Australia Challenges Down Under

The challenges that Australia's tradeshow and convention business face present an interesting mix of familiar ones to those working in the industry, including changing trends in types of shows and number of attendees, venue space issues, marketing considerations and a focus on education. That's according to the results of the annual Exhibition and Event Assn. of Australasia's Benchmarking Survey for 2007, presented at its Leaders Forum in April.

Based on the survey's results, EEAA President Robert Moore said both consumer and tradeshows remain fairly static in terms of exhibitor and visitor numbers, as well as marketing spending, though tradeshows are more prevalent than consumer shows in the country now.

“There's a higher proportion of large (20,000 square meters-plus; 215,200 square feet) tradeshows than consumer shows,” he added, “and feedback from major venues has shown a shift in their booking calendars with growth in the number and size of tradeshows – and a decline in the number of consumer shows (only the strongest survive).”

According to Moore, the EEAA intends to focus on a number of key initatives moving forward:

• Follow international trends and monitor the local industry through regular research.
• Develop a strong voice and be a part of the process of lobbying for suitable additional venue space.
• Market the strength and power of exhibitions compared to other forms of media.
• Educate exhibitors and attract top staff to the industry.
• Develop and implement environmentally friendly practices.

Jo-Anne Kelleway, CEO and founder of Info Salons Australia, said the survey found the Australian exhibition industry healthy and continuing to grow, even though it is a relatively small market.

She added some of the Australian industry's main challenges include a lack of venue space in the bigger cities, travel distances and airfare costs that make it difficult to attract international buyers, causing organizers to spend much more of their marketing dollar to attract visitors.

The survey also found signs of other potential issues for the future with visitor numbers holding steady or beginning to decrease; larger tradeshows getting bigger, though with fewer visitors; and medium-sized tradeshows with steady net space, but an increase of visitor numbers in relation to space. In addition, the study found larger public shows are getting smaller and experiencing fewer visitors.

The lack of Australian exhibition space is a big challenge despite some new space being online. Darwin opened its convention center in April, which includes 4,000 sq. m. (43,000 sq. ft.) of exhibit space, but it's still a small regional center, Moore said.

In comparison, bigger cities such as Sydney and Melbourne are lacking in exhibition space, but it appears that Sydney, the country's largest city, faces the bigger hurdle because the New South Wales state government is dragging its feet on funding.

Moore said that the eastern seaboard dominates the national exhibition marketplace with Sydney and Melbourne hosting the largest events. He added, “Australia is a huge continent with concentrated populations of people in capital cities; there tends to be a lot of duplication of events to service same audiences. Brisbane, and to a lesser extent Perth and Adelaide, tend to have more localized, smaller versions of the Sydney and Melbourne events.”

Currently, the two large cities operate a similar number of major exhibitions annually, Moore said. Overall, though, there is recognition that both centers are in urgent need of more space. Melbourne is on its way and awaiting approval at its next state budget to add 18,000 sq. m. (193,750 sq. ft.) in 2010 to its current exhibition center.

Sydney has begun the process of lobbying its state government for the need for additional space to remain competitive with Melbourne, service its growing requirements and attract more international events, but it has hit more of a roadblock.

Matthew Pearce, managing director of Diversified Exhibitions Australia, said the state government commissioned a report on exhibition and conference space requirements that was published in February. “Unfortunately, the report reflects the general lack of consultation with the exhibition industry, and its recommendations are over-simplistic and ultimately flawed,” he added.

Pearce said the basic premise of the report was that an entirely new center should be built to house all local exhibitions outside of the city, in Homebush, site of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, instead of adding space to the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.

A group of organizers, including Diversified, Reed Exhibitions and dmg world media, have expressed concern over the report and are now working with the major stakeholders to get a more workable future in place that would appease both sides and include a purpose-built facility at Homebush, as well as further development at the SCEC.

According to Kelleway: “The EEAA has been active in lobbying the government to extend the current SCEC; however, no decision has been forthcoming. Melbourne and Sydney are both dominant cities with the majority of tradeshows being held in both of them. There are a few large events that alternate between Melbourne and Sydney every other year, which can skew the results depending on which city these shows are falling in for that particular year.”

So with all of Sydney's troubles, is Melbourne now the dominant Australian tradeshow city?

Pearce said it is certainly becoming so, which reflects the investment Melbourne is willing to make in exhibition facilities that work for the industry.

“Much work has been done in the last couple of years for Melbourne to gain the additional 18,000 sq. m. of exhibition space, and it would appear that the government understands the issue,” he added. “We are hopeful that funding will be announced in the upcoming budget this month. Cost is estimated to be approximately $250 million (U.S. $235.8 million).”

A snapshot of Australia's exhibition industry finds the biggest sectors are gifts, food, manufacturing and building/design. Moore noted three global exhibition companies are responsible for the largest portfolios of events: Reed, Diversified and dmg world media. Kelleway agreed, and added several others to the list: Exhibitions & Trade Fairs, Australian Exhibitions & Conferences and Expertise Events.

Even with the international organizers, Moore said, the two largest consumer events are managed by local organizers: the Sydney Intl. Boat Show, managed by the Boating Industry Assn., and the Australian Intl. Motor Show, organized by Exhibitions & Trade Fairs. New launches tend to be small specialized events, and the major organizers grow the industry via acquisition and developing current portfolios, he added.

What about competition from Asian exhibitions? Kelleway said she hasn't seen any effect from the Asian exhibition industry in Australia. Moore added, “With a population of just over 21 million, Australia does not have the numbers or indeed the venue space to be affected by Asia. Australia's tradeshow industry is dominated by local, rather than international, exhibitions.”