Belgian Meeting en conference marketž Proposal May 2007 Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey 2007 O05-069 3 1. TECHNICAL NOTE 1.1. Objective Analysis of the organized external

PROPOSAL BELGIAN MEETING & CONFERENCE MARKET SURVEY

MAY 2007

Þ Proposal May 2007 Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey 2007 O05-069

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CONTENTS

1. TECHNICAL NOTE 3 1.1. Objective 3 1.2. Method 3 1.3. Exclusive questions and exclusive analyses 3 1.4. Report 3 1.5. Timing 3 1.6. Workshop 4 1.7. Price 4

2. OJECTIVE AND TARGET GROUPS 5

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7

4. QUESTIONNAIRE 11 4.1. Survey by phone on the demand side 11 4.2. Evolution 14 4.3. Exclusive questions 14

5. REPORTING 15

6. TIMING 17

7. PRICE 19

8. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION AND PARTICIPATION FORM 21

9. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 23


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1. TECHNICAL NOTE

1.1. Objective

Analysis of the organized external meeting (meetings, conferences and incentives) market in the last year (September 2006-August 2007) in order to get a current insight into the characteristics of this market.

1.2. Method

Surveys by phone among 1.500 companies located in Belgium.

1.3. Exclusive questions and exclusive analyses

The participants are given the possibility to add exclusive questions to the survey and to have exclusive analyses carried out.

1.4. Report

Extensive reporting containing a text and table report, including an executive summary.

1.5. Timing

End of May 2007: final date for confirmation of participation;

June 2007: determination of the exclusive questionnaire contents in consultation with the participants;

September-October 2007: fieldwork surveys;

November-December 2007: analysis, tabulations and reporting of the standard ques-tions;

Beginning January 2008: delivery of the standard report Belgian Meeting & Confer-ence Market Survey;

January 2008: analysis, tabulations and reporting of the exclusive questions;

End of January 2008: delivery of reports with the results of the exclusive questions;

End of January 2008: workshop for the participants.


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1.6. Workshop

WES offers to the participants a free workshop during which the survey results will be explained.

1.7. Price

5.000 euro (exclusive of VAT) for the complete standard report;

between 1.200 and 1.600 euro (exclusive of VAT) for an exclusive question.


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2. OBJECTIVE AND TARGET GROUPS

Through the Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey, WES wants to map out clearly the market of external meetings organized by companies estab-lished in Belgium as well as assure the continuous follow-up. By external meet-ings we understand meetings, conferences and incentives that are organized externally, so outside the company’s own infrastructure.

The starting point is that the survey should actually become a genuine policy instrument for the various players on the meeting, conference and incentive market, allowing them to evaluate their own market position as well as to develop a marketing strategy.

Through the Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey a triple objective is pur-sued:

detailed analysis of the size and the most relevant characteristics of the external meet-ing market organized by companies with seats in Belgium;

detailed analysis of the decision process and the underlying motivations concerning the external meeting market: which criteria play a role, who decides, …;

offering a medium to the participants to submit questions, in a budget-friendly way, to a large sample of decision makers with respect to meetings, conferences and incen-tives in Belgian companies.

This survey has already been carried out by WES in 2004, which makes it possible to make comparisons with 2004 and to determine evolutions.

This survey is commercialized through the multi-client formula, meaning that the global costs are spread among the various participants. This results in a lower participa-tion fee compared to an entirely autonomous and individual market research.

At the same time the participants are given the possibility to add exclusive questions to the survey, which enables them to add their own accents.

Through this survey, we aim not only at all levels of the external meeting market but also to the intermediary and related sectors: tourist offices in Belgium and abroad;

congress bureaus;

incentive bureaus;

hotel (groups);

holiday villages;

conference centres;

tour operators and travel agents specialized in the meeting and conference market;

professional conference organizers;

transport companies (airline companies, railway companies, …);

car rental companies;

advertising agencies;

media companies;

…


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3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey is related to the market of the exter-nal meetings organized by companies with seats in Belgium. External meetings include meetings, conferences and incentives.

According to international standards, we define meetings, conferences and incentives as follows:

meetings: the overall term for off-site or external meetings involving a number of people in a certain place in order to interchange information, knowledge and opin-ions, to take decisions, to brainstorm, to follow a training, to launch a new product, …;

conferences: formally organized meetings in a place agreed upon in advance. The number of participants fluctuates between ten and more than thousand. During the meeting there are structured talks on one or more subjects in order to interchange or transfer knowledge and/or to reach an agreement. Beside the classical conference topics there is often a social programme (leisure programme), giving the possibility to the participants to take part in cultural, historical or tourist aspects of the host city or host country in order to interchange ideas in an informal way;

incentives: motivation or reward trips offered by a company during which the recrea-tional aspect is more dominant than the aspect information and meetings. It concerns incentives offered to the own employees as well as to external persons (clients, dis-tributors, …).

