Quick takes

Singapore to offer highly restricted form of business travel

Singapore is pressing ahead with a plan to offer an almost literal travel bubble to “high economic value” business travellers. The plan features plenty of testing, tracing devices and rooms divided by glass.

Alibaba endures a week of unfortunate news coverage

Things have not been going Jack Ma’s way since the last-minute delay (cancellation, really) of Ant Group’s IPO. Bloomberg reports that the Ant IPO will not happen at all in 2021. Now there are reports that Alibaba’s facial recognition software has been used to profile Muslim Uyghurs in China. And lastly, the AP reports that Alibaba was fined (a grand total of US$76,500) under China’s anti-monopoly laws.

Informa Markets to launch beauty event in Thailand

Informa Markets will host the first edition of Cosmoprof CBE ASEAN at the IMPACT Convention and Exhibition Center in Bangkok next year. The new event will be organised by Informa Markets, China Beauty Expo (CBE) and BolognaFiere.

Quick takes

Singapore to host 2021 World Economic Forum

Some event markets may actually come out of this pandemic having improved their reputation and attractiveness to organisers. The Lion City is attempting to do just that. Singapore must have pulled out all the stops (and its cheque book) to convince the WEF to make this move.

2021 Paris Air Show cancelled

It is difficult to think of two industries hit harder than aviation and business events. With that in mind, it is not particularly surprising that the French aerospace industry association cancelled the 2021 edition of the event – this is its first cancellation since World War II.

Asia Fruit Logistica returns to Hong Kong

This event has had a rough couple of years. Organisers pressed ahead in September last year during the Hong Kong protests and then they decided to relocate to Singapore for 2020. Of course, the pandemic put a stop to that. Now, Asia Fruit Logistica will return to Hong Kong in 2021.

Alibaba struggles with sales in Europe

This is an interesting Bloomberg article on Alibaba’s weak sales in Europe. They may not need the European market, but it does seem that they want what they cannot have.

Messe Frankfurt’s revenues hit €250 million in FY2020

Frankfurt, 9th December: Messe Frankfurt (MF), a leading German international exhibition organiser, has released its results for the 2020 financial year. The company generated revenues of approximately €250 million (US$302 million). MF organised more than 150 events worldwide this year. The announcement noted that Messe Frankfurt managed to organise just one third the number of events compared to the years prior to COVID-19.

According to the group’s management, despite the very challenging market conditions in 2020 Messe Frankfurt held a total of 153 events – including 52 trade fairs and exhibitions featuring more than 33,100 exhibiting companies and some 1.3 million visitors. Management also noted that Messe Frankfurt’s business in China recovered remarkably well. The company stated, “Messe Frankfurt events (in China), in many cases, were on a par with pre-coronavirus years.”

Pico Thailand posts large loss in FY2020

Bangkok, 8th December: Earlier this week, Pico Thailand, the Thai-listed subsidiary of Pico Far East Holdings, announced its full-year financial results for the year ended 31st October 2020. The company posted a loss of just over US$2 million in the financial year, compared with a profit of more than US$1.7 million recorded last year.

Pico Thailand recorded total revenues of US$23 million – representing a massive 52% drop compared with the year before. Pico Thailand attributed the fall of revenues to restrictions put in place by the Thai government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These restrictions resulted in a large number of cancelled and postponed events in 2020 – including corporate meetings, exhibitions and product launches which are the core of Pico’s business in Thailand.

Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai organises six shows since summer

Shanghai, 9th December: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai (MDS) announced that it has successfully held six shows since July. Combined these events occupied more than 250,000 m2.

According to MDS, over 3,200 companies participated in the six shows, attracting some 160,000 trade visitors. The six shows are: 100th China International Occupational Safety & Health Goods Expo (CIOSH), C-star – Shanghai’s International Trade Fair for Solutions and Trends All about Retail, wire China, Tube China, 8th All in Print China, and ProWine China.

Quick takes

Singapore signs three MOUs with organisers

Looking ahead to better days, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has signed three MoUs with international exhibition organisers – namely Informa Tech, Fiera Milano and Messe München. The agreements were signed at STB’s TravelRevive event held last month.

Bizzabo raises US$138 million

Silly name. Serious money. Yet another platform enabling event organisers to create virtual conferences just raised US$138 million.

UFI picks five trends for 2021

UFI’s CEO Kai Hattendorf has published his annual list of the five trends to watch. Our favourite is “we will bounce back.” Let’s hope so.

Reed Exhibitions to lay off 500

The Financial Times has reported “at least 500 staff have already left Reed Exhibitions or will be gone by the end of the year.” The vaccine can’t come fast enough.

HK government offers new stimulus to travel agents

Hong Kong, 30th November: The Hong Kong government has announced a further HK$600 million (US$77.4 million) in COVID-19 relief aimed at the city’s tourism industry as Hong Kong ensure a fourth wave of infections. The measures were unveiled as part of Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s policy address.

Under the scheme, each licensed travel agent in Hong Kong will receive a cash subsidy. The plan is expected to benefit some 1,700 agents. The amount received will depend on the number of staff. Agents with 10 or less staff will receive a fixed amount, HK$100,000 (US$12,900). Larger agents will receive HK$10,000 per staff member.

MCEC reopens with restrictions

Melbourne, 27th November: The Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has been permitted to reopen, however, events held at the venue need to follow certain COVID-19 restrictions.

Currently, events are limited to 25% of the venue’s seating capacity with a maximum of 250 people seated. The density has been limited to one person per 4 m2 in non-fixed seating areas. In addition, free standing events are currently not allowed, but event capacity will be increased over time as the situation improves.

Hyve Group’s revenues drop 52% in FY2020

London, 1st December: Earlier this week, London-listed Hyve Group (formerly ITE Group), released its preliminary results for the year ended 30th September 2020. Revenues for the year were £105.1 million (US$141.5 million). That represents a 52% drop year-on-year. This was, of course, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the financial year, Hyve sold a total of 364,000 m2 at its events, compared with the figure of 783,000 m2 in the previous year. The company posted a loss before tax of £18.7 million (US$25.2 million), compared with a profit of £50.4 million (US$67.9 million) in the previous year. Adjusted net debt was £67.7 million (US$91.2 million), as of 30th September 2020.

In Asia, the company performed comparatively stronger as it generated revenues of £17.1 million (US$23 million), compared with £23.2 million (US$31.2 million) last year. Profits before tax during the year was £7.3 million (US$9.8 million), down from the £9.4 million (US$12.7 million) last year.

Informa to launch jewellery show in Bangkok

Bangkok, 30th November: Informa Markets, the largest global organiser of jewellery exhibitions, will launch a new event in Thailand next year. Through Informa Markets Jewellery, the company will organise the inaugural Jewellery & Gem ASEAN Bangkok (JGAB) in November 2021.

The JGAB show will run from 9th to 12th November 2021, occupying approximately 8,000 m2, at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). The new show will extend the footprint of Informa Markets Jewellery into Thailand, one of the world’s leading coloured gemstone and jewellery manufacturing hubs. The largest competing event in Thailand is the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair which organised by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) – part of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand.