PARIS — Organised by the Global Exhibition Industry Association, UFI, the seventh annual Global Exhibition Day (GED), taking place on 1 June, will focus on the value of face-to-face exhibitions and trade events in driving economic growth and recovery, as well as networking and meeting new people.
With 820 member organisations in 86 countries and regions worldwide, UFI has unrivalled knowledge of the global trade fair and exhibition market.
In light of GED, Trade Fair Manager reached out to UFI Managing Director and CEO Kai Hattendorf and the directors of UFI’s four regional chapters about the state of post-pandemic recovery for the trade show and business events industry and what’s next.
Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director and CEO of UFI
Around the world, wherever possible, trade shows are back. The core business model of our industry has been tested and proven, and once again, it has prevailed. Now it’s time to work hard. We need to hire, we need to produce, we need to deliver. We need to improve, we need to excel, we need to exceed our goals.
And more: we need to change, we need to adapt if we want to grow beyond what we have known as an industry. Our foundations are strong, our challenge is to be sustainable and achieve carbon neutrality. Our potential lies in expanding into digital services and offerings. What a time we have ahead of us!
Mark Cochrane, UFI Regional Director for Asia Pacific
Life with COVID is playing out very differently in the Asia Pacific region. Countries like Singapore, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand enjoy largely open borders with little to no COVID-related restrictions. However, markets like Hong Kong and China remain almost entirely closed, and business events of any kind are not happening in any meaningful way.
The good news is that in open markets, physical events have made a comeback. In some cases, even though Chinese exhibitors and visitors are completely absent from events in Asia, exhibitions and trade shows are thriving. If there is one silver lining to the pandemic in Asia, it is that the value of physical events has been proven to all stakeholders beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The remainder of 2022 will be a recovery year for Asia (excluding China and Hong Kong). Domestically focused exhibition markets, such as Korea and Japan, will recover more quickly. Internationally focused markets, such as Singapore and Bangkok, will recover, but the speed of recovery will depend on travel costs and marketing budgets. China and Hong Kong, which account for over 60% of the Asian trade show and event market, will not start to recover until 2023.
Nick Dugdale-Moore, UFI Regional Director for Europe
Europe is coming back to life, with almost all markets and borders open and exhibitions allowed. The last Covid-19 restrictions, such as the mandatory wearing of masks indoors, are being eased in one country after another.
The demand for face-to-face meetings is huge. With the impossibility of conducting business solely digitally, exhibitors and visitors are once again appreciating the unique value proposition of trade shows and in-person business meetings.
Although revenues are still down compared to 2019, some European venues and shows have reported a return to 2019 figures much earlier than expected. We expect a very strong second half.
Ana Maria Arango, UFI Regional Director, Latin America (LATAM)
The Latin American trade fair sector has proven its recovery in recent months, achieving good KPI results across the region. Some fairs have seen growth in terms of size, number of visitors and exhibitors compared to 2019.
Latin America’s exhibition industry leaders are driving recovery in the region, with a focus on customer satisfaction, content quality, matchmaking efficiency, digital tools and a growing commitment to sustainability.
While the fundamentals remain strong with some Latin American trade shows and companies operating at the highest international level, there is still much to be done in the region. Addressing these challenges was a key topic of discussion at the recent UFI LATAM conference in Buenos Aires, which brought together 100 leaders from across the region for two days of networking, learning and sharing best practices.
Naji El Haddad, UFI Regional Director, Middle East and Africa (MEA)
We are now looking to the future with great optimism as the trade fair and business events sector has recovered in most regions. Among the many lessons learned from this pandemic, the most important is to stay close to our customers and offer them the value and opportunities they are looking for.
We live in a changing world. Agility, adaptability and creativity are therefore essential tools to move forward. Looking ahead, we have a busy schedule in the region with key events including the 89th UFI World Congress, scheduled to take place in Oman from 14-17 November 2022, and the MEA Regional Conference 2023 in Qatar. Not to mention industry gatherings in South Africa, Saudi Arabia and other countries.
Contact Kai Hattendorf at kh@ufi.org; Mark Cochrane at mark@ufi.org; Nick Dugdale-Moore at nick@ufi.org; Ana Maria Arango at latam@ufi.org; Naji El Haddad at mea@ufi.org
Links:
World Exhibitions Day 2021 raises awareness and advocacy
Preparations are underway for the Global Exhibition and Trade Show Industry Awareness Day
UFI releases framework and guidance for a unified approach to safely reopening trade shows