Quick takes

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UFI announces award winners

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has announced Easyfairs as the winner of the 2024 UFI Sustainable Development Award and Fiera Milano as the winner of the 2024 UFI Industry Partners Award. The two winners will present their projects at the 91st UFI Global Congress in November 2024 in Cologne, Germany.

Indonesia to boost foreign visitors

Indonesia president Joko Widodo (Jokowi) aims to boost international arrival numbers to the country by holding more international events. This year, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (MoTCE) has a budget of US$235 million and target of over 14 million arrivals.

China expands visa-free countries to Australia and New Zealand

Despite relatively recent political tensions, visitors from Australia and New Zealand will now able to enter China without a visa for business or tourism for up to 15 days. Since last year, China has been expanding its list of unilateral visa-free countries. This is driven in part by its slowing economic growth.

Mulpha acquires Australian Adventure Expo

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Australia, 20th June: Mulpha Events, an Australian event organiser, has announced plans to acquire the Australian Adventure Expo (AAE) from Brooks Events. No financial details related to the transaction have been released.

AAE, launched in 2021, serves the Australian outdoor recreation sector. AAE is positioned as the platform for importers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and service providers Australasian outdoor recreation industry. Following the acquisition, the AAE team will all join Mulpha Events.

Mulpha Events will organise the upcoming edition of AAE at the Brisbane Showgrounds in Queensland, running from 5th to 6th March 2025.

CANSO to launch new airspace event in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong, 18th June: The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) has announced plans to launch a new exhibition and conference dedicated to airspace and unmanned traffic management (UTM) in the Asia Pacific region.

The event, Airspace Asia Pacific, will run from 9th to 11th December 2025, at AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) in Hong Kong. The event will aim to bring together senior leaders in the air traffic management (ATM) and UTM industries to “foster innovation and collaboration.”

TCEB unveils strategic roadmap for 2024-2025

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Thailand, 21st June: Last week, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) released its strategic roadmap for the meetings and incentives sector for the 2024-2025 fiscal.

TCEB’s strategy focus will cover four areas: i) maximising opportunities for Thai business events stakeholders; ii) bolstering support measures to influence buyer decisions; iii) elevating both online and offline platforms for showcasing Thailand’s offerings; and iv) fostering industry knowledge advancement to keep Thai stakeholders at the forefront of the sector and global trends.

UFI 2026 Congress headed to Bahrain

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Paris & Bahrain, 25th June: UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, will bring its 93rd UFI Global Congress to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The association’s largest annual event will be hosted by Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB), a venue.

The UFI Global Congress rotates to a different city (and region) each year. The event gathers exhibition industry leaders from around the world for networking and several days of content. The 2026 edition will bring the event back to the Middle East for the first time since 2022 edition in Oman, which attracted more than 400 delegates from over 50 countries and regions.

Quick takes

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IEG launches Sigep Asia in Singapore

The Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) launched the inaugural edition of Sigep Asia, a new event focused on gelato. It is a geo-clone of Sigep World. Running from 26th to 28th June 2024, the show featured over 300 brands from 31 countries.

Messe Frankfurt expects new revenue record

Last year, Messe Frankfurt recorded revenues of €770 million (US$851 million) – that is an increase of more than 25%. During the past year, a total of 349 events were held, featuring some 86,400 exhibiting companies and over 4.3 million visitors.

Messe München announces record revenues

Messe München recorded group revenues of €441 million (US$487 million) in 2023. Other key stats include: organising 19 trade fairs and hosting 93 “guest events”. The events attracted some 32,400 exhibitors and two million visitors. In Asia, electronica China was its biggest trade fair in 2023. IE expo China occupied all 17 halls at Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC).

UFI appoints new Head of Marketing and Communications

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has appointed a new Head of Marketing and Communications, Pierre Aurélien Vidon, He will be based in Paris.

HKCEC appoints Diane Chen as Deputy MD

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Hong Kong/Shenyang, 18th June: The management company of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), HML Limited, has announced that Diane Chen will become the second Deputy Managing Director at HKCEC, effective 2nd July 2024. Diane will also be appointed to the company’s Executive Leadership Committee.

Diane is currently the General Manager of Shenyang New World EXPO. When she takes up her new role at HKCEC, Mr. Leslie Li will assume the position of General Manager of Shenyang New World EXPO. Effective 18th June 2024, he will lead the administration, operation and staff of Shenyang New World EXPO.

BITEC to be rebranded as facilities added

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Bangkok, 19th June: The Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) will be rebranded as BITEC Buri, as it is transformed into a comprehensive lifestyle and community hub.

The transformation is targeted to be completed by the end of this year – including a 7,000-seat BITEC LIVE concert hall, and SAMA Garden, an outdoor venue with extensive green space. BITEC will continue to provide over 57,000 m2 of indoor exhibition space for B2B and B2C events.

MyCEB to collaborate with Centexs in Sarawak

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Sarawak, 13th June: The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has announced a collaboration with Centexs Commercial Services (CCS), a government-linked company which is part of the Sarawak Government.

This is part of MyCEB’s commitment “to reinvigorate the local business events landscape.” CCS was established in 2019 with a mission to support the “commercialisation value of heritage products and foster opportunities for local entrepreneurs in Sarawak.”