We examine the “organized” external meeting market. An external meeting can be defined as organized provided there are minimum five participants. Business travellers who travel individually or together with some colleagues in the context of selling, can-vassing/prospecting, contracting, promotion,… as such are not taking into account. Reason for this delineation is that we want to aim at that part of the meeting, conference and incentive market which can be influenced by the communication efforts made by experts and intermediaries. Individual travellers choose destination, accommodation, means of transport, … in the first place merely on the basis of business-commercial mo-tives not susceptible to any influence from communication efforts.

Within the framework of this survey we confine ourselves to meetings, conferences and incentives taking place in commercially exploited rooms especially equipped to this end and booked by its users. These can be accommodation establishments (hotel and catering industry, bungalow parks,…), conference and meeting accommodations and special venues. Are not covered by this survey: in-company meetings, knowledge transfer within the educational system, … As far as the meetings and conferences are concerned, the meetings should be oriented towards knowledge transfer. Meetings in which only social contacts or motivation are the actual motives (receptions, parties,…) fall outside the scope of this survey.


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There is no minimum duration for meetings, conferences and incentives. Residential (with one or more night(s) spent) as well as non residential (without any nights spent) external meetings are covered by this survey.

Research into the characteristics and developments in the meeting, conference and in-centive market is not simple because of its many players on the market. We distinguish the demand side, the intermediaries and the supply side (see scheme). Demand and supply side can get into contact either directly or indirectly through intermediaries.

Meeting, conference and incentive market: Relations between demand and supply

Directly

In order to map out the characteristics and developments in the Belgian market of or-ganized meetings, conferences and incentives, a survey is conducted on the demand side.

Firstly the survey population is defined, namely companies established in Belgium and other players (government, associations) that organize meetings, conferences and/or incentives. From a limited preliminary survey it appears that especially the companies account for the major part of the meeting, conference and incentive market. Furthermore we should take into account the availability of data on the survey population. Exhaustive databanks with information on Belgian companies are available. This does not apply, however, to associations and governmental bodies established in Belgium. Taking into account these considerations, in this survey, we only consider the companies with seats in Belgium as our survey population.

Now it is a question of selecting a representative sample out of this survey population which enables us to draw sufficiently reliable conclusions.

Demand Intermediaries Supply

Indirectly

Companies

Other

Congress bureaus

Incentive bureaus

Professional Confe-rence Organizers (PCOs)

Tour operators spe-cialized in meetings, conferences and/or incentives

…

Conference and meeting ac-commodations

Lodging infra-structure

Transport com-panies

…


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We have to consider the fact that not all companies organize external meetings. Earlier research indicates that the more employees a company has the greater the chance that the company organizes external meetings, conferences and/or incentives. That is why we concentrate on companies with at least 50 employees. In order to draw reliable conclu-sions, we plan surveys among in total 1.500 companies established in Belgium with 50 employees or more.

Based on “Trends Top 100.000”, year 2007, we calculated that 4.365 companies be-long to this category. In other words we will interview more than one out of three com-panies.

In order to acquire a good sample we aim for a minimum number of surveys per seg-ment about which we want to make statements. In the first place with respect to the size of the company (expressed in number of employees). Furthermore we make sure that there is a significant spreading regionally (Flanders/Brussels/Walloon provinces). An appropriate sectoral spreading is guaranteed as well.

In order to make reliable statements within each of these categories, we propose the following sample division according to size range and region:

Employees category % number of Belgian companies

Number of sur-veys

200 or more employees 24 375 100-199 employees 25 375 50-99 employees 51 750 Total 100 1.500

Source: Trends Top 100.000, 2007

Company location % number of Belgian compa-nies >=50 employees

Number of sur-veys

Flanders 62 900 Brussels 17 300 Walloon provinces 20 300 Total 100 1.500

Source: Trends Top 100.000, 2007

On the basis of the survey in 2004 we also know that nearly 30% of the companies with 50 or more employees organize external meetings, conferences and/or incentives. So when interviewing 1.500 companies we aim at a sample of 450 companies active on the external meeting, conference and/or incentive market.

