DLG announces two Singaporean partnership deals

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Shanghai & Singapore, 10th June: DLG Exhibition & Events (DEXPO), the organiser of many exhibitions and conferences in China – including the WAIC – World Artificial Intelligence Conference – has announced partnerships with two Singapore-based companies, Constellar and MP Singapore.

Under the terms of the partnership with Constellar, DEXPO and Constellar will support each other’s events, jointly pursue cross-border networking opportunities and explore the creation of new events. With MP Singapore, DEXPO will jointly invest in, organise, and host business events in the technology sector in both China and South-East Asia.

Business is booming at HKCEC

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Hong Kong, 12th June: The management of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), HML, has announced that B2B exhibitions held at the venue in the first five months of 2024 attracted over 640,000 professional buyers (both international and local).

According to the venue, the outlook of Hong Kong’s exhibition and convention industry is strongly optimistic. Four new exhibitions and conferences will be held at HKCEC in the second half of 2024 as reoccurring trade fairs will also continue to take place. The new and reoccurring exhibitions and conferences will reinforce Hong Kong’s status as a key hub for business events.

UFI elects Panittha Buri President for 2025-26 term

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Paris / Zurich, 11th June: The UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has elected its President for the 2025-26 term. Panittha Buri, Vice-Chairperson of Thailand’s Bhiraj Buri Group, will join the UFI Presidential Trio in November as Incoming President, and become UFI President at the 92nd UFI Global Congress in November 2025 in Hong Kong.

After the election, the UFI Presidential Trio for the November 2024 – November 2025 term will be: Hugh Jones (CEO, RX Global), President; Panittha Buri (Vice-Chairperson, Bhiraj Buri Group), Incoming President; and Geoff Dickinson (CEO, dmg events), Outgoing President. This UFI Presidential Trio will begin at the conclusion of the 91st UFI Global Congress running from 20th to 23rd November 2024 in Cologne, Germany.

Pico Thailand revenues down 16% in Q1

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Bangkok, 7th June: Pico Thailand, the Thai-listed subsidiary of Pico Far East Holdings, has released its results for the quarter ended 30th April 2024. Revenues in the quarter were US$7.02 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 16%. The company posted a net profit of just US$12,000 in the quarter, compared with a profit of US$617,000 in the same quarter last year.

Pico Thailand also reported its results for the six months ended 30th April. Revenues in the period amounted to US$15 million, which is similar compared with same period last year. In the previous six months, the company recorded a net profit of US$102,000, compared with a profit of US$415,000 during the first half of the last financial year.

Quick takes

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Geoff Donaghy to step down as ICC Sydney CEO

Geoff Donaghy will step down from his role as CEO of ICC Sydney after 30 years of venue management leadership. He will leave on 30th August 2024. Donaghy will become an advisor to the business until the end of the year.

Deutsche Messe is back on track

Deutsche Messe AG posted record results in 2023, with revenue of €354 million (US$391 million) and a net profit of €46 million (US$51 million). In 2023, the company organised a total of 76 trade fairs and events in Germany and abroad, featuring over 27,000 exhibiting companies and attracting 4.7 million visitors.

HKTB and Art Basel ink new agreement

Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has signed a new three-year global partnership with Art Basel. The deal between HKTB and MCH, the show organiser, extends the collaboration beyond Hong Kong to all Art Basel shows worldwide. HKTB will be Art Basel’s partner at all editions of the show in Paris, Miami, Basel and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong exhibitions recovering

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Hong Kong, 5th June: The Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) has released its latest annual exhibition survey, showing a rebound in the exhibition activities in Hong Kong since its post-pandemic reopening in early 2023.

In 2023, a total of 125 large-scale exhibitions, occupying over 2,000 m2 of floor space, were hosted in Hong Kong, which represented a 30% increase compared with the number in 2022. Of the 125 exhibitions, 73 were categorised “Trade” and “Trade and Consumer” – up from 40 in 2022.

When compared to 2019 (pre-COVID), the number of “Trade” and “Trade and Consumer” exhibitions dropped 9%.

EasyFairs taps into capital markets

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Brussels, 31st May: Last week, EasyFairs announced that it has inked a deal with two private equity firms, Cobepa and Inflexion. Founder, Eric Everard sold his majority stake and re-invested some of the proceeds. Each of the three will own an equal share of the business. The deal reportedly values EasyFairs at in excess of €600 million (US$649 million).

EasyFairs was founded 20 years ago by Eric Everard and it has grown into one of the world’s largest independent exhibition organisers. The group is going to use the capital to expand more quickly into new geographies and sectors through geo-cloning and acquisitions.

MACEOS and MyCEB outline vision for growth

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Malaysia, 3rd June: M. Gandhi, the newly-appointed president of the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS), and Azman Haji Tambi Chik, CEO of the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), held a meeting last week, to discuss the future of Malaysia’s business events industry.