Informa’s earnings set to hit high-end of forecast

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London, 21st June: Informa Group CEO, Stephen A. Carter, announced this week, at a trading update that the group would deliver over 10% in 2024.

The company announced five-month underlying revenue growth of 10.1%. So far this year the group has recorded revenues of approximately £1.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) and an additional £1 billion (US$1.3 billion) of subscriptions / exhibitor revenue committed for 2024. Management also noted that events rebookings into 2025 are looking strong.

Informa also highlighted growth due to partnerships in key markets: Saudi Arabia (Tahaluf, 51% shareholding) and China (Sinoexpo, 70% shareholding) and Beauty (BolognaFiere, 13.5% shareholding).

Quick takes

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Super Terminal supported by powerful Chinese bodies

Informa Markets’ Super Terminal Expo now has the support of two powerful players in China’s aviation industry – Hong Kong International Aviation Academy (HKIAA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The exhibition will be held at AWE in November this year.

300 delegates at UFI European Conference in Zurich

The UFI European Conference was held last week, running from 11th to 13th June 2024. Held at Messe Zürich, it attracted 300 delegates from 41 countries and regions. It was hosted by MCH Group. The content focused on the five trends that UFI highlighted at the start of the year – changing customer expectations, sustainability, AI, climate change, M&A, etc.

New GM at Messe Düsseldorf China

Messe Düsseldorf has appointed a new General Manager in China. Ms. Evian Gu will lead the subsidiaries Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai and Messe Düsseldorf China, effective 1st August 2024. She will succeed Marius Berlemann, who will become Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH from 1st August 2024, and continue to be Regional Head of Messe Düsseldorf for Asia (MDfA).

DLG announces two Singaporean partnership deals

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Shanghai & Singapore, 10th June: DLG Exhibition & Events (DEXPO), the organiser of many exhibitions and conferences in China – including the WAIC – World Artificial Intelligence Conference – has announced partnerships with two Singapore-based companies, Constellar and MP Singapore.

Under the terms of the partnership with Constellar, DEXPO and Constellar will support each other’s events, jointly pursue cross-border networking opportunities and explore the creation of new events. With MP Singapore, DEXPO will jointly invest in, organise, and host business events in the technology sector in both China and South-East Asia.

Business is booming at HKCEC

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Hong Kong, 12th June: The management of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), HML, has announced that B2B exhibitions held at the venue in the first five months of 2024 attracted over 640,000 professional buyers (both international and local).

According to the venue, the outlook of Hong Kong’s exhibition and convention industry is strongly optimistic. Four new exhibitions and conferences will be held at HKCEC in the second half of 2024 as reoccurring trade fairs will also continue to take place. The new and reoccurring exhibitions and conferences will reinforce Hong Kong’s status as a key hub for business events.

UFI elects Panittha Buri President for 2025-26 term

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Paris / Zurich, 11th June: The UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has elected its President for the 2025-26 term. Panittha Buri, Vice-Chairperson of Thailand’s Bhiraj Buri Group, will join the UFI Presidential Trio in November as Incoming President, and become UFI President at the 92nd UFI Global Congress in November 2025 in Hong Kong.

After the election, the UFI Presidential Trio for the November 2024 – November 2025 term will be: Hugh Jones (CEO, RX Global), President; Panittha Buri (Vice-Chairperson, Bhiraj Buri Group), Incoming President; and Geoff Dickinson (CEO, dmg events), Outgoing President. This UFI Presidential Trio will begin at the conclusion of the 91st UFI Global Congress running from 20th to 23rd November 2024 in Cologne, Germany.

Pico Thailand revenues down 16% in Q1

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Bangkok, 7th June: Pico Thailand, the Thai-listed subsidiary of Pico Far East Holdings, has released its results for the quarter ended 30th April 2024. Revenues in the quarter were US$7.02 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 16%. The company posted a net profit of just US$12,000 in the quarter, compared with a profit of US$617,000 in the same quarter last year.

Pico Thailand also reported its results for the six months ended 30th April. Revenues in the period amounted to US$15 million, which is similar compared with same period last year. In the previous six months, the company recorded a net profit of US$102,000, compared with a profit of US$415,000 during the first half of the last financial year.

Quick takes

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Geoff Donaghy to step down as ICC Sydney CEO

Geoff Donaghy will step down from his role as CEO of ICC Sydney after 30 years of venue management leadership. He will leave on 30th August 2024. Donaghy will become an advisor to the business until the end of the year.

Deutsche Messe is back on track

Deutsche Messe AG posted record results in 2023, with revenue of €354 million (US$391 million) and a net profit of €46 million (US$51 million). In 2023, the company organised a total of 76 trade fairs and events in Germany and abroad, featuring over 27,000 exhibiting companies and attracting 4.7 million visitors.

HKTB and Art Basel ink new agreement

Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has signed a new three-year global partnership with Art Basel. The deal between HKTB and MCH, the show organiser, extends the collaboration beyond Hong Kong to all Art Basel shows worldwide. HKTB will be Art Basel’s partner at all editions of the show in Paris, Miami, Basel and Hong Kong.