SINGAPORE — A new white paper from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and UFI, the global association for the exhibition industry, highlights innovative ways in which organisations are reimagining their business events.
The story begins in Singapore, where this year’s PCMA Convening Leaders was held for the first time outside of North America in 64 years. The hybrid event used digital capabilities such as holographic technology to connect in-person and virtual audiences across continents. A highlight of the event was PCMA President Sherrif Karamat, based in Toronto, joining him in a live panel discussion in real time.
Another example: GEVME, a global event technology provider based in Singapore, has created online ‘Serendipity Rooms’. Their aim was to create ‘Serendipity Rooms’ as a natural part of live events, allowing a small group of delegates to interact with like-minded people in an online digital lounge. The technology was deployed at the WIT Travel Roadshow earlier this year.
Other case studies in the white paper include an Australian company called Harry the Hirer, which turned its Melbourne showroom into a film set with a high-end catwalk surrounded by high-tech equipment that its clients use to host exhibitions and seminars, and SIAARTI, an Italian medical company, which, with the help of event organiser AIM Group International, transformed its annual conference into a roadshow by using a studio truck to broadcast content onto large screens. In addition to the case studies, the white paper shares updated research, including PCMA’s COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard survey and APAC Dashboard survey, as well as data from the upcoming Global Recovery Insights report from UFI, Explori and the Society of Independent Show Organisers. This research shows that exhibitions in Asia are likely to experience stronger growth in visitor and exhibitor participation, compared to the rest of the world, and that respondents from Asia are more than twice as likely to have attended virtual and hybrid events than respondents from other regions.
“Trade event companies and their clients in the Asia Pacific region are more open to digital commerce developments than their international peers. And exhibitors in Asia are now much more optimistic about their budgets than they were in the summer of 2020. We hope this white paper will be useful in showing some of the approaches and opportunities that lie ahead,” said Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
Contact Kai Hattendorf at +40 171 5441198 or kh@ufi.org.