Spring Canton Fair attracts 28,000 exhibitors

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Guangzhou, 18th April: The Spring Edition of the Canton Fair opened on Monday this week in Guangzhou.  According to the organiser, more than 87,000 overseas buyers and 28,000 exhibitors will participate in the event. This despite trade and political tensions between China and the U.S. and to a lesser degree, Europe.

Media reports stated that buyers attending the Canton Fair from the U.S. are up more than 20% compared with to the Autumn Edition. Mix Meetings reports that “There was also increased interest from countries in ASEAN’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Middle East.”

Taipei launches MICE sponsorship programme

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Taipei, 15th April: The Taipei City Government launched a sponsorship programme to attract international conferences, exhibitions, and incentive travel groups to the city.

Under the terms of the programme, applications will be evaluated based on the event’s scale and social impact. Events also need to fulfil specific criteria in terms of foreign participants and a local service enterprise or travel agency must be used for applying to the programme.

New MICE shows arrive in Singapore

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Singapore, 11th April: Singapore will host two industry events in April, Business of Events and the Meetings Show Asia Pacific. The Business of Events, organised by PCMA Asia Pacific will take place at Marina Bay Sands.

The Meetings Show Asia Pacific is the regional new trade show – a geo-clone of the London-based, the Meetings Show. Meetings Show Asia Pacific 2024 is supported by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and organised by Northstar Travel Group. It opened on 17th April at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands.

RX Japan launches new space exhibition

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Japan, 17th April: RX Global’s subsidiary in Japan, RX Japan, will launch a new show, SPEXA, the Space Business Expo this month. The event will run from 24th to 26th April 2024 at Tokyo Big Sight – Japan’s largest exhibition venue.

According to the organiser, the new show will aim to “foster collaboration and innovation in the space industry, showing Japan’s commitment to advancing space exploration and technology.” The theme of SPEXA 2024 will be “Bridging Japan and the World’s Space Business.”

Quick takes

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88,000 buyers at HKTDC’s spring tech shows

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) concluded its two spring tech shows, InnoEX and Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) which attracted some 88,000 buyers from 139 countries and regions with about 3,000 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions.

Global Sources opens April 2024 shows

Global Sources opened its April 2024 Global Sources Hong Kong Shows on 11th April 2024, the first of three phases. The first phase, Global Sources Consumer Electronics, and Global Sources Electronic Components, featured some 4,000 booths. The second phase, featuring mobile electronics, home & kitchen, etc. is on this week. While the third phase, fashion, sports and outdoor gear will be held 27th to 30th April. BSG will report the numbers as they are published.

A lesson about venue-organiser event risks

Not an Asian story, but a well-written and thoroughly researched story about what can go wrong with organiser-venue joint ventures. (Short answer: A lot.) Good work by Mike Fletcher at Exhibition News.

More MICE competition between Singapore and Bangkok

A TTGmice article with details about the competition heating up between Singapore and Bangkok for MICE events. Both have strong government support, world-class venues, a good customer service culture and so on. Singapore maybe feeling the squeeze as the cost of doing business there has risen considerably since COVID.

Yen at record lows

This is an article about Singaporeans flocking to Japan for holidays due to the incredibly weak yen. The Japanese yen is now at 34-year lows trading at 155 yen to the US dollar. (Less than a decade ago, it was 80 yen to the US dollar.) If that trend holds, it could massively boost foreign participation at Japanese trade shows.