Kai Hattendorf

In our latest UFI Global Barometer we are – for the first time – sharing data tracking the adoption of the use of Generative AI in the exhibition industry. We discussed how to interpret the data – and we decided to ask ChatGPT to analyse the numbers

In life as in business, closure is important. It marks a moment in time when something truly comes to an end. A few days ago, I felt a sense of closure, attending an industry summit in Shanghai. Again, for one more time and for one last time, I was at a major meeting where colleagues from our industry were meeting again for the first time after the pandemic break in their region.

Spending some time at IMEX in Frankfurt a few days back, being involved in various industry initiatives, I once again experienced that we are a “we” industry.  An industry that delivers best when people, businesses, and organisations work together. Collaboration happens on every level. Done well, it makes a difference. In a discussion at IMEX, a room full of association and policy leaders was asked to state what is holding our industry back. The results were shown in a cloud of words. One of the biggest terms: “Industry Egos”. A timely reminder from within our global industry leadership that getting things done needs frameworks and structures, but mostly the willingness to walk together, not alone.

Our spring conferences season is in full swing. Last month, we welcomed more than 220 colleagues at our Asia-Pacific Conference in Kuala Lumpur. Later this month, our members from Latin America and beyond will meet in San José, Costa Rica, for the LatAm Conference. Then it’s over to Doha, Qatar, for the MEA Conference in May, and we’ll wrap up in June with a whole events week in Maastricht, co-locating the European Conference with two Forums on HR and Operations – and premiering the new, already sold out, “Event Directors Summit”.

It’s certainly a busy time again for our industry – and for the UFI team, which is active literally all around the world again these past weeks. In China, at the CEFCO conference. In Turkiye, meeting government officials and members. In Doha/Qatar, with our MEA Conference. In San José/Costa Rica, with our LatAm Conference. In Washington, DC/USA, with a joint event with mdg and SISO alongside the ECEF Conference.

Every year, March means the beginning of spring in the Northern hemisphere. A time filled with the promise of things to come, with new beginnings and ideas blossoming. That’s pretty much what is happening right now at UFI, with things taking shape for the coming months.

As we have rolled into 2023, the big story for our industry is the re-opening of China. Gong hei fat choy (恭喜发财) indeed, and may the year of the rabbit be the one where we see China leave the pandemic behind. Our industry is ready for it, and if we use the recovery rates in the other major exhibition markets around the world as an indicator, then we can expect healthy business there again in a few months.

A lingering pandemic in China and elsewhere. War in Europe. Inflation rates not seen in a generation in major markets. Droughts, hurricanes, and record temperatures. It’s certainly not “business as usual” as we write the closing chapter for 2022. And 2023? Not all will be black and white, and economists are using endless types of grey in their outlooks for the next year.