5pEXPO: V.Strashko about exhibition activities
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Today Expocentre hosted the 6th all-Russian conference “Efficiency of exhibition, fair and congress activities and promotion of domestic products and services in internal and external markets.” The conference was run concurrently with 5pEXPO, the 9th international forum of exhibition industry, and was organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the Russian Federation.
The key topics discussed at the conference were the issues of Russia’s congress and exhibition industry, global trends in that area, and the importance of regional events in the promotion of domestic products and services and in attracting tourist flows to various destinations across the country. The plenary meeting was moderated by Vladimir Dmitriyev, Vice President, CCI of the RF. In his presentation, he highlighted the role played by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia and by regional chambers in this country. Not only do they assist businesses, attract investments, ensure the unbreakable bond between business and power, but also, using exhibition, fair and congress activities, they provide Russian enterprises with access to regional markets and external export venues.
Sergei Bednov, General Director of Expocentre, Chairman of the Committee for Exhibition, Fair and Congress Activities, CCI of Russia, emphasized that competitiveness of products is largely defined not only in workshops of a factory, but also in a marketplace, where the produce gets via a promotion system. Trade fairs are a key element of that system, a means to promote, in an integrated way, all types of products and services. Speaking about machines and equipment, sophisticated science-based and knowledge-intensive products, there is simply no alternative to trade fairs. Many trade shows become pivotal events in various sectors of economy. Mr. Bednov noted at the same time that the contemporary economic environment and the challenges have a negative effect on exhibition activities. “In 2016, the exhibition market saw a considerable year-on-year plunge of two of its three basic indicators versus 2015, namely in the net exhibition area, by 15%, and in the number of exhibitors, by 10%,” pointed out Mr. Bednov. “The sharpest dip was in the number of international exhibitors, by 24%,” he added. “Simultaneously, we are seeing a trending rise in visitors attending various events, with their number having grown by 1.8%, which means demand across the industry is here, although in some cases it is a deferred demand,” explained the General Director of Expocentre.
Vladimir Strashko, General Director of the World Trade Center Moscow, outlined a list of the most pressing issues in congress activities, and he also summarized the most striking tendencies in the market. He emphasized that according to a study of the International Association of Congress Centers, the total earnings from global congress activities increased by 8.8% in 2015 from 2014, but for 2016 no more than 3.5% of growth is forecasted. The attendance is on decline as well. In 2016, the predicted increase of attendance is merely 2.9%, while in 2015 it was 4.7%. The same trend is observed in many regions. At the same time, in 2016, we are seeing a significant rise of revenue and a growing economic activity in Asia. According to predictions, growth will exceed 20%. In his turn, Sergei Alexeyev, President of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs, Vice President of Expo-Forum-International and President of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), also delineated a few trends in the area of trade and industrial shows. In particular, he expressed conviction that considerable developments would be taking place in all segments of economy, and they were sure to affect deeply the scale of the trade shows and their financial performance. “Organizers from the Asian region will be active,” he said. “Chinese colleagues are entering external markets, because their domestic market is sluggish. They said that exhibitions and congresses would be a key element for their external market entries,” specified Mr. Alexeyev.
“The condition of industry in Russia has been strongly influenced by volatility and instability of the global market, the political situation and budget cuts, sanctions, a sharp increase of competition in the congress service market, a declining business activity and a dwindling number of business trips, i.e. all the factors that are linked to funding and the general condition of finance,” noted the General Director of the WTC Moscow. “At the same time, we are observing significant development of regional activity. Today, at the 5pEXPO trade fair, we saw projects that people from Voronezh and Kazan are willing to carry out, we know the activity pursued in Vladimir, Belgorod and a whole slew of other regions, to say nothing of the fact that analysis of international analysts shows that a large number of enterprises have left Moscow for Sochi, the Far East and other regions.” It is a good thing for the country, believes Mr. Strashko, but at the same time he stressed that it was necessary to think hard about existence in the capital city, amidst rampant competition. He also reminded the audience that when German economy became sluggish, it was largely the exhibition and congress industry that boosted the entire economy of Germany and gave a new impetus to its development. “Therefore, we are confronted with a colossal challenge striving to become that motive force,” the General Director WTC said with emphasis.
In conclusion, referring to the example of the World Trade Center, Vladimir Strashko showed the changes in the customer structure over the past three years. “Events organized by government bodies have sharply declined in the past three years. We cannot count on that segment to generate big money any further, so we need to find new areas of operations. I would like to draw your attention to the corporate client segment. According to forecasts for 2016, that segment accounts for about 70.8% of business, and that area might become the core one in the activities of many congress venues, because it performs.” Mr. Strashko also dwelled upon new areas of congress activities, such as the VESTIFINANCE forum, which is organized in the television studio format, where well-known economists, political scientists and politicians deliver lectures, but instead of being broadcast on TV, the forum take place at the WTC congress center.
Sergei Voronkov, General Director, ExpoForum-International, Andrei Razbrodin, President, Russian Union of Entrepreneurs of the Textile and Consumer Goods Industry, Vyacheslav Brill, Deputy Chairman, Belarus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and many other speakers shared their views on the future development of the congress and exhibition industry of Russia and Belarus.
The event continued at specialized round-table discussions, “The role of exhibitions and fairs in the promotion of Russian product and service brands,” “Client-generating content” and “Intellectual property in exhibition activities.”
The main conclusion drawn at the conference was the idea that regardless of statistics and predictions reflecting negative trends in the industry’s development in 2016, the participants emphasized that Russia had big potential, but only on condition of sufficient government backing, investments and interest of the venues themselves not only in organizing as many events as possible, but also in improving their quality and efficiency.
Furthermore, businesses must react to new tendencies and to borrow the best practices. This is a factor that determines not only the success of the industry itself, but the efficiency of presenting domestic opportunities, products and services in international markets. The statistics speaks eloquently about congresses and trade shows as the most effective channel of promotion and advancement of Russian manufacturers. The conference attendees also called on the players of the congress and exhibition market to factor in the growth potential of the Asian market and to respond more actively to its transformations, to draw its attention to themselves, and to interact closely.
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