The trade fair industry in Asia expanded by 8.7% in 2008 despite the weakening global economic environment according to the fifth edition of UFI’s annual report on the trade fair market in Asia. Net area sold by organisers in Asia reached a total of 14.3 million m2 The research was once again undertaken for UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, by Business Strategies Group (BSG) in Hong Kong…
The trade fair industry in Asia expanded by 8.7% in 2008 despite the weakening global economic environment according to the fifth edition of UFI’s annual report on the trade fair market in Asia. Net area sold by organisers in Asia reached a total of 14.3 million m2 The research was once again undertaken for UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, by Business Strategies Group (BSG) in Hong Kong.
China’s growth continues to outpace the rest of the region. It is the largest market in the region in terms of space sold and industry revenues. Year-on-year, net square metres sold in China grew by 14% outperforming the regional average of 8.7%. Over 7.6 million m2 were sold in China in 2008 –
accounting for 53% of 14.3 million m2 sold across Asia. The second largest market, Japan, continues to lose ground to China. The Japanese market shrank by more than 6% last year with 2.0 million m2 sold.
A number of much smaller markets grew faster than China last year. Space sold in Macau expanded by 69% on the back of the opening of the new venue at the Venetian. Taiwan grew by 26% and Vietnam by 24% in terms of square metres sold which was also primarily driven by additional, new capacity in both markets.
Revenues from trade fairs in Asia increased from US$3.25 billion in 2007 to US$3.45 billion last year –
an rise of just over 6%, down markedly from the 26% revenue growth recorded in 2007. China
outperformed all of the top five largest markets (measured by revenues) by a wide margin posting a
20% increase in revenues for a total of US$1.33 billion.
This report provides detailed information on the development of trade fairs and supporting facilities in
15 markets: China, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia,
Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The report also includes analysis on
actual market performance in 2008 as well as forecasts and commentary on key trends in each market.
Vincent Gerard, UFI Managing Director, commented, “2008 was another noteworthy year for the
exhibition industry in Asia. Despite a challenging economic environment, space sales in the region as a whole grew by close to 9%. Seven different markets posted double digit growth – and of those four
grew by more than 20%. Even this difficult year should be no exception with major markets forecast to
continue expanding and several exciting new venues coming online by the end of 2009.”
As an added-value service, each UFI member will be entitled to receive a six page executive summary
of the research and to purchase the full report at a substantial discount.
The report has again been edited by UFI Asia/Pacific Regional Manager and BSG Principal, Paul
Woodward. He commented, “Asia continues to be one of the most vital and exciting exhibition markets in the world. Despite the global economic recession, in 2009 BSG is still forecasting growth in several of the region’s key exhibition markets including China and India. The pace of change here has been nothing short of remarkable. In 2003, there were 101 venues in the region and space sales were just 5.7 million m2. By the end of this year, Asia will be home to 162 venues generating space sales of 14.6 million sq.m.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
