UFI Open Seminar in Asia:Digital disruption

On 25-26， February， around 270 delegates from 21 countries and territories gathered in Chiang Mai to discuss and debate the future of the exhibition industry. Technology， and the internet in particular， has long been a potential opportunity as well as a source of concern to business event organisers. At this year’s UFI Open Seminar in Asia， industry leaders shared their views on the future of the exhibition industry as more and more event-related online platforms and mobile apps come to market. The 11th edition of the seminar was held in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai and was hosted by UFI Diamond Sponsor， Thailand Convention Exhibition Bureau （TCEB）. The event featured two days of networking and learning as well as a Sustainable Development Focus Meeting， a CEO Golf Tournament， committee meetings， city tours and much more.

Kai Hattendorf， UFI’s Managing Director， stated： “More than a third of UFI’s membership is now based in Asia， so it’s not surprising that the UFI Open Seminar in Asia has become our second largest event after the global Congress. This seminar has grown into an essential platform for the Asian exhibition industry to meet and discuss the issues and challenges facing our industry in the region. Given the rapid rise of technology-driven solutions， this year’s seminar was a particularly robust discussion about the forces shaping th future of our industry.”

Supawan Teerarat， Vice President at TCEB commented“TCEB has a long-running and valued relationship with UFI so we were honoured to host the 11th UFI Open Seminar i Asia. The exhibition industry in Thailand continues to goe from strength to strength and so we were delighted to hav the opportunity to showcase Thailand’s world-class venue and service capabilities to our colleagues from around th region.”

At the UFI Open Seminar in Asia， industry leader welcomed the invitation to support and become part of th Global Exhibitions Day （GED16）， celebrated on 8 Jun 2016. GED16 brings together the global exhibition industr to raise awareness about the value of exhibitions to variou stakeholders （e.g. governments， NGOs， big businesses， etc.） to celebrate the people who work in the exhibition industr and inspire new generations.

The programme also included a sold-out Sustainabl Development Focus Meeting， the second edition of the UF CEO golf tournament， a members’ meeting of UFI’s Asi Pacific Chapter as well as an UFI Associations Committe Meeting. The 2017 UFI Open Seminar in Asia will be hel from 22-24， February in Singapore.