Budget-conscious businesses are looking for more creative ways to bring their teams together by visiting cities that wouldn’t normally be on the core conference circuit.
Destinations like the Gold Coast, Cairns and Townsville were becoming popular places to save costs and tend to be more readily available at short notice, according to an analysis by Corporate Travel Management’s specialist event division, Event Travel Management (ETM).
While the major capital cities remain top picks for corporate events, ETM Strategic Lead and General Manager Tracey Edwards said they were seeing a growing interest in once overlooked destinations, which are often cheaper, offer alternative destination experiences, and unique venues.
“Major cities can become booked-up well in advance for large groups, conventions and congresses, as well as for leisure markets,” Ms Edwards said.
“This can increase the cost for travel and accommodation. Additionally, regional locations often provide more unique opportunities for entertainment, team building, accommodation, and dining.”
Ms Edwards said clients in overseas markets were exploring options such as Bradford in the UK, Malaga in Spain, Gdansk in Poland, Chicago in the US, Fez in Morocco, and Luang Prabang in Laos.
TFE Hotels global sales officer Shahnaz Bakhshay said budget considerations were inspiring creative ways to hold meetings.
“We are seeing shorter lead times for event enquiries, and smaller, frequent meetings are also being booked for team engagement and culture-building,” Ms Bakhshay said.
She said companies were after flexible meeting spaces and unconventional event venues, such as the Adina Apartment Hotel which recently opened in the historical former Pentridge Prison in Melbourne.
The meetings industry celebrated Global Meetings Industry Day on April 11.
According to a 2023 CTM customer survey, the vast majority of respondents (more than 90 percent) expect to either maintain or increase their travel for internal meetings, customer meetings, tradeshows and conferences over the next 12 months.
