Quick takes

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AIME returns to Melbourne next year

Celebrating its 30th anniversary next year, the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) will be returning to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 13-15 February 2023.  The show is expected to attract 400 hosted buyers, 2,000 visitor buyers and over 300 exhibitors from around the world.

Festivals inspire new trends in events

Creative digital technology and the social purpose showcased at festivals like Glastonbury and Coachella are being applied to brand activation and business events, creating more engaging and impactful experiences tied to social responsibility.

Government and industry leaders focus on MICE

Global industry leaders and government representatives agreed on five key areas of collaboration at the Joint Leadership Summit held in Singapore on 5th October, pledging to define business events as “controlled gatherings”, establish business events as both economic and tourism tools, and collaborate on accessibility, talent & capability development and sustainability.

Pico and Founders Factory jointly help start-ups in Asia

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Hong Kong, 6th October: Hong Kong-listed Pico Group announced it is joining hands with Founders Factory, a leading start-up accelerator and venture studio, to launch a new venture-building initiative in Asia.

The two companies will cultivate technology start-ups in Web3, martech and event activation. The initiative will target “start-up accelerators” – focusing on assisting pre-seed and seed stage start-ups looking to build scale, and “venture studios” – helping them identify and grow new start-ups.

Constellar to launch Singapore’s first agri-tech exhibition

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Singapore, 11th October: Singapore-based exhibition organiser, Constellar, will open Singapore’s first agri-food technology exhibition, Agri-Food Tech Expo Asia (AFTEA). It will be held as a participating event of Singapore International Agri-Food Week.

With international partner DLG (the German Agricultural Society), the inaugural AFTEA will run from 26th to 28th October 2022 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The show will highlight knowledge sharing and technology solutions to address farming and food supply challenges, aiming to improve quality, efficiency and output of agricultural processes, increase crop yield and self-reliance. More than 200 exhibitors from 15 countries will be showcased.

Inaugural Asia CEO Summit concludes in Singapore

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Singapore, 7th October: The inaugural Asia CEO Summit was held from 5th to 7th October 2022 at The Fullerton Hotel in Singapore, bringing together leaders of major business events organisers. They reaffirmed their commitment to the sustainable growth of business events and the MICE sector in Asia.

During the summit, participants exchanged insights on the resumption of physical business events in their respective markets, and built momentum for further business events in the region.

STB inks new MICE partnerships

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Singapore, 5th October: Following the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), STB has signed two other partnerships with key MICE industry players to grow the industry in Singapore, aiming to reinforce Singapore’s position as a Global-Asia Node for business events.

The first MoU is a seven-party MoU involving STB, Informa Markets, Constellar Venues, PICO World (Singapore), Cityneon Holdings, Kingsmen Exhibits and Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (SACEOS). The other MoU was signed between STB and Comexposium, a leading global event organizer.

Quick takes

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Singapore Grand Prix 2022 sets record-high attendance

After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, Formula 1 has returned to Singapore. Excited fans from around the world flocked to the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022, setting a new attendance record of 302,000 for the three-day event – the highest in its 13-year history.

South Korea drops PCR testing requirements

Following the removal of pre-departure PCR testing requirement for inbound travellers earlier this month, South Korea has now removed the on-arrival PCR testing requirement in light of a recent gradual decline in infections. However, restrictions on foreign entrants may return if high-risk virus variants emerge.

Indonesia focuses on building domestic tourism

Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (MoTCE) will prioritise growth of domestic travel with the goal of 1.4 billion movements in 2023, and work to bolster quality and sustainability for the international market. Facilitating these efforts, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno inaugurated Ni Made Ayu Marthini as Deputy for Tourism, Nia Niscaya as Deputy for Strategic Policies, and Diah Martini Mohammad Paham as Deputy for Resources and Institutional Affairs.

Hong Kong’s new “0+3” policy receives mixed reactions

From 26th September, visitors to Hong Kong will no longer have to undergo hotel quarantine, and will only be required to self-monitor for three days upon arrival – however they will not be able to access high-risk areas such as restaurants during that time.  While travel and hospitality industry representatives welcomed the move, the market is still looking for the complete removal of pandemic-related restrictions… or at least a clear roadmap to get there.

IEG expands in Singapore

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Singapore, 5th October: Exhibition organiser Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore Tourism Board (STB). In addition, the company has also acquired trade shows from CEMS – Conference & Exhibition Management Services.

IEG, a leading company of organising trade show and conference events in Italy, has strengthened its presence in Asia, by signing a MoU with STB to support the development and organisation of new events in Singapore, and also strengthen its MICE business in Singapore. The company has also signed a letter of intent (LOI) with CEMS to acquire two strategic trade shows in the luxury and food segments: SIJE – Singapore International Jewelry Expo and Café Asia, Sweet and Bakes Asia, Restaurant Asia. No financial details of the acquisition were disclosed. After the expansion, IEG will open its own regional headquarters in Singapore.

Hyve recovers 85% of FY2019

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London, 3rd October: International exhibition organiser, Hyve Group plc, released the latest trading update for the year ended 30th September 2022, showing a full revenue recovery during the second half of the financial year and projecting a strong trading trajectory for upcoming year.

The London-listed company posted revenues for FY2022 to be £122 million (US$136 million). Excluding revenues from discontinued operations in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, and having successfully run a full schedule of events outside China during the year, the company was 85% recovery on a pro-forma basis when compared to FY2019, before the pandemic. Due to speedy recovery, reliance on insurance proceeds reduced to £19 million (US$21 million), compared with £65 million (US$73 million) last year.

