UFI Open Seminar in Bangkok 2011

With the annual UFI Congress now successfully closed, we are turning our attention and efforts to another major event: The UFI Open Seminar in Asia. The 2011 edition of this event will be held in Bangkok on 24-25 February at the Centara Grand.

As has been the case since it was launched in 2005, this event is managed by BSG on behalf of UFI. This year's theme is "Elements of Success" and we have an exciting programme lined up. The previous edition of this event attracted over 200 delegates and we expecting a large turnout in 2011 as well.

Click here for programme and registration details.

BSG quoted in Tradeshow Week Asia article

Asian Destinations Bounce Back - 3/1/2010 - Tradeshow Week

Lisa Plummer does a nice overview of the rebound in Hong Kong and Macau in the latest edition of TradeShow Week. BSG is quoted along with UBM Asia's Jimé Essink, The Venetian's Wolfram Diener and Vertical Expo's Kenny Lo. Kenny will be speaking this week in Taiwan at the UFI Open Seminar in Asia on his success with themes which might once have been considered "difficult" in Asia.

BSG Chairman, Paul Woodward is quoted in the article:

Also hopeful about Macau’s exhibition future is Paul Woodward, chairman of Business Strategies Group, who said he believes one of the key ingredients to the region’s success will be to establish its own, distinct tradeshow identity.

“As the local market is very small, it has been challenging for Macau to build up a critical mass of visitors and buyers to most exhibitions,” he added. “Organizers are still fine-tuning their approach to (determine) the themes and event style that will work well in this market. Attempts simply to copy formats that have worked previously in Hong Kong or Las Vegas haven’t been so successful.”

Asia’s economies performing well as UFI heads to Taiwan « UFI Live

Asia’s economies performing well as UFI heads to Taiwan « UFI Live

This piece by Paul was posted on UFI's blog today incluing some news about the upcoming Open Seminar in Asia which is managed by BSG and reporting on the latest, positive news from key Asian economies.

CEFCO report on UFI Live

The Blog of UFI, The Global Exhibition of the Exhibition Industry
Industry kicks of the year in chilly Xi’an

From Paul Woodward in Hong Kong: for the past six years, the first major meeting of the exhibitions industry anywhere in the world has taken place in China. This latest edition of CEFCO (the China Expo Forum for International Cooperation) has just finished in Xi’an in China’s northwestern Shaanxi province. Some 550 delegates from across China and around the world joined to talk about developments in the industry and prospects for the year ahead.

The meeting is organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and supported by UFI along with IAEE and SISO from the US. This year’s event saw UFI President Manfred Wutzlhofer kick off the proceedings accompanied by the team from the Asia/Pacific office in Hong Kong and a number of our members from around the world. At the opening ceremony, he told delegates “UFI is delighted to support once again this event which we clearly recognise as the most important meeting in China which is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most significant exhibition markets”.

CCPIT talked about this market when it presented its annual report on the Chinese trade fair industry. Even as exports stumbled in the first part of the year, many of the major exhibitions continued to grow. They did, though offer a note of caution on the rapid expansion in exhibition venue capacity when Mr. Gu Chao, Director-General of the Exhibition Department, called for careful review of wastage and under-utilsation of facilities.

Of course, for many attendees to a wintry Xi’an, some of the key highlights took place outside the conference hall including a visit to the remarkable terra-cotta warriors of the Chin emperor’s tomb. For those who weren’t able to join us there, I’d commend you to IAEE President Steven Hacker’s memorable photographs which he has kindly made public. Thanks Steven!

More to follow on the UFI Chinese members’ meeting and other highlights from CEFCO.

UFI Live blog launched

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has launched a new blog, UFI Live. Hosted by Canadian Barry Sisskind, the new site will include a number of guest bloggers including UFI Asia/Pacific regional manager and BSG Chairman, Paul Woodward.

One of the first guest bloggers was Exhibitions India's Prem Behl, talking about his optimism for improvements in the facilities at the country's largest venue, the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.