American Express Forecasts Spending, Meetings Growth for Asia Pacific in 2013

Asia Pacific is expected to experience a 6.4% growth in the number of meetings and 4.2% growth for overall meeting spending in 2013, according to the American Express Global Meetings Forecast.

by Staff

December 3, 2012

1 min to read

According to the American Express Meetings & Events 2013 Global Meetings Forecast, released on Nov. 27, Asia Pacific is predicted to see the strongest growth among regions in both spending and the number of meetings.

North America will remain relatively flat while Europe and Central/South America will likely experience declines overall, the report said.

The following are highlights from the report for each region:

Prediction:	North America	Europe	Asia	Central/ South America
Number of Meetings	0.00%	(-2.3)%	6.40%	(-1.1)%
Overall Meeting Spend	(-1.0)%	(-6.0)%	4.20%	(-3.5)%
Average Group Rates for Hotels	4.20%	0.00%	4.00%	4.70%
Average Group Rates for Airfare	3.30%	2.9%	2.90%	3.2%
Top 5 Destinations	Orlando	London	Shanghai	Riviera Maya/ Cancun/ Quintana Roo
	Washington, D.C.	Paris	Singapore	Rio De Janeiro
	Las Vegas	Amsterdam	Sydney	San Juan
	Miami	Barcelona	Beijing	Buenos Aires
	Chicago	Brussels	Bangkok	Punta Cana

The findings are based on a comprehensive survey, extensive meetings and events data, and in-depth interviews of meetings professionals — all conducted by American Express Meetings & Events.

The report also included trends concerning challenges for meeting planners such as budget challenges that call for more local meetings, safety and security issues and meetings approvals.

Topics:Travel Industry Asia Pacific American Express Business Travelers Rental Operations