Eco Expo Asia 2022 looks good

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Hong Kong, 3rd October: Following the discontinuous compulsory quarantine in Hong Kong, Eco Expo Asia 2022 will be held from 14th to 17th December at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), with an increasingly rosy picture for the event.

Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, the event will open to the public on 17th December and online services will run until 24th December. Themed “Green Innovations for Carbon Neutrality”, this year’s events will focus on four main areas: Carbon neutrality, New energy, Green finance and ESG, and Green transportation.

In-person events up 724% on Bizzabo platform

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Worldwide, 28th September: According to Bizzabo’s Event Experience Operating System, the number of in-person events increased by 724% during January to September 2022. In addition, most events coming in the second half of the year on the platform will also be in-person.

Hybrid events remain a key marketing platform. About 10% of events held monthly on the Bizzabo platform have been in hybrid format since March 2022. About 70% of event organisers plan to have a virtual component to support their next in-person event. Meanwhile, the number of virtual events held on the Bizzabo platform was almost flat during January to September 2022. Overall, the number of events hosted on the Bizzabo platform posted a 20% increase.

Jakarta government offers support to MICE

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Jakarta, 26th September: The Jakarta city government has launched a new initiative to support its business events industry. Jakarta will create a bid fund aimed at bringing events to the city.

The government has earmarked a budget of 10 billion rupiah (US$675,000) to support event organisers bidding for and hosting major events. The level of support will need to be approved by an independent board which includes the Creative Economic & Jakarta Art Council committees

Fiera Milano launches new show in Singapore

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Singapore, 22nd September: The inaugural edition of FIND – Design Fair Asia (an acronym of Furniture, Interiors and Design) opened at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center in Singapore running from 22nd to 24th September 2022. More than 250 brands from all over the world showcased their design creations for the home, lighting, bathroom, textiles and interior décor sectors.

Organised by Fiera Milano through a joint venture with dmg events, the new show targets audiences including architects, interior designers, retailers, experts and design enthusiasts from across Asia. The new event was the highlight of Singapore Design Week, a large design festival in Singapore which brings together 50 events and 200 designers over 10 days in multiple venues.

NOVA’s revenues down 51% in FY2022

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Hong Kong, 23rd September: Last week, Hong Kong-based exhibition and event organiser, NOVA Group (formerly known as Mega Expo) announced its financial results for the year ended 30th June 2022. The company reported total revenues of US$14.3 million, a decrease of 51% compared with the previous year. The company’s loss widened substantially to US$16 million, compared with a loss of just US$700,000 last year.

NOVA Group’s revenues were entirely generated from its key two non-event business segments: cultural entertainment segment (US$7.2 million) and financing segment (US$7.1 million). The cultural entertainment segment dropped 68%, while the revenues from the financing segment were up slightly by 5.1%. The company did not generate revenues from its exhibitions & events business.

TCEB wins three energy industry conferences

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Thailand, 22nd September: Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and IEEE PES – Thailand join forces to host three power and energy industry conferences in a variety of Thai cities over the next several years.

The three conferences are the 15th Annual Asia-Pacific Power & Energy Engineering Conference (IEEE PES APPEEC 2023) in Chiang Mai, the IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2) 2024 in Pattaya and the IEEE PES GTD Grand International Conference and Exposition Asia (GTD Asia 2025) in Bangkok. More than 10,000 participants from around the world will attend these conferences which are expected to generate more than 837 million baht (US$22.5 million) in economic impact.

Quick takes

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Stephen Brooks back in B2B

This is not an Asian development, but still interesting. Stephen Brooks, the former owner of Mack Brooks is stepping back into B2B events three years after selling his company to Reed Exhibitions. Co-investors are Clarion’s Simon Kimble and George Rockett, the founder of the investee company, DCD International.

Japan, Korea and Taiwan ease COVID restrictions

Following Hong Kong’s move to effectively end hotel quarantine, Japan removes its visa and arrival caps. Korea ends (its rather silly) outdoor mask mandate and Taiwan drops its “quarantine on arrival” rule as of 13th October.

Singapore hosts Hong Kong’s jewellery expo

Informa’s massive flagship jewellery expo opened in Singapore this week. This represents another one of Hong Kong’s missed opportunities. Usually, that event is held in Hong Kong and it fills Hong Kong’s two key venues, AWE and HKCEC. The event should return to Hong Kong in 2023, but nothing is certain these days.

White paper highlights Hong Kong’s event opportunities

It will take a lot more than white papers to reverse the damage to Hong Kong’s events industry reputation, but nonetheless, this paper offers interesting suggestions and insights.

Koelnmesse and Messe Düsseldorf launch new shows in Japan

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Japan, 14th September: International exhibition organisers, Koelnmesse and Messe Düsseldorf announced plans to launch new gourmet food and wine & spirits events in Japan.

Koelnmesse will launch its ISM Japan in 2023, covering a range of products including sweets and snacks. Messe Düsseldorf will expand its wine & spirits portfolio by organising ProWine Tokyo beginning in 2024. These events will be co-located with The World Food And Beverage Great Expo (FABEX) organised by Japan Food Journal. Prior to launching ProWine Tokyo in 2024, Messe Düsseldorf will organise Wine & Gourmet – powered by ProWein.