UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has released the latest edition of its Global Barometer research. While the results highlight the strong impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global exhibition industry in 2020, the situation is gradually improving, and there is a strong belief that the sector will bounce back quickly. The proportion of companies globally expecting "no activity" for the last quarter of 2021 has fallen from 53 percent, in January, to less than 10 percent, while the proportion of companies with "normal activity" has increased from 12 percent, to close to 50 percent. Regional results indicate that the Middle East and Africa and Central and South America regions are likely to be more affected than others with a monthly average throughout 2021 of respectively 40 percent and 34 percent of "no activity". These results are primarily driven by the "reopening dates" for exhibitions confirmed or expected to date. The majority of companies in all regions expect both local and national exhibitions to open again in the coming 12 months, and international exhibitions to reopen in the first half of 2022. When asked what element would most help towards the "bounce-back" of exhibitions, the majority of companies rank "lifting of current travel restrictions" (71 percent of answers), "readiness of exhibiting companies and visitors to participate again" (58 percent), and "lifting of current public policies that apply locally to exhibitions" (55 percent) as the key drivers. "The Barometer results confirm the severe impact of the pandemic on our industry. But as most markets have reopened, or know when they most likely will reopen, the bounce-back is on its way, and the sector is confident that COVID-19 will have reinforced the value of physical events, while also pushing the development of new digital products and services," says Kai Hattendorf, UFI managing director and CEO. The survey was concluded in June 2021 and includes data from 474 companies in 64 countries and regions. (sg)
www.ufi.org/the-global-exhibition-barometer-july-2021

SISO and UFI have published a deep dive case study focussing on the production of World of Concrete (WOC) 2021. With WOC being held from June 7 to 10, 2021, Informa Markets has led the way for the industry by reopening the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). After being postponed from its original dates in January, the 46th edition of WOC was the first show to use the LVCC's new $1 billion, 1.4 million-square-foot West Hall expansion. Originally set to open in January 2021 with CES, the West Hall features 600,000 square feet of exhibition space, including 328,000 square feet of column-free space. An open-air atrium features a 10,000-square-foot digital screen. Offering views of the Strip, a 14,000-square-foot outdoor terrace can hold receptions of up to 2,000 attendees. The WOC exhibit hall opened with 650 exhibiting companies across just under 300,000 net square feet of exhibit space. The show drew 18,254 attendees over the course of three days. By comparison, WOC 2020, held from February 3 to 7 at the LVCC, drew about 54,000 registered professionals and 1,310 companies exhibiting across more than 700,000 net square feet. International visitors came from 29 countries outside of the U.S. The 2020 show generated $59.6 million in direct and $103 million in indirect economic impact. In addition, there was plenty of media buzz over the debut of the LVCC Loop, the underground transit system developed by Elon Musk's The Boring Company. The $52.5 million people-mover system transports convention attendees in all-electric Tesla vehicles throughout the 200-plus-acre campus — all 40 feet beneath the ground. (kf)
www.ufi.org/SISO-UFI-Case-Study-WOC-2021

Knitting, crocheting and quilting are popular around the world: Koelnmesse is launching its first international offspring of the H+H Cologne, fair for handicrafts and hobbies. It will be held from June 22 to 24, 2022 in Chicago. In part due to the pandemic, handicrafts have gained growing popularity in the USA and are recording double-digit growth rates: Almost 30 million Americans pursue this hobby. The first H+H Americas in Chicago will reflect all the product segments of its lead event in Cologne with main segments in home textiles, tapestry, sewing, knitting, crocheting, haberdashery, quilting, needlepoint, business software and marketing solutions. Parts of the offering will also be available online. The visitors are expected to be soft craft retailers, wholesalers, designers and the online trade. The U.S. Koelnmesse subsidiary is expecting exhibitors from North America and companies from Europe. The new H+H Americas in the Donald E. Stephens Convention & Conference Center in Rosemont, Illinois offers the local trade public an additional ordering platform in the USA. As a one-stop shopping offering, it serves all handicraft segments both in physical and digital form. (ch)
www.hh-cologne.com

Across three days, the 2021 UFI LatAm Conference reconnected a pandemic-affected exhibition industry community across Latin America. Led by Ana-Maria Arango, UFI Regional Director for Latin America, the digital event offered participants a blend of keynote sessions and expert content, as well as networking, matchmaking and business development opportunities. Speakers from across the region and beyond provided updates and insights into topics as diverse as government policy updates, best practices on adapting events to the current context, and opportunities and trends. Meanwhile, industry experts covered global opportunities from a Latin American perspective. Several speakers focused on the new reality organisers must adapt to in the digital event space. The conference was attended by 200 exhibition industry leaders from 35 countries. Colombian-based Incontacto provided the platform which offered simultaneous translations in Spanish, English and Portuguese and allowed delegates to network face-to-face and continue discussions in between keynotes. More interactivity and engagement were provided by Beekast. The event was hosted at Corferias, Bogota, where Arango was joined in person by UFI’s LatAm Chapter Chair José (Pepe) Navarro Meneses (Tarsus, Mexico) and Vice-Chair Raul Strauss (FEXPOCRUZ, Bolivia). The Chapter leadership took the opportunity of the visit to meet with colleagues from AFIDA and UFI members in Colombia to discuss the ongoing crisis and how UFI can support the region in the coming months. UFI’s Arango says: “Of course, we would have preferred to meet in person, but this year’s conference offered positive outcomes in terms of lessons learned and a view to what’s coming next. On behalf of the UFI team, I want to thank the speakers and panellists for delivering such compelling and valuable content. UFI members can catch up on all the sessions in the member section of the website, once the event platform closes.” (kf)
www.ufi.org/UFI-LatAm-Conference-brings-industry-leaders-from-across-the-region-together

