8th Edition of "Trade Fairs in Asia" Report available now

We published the 8th edition of our annual "Trade Fairs in Asia" report this week. You can buy it on the BSG website. Here is the full press release along with some of the highlights from the report.

July 2, 2012 – Paris/Hong Kong: Growth of the trade fair industry in Asia was boosted in 2011 by strong increases in south-east Asia according to the eighth edition of UFI’s annual report on the trade fair market in Asia.

Overall, exhibition space sales grew by 2.6% last year. Net area sold by organisers in Asia reached a total of 15.9 million m².  Of that total, almost 55% was sold in China and 12% was sold in Japan. The research was once again undertaken for UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, by Business Strategies Group (BSG) in Hong Kong.

Growth was clearly highest in south-east Asia in 2011. Singapore and Malaysia were the fastest growing markets in 2011 - up 15% and 14% respectively. The exhibition market in the Philippines grew by 8.8%. Vietnam was the only exception to this south-east Asian trend, posting growth of just 1.2%.

The larger exhibition markets grew notably more slowly in 2011. Asia’s largest market, China, grew by 2.5%, while India posted an increase of 3.3%. Two other large markets, Korea and Hong Kong grew by 2.2% and 1.1% respectively.

Three exhibition markets contracted in 2011. Australia slipped by 1% and the small exhibition market in Macau dropped by almost 11%. Japan, the second largest exhibition market in Asia, contracted by nearly 3% following the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.

In terms of capacity, by the end of 2012 there will be almost 6,490,000 m² available at venues in Asia. That is up from 3 million m² recorded in the first edition of this report in 2005.

This year, the total number of venues in Asia will be 187. Of that figure, there will be 97 venues in China. India will have 13 venues and Japan and Korea will each be operating 12 venues. Nearly 68% of all venue capacity in Asia is now in China – more than 12 times the next largest market, Japan (4.42 million m² vs. 350,606 m²).

Paul Woodward, UFI Managing Director, commented, “The exhibition industry in Asia continues to be a remarkably dynamic and fast-growing market. As the exhibition markets in the traditional, more mature economies have been faced with challenging economic conditions, the industry in Asia has continually managed to grow year after year."

"As a result, a rising number of international exhibition organisers are looking to participate in the growth in Asia. We are also pleased to see UFI's membership in Asia continue to grow along with the industry there. UFI now has 193 members in Asia - including 73 in mainland China and we anticipate that interest in the region will remain high."

This annual report has again been edited by UFI Asia/Pacific Regional Manager and BSG Managing Director, Mark Cochrane.  He commented, “Growth of the exhibition industry in south-east Asia outpaced the rest of the region in 2011 and we expect to see an extension of that exciting trend continue throughout 2012.”

“We are forecasting exhibition space sales at trade fairs in Asia to reach 16.3 million m² sold in 2012. Although the south-east Asian markets are expected to be strong performers again in 2012, the key question will be how well the largest exhibition markets such as China and India will hold up in face of weak economic conditions in key export markets in Europe and the U.S. We anticipate that the growth of intra-Asian trade will largely offset the economic softness in Europe and the U.S.”

This report provides detailed information on the development of trade fairs and supporting facilities in 15 markets: China, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The report also includes analysis on actual market performance in 2011 as well as forecasts and commentary on key trends in each market.

As an added-value service, each UFI member will be entitled to receive a four page executive summary of the research and to purchase the full report at a substantial discount.

UFI Open Seminar in Shenzhen in 2012

It is less than three months until our annual UFI Open Seminar in Asia. This will be the 7th edition of the seminar and it has grown to become UFI's second largest event after the UFI Congress! The 2012 edition of the seminar will be held in Shenzhen on 23-24 February at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Since the inaugural edition in 2005, this event has been managed by BSG on behalf of UFI. This year's theme is "Asian Exhibitions in the Year of the Dragon" and we have a fantastic programme lined-up. The previous edition of the seminar in Bangkok attracted over 260 delegates and we expecting a large turnout in 2012 as well.

Check out the full programme details and register today! The early bird rate is available until 21st January.

UFI Open Seminar in Asia headed to Shenzhen in 2012

The 2011 UFI Open Seminar in Asia concluded in Bangkok on February 25th. The event reached a new record in terms of delegates (almost 260 in total). Thanks to our hosts, TCEB as well as all of the speakers, sponsors and delegates who made the seminar such a strong success this year.

The seminar concluded with the exciting announcement that the 2012 edition of the UFI Open Seminar in Asia will be headed to Shenzhen - specifically the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre.

