Editor’ s Note
Hong Kong rediscovering its exhibition mojo as UFI comes to town
eopolitical tensions and the tariff wars have to
G some extent been undermining the exhibition industry’ s recovery, including in Hong Kong where venue capacity continues to be tight and competition from neighbouring markets such as Shenzhen is rising.
As the UFI community meets in this dynamic city for the association’ s 92nd Global Congress in November, they will undoubtedly witness how Hong Kong is fighting back strongly, with new infrastructure developments, including a Phase 2 project at AsiaWorld-Expo set to increase the venue’ s total exhibtion space to 100,000sqm.
The Hong Kong events industry has a powerful lobby, and there is no better advocate than one of our contributors this time round, Stuart Bailey, chairman of Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association( HKECIA). Stuart was instrumental in securing the continuation of the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions( ISRE) in its 2.0 version, launched in July 2025. It offers 100 % venue rental subsidies for eligible events for up to US $ 1.3m.
Hong Kong remains a regional leader for high-quality, B2B sourcing exhibitions, with examples including the portfolios of Global Sources, HKTDC and Informa Markets.
UFI’ s delegates will also hear how the competitive landscape is changing, as supply chains and sourcing habits evolve. While competition from mainland China is increasing, China itself is feeling pressure not only from tariffs, but from supply chains diversifying to the benefit of India and other Southeast Asian markets, such as Vietnam.( And do read all about the recent ITE show in Ho Chi Minh City from our reporter Simon George on p67 and more on the region on pages 42-49).
UFI’ s Working Group has been highlighting some of the innovation around as it recognises its Partner Award winner( p55). And UFI was also instrumental in securing the new ISO Technical Committee on Events( TC 354), a major milestone in advancing international standards for the global events sector( p31).
Over in the UK we hear about new venue expansion projects – at Excel and Olympia. And you can catch up on all the news about industry M & A activity on p27 and p31. With UFI both celebrating its 100th anniversary and looking ahead to another centenary of exhibitions, we wish all members future successes and please do feed back those achievements and challenges for others in our community to learn from. EW
Paul Colston Editor X: @ ExhibitionWorld Instagram: @ ew _ magazine
Managing Editor: Paul Colston; Portfolio Director: Iain Stirling; International Reporter: Theo Reilly; International Marketing Executive: Jack Belcher.
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