Exhibition Industry Gathers to Share Blueprints for Future

Hong Kong, July 16, 2003 --- With the aim of fostering regional co-operation and sharing future development plans within the exhibition industry, four joint organisers today announced the staging of The First Asian Exhibition Forum, to be held as a special one-day event at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) on Thursday 28 August 2003. A collaboration between the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association (HKECIA), Union of International Fairs (UFI) Asian Pacific Chapter, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Forum will bring together exhibition and venue leaders from across the Asia Pacific region, providing a collaborative environment for assessing and responding to challenges to the industry over recent months.

The Forum is designed as a proactive collaborative effort by industry leaders to take stock of the impact of SARS, assess responses within the industry, and make further co-ordinated changes in the light of the experience. Up to around 200 delegates are expected to attend, from all major locations around the region involved in international and regional exhibitions, and will present reports outlining the future development plans of their respective cities or countries. Supporters of the Forum to date include exhibition associations from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Taipei. From China, participants include the China Association for Exhibition Centres, along with representatives from the exhibition industry associations of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Shenzhen and Macau. The Forum will receive full support and sponsorship from the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government. Other sponsors are Cathay Pacific Airways, Dragonair, and the HKCEC.

VIP speakers will be drawn from UFI, the Asia Pacific Exhibition and Convention Council, AUMA, Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE), and UBI France.

The UFI Asian Pacific Chapter meeting will be held on 27 August, the day before the Forum. On 29 August, delegates will have the opportunity to join a leisure tour visiting the 120,000 sq. m. exhibition centre under construction in Shenzhen, followed by lunch with the city's Mayor.

Mr Stanley Chu, Chairman of HKECIA and also of the Forum's Organising Committee, described the event as a significant co-operative endeavour, notable for bringing together regional competitors in a cohesive and highly focused manner. "We expect the Forum to mark the point where the industry gets right back on track in Hong Kong as well as in Asia," he commented.

The First Asian Exhibition Forum comes in the wake of earlier local initiatives to rebound from recent SARS challenges to the regional industry. "The Forum," says Chu, "will demonstrate the solidarity of the industry in Asia, and should act as a further signal that the region's robust exhibition industry is ready to pick up where we left off."

Further details of the Forum are available on the Forum's website www.exhibitions.org.hk/forum

For media enquiries, please contact the Forum Media Coordinator:
Miss Gloria Fong
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
1 Expo Drive, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2582 7918
Fax: (852) 2582 7021
E-mail: gloriafong@hkcec.com