- Key supply and demand issues of Singapore’s conference industry
Every industry has a number of challenges that it has to go through. It is upon the management of the industries to devise ways of mitigating some of the issues that may arise in the course of the operation of various business models. The conferencing industry experiences several issues in relation to demand and supply. Some of the issues lead to positive development of the industry while others lead to negative impacts in the operation of the industry. This section is dedicated towards analyzing demand and supply issues in the conferencing industry in Singapore. We will also take an insight overview on how the issues affect the industry and how they can be addressed to ensure successful service delivery to prospective clients. In order to have a successful conferencing industry, various stakeholders have to be incorporated into the program. Among the issues that need urgent attention include; the provision of adequate conferencing facilities, improvement of infrastructure and favorable conferencing environment. The hospitality industry plays one of the greatest roles in ensuring a successful establishment of the conferencing industry.
Recently, there have been some negative trends that have been mauling the conferencing industry. There are large amounts of supply which are hitting the market just as the prevailing economic circumstances cut demand for conference facilities and there is very little help from the central government. Currently the industry is being faced with many challenges that have since jeopardized its operations.
Demand for conferencing facilities in Singapore has grown at an average rate of about 1.5% for the last 10 years. In the long term, the demand trend is recurring with peaks occurring every festive season. Each of the peaks often occurs when most companies and international organizations schedule their meetings to address certain emerging issues in their businesses.
Various developers are competing with the available resources to refurbish their premises so that they can be able to address the increasing demands by the conferencing industries. The availability of the conferencing facilities plays a very important role towards promoting the industry. The supply of conferencing facilities is also on an all time high as companies move to rush and compete with the escalating demands of conferencing facilities.
According to the Maybank report on 18th June, hotel room supply is projected to grow at an estimated compound annual growth of 6.3% for a five year period. This supply will overtake the current demand and expected growth in demand which stands at about 5.9%. As the supply for the rooms increase, the tourist arrivals are also expected to increase by about 5.2%. This on the other hand will become a major boost to the conferencing industry as one of the major players to ensure its success is available in abundance. The oversupply in rooms however, has a negative effect to the hotel industry as it will lead to a slower average room rate. This further additional supply of rooms will also put a damper on occupancy rates which is estimated to peak at 90% at the fall of 2012 and later on ease to approximately 84% at the fall of 2014.
For demand, there are two main issues that are to be taken into consideration. The issues are: the definite number of visitors arriving in Singapore and the approximate time that they will stay in Singapore. If Singapore manages to increase their target of about 17million visitors then the average length can also be further increased. Therefore, when establishing conference facilities in anticipation for visitors, the organizers need to carry out an analysis of the available resources. Analysis is very instrumental as it helps in ensuring that the expected guests are adequately prepared for. It also helps in reducing losses resulting from oversupply or inconveniences resulting from over-demand.
Tourism and hotel industries may also contribute to escalation of the demand and supply issues in the Singapore conferencing industry. As the tourism sector plans for their expected visitors, they will need to demand for accommodation facilities from the hospitality sector. This usually leads to a stretch of resources during some specific seasons while at some points, the facilities are left underutilized. Therefore hitting a balance between the availability of the accommodation facilities for the guests and the demand from the players in the sector is usually a challenge. In order to mitigate this problem, various players in the conferencing industry and other sectors that use similar facilities, need to come up with a comprehensive analysis and report on how they can handle this issue of ensuring that there is a balance between demand and supply to reduce losses and maximize profits.
Demand for travel is also one of the factors that have greatly affected the industry in Singapore. The outlook of the industry appears to be unsure as the travel demands could be affected by the current weak economic environment. The availability of transport facilities is not uniformly distributed all through the country. Therefore it becomes an issue especially to the organizers and various players in the conferencing industry.
Since this is a new industry, specific infrastructure to cater for its demands has not been established. Therefore it has to rely on other industries offering similar facilities to cater for its clients. The hotel and transport sector are the major boosters and the industry will have to use only what has been provided to them from these sectors. Therefore the supply could at some points not be sufficient to cater for all their needs. At the same time, the demand may overstretch the available resources hence the provision of substandard services.
Provision of transport services is done by a third party not directly attached to the industry. This often causes friction when it comes to the supply of the services against the demands by the industry. It would be better if the industry sought autonomy so that they can be able to meet all the demands with services supplied by them rather than having to rely on third parties who on the other hand may not deliver services as required.
- Trends of Singapore’s conference industry
The world economy is not stable and different investors are worried about the future of their businesses and how to obtain sustainable growth and development. However, despite these challenges the conferencing industry in Singapore has partnered with the hotel industry to establish luxurious hotels to boost business for the conferencing industry. There is a lot of competition currently going on in Singapore with the entry of various new players into the field. The Singapore Conferencing industry is experiencing one of the strongest recoveries despite the growing challenges set by the US subprime. The rise that has been witnessed in the recent past is attributed to the increase in the number of visitors to Singapore and industry players project a further increase of about 2.8% by 2015. There are increased numbers of integrated resorts which also double up as conference facilities. These resorts have also boosted the conferencing industry in Singapore and the future looks bright for this particular industry.
