Record turnout at 10th UFI Open Seminar in Asia

PARIS/HONG KONG - This year UFI celebrates the 10th edition of its Open Seminar in Asia and the exhibition industry turned out in full force to mark the occasion. More than 300 delegates from 21 countries and territories gathered in Hong Kong for Asia’s most important event serving exhibition industry professionals.

This year, the seminar returned to Hong Kong which also hosted the inaugural edition in 2006. The seminar was co-hosted by both the Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) and Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and it was held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

Speakers at this year’s seminar included an impressive number of industry veterans and business leaders. Dr. William Fung, Group Chairman of Li & Fung, the seminar’s keynote speaker, shared his views on the future of sourcing in Asia. Other speakers included Lucy Merritt and James Campion from ExCeL London, Mark Temple-Smith from ITE Group, Andrew Strachan from Art Basel Hong Kong, Jime Essink of UBM Asia, Joon-How Loy from IMPACT Exhibition Management and Michael Kruppe from Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre and many more.

Along with the seminar, UFI organised several days of meetings and activities in Hong Kong. The programme included UFI’s first-ever, sold-out Sustainable Development Focus Meeting. More than 100 delegates met to hear speakers including Kevin Teng, Director of Sustainability at Marina Bay Sands; Dianne Young, CEO of the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto and Fiona Pelham, Managing Director of Positive Impact, a U.K.-based non-profit focused on sustainable event practices.

Three other meetings were held during the week: the inaugural Asia CEO Think Tank meeting, an UFI members’ meeting of it’s Asia Pacific Chapter as well as an Association’s Committee Meeting. There were plenty of networking opportunities with a Welcome Reception held on Thursday evening at the HKCEC as well as Business Lunch to close the week’s activities on Friday.

Paul Woodward, UFI’s Managing Director, stated, “It is gratifying to see so many senior exhibition industry representatives from across Asia supporting UFI’s most important event in the region. The scale of this week’s seminar in Hong Kong is a testament to the strength of the industry in Asia. Approximately one third of UFI’s global membership is now located in this region, with more than 220 members across 15 Asian markets. UFI looks forward to building on this track record of growth and success in the decade ahead.”

Kenneth Wong, General Manager, MICE & Cruise of HKTB said, “HKTB is honoured to co-host the 10th UFI Open Seminar in Asia 2015. Hong Kong has long been a leading market for exhibitions in Asia and we are pleased to have the opportunity to showcase Hong Kong’s world-class infrastructure and service capabilities to exhibition industry leaders from around the region. Congratulations to UFI on the 10th edition of this important industry event and we look forward to another successful decade of success and growth.”

Javed Khan, Chairman, HKECIA commented, “From the beginning, HKECIA has been a strong and enthusiastic support of UFI’s activities in Asia. Over the past decade, we have watched UFI’s membership in Asia expand year after year. HKECIA is immensely pleased to have played a role in co-hosting this record-breaking Open Seminar – with more than 300 exhibition industry leaders joining us in Hong Kong this week to celebrate the success of this seminar.”

Key supporters of the Open Seminar in Asia were UFI’s Diamond Sponsors: the Global Experience Specialists (GES) and the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). The Venue Sponsor was the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and the seminar’s Silver Sponsors were the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MYCEB) and Kaohsiung City Government.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia