And , with your Informa Markets hat on , how has the company weathered the Covid years and how is it placed for the return of shows and their changing format ? Informa Markets is ideally placed for restart after three hard years ( experienced by the whole industry ). Right from the beginning the company went to its shareholders and obtained a significant cash flow to keep operating . Measures were taken to cut costs and ensure that we were ready on the reopening of each market , which in the USA , Middle East and Europe was six months ago , and to have the right talent in place to put our shows on effectively . In Asia – India and the ASEAN countries – we have had shows taking place with numbers near enough to 2019 levels . In China and Hong Kong we have only been putting on domestic shows in Hong Kong , which has been keeping local teams busy . And for both China and Hong Kong our teams are all ready to restart for 2023 .
Which specific shows are you looking forward to seeing come back in Asia and which sectors are likely ahead of the growth curve for organisers ? The three main shows we had special editions of were Cosmoprof Asia – The Beauty sector which was moved to Singapore very successfully . APLF in the Leather sector which was moved to Dubai and Bangkok , and Jewellery , which was moved to Singapore and Dubai . All will have their main Hong Kong shows operating in 2023 . The interesting part will be how much new business has been generated in the meantime in Dubai , Singapore and Thailand and will remain for new shows to also grow . We are optimistic that this will happen .
Much of your career has been spent in Asia . Now that China appears to be reopening for trade show business , how much of a relief is that and how quickly will we see a ‘ normalisation ’ of business in the region ? A huge relief of course ! Everyone in China is wanting to get back to business . It has been a truly traumatic time for everyone . Shows will come back relatively quickly in most of ASEAN , and also India is nearly back to full business . Japan and Korea have been operating on a reduced m2 but they have been working all through Covid .
What is missing in most shows today , and for a while until flight schedules are back to normal , are Chinese exhibitors . They have not been able to travel easily . This will change soon .
Domestic Chinese exhibitors will lead the way in China ’ s reopening . International exhibitors will come back as soon as : a ) the flight frequency increases and b ) customers have the confidence to fly long distance .
Michael Duck : leading from the front
How do the Asian exhibition country markets differ from each other and from other regions of the world ? What are the skills necessary for successful business there as an organiser and an exhibitor ? I don ’ t have enough space to answer this question ! But for sure the Asian country markets differ a lot from each other and a lot from the rest of the world . They have to be handled in completely different ways as each has its own culture . This needs to be learnt and experienced . Above all what is needed is patience and treating people as you would wish to be treated .
What new tools will organisers be needing as our businesses evolve and what new issues do you see on the horizon that we need to prepare for ? The Covid period gave us all the time we needed and the energy to work on our Digital offerings . Companies benefited in having had the opportunity to work more closely with customers , both exhibitors and buyers , as to the new challenges . We have also seen the re-emergence of inflationary pressures and we need to handle them well and teach our staff how to work and operate in this new environment .
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 1 2023 31