Some countries consider establishing “travel bubbles”

Asia, 9th June: As the number of active COVID-19 infections continues to drop in Asia, some countries in the region plan to allow international flights and to establish “travel bubbles.”

In Vietnam, international flights have been suspended since 25th March with a few exceptions and foreign nationals have been banned entry since 22nd March. The Vietnamese government now plans to resume the flights to and from countries that have had no new cases of COVID-19 for 30 days – although that is likely to be a short list of countries.

Singapore and China have created a “fast lane” for essential business and official travel between the two countries, allowing travel between Singapore and six provinces and municipalities in China (Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Tianjin and Zhejiang).

Quick takes

More on Informa – NuOrder partnership

Informa Markets is partnering with e-commerce technology provider NuOrder to launch a digital show this fall for the fashion apparel industry. It could take the world’s largest commercial organiser in an interesting direction.

Online Canton Fair is underway

We can expect mixed results as China’s largest trade show takes an unplanned run at a purely digital edition. It may have to do it all over again for the autumn edition.

TAITRA cancels Computex

This large and important event was delayed from June to September and now finally it has been cancelled. This is not a good sign for large international B2B exhibitions planned in the region for September and October. Taiwan has long had COVID-19 under control, but the same cannot be said for the 170+ countries that send visitors and exhibitors to Computex each year.

Quick takes

LinkedIn targets virtual events

It is difficult to tell where all of this is headed, but there is certainly a lot of action and change in the virtual events space.

Coywolf article

HK travel trade show going ahead

Local Hong Kong exhibition organiser, TKS Exhibitions, is pushing ahead with its travel trade show, ITE Hong Kong 2020, in August. Hopefully that is a sign of good things to come for both the events industry and the travel industry.

Mix Meetings article

Reed’s BookExpo was virtually successful

The New York Times reports that the “publishing industry’s annual event, normally staged at the cavernous Javits Center, moved some programming online and reached a big digital crowd.” But does a big digital crowd equal a real success for the exhibitors?

New York Times article

Cathay Pacific gets US$5b from government

The Hong Kong government will put US$5 billion into ailing Cathay Pacific. After the transaction, the government will own about 6% of the airline. Hopefully, this will be enough to get Cathay back in the air. The Swire Group currently owns 45%. Air China owns 30% and Qatar Airways owns 10%.

Business Traveller article and Bloomberg article 

Border restrictions in Asia are easing

Last week, Hong Kong announced that it would remove quarantine requirements for visitors from Mainland China on 7th July and other international destinations on 18th September. This week Singapore is considering opening it borders to China and Malaysia.

Mix Meetings article and Mix Meetings article

Quick takes

Alibaba adds financial tools and online trade shows

The Chinese e-commerce giant is increasingly targeting the U.S. market and the trade show industry.

TechCrunch article

HKTDC to offer virtual platform for jewellery

The organiser’s August jewellery event will feature a virtual platform for international buyers who cannot attend. Hong Kong will still have quarantine measures in place for international arrivals in August – and the event’s venue, AsiaWorld-Expo, is currently a testing site for COVID-19.

Retail Jeweller article

Made-in-China.com piggybacks on Canton Fair

Made-in-China.com will hold online “simultaneous events” beginning on 15th June which will “create digital, immersive and convenient sourcing experience for global buyers.”

Made-in-China press release

Global Exhibitions Day reaches millions

Perhaps driven in part of by lockdowns and the unprecedented challenges faces the industry, GED resulted in record engagement – over 7,000 mentions on social media and delivered “reach” of over 650 million with over 100 countries participating.

UFI press release

Messe München appoints General Manager in Singapore

International exhibition organiser, Messe München, appointed Michael Wilton as the new General Manage in Singapore, effective 1st June 2020.

Messe München press release