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large proportion of their participants who come from overseas to attend .
The government ’ s strict pursuance of ‘ Zero Covid ’ thus far has made it virtually impossible for overseas attendees to travel to China . Not only must foreign visitors obtain an invitation from authorities to justify their visit to China , but they are also subject to a mandatory hotel quarantine lasting between 14 and 21 days upon arrival . Given business trips to attend exhibitions don ’ t typically last more than a week , the logistics and bureaucracy are difficult for most exhibitors . It will be interesting to see how China ’ s border restrictions adjust ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics , to be held in Beijing in February . For China ’ s exhibition industry to resume its pre- Covid growth trajectory , borders will eventually need to open up .
On the other end of the spectrum , Southeast Asian markets are forecasted to have some of the lowest recovery rates in the world in 2021 . Along with Germany , Singapore and Thailand form an unenviable club of countries : those whose exhibition markets are expected to contract two years in a row , both in 2020 and in 2021 . For anyone familiar with the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic in these countries , this may not come as a surprise . Cases peaked in H2 2021 , accompanied by the most severe of restrictions , at a time when European markets and the US were busy opening up , having vaccinated
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much of their populations . In aggregate , the six Southeast Asian markets covered by Globex ( Singapore , Philippines , Thailand , Indonesia , Malaysia , and Vietnam ) are expected to be c . 75 % smaller in 2021 than in 2019 , compared to the global market which is expected to be 49 % smaller .
Having said that , there are optimistic signs in Southeast Asia as vaccination rates have dramatically picked up over the past few months . Singapore is now a global leader in terms of percentage of the population being fully vaccinated ; in October 2021 , it moved to ease travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers . This is expected to bode well for its exhibition market . Singapore , being a regional economic hub , has traditionally hosted events with high exposure to international participants . Malaysia recently hosted its first exhibition of 2021 ; while there was a vaccination requirement and social distancing measures in place , it is seen as a positive sign for the future . Thailand , the Philippines , and Vietnam are not yet at the same stage of opening up their economies , predominantly due to slower progress with vaccinations . Nevertheless , we can expect them to follow a similar path of recovery , perhaps with a three-tosix-month lag .
Covid-19 and the associated lockdowns have had varying impacts on exhibition markets across Asia
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Right : Athan Siah Below , right : Carole Boletti Bottom : The China Korea Investment Expo |
and beyond . China , momentarily considered the epicentre of the pandemic in early 2020 , has since gone through a V-shaped recovery . There is much ongoing debate about when and how business travel in China ( and Hong Kong ) will resume but , regardless , there is consensus among market observers that it has recovered the most quickly from the pandemic . Accordingly , organisers with large China portfolios have displayed greater financial resilience to the Covid-19 crisis .
Looking ahead beyond the resumption of F2F events , Covid-19 may have altered the exhibition industry in a more fundamental way – by accelerating the adoption of digital . While many leading organisers seem to have embraced the enhanced role of digital and revised their strategies , it remains to be seen whether the minority of nonbelievers will follow suit .
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For more information about Globex 2021 visit amrinternational . com / globex2021 |