BSG (which manages the UFI Asia/Pacific office and UFI Open Seminar in Asia) looks forward to welcoming you to Shenzhen and the 7th edition of this event next year!

2012 UFI Congress headed to Abu Dhabi

UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, announced this week that the 2012 UFI Congress will be held in Abu Dhabi. The 2012 Congress will be UFI's 79th annual global meeting and the first to be held in the Arabian Gulf.

UFI Managing Director commented, "We have been hoping for a long time to be able to bring the UFI Congress to Abu Dhabi and are really delighted that our 2012 event will be hosted by ADNEC. Abu Dhabi generously hosted UFI’s Middle East/Africa office for the past five years. So, we are really excited to be able to share with our 550 members in 84 countries the magnificent facilities and exciting developments there which we know very well. This will, we’re certain, be a really memorable UFI Congress, all the more special for being the first one we’ve held in the Arabian Gulf region."

The 2010 UFI Congress was held in Singapore last November and it attracted 475 delegates from more than 50 countries. The 2011 UFI Congress will be held in Valencia.

BSG manages the UFI Asia/Pacific office as well as the UFI Open Seminar in Asia.

UFI President Eric Everard to close Bangkok Seminar

BSG (which manages the UFI Asia/Pacific office and UFI Open Seminar in Asia) has now confirmed that UFI President Eric Everard will be the closing speaker at the UFI Open Seminar in Bangkok next month! Eric's topic will be confirmed shortly, but in line with the seminar's focus on "Elements of Success", Eric will draw on his experience as a successful entrepreneur. He founded both the Artexis Group and easyFairs.

If you plan to join us, please register before 21 January to enjoy the "early bird" rate. Programme and registration details can be found on the seminar website:

www.ufi.org/bangkok2011/

See you in Bangkok!

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.

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.

Check out details now of UFI Open Seminar in Asia programme

This event, as always, managed by BSG for UFI is looking very exciting this year in Taipei. We're expecting a big audience and some exciting speakers on the subject of "Innovation for Growth". Click on the postcard here to go to the programme and registration details:


Keep an eye out for the Twitter hashtag #ufitaipei for regular updates on speakers and the programme.

TAITRA: Asian MICE Forum 2009 to Be Opened on 19th November

I'm going to be heading to Taipei on Thursday evening from Beijing to attend this event wearing my UFI 'hat': TAITRA: Asian MICE Forum 2009 to Be Opened on 19th November

It looks as though there will be a good cross-section of the business events industry represented with ICCA, UFI, SITE and IAEE all present.

Nice piece from Shangri-La newsletter has me looking forward to our Taipei seminar

Taipei's a great city and this piece from Shangri-La hotels has me looking forward to being there in March next year for our UFI Open Seminar in Asia (4 - 5 March...more details soon on UFI web site):

https://www.shangri-la.com/en/corporate/gcnewsletterarticle/139

Shared via AddThis

Green shoots in Asia?

UFI Info, the e-newsletter of UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, has just published an opinion piece by BSG founder Paul Woodward talking about early signs of recovery in Asia's trade fair industry:

I will be really interested to see the results of round
two of UFI’s barometer research. If I were a betting
man (which I am not), I’d place a decent wager on the
general mood being better than when UFI first carried
out this research early in the year.

Yes, the economic news is still quite mixed and au-
gust organisations such as the IMF are warning us
that things may be even worse than they feared.
Worthy journals like the Economist are cautioning us
against being too excited by the 'green shoots' which
people are reporting.

I am not an economist. But every business person I'm
talking to right now is seeing those green shoots.
They accept that 2009 won’t be a great year, but it is
now looking, in Asia at least, as though it just might
not be as bad as they had feared.

There are some encouraging signs emerging. After a
series of very disturbing reports about motor shows
around the world, for example, Auto Shanghai (an
UFI Approved Event) reported numbers up on all
measures and attracted huge international attention.
This is partly because China's car market is now big-
ger than that of the US. Porsche used the event to
launch a car for the first time outside Germany or the
US. The CEOs of many of the world's car companies
were there. For those of us in the trade fair business,
we were not surprised to see that the car industry
chose an exhibition as it tried to restart its economic
engines.

In Hong Kong, the large Spring sourcing shows
have been better than expected. The January
fairs were relatively quiet, but the early April
events, to the surprise of some, were bigger
and, for at least some of the events, visitor num-
bers were up by 10%. Although some of the
other big sourcing fairs in the region were still
struggling to attract visitors in the usual num-
bers, factory owners in South China are report-
ing that orders are beginning to pick back up.
The buyers clearly need good quality trade fairs
to locate next season’s products.

