Quick takes

Provocative take on the future of (watch) fairs

Very interesting article on an industry re-assessing the value of trade fairs. “We have to reinvent the watch fair. It could be Art Basel meets fashion week meets an Apple launch,” says CEO of Audemars Piguet. “In a digital world, you don’t need a fair,” according to CEO of Breitling.

Canton Fair losing its lustre?

What is the future of the Canton Fair? There are quite a few factors working against one of Asia’s oldest and largest trade fairs: the COVID-19 pandemic, geo-political tensions, and of course the inexorable rise of e-commerce.

Business travel is essential and coming back

Let’s close the week on a brighter note… business travel is essential and coming back, at least it is according to this survey. “More than 80% of business travellers indicated that the lack of travel has negatively impacted their jobs, with 28% unable to do their job effectively.”

Share price movement in B2B media companies involved in Asia

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)

Quick takes

Registration for the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference is open

This is the first time in the history of the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference that it will be digital only, but there is an impressive line-up of speakers including:

·         Margaret Ma Connelly, CEO of Informa Markets in Asia;

·         Jor Zhou, CEO in China for GL events;

·         Siew Hoon Yeoh, Founder of Web-in-Travel;

·         and many more…

Click on the link below to register!

UFI Asia-Pacific event website

List of countries accepting vaccinated travellers

This is a reasonably comprehensive list from Business Traveller. We are moving slowly, but at least there is some progress.

China looks to 2022 to lift restrictions

Another article from Business Traveller. This is somewhat positive. Good to read that Beijing is discussing opening borders, but then there is this: “China is expected to ease travel restrictions once it attains herd immunity towards the end of the year. The world’s second largest economy targets to vaccinate 40 per cent of its 1.4 billion population by June. Vaccination rates currently hover in the single digits.” Actually, the vaccination programme in China is moving at a snail’s pace, so herd immunity is a long, long way off.

Trade show industry forms global coalition

UFI and a wide range of industry leaders have joined forces to prioritise the safe reopening live events to drive economic recovery on a global scale. Other supporters of this initiative include: SISO, Clarion Events, Comexposium, Diversified Communications, Emerald, Informa Markets, Reed Exhibitions and Tarsus.

Share price movement in B2B media companies involved in Asia

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)

Thailand upgrades health and safety measures in MICE cities

Thailand, 7th April: Earlier this week, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), 12 organisations and 10 MICE cities signed an MoU agreeing to upgrade hygiene standards across the kingdom.

The new initiative, Unlock MICE Cities with High Standard of Safety, is the largest inter-organisational MICE collaboration in Thailand since COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. The initiative will raise safety standards in ten MICE cities: Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phitsanulok, Phuket, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Udon Thani and Pattaya. The aim is to boost confidence among domestic event planners in holding MICE events in these areas.

SEEC’s posts large loss in FY2020

Hong Kong, 31st March: Last week, SEEC Media, a Chinese B2B media group, released its financial results for the year ended 31st December 2020. Total revenues in the year were US$10.3 million, a decrease of 8.1% year-on-year. In addition, the company posted a loss of US$18 million in 2020, compared with a loss of US$13 million recorded in the previous year.

More than half of SEEC’s revenues were generated from its advertising services & sales of books & magazines (US$5.5 million), which is similar to the result in the previous year. Its next largest business segment, the money lending business, generated revenues of US$2.02 million. This accounted for about 20% of SEEC Media’s total revenues and posted an increase of 4.4% year-on-year.

Hyve releases trading update

London, 8th April: Recently, the Hyve Group (formerly ITE Group) released its trading update for the six months ended 31st March 2021. Revenues in the six-month period are expected to be approximately £10 million (US$14 million). Net debt is expected to be £92 million (US$126 million).

Hyve has run 24 physical events since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic including 12 events running in the previous six months in China, India as well as in Turkey, Russia, and the Ukraine.

Thailand unveils plans to reopen to tourists

Thailand, 7th April: As of 1st April, Thailand has reduced the quarantine period for foreign travellers. The first batch of visitors has reportedly taken advantage of the shorter quarantine scheme. The Kingdom is also pressing ahead with vaccinations for tourism industry workers and working on obtaining final approval of the roadmap for reopening.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism is exploring plans to open a “travel bubble” with Singapore. Thailand is currently operating travel bubbles with Australia and Zealand. The new Singapore travel bubble is expected to start as of 1st October.

Quick takes

Tarsus’ Doug Emslie looks to the future

“It’s not about virtual shows… It will be about how we service a community based on what our customer wants.” Good, sensible views from the Tarsus CEO, but let’s hope the term “omnichannel” does not stick.

