Weekly Newsletter
Melbourne, 5th July: The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) unveiled its new five-year sustainability strategy and issued ambitious targets for creating positive impact.
The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an urgent call-to-action for all countries to address the world’s most pressing challenges by 2030. These goals form the foundation of MCEC’s Sustainability Strategy.
Hong Kong, 5th July: Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) celebrated its 15th anniversary under the theme of “Change • Possibilities” with a HK$600 million (US$77 million) venue-wide renovation project.
The renovation project has already started and will be completed in phases over the coming five years, intended to eliminate disruptions to daily operations. It will further enhance venue facilities, benefiting future event organisers, exhibitors, concert performers, visitors of public shows and the general public.
Paris, 24th June: According to Comexposium, a leading event organiser, 75% of exhibiting companies intend to attend physical shows in 2021. The company also organised its first post-crisis events in May, most notably Sial China and the Franchise Expo.
The company has confirmed the main events will be held this autumn in key sectors across all its markets.
To combat the pandemic’s toll on Thailand’s struggling MICE industry, the country has adopted several new proactive strategies. In addition to producing e-learning courses in MICE, the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau will also be implementing the country’s first E-MICE marketplace (Thai MICE Connect) to create more business opportunities for entrepreneurs of business events and supply chains.
Reed Exhibitions (RX) UK has chosen Vasyl Zhygalo as its new Portfolio Director for the IBTM and WTM brands, in addition to his existing duties as Managing Director of RX Abu Dhabi.
Labelexpo India 2021 has been cancelled and is set to return on 9-12 November 2022. The Tarsus Group, the organiser of the Labelexpo Global Series, chose to reschedule the show to allow more time for COVID-19 vaccination programmes to roll out and for pandemic situations to stabilise. The event will continue to be held at Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida, Delhi NCR.
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Read MoreTianjin, 24th June: Last week, the National Convention & Exhibition Center (Tianjin), the Tianjin Commission of Commerce and Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings established a new strategic alliance to develop international branded trade fairs and events organised at the National Convention & Exhibition Center (Tianjin).
Under the new cooperation agreement, the Tianjin Commission of Commerce, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings and the National Convention & Exhibition Center (Tianjin) will become strategic partners in developing Tianjin’s national exhibition economic zone, establishing a world-class platform for exhibitions, conferences and events, together with local and international marketing and promotion teams, exhibitor recruitment, and training of exhibition personnel.
Bangkok, 24th June: The world largest exhibition organiser, Informa Markets, launched a new B2B online platform for the processing and packaging industry, ProPak Connect.
The platform supports ProPak’s portfolio of events, providing a comprehensive and year-round showcase for suppliers and buyers. It also aims to offer suppliers a unique opportunity to extend their brand presence online and reach new buyers.
Hong Kong, 24th June: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will host its 31st Hong Kong Book Fair from 14th to 20th July 2021, at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The event will also run together with Hong Kong Sports & Leisure Expo and the World of Snacks.
More than 700 exhibitors are expected to deliver cultural activities and leisure experiences under this year’s theme of Inspirational and Motivational Reading, with the tagline “Reading the World • Inspiring the Mind and Refreshing the Soul”.
Hong Kong, 24th June: Last week, Hong Kong-listed Pico Far East Holdings announced its interim results for the six months ended 30th April 2021. Revenues were US$242 million, flat with last year. Profits from core operations in the six-month period grew 9.2%, amounting to US$12 million. Diluted earnings per share in the first half of the financial year were HK$0.0465 (US$0.0060).
More than 76% of Pico’s revenues were generated from its exhibition & event marketing services business, amounting to US$184 million. This business decreased 3.4% year-on-year. The company claimed that despite having only three months to operate in a normal business environment during the period, the encouraging performance in China delivered an impressive number of in-person exhibitions and events.
At the 2021 edition of the UFI Digital Innovation Awards, Shanghai DLG Exhibitions and Events received first place for their outstanding work on the 2020 World AI Conference (WAIC) – a large-scale online event that was staged with only two months of preparation time. The company’s success story will be shared via a live case-study at Rotterdam during the 88th UFI Global Congress held in November.