The selected poll method is a survey by phone among the persons responsible for the planning or organization of meetings, conferences and/or incentives within the com-pany. In order to poll as much as possible the direct decision makers of meetings, con-ferences and incentives planning in a company, we will first ask the contacted company whether there is a MICE policy. If this is indeed the case, we poll the person who is re-sponsible for this. If there is no MICE policy the questions will be submitted to the person who is responsible for the most recently organized meeting, conference or incentive. For those companies which did not organize any meetings, conferences or incentives during the past year, the questionnaire is limited to the future intentions and some company identification variables.


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The research methodology can be summarized as follows:

Meeting, conference and incentive market: Research methodology

Demand Intermediaries Supply

Companies established in Belgium

Survey by phone among 1.500 Belgian compa-nies

Congress bu-reaus

Incentive bu-reaus

Professional Conference Or-ganizers (PCOs)

Tour operators specialized in meetings and conferences

…

Conferences, meet-ing and incentives accommodations

Lodging infra-structure

Transport companies

…


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4. QUESTIONNAIRE

The data collecting process for the Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey is real-ized through surveys by phone on the demand side.

Furthermore, the participants are offered the possibility to add exclusive questions to the survey.

4.1. Survey by phone on the demand side

The purpose of the survey by phone is collecting a series of basic data on the demand side of the meeting, conference and incentive market in Belgium. We define the demand side as the companies established in Belgium having 50 or more employees.

We start from the central question whether the company organized any external meet-ings, conferences and/or incentives during the past year (September 2006 until August 2007). It depends on the answer to this question, which questions scheme has to be followed.

More specifically, we foresee four main categories of questions for companies having organized meetings, conferences and/or incentives last year:

1. Participation and size of the market

did the company organize external meetings, conferences and incentives?

how many meetings, conferences and incentives did the company organize?

were these one-day meetings, conferences and incentives or took they several days?

2. Characteristics of the last meeting

In order to obtain an insight as correctly and reliable as possible into the characteristics of the Belgian meeting, conference and incentive market in Belgium, we link the ques-tions concerning the characteristics of the external meetings to the most recently or-ganized meeting, conference or incentive.

If the company organizes one-day meetings, conferences and/or incentives as well as meetings, conferences and/or incentives lasting several days the questionnaire will relate to the most recent activity which took several days. In case the company only organizes one-day meetings, conferences and/or incentives, the questions refer to the last one-day activity.

The questionnaire is drawn up, dealing with following aspects:

type of organized external activity (meeting/conference/incentive);

duration of the meeting, residential or non residential;

number of participants;

main subject of/reason for meeting/conference (sale, product launch, management meeting, training, …);

destination: place where meeting took place (country and region);

type of environment (city, seaside, rural);

type of accommodation and hotel category;


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main criteria for choosing the destination (geographic location, image of the destina-tion, price/quality ratio, available conference infrastructure, influence of communica-tion efforts pursued by the destination, …) and for the accommodation

information gathering (through specific fairs, professional journals, Internet, …);

means of transport;

organization: what was booked and how (directly, intermediaries), time between res-ervation and meeting/conference/incentive (lead time);

person responsible for the choice of destination;

budget.

3. Intentions, attitudes and trends

Here we assess some of the important attitudes and trends in the meeting, conference and incentive market:

intention to organize external meetings, conferences and/or incentives during the next three years;

ratio internal versus external meetings/conferences/incentives;

importance of the price as decisive criterion;

trends with regard to the duration and number of participants;

trends with regard to reservation method;

trends with regard to budget;

the shift of location of external meetings to destinations abroad;

trends with regard to choice of destination.

4. Company characteristics

Following company identification variables are registered:

department (production, marketing/sales, finances, …);

size of the company and the department expressed in number of employees;

sector;

company location;

language;

function of the interviewee.

For the enterprises which did not organize meetings, conferences and incen-tives last year, the questionnaire is limited to:

the intention to organize meetings, conferences and/or incentives during the next three years;

the company identification variables.


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The scheme below gives the successive phases of the survey by phone:

1.1. Participation: During the past year (September 2006-August 2007), did your company organize meetings, conferences and/or incentives?

1.2. Number

Yes

4. Company identification variables

NoYes

3.2. Attitudes and trends

3.1. Future intentions?

2. Characteristics last mee-ting/conference/incentive

No


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4.2. Evolution

In 2004 this survey was carried out for the first time. Therefore it is possible for the main variables to examine evolutions in relation to 2004.

4.3. Exclusive questions

The Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey is considered to be a policy instru-ment for all parties concerned in this sector.

Within this framework WES is able to offer the possibility to the participants to add a number of exclusive questions to the study. In this way the study can be adapted accord-ing to the specific wishes of the participants.