Singapore conferencing industry is stepping up to the plate in the whole of Asia and currently competes with other players in the field at very high levels. The economy in Singapore is also incredible and is currently experiencing a lot of growth. The high end market in Singapore is also showing substantial growth which has also resulted into a corresponding growth in the conferencing industry.
The occupancy levels in the city are also showing an upward trend in terms of growth. The increase in the number of hotels and accommodation facilities in Singapore also plays a very important role towards the development of the conferencing industry. The conference industry cannot grow in the absence of accommodation facilities. Therefore the stakeholders have to ensure that they cater for various attendants in terms of accommodation before they embark on promoting other initiatives which are also very instrumental in the industry. As witnessed in the recent past, the supply of accommodation facilities in Singapore are on the rise hence the trend of the conferencing industry is also showing a corresponding increase in terms of the available resources and facilities.
Singapore’s conference industry continues to prosper even with the present state of economic gloom. The program implemented by Singapore’s Tourism Board has shown that the tourism sector has so far been boosted by the presence of good conferencing facilities in the city. As conferences are organized, the participators get a chance to visit some of the tourist attraction sites in the city. Therefore according to the recently released report, tourism has greatly benefited from the conference industry. This shows that the conferencing industry in Singapore is also showing a corresponding upward trend in terms of development. An upward trend in the tourism industry leads to a corresponding upward trend in the conferencing industry and vice versa. The same also happens to the hotel industry.
The latest data which was recently released from Singapore Tourism board has also shown that there has been steady growth in the conferencing industry of about 6% for the past five years. The growth has however not been greatly affected by the current economic problems both in the US and in the euro zone. The average occupancy of hotel rooms attributed to the conferencing activities reached about 87% which symbolized a corresponding 14% increase.
There are some two integrated resorts which were recently opened in Singapore. These resorts not only serve as attractions but also have expanded conference facilities. These resorts have further boosted Singapore’s winning formula and becoming one of the best places to organize major conference facilities. These resorts have also increased Singapore’s capability of hosting bigger and internationally recognized Conferences. This further opens up opportunities for the industry to compete with other international conference organizers. According to the recent report released by Singapore Tourism Board, the city has hosted several major MICE events in the last few years which had never been witnessed in the region before. This shows that the Conferencing industry in Singapore has a very optimistic future and it is upon the central government to ensure that they do all that is required to have the best conferencing facilities to be able to accommodate the ever increasing number of conferences organized in the island.
- Way forward for Singapore
Singapore’s conferencing industry is on the rise and the industry has in the recent past shown tremendous improvements. There are several opportunities in the island that have not been fully exploited. There are several measures that need to be taken into consideration so as to ensure the success of the industry.
In order for the industry to further grow the hotel industry needs to be further developed. One of the main factors that should be taken into consideration when expanding the hotel industry include, renovating their interior design and identify all the problematic facilities that could jeopardize the operations of the hotel industry. The stakeholders in the conferencing industry should also take an insight overview on the way they can improve on the conferencing facilities available in the island. The proposals given by Ritz-Carlton should also be adapted if the industry wants to further grow and improve on its facilities. Most people who use the facilities usually have different views regarding the operations of the industry. Therefore the players in the industry should devise some ways whereby the users can report on their feedback in the industry.
The citizens of Singapore should be educated about their roles towards the improvement in the industry. They should also be educated about the roles that they can play to represent Singapore to the whole world. Since Singapore is a tourism hub, there is need to have excellent services which meet most of the international standards. This can then help Singapore open up to a number opportunities for the world class service industry. The citizens of Singapore are very instrumental towards promoting the industry and making it advance further. Therefore, having a robust educational program can help the industry grow much faster than the current state. Since the Island is open to several opportunities which are not yet developed, the central government should devise mechanisms to ensure that all the unexploited opportunities are exploited. One way of doing this is through opening up the transport infrastructure and ensures that visitors are not only transported by surface but also through air and water. The presence of god communication facilities can help in advancing the development efforts of this industry.
Regardless of the part played by the stakeholders in the conferencing industry, all stakeholders in the industry should significantly contribute towards the success of the hotel industry. The players need to have guest contact and ensure that the services that they offer meet the international standards and are of the best quality. Services are felt, sensed and also lived through. Therefore it is the responsible of the various stakeholders to ensure that all the clients are satisfied in order to ensure customer satisfaction and customer retention. This is a very essential requirement that every stakeholder should ensure that they accomplish. Singapore is one of the best internationally recognized centers to hold conferences. If the services offered are substandard, the industry gets a bad image. To preserve the image, the stakeholders have to ensure they provide the best services to their clients and hence further boost the performance of the industry.
Supply stagnation leads to higher habitation and room rates. However, in Singapore the supply is more than the demand and hence there is usually a friction when it comes to demand and supply. The outlook of the conferencing industry in Singapore has been very rosy in the recent past and it is propagated that next year it will even be rosier. The trend is also likely to rise in several years to come. This growth is likely to filter through in both the bottom and middle-tier hotels hence improving the general health of the industry. Currently there is no new room supply in Singapore after it had been realized that the supply was way more than the demand.
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