres also help to raise the brand profile of the destination as a business and/or tourism destination of choice， which can help to attract companies， think-tanks and professional bodies to establish a presence there.

Arlando says that many cities recognise the rich value centres and events bring， and have developed plans to capture this.“The kinds of events that take place in major convention centres directly address economic and business priorities， as they are typically in industries that drive the economy and support the talent pool. In Singapore’s case， we attract events relating to key sectors such as healthcare， oil and gas and aviation， as these are aligned with Singapore’s vision of a knowledge-based economy.”

Strong financial benefits and high spending delegates are key to measuring the economic impacts convention centres deliver to their host city， says Geoff Donaghy， CEO of the International Convention Centre Sydney and Director Convention Centres for AEG Ogden. “However， they also provide the platform for much richer， more enduring benefits of business events to host cities such as the development of business relationships and the innovation that stems from the networking and connections that occur. Industry investment and infrastructure development， knowledge transfer and social ventures are all benefits that convention centres and business events are able to deliver to their host communities”， says Donaghy.

This in turn leads to many centres systematically and preferentially going after events that support this kind of development. “We target events in key industries and reach deep into these verticals by working closely with government agencies， companies， academia， trade and professional bodies to attract these to our centre” says Arlando. Donaghy agrees， adding “Securing events that are aligned with the economic strategies and priorities of Government is critical， but this only represents part of the market venues need to pursue to achieve their economic targets”. The result is a balanced approach that must manage a range of potential business in order to achieve multiple performance objectives”.

While these broader values are generally recognized by local officials and the overall community， this appreciation must be translated into action says Arlando. “As centres are heavy investments， local or national governments must first see the value the centres bring both from the economic and community perspectives. They can then work together to attract relevant events to support efforts to grow the economy， based on an alignment within government agencies on how centres can support efforts to boost the economy”. Donaghy agrees. “We have seen significant progress over recent years for both Government and the broader industry to understand the role of convention centres， and a great deal of advocacy work has been done by both convention centres and representative industry bodies such as AIPC to raise the profile of business events and their Beyond Tourism benefits to host cities. There have been a number of studies that underscore the range of intellectual， academic and financial benefits of an operational centre to its host city， and these can be used to reinforce the need for an evolving view of what centres and their related business activities achieve”.

The bottom line： centres deliver much more than just tourism receipts - particularly to those destinations that know how to use them strategically in support of their overall development priorities.

Geoff Donaghy is AIPC President， CEO of International Convention Centre Sydney and Director Convention Centres AEG Ogden. Aloysius Arlando was elected Vice-President of AIPC and is CEO of Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre and SingEx Group.

AIPC represents a global network of 180 leading centres in 57 countries with the active involvement of more than 900 management-level professionals worldwide. It is committed to encouraging and recognizing excellence in convention centre management， based on the diverse experience and expertise of its international representation， and maintains a variety of educational， research， networking and standards programs to achieve this. AIPC also celebrates and promotes the essential role of the international meetings industry in supporting economic， academic and professional development and enhancing global relations amongst highly diverse business and cultural interests.