Gandhi highlighted the need for market expansion to generate more opportunities for MACEOS members and the broader industry. He called for more collaboration with government agencies and other stakeholders. Gandhi also noted that talent development will be essential in order to building a competitive and resilient workforce in Malaysia.

Quick takes

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GED 2024 features a sustainable theme

The annual Global Exhibitions Day (GED) was held this week on 5th June 2024. Now in its 9th edition, this initiative has gained a lot of traction as a global effort to promote the positive impact of exhibitions. UFI will, no doubt, soon release the results in terms of social media posts and overall impact.

Singapore touts strong performance of business events

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is pleased with the recovery and growth of the Lion City’s business event. Recently, two events outperformed pre-pandemic numbers. The Singapore FinTech Festival 2023 attracted 66,000 attendees, and the Milipol Asia Pacific x TechX Summit 2024 recorded a record 11,000+ visitors.

New event space in North Brisbane

A new event space has opened in Brisbane, Australia. “Superordinary” is a multi-arts space, repurposing urban spaces for events, arts projects, and artist development. The venue has indoor space of 1,700 m2 and 2,200 m2 of outdoor stages. It can accommodate up to 1,800 people indoor or 2,000 outside.

Macau hosts 307 MICE events in Q1 2024

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Macau, 27th May: Earlier this week, Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released its MICE statistics for the first quarter of 2024. According to DSEC, a total of 307 MICE events were held in Macau in the quarter, compared with 234 events held in the first quarter of 2023. However, the total number of participants and attendees dropped 11.5%, down to 178,400.

Of the 307 events, 289 were meetings and conferences. There were 222 meetings and conferences held in the same period of last year. A total of 12 exhibitions were held during the quarter, which is two more than in the first quarter of 2023.

IFEMA Madrid and BEXCO sign agreement

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Korea, 28th May: Spanish organiser, IFEMA Madrid, has formed an alliance with Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO), a Korean venue and event organiser, agreeing to explore and develop new business opportunities.

Under the terms of the agreement, IFEMA Madrid will be able to carry out its internationalisation strategy and open up “new avenues for collaboration and promotion of trade fairs and events in Asia.”

Business events in Australia back to pre-2019 levels

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Australia, 27th May: According to Tourism Australia, delegate numbers in key markets have made it back to pre-2019 levels, with the overall spend reaching A$4.5 million (US$3 million). In terms of business travellers spend in Australia, the top three markets were the U.S., China and New Zealand.

Interestingly, Tourism Australia noted that the strongest segment was incentive groups followed by association meetings. Tourism Australia is investing in hiring staff on the ground in Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Quick takes

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Messe Düsseldorf post strong numbers

Group revenues increased to €423 million in 2023 – up 36% compared to €311 million in the previous year. Net profits also rose significantly, up 56% to €94.6 million. Management highlighted growth in Turkey and Asia. A dividend of €31.5 million was also approved.

The Washington Post lost US$77 million last year

The group lost US$77 million last year and it has recorded a 50% drop in its audience numbers since 2020. Management’s plan to turn things around? New revenue streams such as “flexible payments” and “frictionless payments.” Yikes. That doesn’t sound like it is going to be enough.

Referral revenue from Facebook expected to decline

This is an interesting article on the outlook of referral revenues. Facebook, as a source of referral revenue, has been sliding for many years. 82% of respondents expect that drop to continue followed by YouTube (67%) and TikTok (57%).

The ongoing story of AI vs. publishers

Another good, long article on publishers grappling with how to confront the threat of AI. Publishers and their lawyers are racing to figure out how to protect the value of their data and content. (It seems this article was researched and written by a real person.)

National Media acquires Australian F&B events

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Australia, 16th May: National Media, an Australian exhibition organiser, announced the company has acquired some key events from Specialised Events. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The acquired exhibitions include: Foodservice Australia, Food & Hospitality Queensland, Aged Care Catering Summit, National Restaurant Conference, and the Australian Chef of the Year competition.

Sydney pushes to lead business events in Australia

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Sydney, 16th May: This week, Business Events Sydney (BESydney) released some details regarding its growing global business event pipeline as Sydney aims to Australia’s leading business events host city.

According to BESydney, Sydney has confirmed that it has won a total of 103 events until 2030 that will generate more than US$338 million in direct expenditure for the local economy. It is expected to attract about 128,000.

Taipei Dome officially opens

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Taipei, 22nd May: Taipei recently opened a new venue designed for mega events. The Taipei Dome, a multipurpose stadium, is located in the Xinyi District. It is expected to massively boost business activities within the city.

According to Cheng Peng-Ching from Taipei’s Department of Information and Tourism, the government plans to market the new venue for concerts, festivals and sporting events. It may also host large exhibitions as well as other culture activities. Initially, the Taipei Dome will now focus on attracting events appealing to the local and South-east Asian market. At a later stage, they hope to target the long-haul market. (Taylor Swift, perhaps?)