SINGAPORE — A new white paper from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, focuses on innovative ways organizations are re-imagining their business events.
The stories begin right in Singapore, where earlier this year PCMA Convening Leaders was held for the first time outside North America in 64 years. The hybrid event used digital capabilities such as holographic technology to connect in-person and virtual audiences across continents. A highlight came when Toronto-based PCMA President Sherrif Karamat beamed into the meeting “live” to participate in a real-time panel discussion.
In another example, a Singapore-based global technology provider for business events, GEVME, created online “Serendipity Rooms.” Its vision was to engineer serendipity, which is a natural part of live events, by having a small group of delegates interact with like-minded people in an online digital salon. The technology was deployed at the WIT Travel Roadshow earlier this year.
Other case studies from the white paper include an Australian company called Harry the hirer, which outfitted its Melbourne showroom into a film set with a high-end catwalk surrounded by high-tech equipment that its clients use to host exhibitions and seminars, and SIAARTI, an Italian medical society, which, with the help of event organizer AIM Group International, transformed its annual congress into a roadshow using a truck that housed a studio to broadcast content on big screens. In addition to case studies, the white paper shares updated research including PCMA’s COVID-19 Recovery Dashboard survey and APAC Dashboard Survey, as well as data from the upcoming Global Recovery Insights Report by UFI, Explori and the Society of Independent Show Organizers. This research shows that exhibitions in Asia are likely to see stronger growth in participation from both visitors and exhibitors, compared to the rest of the world, and that respondents from Asia are more than twice as likely to have participated in virtual and hybrid events than respondents from other regions.
“Business event companies and their customers across Asia-Pacific have shown themselves to be more open to digital business developments than their global peer group. And looking forward, exhibitors in Asia are now much more optimistic about their budgets than they were in summer 2020. We hope that this white paper is useful in showing some of the approaches and opportunities that lie ahead,” said Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, UFI.
Reach Kai Hattendorf at +40 171 5441198 or kh@ufi.org.
