Meeting and event professionals have revealed the key drivers behind the top five meeting cities within Asia Pacific.

The Asia Pacific Destination Report 2019, released by American Express Meetings & Events, surveyed 200 meeting and event professionals across the region, focusing on the top five cities as ranked by Cvent.

Meeting planners revealed Singapore, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong were their top rated destinations in 2019 due to their minimal travel times within APAC countries, cultural variety, cost, and the emergence of attractive second-tier meeting cities.

Familiarity is key

The research revealed meeting planners look to their own personal experiences before booking events.

Planners are more likely to book a destination if they have been there personally, have had experience planning meetings in that destination or have a network of local contacts

Singapore and Hong Kong had the highest levels of familiarity across these factors, with 39 per cent of respondents considering Hong Kong for meetings in the next two years and 38 per cent considering Singapore. These two destinations are also the spots where most respondents operated their meetings over the past two years.

Conversely, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok had the least number of respondents considering them as destinations for future meetings, and they also came in with the lowest levels of familiarity.

A snapshot of the top 5 cities

For each destination, survey respondents were asked to rate the level of accuracy of the following perceptions:

• Air transportation options for attendees
• Safe location
• Modern amenities and conveniences
• Has the necessary infrastructure to support meetings and events
• Has suppliers they know and trust
• Is a destination attendees would be enthusiastic about
• Is politically stable
• Is an affordable destination

Based on these responses, the survey identified which perceptions to capitalise on and what areas of concern may need to be planned for.