In Asia at least, the general economic news is
looking up. Just last week, two respected banks
(there are still a few) upgraded their forecasts
for China. They are now expecting 7.5 to 8%
GDP growth this year. Korea just reported first
quarter growth, albeit very slim growth, when all
had expected recession. Taiwan’s March ex-
ports were down, but much less than the pundits
had been expecting.

The good news for UFI members is that the fairs
supporting these mini revivals which are doing
best are those which lead their field. There is a
clear flight to quality and events which are new
or number 3 or 4 in their field continue to strug-
gle. UFI Approved Events by definition are well-
established and are usually the leaders in their
field. Now, more than ever, the UFI Approved
Events are proving their worth in this difficult, but
not impossible market.

BSG manages the Asia/Pacific office of UFI.

UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2009 opens in KL with record crowd

This event is managed on behalf of UFI by the Business Strategies Group team:

UFI Open Seminar in Kuala Lumpur – A record audience

Paris/Kuala Lumpur, 12 February 2009: A record 208 delegates from 26 countries and regions have gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this week for UFI’s annual Open Seminar in Asia. The focus of the meeting, hosted by the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, is "Ten Steps to Better Exhibitions" with a group of experts from around the world providing practical tips on how to run exhibitions in a time of crisis.

UFI Managing Director, Vincent Gérard, speaking in Malaysia, said “we are more than delighted that, in this challenging economic time, such a strong group of our UFI members as well as non-members from around the region has chosen to come together in Kuala Lumpur to exchange ideas on how they can protect and continue to build-up their businesses. It’s a real affirmation of the value UFI can provide in sharing information and networking opportunities to the industry. At the same time, a successful gathering like this really promotes the value of face-to-face events”.

Peter Brokenshire, General Manager of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, said “The Centre is honoured to be the host venue for the UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2009. With strong support from Malaysian organisations, this event marks an excellent opportunity for industry professionals to experience first-hand what Kuala Lumpur city has to offer and the Centre’s world-class facilities, the team’s professional and friendly service and of course, the gastronomic delights specially prepared by our culinary brigade of 51 chefs during the event”.

The UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2009 is strongly supported by a number of important Malaysian organisations which include Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), AOS Convention & Exhibition Sdn Bhd, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Kuala Lumpur Tourism Action Council, Pico International (M) Pte Ltd, and the host, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Day one speakers at the event include Byung-Kwan Bae, President & CEO, COEX, Korea, Stanley Chu, Chairman, Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd and UFI Asia Pacific Chapter First Vice Chairman from Hong Kong, Peter Brokenshire, Nat Wang, President, Agility Fairs & Events Logistics Pte Ltd, Singapore, and, bringing a perspective on sales from outside the industry, Anthony Solimini, Author of "Trust, Comfort, Confidence - Three words that will change the way you sell".

Following an evening reception jointly hosted by Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau
(MyCEB) and Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, day two speakers include Gunnar Heinrich, Managing Partner, adventics GmbH, Germany, Glenn Hansen, President and CEO, BPA Worldwide, and Skip Cox, President and CEO, Exhibit Surveys, Inc, USA, Michael Duck, Senior Vice President, CMP Asia Ltd and Hanson Toh, Han-Son, Malaysia Country Consultant, Google, Inc., Malaysia. The final session will bring together a panel of exhibitors to discuss what they need from the exhibitions they use today and tomorrow.

Other networking sessions include a lunch on Friday 13th sponsored by MATRADE, while a post-seminar guided tour of Kuala Lumpur is sponsored by AOS Conventions & Events Sdn Bhd.

Next year’s UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2010, to be hosted by TAITRA, will take place at the Taipei World Trade Centre on March 4 - 5.

UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2009 to be held in Malaysia

Paris, 15 December 2008: UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, will hold the fourth UFI Open Seminar in Asia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 12-13 February 2009. The theme of this seminar focuses on "Ten Steps to Better Exhibitions - Practical tips on how to run an exhibition in a time of crisis".

As in the past, the UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2009 welcomes all UFI members and non-members to participate. Registration is now open with early bird rates available until 31 December 2008.

The seminar will be hosted by Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, one of UFI's members in Malaysia. UFI Asia/Pacific Regional Manager Paul Woodward commented "we decided to hold the 2009 seminar with a very practical focus on ten interesting topics about how to run exhibitions beginning from planning to looking at your future business. We're delighted to be working with the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on this project".

According to Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre's General Manager, Peter Brokenshire, "The Centre is honoured to be the host venue for the UFI Open Seminar 2009. This is an excellent platform for the local and international exhibition professionals to have a quality knowledge exchange and networking opportunities. The need to meet and connect with their counterparts is even more crucial in the current economic environment.