WES assists you when analysing your information problem and helps you in formulating adequate research questions.

When inserting exclusive questions, you can examine various aspects. Hereafter you will find some possible questions:

reputation/being known of a destination, organization or product, compared to the competitors;

importance attached to certain characteristics, services or activities;

evaluation of these characteristics, services or activities, compared to the competition;

evaluation of certain actions, for instance brochure or website;

market potential;

…

These exclusive questions can be inserted no matter where in the questionnaire.

The answers to these questions are related to the company characteristics and to all applicable questions from the basic questionnaire. The tables are always accompanied by a concise comment on the main findings. The results of an exclusive question are only communicated to the participant who had this exclusive question included in the ques-tionnaire.

Added exclusive questions are submitted to WES for approval and are financed sepa-rately.


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5. REPORTING

A standard report ‘Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey’ will be drawn up as well as an exclusive report.

The objective of the standard report is to provide policy information (especially) in figures obtained by the survey by phone to the participants so that they can develop a successful marketing strategy based on these data.

Information is given in a text and tables report, including an executive summary.

The exclusive reporting comprises reports on the exclusive questions.

These reports are available in Dutch and French.

The results from the standard report are explained exhaustively during a free English workshop organized by WES for the participants in this survey.


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6. TIMING

We propose following timing for the Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey 2007:

end of May 2007: final date for confirmation of participation;

June 2007: determination of the exclusive questionnaire contents in consultation with the participants;

September-October 2007: fieldwork surveys;

November-December 2007: analysis, tabulations and reporting of the standard ques-tions;

Beginning January 2008: delivery of the standard report Belgian Meeting & Confer-ence Market Survey;

January 2008: analysis, tabulations and reporting of the exclusive questions;

end of January 2008: delivery of reports with the results of the exclusive questions;

end of January 2008: workshop for the participants.

This timing is clearly presented in the scheme below.

Research phase 5/07 6/07 7/07 8/07 9/07 10/07 11/07 12/07 1/08

Final date for participation X

Determination of the exclusive ques-tionnaire contents

Fieldwork 1.500 surveys

Analysis, tabulations and reporting of the standard questions

Delivery of the standard report Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey

R

Analysis, tabulations and reporting of the exclusive questions

Delivery of reports with the results of the exclusive questions

R

Workshop for participants W

X = deadline R = report W = workshop


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7. PRICE

Participation in the Meeting & Conference Market Survey is possible at the price of 5.000 euro exclusive of VAT.

This participation includes:

one copy of the standard report Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey (text and tables report including an executive summary);

the right to add exclusive questions to the survey;

the right to participate in the workshop.

Participants obtain the right to add exclusive questions in the survey. The number of questions, though, is limited. Insertion is obtained in order of registration. The price for these exclusive questions depends on the question type (amounts exclusive of VAT):

open question (a): 1.600 euro;

closed question (b): 1.200 euro;

evaluation of items (c): 400 euro per item with a minimum of 1.200 euro per ques-tion.

Example (a): “What are the main criteria when choosing an intermediary? Maximum three answer possibilities are suggested for an open question.

Example (b): “Which means of transport was principally used: car, train, plane, other?”

Example (c): “Are you very, rather, little or not satisfied with following accommodation aspects?”

Very satisfied Rather satisfied Little or not satisfied

Hotel rooms 1 2 3

Conference rooms 1 2 3

Service 1 2 3

….

One copy of the reports concerned is always included in the participation fee. Extra cop-ies in Dutch and/or in French can be ordered at the price of 175 euro per report (exclu-sive of VAT).

The general WES terms and conditions of sale can be found on our website www.wes.be.


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8. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION AND PARTICIPATION FORM

The participants in the Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey acknowledge the copyright of WES. They agree to use the results of the survey solely for internal use dur-ing a period of two years, meaning until end of 2009, and to refrain from publishing or revealing any information whatsoever to third parties.

WES guarantees that the results from the survey will only be communicated to the par-ticipants and that they will not be published before end 2009.

You can sign up for the Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey by mailing or faxing the reply fax duly filled out and signed to WES.

WES has the right to call off the survey in case of an insufficient number of participants.


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9. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

For further questions and supplementary information, please contact Rik De Keyser, managing director, or Anne Verhaeghe, market researcher-consultant.

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Documents

Belgian Meeting en conference marketž Proposal May 2007 Belgian Meeting & Conference Market Survey 2007 O05-069 3 1. TECHNICAL NOTE 1.1. Objective Analysis of the organized external