The Thai government has issued tougher measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. From August 3, 2021, 29 provinces have been designated as maximum control areas with tight restrictions (previously 13 provinces). 37 provinces are maximum control areas and 11 provinces are controlled areas. In maximum control areas with tight restrictions, gatherings are limited to 5 persons. In maximum control areas the limit is 20 persons, and in controlled areas the limit is 50 persons. (kf)
www.businesseventsthailand.com/tceb-situation-update-covid-19-virus-on-3-august-2021

This was certainly not how Roland Bleinroth imagined his first year as CEO of Messe Stuttgart: Instead of announcing a record profit – 2020 was on course to become the best year in the company's history – it is now the worst. The trade fair company closes the year ending with a total revenue of around 59 million euros and a deficit of around 18 million euros. "For many years, we managed our business well, we had a good equity ratio and, with the help of our shareholders, we were able to secure liquidity", said Bleinroth, forecasting similar figures for the current fiscal year 2021. "As we all know, corona did not stop at the turn of the year. The pandemic and its effects will continue to make great demands on us this year, as well as in the following years", Messe Stuttgart president Stefan Lohnert adds. The company used the long months without any trade fair activity to reorganise content-specific constellations. "The crisis was and is without question a stressful period for everybody involved with trade fairs. However, at the same time it gave our creativity a great boost and motivated us to go down new paths", Lohnert explained. Already in autumn 2020, Messe Stuttgart introduced four broadcasting studios. The management does not see physical trade fair presence as in any way threatened by digital offerings. "The core of every trade fair is the personal contact, and spontaneous conversations 'in passing'. Digital formats allow this only up to a certain point. We therefore see them, in the long term, as a complement to physical trade fairs." The plan is to resume these in September, as reported at the end of July. (ch)
www.messe-stuttgart.de/stronger-after-the-crisis

The new Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre is set to be completed in 2022 and will mark the launch of the region's largest exhibition and convention centre on a total site area of 309,000 sqm. The centre is supposed to bolster Bahrain's position as a leading Business Events hub internationally with a total build-up area of 149,000 sqm. Offering 95,000 sqm of exhibition space over 10 halls, a 4,000-seat tiered auditorium, 95 meeting rooms, Royal and VIP Majlis, supported by event organisers' offices and a 250-seat capacity restaurant.
ASM Global has been selected by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) as the managing operator. The new destination will feature state-of-the-art technology, as well as having high flexibility to host a range of events from exhibitions and conventions to concerts, live events, weddings, seminars and much more. "We are delighted to have been appointed the operator of what will be a landmark development, which will further position Bahrain as a growing international destination helping to drive growth and create jobs as well as a legacy for the Kingdom. We look forward to working with Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority in creating a brand-new exhibition and convention hub at the heart of the region", says ASM Global APAC chairman and chief executive, Harvey Lister AM. (sg)
www.bahrainiecc.com

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has severely hit the economy, the fundamentals remain, and sustainability is a strong priority for exhibitions and their participants: For 86% of exhibitors and 87% of visitors, travelling to an exhibition helps save time, while for 84% of exhibitors and 83% of visitors it helps save money. For 67% of exhibitors and 64% of visitors, travelling to an exhibition, where they can do multiple things under one roof and avoid separate flights to other locations, helps to reduce their carbon footprint. These are key results from the second edition of the UFI report on the status of sustainability in the exhibition industry, including results from surveys conducted by UFI research partner Explori. In parallel, the majority consider the environmental impact of the tradeshow sector to be important to them, and they believe that improving this environmental impact will become increasingly more important to the sector's long-term success. Across all segments (organisers, venues and service providers), there is a feeling that the rate of transition towards sustainability is around halfway between "only starting the transition" and "very advanced", and, in general, exhibition participants also rate the efforts of the industry as "average", in this regard. "This report is unprecedented in its analysis of the views of the industry and its clients as to the key issue of sustainability in our industry. We will use these findings in many of our current projects aiming to further improve the performance of exhibitions as sustainable ways of doing business," says Kai Hattendorf, UFI managing director and CEO. (kf)
www.ufi.org/status-of-sustainability