Cover Story: Blooming Family Affair

Posted on: 04 May 2016

IMEX Frankfurt 2016 proves why trade shows still possess the ability to bring business leaders together for reasons beyond trading purposes.

Words: El Kwang

The lifespan of trade shows has been questioned over the past few years as technology, connectivity and business relationship gained strength. Sellers feel the heat of this substantial expenditure whilst buyers question the value of taking time out of the office. Both definitely feel the strains of attending back-to-back appointments and education sessions. So, how does IMEX Frankfurt stand out from the rest?

Biz Events Asia‘s inaugural attendance at IMEX Frankfurt 2016 was indeed an eye-opener. The attendance of global business events industry leaders and business owners was a clear indication of the show’s importance and relevance. Peripheral activities held the day before the official opening of the show, like the Association Day & Evening and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific Meeting, set the show’s quality standards.

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At the ICCA Asia Pacific Meeting, the Australian, Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai bureaux presented their mythology in measuring the business events industry’s economic impact in their efforts to gain continuous and/or increased financial support from their respective governments. A measurement so vital that is “far beyond tourism” as per Ray Bloom, Chairman of IMEX Group at his opening speech the following day.

Whilst the Australian market is known for its events industry maturity, what really stood out was annotations by Singapore Tourism Board‘s Jeannie Lim on Singapore’s ability to measure direct, indirect and induced economic impacts where the latter measures the impact of the spending by MICE segment-related employees in the local Singapore Economy. Supawan Teerarat of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau also stood out with its impact measurement of one of the country’s renowned assets, creativity.

The meeting concluded with guest speaker Leah Skogman, Meetings Manager of World Allergy Congress who explained to the audience the details and profile of her events and some key factors when selecting future country hosts.

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