Quick takes

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Jack Ma officially relinquishes control of ANT

ANT Financial has restructured is shareholding which has reduced Jack Ma’s stake from 54% to 6%. This is seen as a necessary step to clear the way for ANT’s IPO which was cancelled after Jack criticised Chinese regulators in a 2020 speech.

Trip.com’s key trends for 2024

Interestingly, the trends include: China’s border reopening sparks global travel surge, AI takes centrestage in predictive planning for 2024, Music festivals and theme parks lead the way, and the rise of sustainable travel and event tourism in 2024.

Asian governments continue to remove visa hurdles

In order to smooth the way for more business and leisure visitors, many governments in Asia are dropping visa requirements. This week announcements from Malaysia, China and Indonesia.

Messe München exceeds expectations in 2023

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München, 15th December: International exhibition organiser Messe München expects revenues in 2023 to reach US$384 million – up US$49 million compared to 2022. EBITDA grew by US$50 million to hit US$69 million.

In China, the company organised 22 events in seven different locations in 2023. In India, 18 trade fairs were held in five cities. The company also organised its inaugural even in Singapore – a multimodal logistics trade fair.

Hyve expects 35% growth in 2023

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London, 18th December: London-based Hyve Group also released its expected results for 2023. The company anticipates like-for-like organic growth of 35% in terms of its revenues. During 2023, the company organised 34 events and 18 meetings programmes, attracting more than 300,000 attendees. In 2024, Hyve’s management maintains that it will pursue “more innovation and purpose-driven experiences, supported by a steadfast commitment to people, sustainability and community.”

Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve, stated, “Our success in 2023 is a testament to the determination, creativity, and skill of the entire Hyve team across the world. At the start of the year, we set out our long-term ambition to redefine our events for today’s world and I’m delighted to say we made great progress. In addition to delivering seven new meetings programmes across our portfolio.”

Marintec China 2023 attracts 80,000+ professionals

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Shanghai, 18th December: Organised by Informa Markets and the Shanghai Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers (SSNAME), Marintec China 2023, a leading event serving the maritime industry, concluded with more than 80,000 trade professionals from more than 100 countries and regions, which represents an increase of 12% compared with the last edition.

The show was held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), from 5th to 8th December, featuring over 2,000 exhibiting companies from all segments of the maritime supply chain.

Automechanika Shanghai 2023 features 5,600+ exhibitors

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Shanghai, 15th December: Messe Frankfurt’s Automechanika Shanghai 2023 featured 5,652 exhibitors from 41 countries and regions, with 16 pavilions from France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Türkiye, the UAE, the UK, and the US.

The show ran from 29th November to 2nd December 2023 at National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) (NECC), reportedly occupying an exhibition area of over 300,000 m2. A total of 185,000 visitors from 177 countries and regions attended the event. The countries or markets with the highest number of visitors were: Malaysia, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Türkiye, Thailand, Brazil, the UAE, Australia and Germany.

Quick takes

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Alibaba appoints new CEO of Taobao and Tmall

The Alibaba Group appoint Eddie Wu, who looks to be barely 20 years old (see photo), to head its largest business units, Taobao and Tmall. Incredibly, he will also remain CEO of Alibaba Cloud.

The China Daily interviews Hugh Jones!

Or at least the article is presented that way. The article states that RX managed to hold 15 exhibitions in China last year – which seems surprisingly high. On the positive side of things, RX organised 75 events in China in 2023.

Marketers are thinking about AI

It is quiet out there this week. Here is a list of top trends for marketers. They are thinking a lot about AI and its expected impact.

UFI releases latest World Map of Exhibition Venues

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Paris, 12th December: UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has recently released another new research report, the World Map of Exhibition Venues, provides a list of venues in 21 markets with a minimum of 5,000 m2 of gross indoor exhibition space and with total capacity over 300,000 m2 of gross indoor exhibition space.

According to the report, 29% of the world’s venue capacity is located in China, followed by the U.S. with 15%, and in third place was Germany with 7.5%. A total of 81 “mega venues” with exhibition space of more than 100,000 m2 were identified in the report – of which 40 are in Europe and 35 are in Asia-Pacific.

Deutsche Messe surpasses projections in 2023

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Hannover, 7th December: International exhibition organiser, Deutsche Messe AG, has announced its revenues for the fiscal year 2023 were €350 million (US$381 million), with a net profit of €30 million (US$33 million). Both of those figures exceed the management’s original projections for the year.

Deutsche Messe hosted more than 90 trade fairs during the year, attracting some 26,000 exhibiting companies and more than 4.8 million visitors. Events in Turkey and China performed particularly well.