"In addition, we hope the delegates will also enjoy a first-hand experience of the space and flexibility at our venue, the team's professional and friendly service and of course, the gastronomic offerings specially prepared by our culinary brigade of 51 chefs during the event."

A group of experienced executives from the exhibitions industry as well as a group of major exhibitors and some outside experts will share their expertise in Kuala Lumpur. They will provide delegates with real-world stories and practical tips for running better exhibitions.

The UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2009 is strongly supported by a number of important Malaysian organizations and include Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), AOS Convention & Exhibition Sdn Bhd, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Kuala Lumpur Tourism Action Council, Pico International (M) Pte Ltd, and the host, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

A group of presenters in the following list has been assembled for the programme with others to be confirmed.
- Stanley Chu, Chairman, Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd and UFI Asia Pacific Chapter First Vice Chairman, Hong Kong SAR.
- Peter Brokenshire, General Manager, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia.
- Nat Wong, President, Agility Fairs & Events Logistics Pte Ltd, Singapore.
- Glenn Hansen, President and CEO, BPA Worldwide, USA.
- Skip Cox, Exhibit Surveys, USA
- Michael Duck, Senior Vice President, CMP Asia Ltd, Hong Kong SAR

The Seminar runs from 1:30 - 5:45PM on Thursday 12th February and 9:00AM - 1:00PM on Friday 13th February followed by Seminar Lunch at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Seminar programme and registration info are available at www.ufi.org/kualalumpur2009.

For additional information please contact: UFI
Ms Lili Eigl, Manager Communications
35bis, rue Jouffroy-d'Abbans
75017 Paris, France
Phone: (33) 1 4267 9912
Email: lili@ufi.org

China National Commitee meets in Ningbo

I was honoured to be able to attend the meeting this week of China's National Technical Committee on Exhibition & Convention Standardization in Ningbo. OK, it may not be a title to get the pulse racing, but it is actually the only official, national level committee of any kind for the exhibitions industry in China. It is chaired by Chen Xianjin from the Shanghai World Expo Group who is also the chair of UFI's Asia/Pacific Chapter. The 20 or so key members are a real who's who of the industry in China.

I gave an overview of developments with the ISO's new standard and in UFI's own standardisation efforts. Pictured here, next to Woodward are Chen Xianjin (L) and, next to him, the Head of Ningbo city government's Convention & Exhibition office.


Other leaders of China's exhibition industry in the picture (and taking leading roles in the Committee) include (from the left) Tang Guifa from Shanghai, and Chen Fang and Li Kai from Beijing. Not pictured included old friends from the industry in China such as Wang Mingliang of CMP Sinoexpo, Mike Jiang of Reed's Shenzhen Sinoexpo business and many others.

UFI/BSG report records 18% growth in Asian exhibitions

PRESS RELEASE

Trade fair market in Asia grows by 18% in 2007 according to UFI market report


Paris/Hong Kong, June 24, 2008: The trade fair industry in Asia expanded strongly again in 2007.Net area sold by organisers in Asia grew by nearly 18% reaching a total of 13.2 million m2 according to the fourth edition of UFI’s annual report on the trade fair market in Asia. The research and analysis was once again undertaken for UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, by Business Strategies Group (BSG) in Hong Kong.

The report shows that China remains the largest trade fair market by a substantial margin. Year-onyear, net square metres sold in China grew by 21% outperforming the regional average of 14%. India was, however, Asia’s fastest –growing market in 2007, up 50% followed by South Korea which grew by 32%. Over 6.7 million m2 were sold in China in 2007 – accounting for 51% of the total across Asia. The second largest market, Japan, grew by just 1% last year with sales of 2.2 million m2. Revenues from trade fairs in Asia increased from US$2.57 billion in 2006 to US$3.25 billion in 2007 – an increase of 26.5%. China continued to extend its lead over other markets in 2007. Last year, trade fair revenues in China were nearly US$1.12 billion. This is a massive increase of 47% over the US$760 million recorded in 2006.

This annual industry report provides detailed information on the development of trade fairs and supporting facilities in 15 markets: China, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The report also includes analysis on actual market performance in 2007 as well as forecasts and commentary on key trends in each market.

Vincent Gérard, UFI Managing Director, commented, “The publication of the fourth edition of this report is an important contribution to UFI’s global research efforts. It shows that Asia remains one of the most dynamic areas for growth in our industry. It is exciting to see the predicted takeoff in India becoming a reality along with the many other exciting markets in the region”. As an added-value service, each UFI member will be entitled to receive a six page executive summary of the research and to purchase the full report at a substantial discount.