Reading Festival expected to use vaccine passports

There is considerable resistance to this sort of initiative in some corners, but it seems highly likely that vaccine passports are going to be used in some places at some events – like it or not.

Singapore minister predicts progressive opening

Singapore’s Minister for Trade & Industry, Chan Chun Sing, stated he expects “progressively opening up with countries that are able to keep the pandemic under control and progressive across travel types – business travel, niche travel and mass travel… We are not safe until everyone is safe.” If we are waiting for everyone to be safe, it is going to be a long wait.

How desperate are Hong Kongers to travel again?

“When it comes to post-pandemic priorities, 77% of Hong Kong travellers admitted they would rather go on vacation in 2021 than find true love, while 68% would pick travelling over success at work.” As many of us have discovered in 2020 and 2021, Hong Kong is a pretty small place to wait out a pandemic.

Hong Kong continues to take a very cautious approach to travellers

Hong Kong, 30th March: According to media reports, the Hong Kong government plans to “reopen” to lower-risk tourists and shorten its quarantine period from 21 days to 14 days for some vaccinated travellers.

“For the first time since borders closed in March 2020, the city will reopen to low-risk travellers from Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore who are not Hong Kong residents. Visitors from these locations will qualify for a shortened 14-day quarantine period. This will be followed by a week of medical surveillance and Covid-19 testing on the 19th day… Fully vaccinated travellers who have visited medium-risk locations such as South Korea and Japan will also be eligible for a shortened quarantine of two weeks.”

KLCC hosts first consumer exhibition of 2021

Kuala Lumpur, 25th March: The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) has hosted its first major consumer exhibition of the year, the Malaysia International Home Renovation + Interior Design (REX Expo) 2021, running from 19th to 21st March.

REX Expo, a household show, has been held at KLCC since 2015. After multiple postponements, this is the first edition of REX Expo since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The event provides a platform for homeowners with interior design ideas, as well as the latest trends, renovation tips and solutions from the experts, and a variety of other home-related products.

Sino Splendid’s revenues drop 62% in FY2020

Hong Kong, 29th March: Earlier this week, Hong Kong-listed Sino Splendid (formerly China.com) announced its full year results for the year ended 31st December 2020. The company reported revenues of US$5.3 million, a decrease of 62% year-on-year. The company also posted a loss of US$3 million in 2020, compared with a loss of US$342,000 in the previous year.

More than half of Sino Splendid’s revenues were generated from its travel media business, amounting to US$2.9 million. That figure represents a year-on-year decline of 71%. Its second largest business, a financial magazine business, dropped 38% down to US$2.2 million. This business accounts for about 42% of Sino Splendid’s total revenues. The remaining revenues were generated from interest income (US$195,000) and its new virtual reality business (US$34,000).

HC Group’s revenues fall modestly in FY2020

Hong Kong, 25th March: Last week, the HC Group, an online B2B information services provider in China, reported total revenues of US$2.2 billion for the year ended 31st December 2020. That represents a slight decrease of just 1.5% year-on-year. The company also recorded a net loss of US$134 million in 2020, compared with a loss of US$66 million in 2019.

More than 90% of HC’s revenues were generated from its smart industries segment, amounting to US$2.02 billion. That figure is very similar to that of the previous year. The remaining revenues were generated from its “technology-driven new retail segment” (US$157 million) and HC’s platform & corporate services segment (US$52 million).

Quick takes

Computex 2021 cancelled, again

For the second year in a row, TAITRA has cancelled one of its flagship events. Computex was due to be held in early June, but with international travel near impossible, this is an event that simply cannot proceed.

Maldives expects full tourism recovery in 2021

In the good news column, Maldives’ President Ibrahim Solih said that the country plans to fully vaccinate its entire population within six months and it expects to achieve tourism recovery by the middle of 2021 and possibly even exceed the 2019 levels of 1.7 million arrivals. Plenty of good data and tables in this article.

Interview with Freeman’s CEO

An interesting interview with Freeman’s CEO, Bob Priest-Heck. A recent study conducted by Freeman reveals by autumn 2021, 78% of attendees expect to attend a physical event. 94% expect to do so by next winter. Unsurprisingly, digital platforms are becoming more popular for education, but not for exhibitions or networking.

Let’s get travel sorted out with a single approach

A South China Morning Post editorial notes that “a clear route is required to end travel confusion… there is much talk of vaccine passports, ‘travel bubbles’ and digital certificates when the world needs a single viable mechanism.” Hear, hear!

Share price movement in B2B media companies involved in Asia

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)