Hong Kong to host IBTM in Asia

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Hong Kong, 30th November: Hong Kong will host the inaugural edition of IBTM Asia Pacific 2025, the Asia Pacific edition of IBTM, a leading event brand serving the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) sector. The event is owned and organised by RX Global (formerly Reed Exhibitions).

The event in Hong Kong is expected to attract more than 1,500 travel trade and MICE professionals from mainland China, Southeast Asia, India, Japan, South Korea and other markets in the region, as well as long-haul markets.

STB appoints Markus Tan as a Regional Director

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Singapore, 13th December: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has appointed Markus Tan as its Regional Director for India, Middle East, South Asia, and Africa (IMESA), effective 1st January 2024.

Tan will be based in Mumbai and he will be responsible for spearheading STB’s initiatives in promoting Leisure and Business Travel & Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (BTMICE) in the IMESA region.

Quick takes

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Register now the 2024 UFI Asia-Pacific Conference

You can now register for the 2024 UFI Asia-Pacific Conference. Both UFI members and non-members are welcome to the even which will be held in Macau on 7–8 March. There will be two days of networking, as well as discussion about the key issues facing the industry in the post-pandemic era. An Event Directors Summit will be part of the conference. This half-day summit, which is limited to 25 event/exhibition directors, is a new UFI event that will be co-located with the conference. Details are on the event website: https://www.ufiasia.org/

AI expected to revolutionise travel marketing

Over at Web in Travel (WiT), Arvindh Yuvaraj reports that the majority of Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) are convinced that AI is going to transform marketing in that industry – changing everything from content creation to data analysis. The business events industry should take note of this. Our industry will certainly follow a similar path.

AIME 2024 will be bigger than ever

This week, AIME stated that its 2024 edition is expected to be larger than its 2023 event, which was its 30th anniversary. AIME will be held in Melbourne next February and it is expected to attract more than 500 exhibitors. In addition, over 600 hosted buyers are confirmed – including 160 international buyers from 27 countries.

Sarawak records a strong rebound in 2023

Business Events Sarawak, a CVB, reported this week that it generated nearly US$75 million in economic impact in 2023. In addition, Borneo, a Malaysian state, will welcome an estimated 42,000 delegates at 95 national and international events over the next four years thanks to the efforts of the team at Business Events Sarawak.

Ulsan aims to become business events destination

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Ulsan, 5th December: Ulsan, a southern city in South Korea, is an industrial powerhouse in the past. Now, the city is aiming to rein vent itself as a MICE destination by leveraging its whaling and engineering heritage with an eco-friendly outlook.

In 2020, a MICE Alliance was launched in Ulsan, covering 61 member companies across five business categories – ranging from hotels and tour organisers to international event planners. The alliance targets to make the best of the region’s local heritage and eco-friendly initiatives, and tourism authorities are helping to drive joint-marketing effects and host local events.

Pico Thailand’s revenues down, but profit up in FY2022-23

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Bangkok, 6th 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 2023. Revenues in the financial year were US$29 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 6.2%.

However, the company’s net profit posted 12% growth over the previous year, reaching US$634,000. Earnings per share were Baht 0.10 (US$0.0028).

ICCA draws record attendance in Bangkok

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Bangkok, 6th December: The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) concluded its 62nd congress in Bangkok, with a total of 1,123 participants from 80 countries and regions. This is the largest ICCA event in the Asia Pacific region, and the third largest in the history of ICCA.

The congress was held at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC), from 12th to 15th November.

Cosmoprof Asia 2023 returns to Hong Kong

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Hong Kong, 24th November: Cosmoprof Asia and Cosmopack Asia returned to Hong Kong in 2023, held at the city’s two main exhibition venues.

The two shows were organised by Cosmoprof Asia Ltd, a joint-venture company between BolognaFiere Group and Informa Markets Asia Ltd. This year, the shows featured more than 2,400 exhibitors from 44 countries and regions, with 90% from outside Hong Kong, occupying an exhibition are of 118,900 m2. A total of 65,582 visitors from 119 countries and regions attended the show, which is a 64% increase over the previous edition held in Hong Kong in 2019, and close to the levels achieved in 2018. Significant increases were recorded from Asian markets, and European attendance remained steady.

Quick takes

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China and Singapore propose mutual 30-day visa-free travel

A 30-day mutual visa exemption agreement has been proposed between China and Singapore, aimed for implementation early next year. Chinese citizens currently require a visa to enter Singapore, while Singaporeans can enter China without a visa for up to 15 days for business, sightseeing, visiting friends and family, and in transit.

Hong Kong and Macau confident in Christmas travellers

Despite a surge of respiratory illnesses impacting China, operators in Macau and Hong Kong have played down the impact on inbound travel during the peak year-end Christmas season. Respective health organisations in Hong Kong and Macau advised the public to remain vigilant during the traditional peak flu season.