Travellers to Singapore from higher-risk countries and regions will have their stay-home periods shortened from 21 to 14 days starting from June 24. All travellers will need to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival and on the final day of the stay-home notice, in addition to the newly implemented self-administered antigen rapid test (ART) kits on days 3, 7 and 11.
The Malaysian Government has extended its nationwide lockdown to stem COVID transmission rates. As part of phase one of Malaysia’s movement control order (MCO) 3.0, the lockdown will continue until three main threshold indicators are reached – the number of new daily cases must drop below 4,000, public health systems must return to moderate levels, and 10% of the population must be fully vaccinated. Hopefully Malaysia recovers quickly!
Figure 1: BSG B2B Media Index vs. All Tracked B2B Stocks (price movement over past 12 months)
Figure 2: BSG B2B Media Index vs. All Tracked B2B Stocks (price movement since January 2021)
Registrations are now open for the 88th UFI Global Congress, which will take place in person from 3-6 November 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Travel regulations permitting, hundreds of industry leaders from around the world are expected to attend.
A series of 20 in-person B2C and B2B events at HKCEC attracted more than a million visitors during the second quarter of 2021. Hong Kong trade and tourism officials say the city is ready for larger international events.
The Korea Tourism Organization will hold a new, hybrid travel expo from 29th June to 13th July 2021, bringing together four tourism events under a single umbrella. The Korea International Travel Expo (KITE 2021) will feature a roadshow, CVB showcase and exhibition on meeting technologies.
India, 21st June: Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd announced that the inaugural edition of Light + LED Expo India will be postponed to 3-5 November 2022, running at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
The new event will cover the entire lighting ecosystem – targeting lighting and component manufacturers and suppliers – and enabling them to strengthen their supply chains and tap into investment.
Macau, 21st June: Macau hosted the largest conference since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a worldwide slowdown for the MICE industry.
Running from 20th to 23rd April, 6,000 delegates attended the Pro-Health event, a four-day conference and tour for a Chinese health products company, under stringent but efficient hygiene protocols. The company held the conference to review the past year while mapping out future strategies, and also to celebrate the company’s 25th anniversary. Pro-Health China chose Macau for its event due to its convenient location, ease of access from China and the availability of world-class facilities in Cotai.
Hong Kong, 21 June: Co-organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and MMI Asia Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Messe München, electronicAsia will be rescheduled from 13-16 October 2021 to 27-30 October 2021. It will coincide with the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Fair) and five other concurrent fairs at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).
The decision to reschedule was made after consultation with industry representatives and key stakeholders. The co-located events will cover a wide range of product categories, creating synergy amongst the fairs, providing convenience and attracting buyers to visit various fairs in Hong Kong for one-stop sourcing.
Singapore, 23rd June: The MICE portfolio company of Temasek, SingEx Holdings Pte Ltd, and a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings Limited, Sphere Exhibits Pte Ltd, merged to form SingEx-Sphere Holdings in February. Recently, the merged company announced its new name, Constellar.
According to the company, the outbreak of COVID-19 has given the MICE industry the opportunity to become a digitally-enable intellectual property business, and Constellar will create a new path for growth through reinvention and collaboration.
Figure 1: BSG B2B Media Index vs. All Tracked B2B Stocks (price movement over past 12 months)
Figure 2: BSG B2B Media Index vs. All Tracked B2B Stocks (price movement since January 2021)
Phuket, 9th June: The Thai government announced Phuket will reopen on 1st July 2021 to vaccinated international tourists, the first city in the country to do so.
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is in discussions with airlines to increase seat capacities and is planning support packages for groups of 30 or more staying in Thailand for at least two nights. TCEB will also target tourists from China.
Hong Kong, 10th June: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) launched a new business support programme, the GoGBA one-stop platform, to help companies access the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
The launch of the GoGBA one-stop platform includes the GoGBA WeChat mini programme – a digital information and business tool, and the opening of the HKTDC GBA Centre, located in Shenzhen. Several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were also signed during the launch event to expand the network of support for Hong Kong companies.
London, 10th June: Last week, Reed Exhibitions announced it is rebranding as RX, with a refreshed visual identity and updated brand positioning.
After rebranding, RX will leverage its capabilities in data and technology to create year-round communities that support businesses and help their customers to grow. The company will also combine both digital and face-to-face interactions to create better livelihoods for its customers, better careers for people and better experiences for audiences to connect.
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