When will the capital be hosting another show? This is the big question that has prompted those in charge of theParis Convention and Visitors Bureau (OTCP) to lead the investigation. His first Barometer on the outlook for business tourism in Paris targeted seven priority marketsThe survey covered the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, the USA and China, as well as the domestic market, with a total of almost 3,000 respondents.
If the companies surveyed are to be believed, we are heading for an upturn in travel. If we add together the number of travellers who are planning a domestic trip (25%), an international trip (21%) or both types of trip (24%) in the "near future", we can say that a majority of those surveyed (70%) are expecting business travel to pick up again. Conversely, 31% of travellers are not planning any future trips.
According to the OTCP barometer, meetings are likely to be the main "lure" attracting professionals to Paris (34%), ahead of conventions (26%) and trade fairs (12%). However, the "event culture" of each country leads us to qualify this observation. For example, the German market is particularly keen on conventions (54%), while Italian customers are more interested in trade fairs (28%). However, we still need to get a clearer picture of the regulatory and logistical possibilities for taking over these trade shows...". There is still a big question mark over the conditions under which the events will take place. "confides Corinne MénégauxGeneral Manager of the OTCP. " We sense that companies are keen to get back into the tradition of organising events and taking part in trade fairs, but at the moment we don't have enough information to know how things are going to work in the autumn. A number of major trade fairs are planning to hold their events in October and November, whatever the conditions, but we are waiting for confirmation of the reality of the measures that will be taken. I hope we'll know by the end of June. This is one of the issues that we regularly raise with the government, because it will also set the tone for the autumn and for business tourism. "Corinne Ménégaux continues.
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Whatever the case, the habits of business travellers and their companies will undoubtedly be affected by this unprecedented episode, and for an as yet unknown length of time. When asked about their events policy, the majority of players (65%) mentioned a fewer professional eventsto the integration of health precautions (57%). Moreover, only 41% of those surveyed plan to organise a meeting, incentive trip or seminar in Paris. Nevertheless, those who do travel to the capital should not cut back on their travel time - quite the opposite, in fact. In fact, according to the OTCP barometer, 73% of business travellers plan to spend at least two nights on their next trip to Paris. The health situation should therefore not encourage people to travel in a hurry: good news for the destination, and for the environment. On the other hand, if the length of stay tends to increase, the time for reflection could well be reduced to a strict minimum: " Things can change very quickly, and last-minute bookings can carry a lot of weight, particularly when it comes to the decision to go on a business trip, because if the situation improves, we'll sign the contract straight away to get things moving again as quickly as possible. "says Thomas Deschamps, Head of the Paris Tourism Economic Observatory.
The results of this first OTCP barometer are therefore nuanced, and Thomas Deschamps is relatively optimistic, given the attractiveness of the destination and its assets. During the subprime crisis, which was a major economic and tourism setback for Paris, business tourism came back the following year, much more strongly than expected. We are fortunate to be a major economic hub, with the top city for hosting conferences at international levelThe various nationalities [surveyed] have not abandoned this dimension. The various nationalities [surveyed] have not abandoned this dimension, they know that they can do business at trade shows in Paris and will no doubt come back again. ". For her part, Corinne Ménégaux puts things into perspective: " Without falling into blissful optimism, we sense that there is a desire to resume economic activity. We might have expected the figures to be even worse, and for companies to have given clear instructions that there should be zero business travel for the next three months. There is a real desire to return to a "normal" economic context. ".
In these uncertain times - and with summer just around the corner - there is every reason to believe that event organisers are still in a state of limbo, and the snapshot of the market revealed by this first barometer will become more accurate as the autumn approaches. Hence the interest of three other 'waves' of investigation scheduled by the OTCP in mid-August, mid-October and mid-December, for regular updates on the events sector.
