Overall cost per attendee per day for meetings and events around the globe increased in 2017 and is expected to continue rising next year, according to the 2018 Meetings and Events Future Trends report.

The  report by CWT Meetings & Events (CWT M&E), a division of global travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel, also shows the regional differences and cost projections as well as the latest industry trends and top destinations

“Costs are rising in key M&E markets, globally,” said Cindy Fisher, senior vice president and global head, CWT M&E. “With a 3.7% increase in hotels and 3.5% rise in air fares projected for the coming year, that trend is likely to continue.”

In Asia Pacific cost per attendee per day for meetings and events in Asia Pacific increased by 5% in 2017, according to the report although prices aren’t changing very much in Asia Pacific, for either hotels or air fares, with increases of 3.5% and 2.8% respectively.

Hotels largely remain the venues of choice across most of the region, particularly in China where new hotels open every week. Australia and New Zealand are outliers in the region in this respect as they haven’t seen much hotel development recently so there is more demand for unique venues.

Despite ever-increasing hotel stock in China, prices are set to continue to increase because of demand from both business and leisure travel.

According to Cvent data, the top 10 destinations for meetings & events in Asia Pacific in 2017 are:

1. Singapore,
2. Sydney, Australia 3
3. Bangkok, Thailand
4. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
5. Hong Kong
6. Shanghai, China
7. Melbourne, Australia
8. Tokyo, Japan
9. Mumbai, India
10. Seoul, South Korea