The report has again been edited by UFI Asia/Pacific Regional Manager and BSG Principal, Paul Woodward. He commented, “In the last five years, we have seen the trade fair industry undergo a remarkable transformation. In 2003, the region recorded space sales of 5.7 million m2 at 101 venues. Last year, the number of venues had surged by more than 50% to 156 venues and sales had more than doubled to 13.2 million m2.”

Delegates happy with BSG-managed seminar

UFI Press Release

The 170 delegates from 23 countries and regions meeting in Macau for UFI’s third Open Seminar in Asia have expressed high levels of satisfaction about the event. Focusing on the topic “New Exhibition Opportunities for Asia”, the seminar was hosted by the new Venetian Macau Resort & Hotel.

“This meeting is going from strength to strength” said UFI’s Managing Director, Vincent Gerard who was in Macau for the event. “We were wonderfully looked after by the Venetian which is a spectacular venue and the programme really seems to have struck a chord with delegates. The room was full from the first session to the last”. The meeting included some of the new features adopted in UFI’s European Seminar in Bilbao in June last year. These included “ask the expert” sessions, interactive panels and structured networking.

Speakers included Brand Events’ Chris Hughes and Media 10’s Lee Newton who both challenged delegates to think innovatively about how consumer events can evolve away from traditional exhibitions. A panel comprising Interads India’s Rajan Sharma, David Zhong of VNU Exhibitions Asia and Fiera Milano’s Shahin Javidi then gave some very different perspectives on the potential impact of joint ventures on exhibitions in Asia. This was clearly important to the audience as delegates voted 99% in favour of the view that more joint ventures are likely in the future in Asia.

Day Two saw Prof. Per Mollerup from Denmark wake delegates up with a very stimulating talk on “wayshowing”; his concept of how to reorganise venues and events so that they serve attendees various needs much better. CMP’s Michael Duck, David Zhong and Asia/Pacific Chapter Chairman Chen Xianjin then discussed various opportunities for regional trade fairs in China and India. All agreed that these would become increasingly important in the near future.

In the final session, Singapore’s Edward Liu was the expert who answered delegates questions about his views on operating in challenging markets. Vietnam was high on the mind of a number of the questioners. Finally, Pradeep Gupta, the CEO of Cybermedia from India, talked delegates through the different types of events which have emerged in the high tech sector.

As usual, delegates spent a good deal of time networking including using the Expostudio web-based appointments system and the social functions. These included an evening reception at the Macau TV Tower hosted by the Macau Trade & Investment Promotion Institute and a lunch hosted by the Macau Government Tourism Office.

Next year’s UFI Open Seminar in Asia will take place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention & Exhibition Centre on February 12 – 13.

Final speaker confirmed for Macau

The 2008 UFI Open Seminar in Asia, managed by BSG, takes place next week in Macau. We're going to be looking at a variety of ideas for new types of events. I am really delighted with the quality of the group of speakers who will come together for this and have just confirmed the final participant in our panel on joint ventures.

Shaheen Javidi is the Chief Marketing Officer of Fiera Milano and will join David Zhong of VNU Exhibitions Asia and Rajan Sharma, Managing Director of Inter Ads India to discuss whether JVs still represent the most valuable future trend for business development. Delegates will be particularly keen to hear Javidi's insights following the recent confirmation of the joint venture for international business development between Fiera Milano and Deutsche Messe AG (Hanover).

UFI India report

Over on the Asia Business Media blog, we talk about India today. Here is a bit more detail on the UFI India report. The freely available Executive Summary kicks off with the following observations:

Recently the Indian exhibition industry has entered a modernization and growth phase. New tradeshows are organized, new exhibition centres are built, and the market is opening up to foreign investors for both the organization of exhibitions and the operation of venues.

Thanks to its growing economy (8.5% of GDP) and its demography (1,095 million inhabitants, and 300 million middle class); India is emerging as a major player on the global economic scene. Its many assets should enable it to become a key player in the global exhibition business in the midterm period.

India’s exhibition infrastructure, in terms of venue and space availability, must be increased and modernized. In a way of comparison, India today has the same exhibition capacity as the city of Chicago. Until now India lags far behind China whose available exhibition space is eight times greater and which has three times the number of exhibitions.

It concludes:

The exhibition market in India has a promising future and is destined to grow. The policy of the Indian government and its bureaucracy is slowly changing, allowing private stakeholders and the foreign investors to invest and develop business more easily. With the Indian economy progressing at a rate over 8% per annum, and the help of the government and the participation of the private sector, India is on the right track to boosting its exhibition industry.

The full report is available to members here.