Focus on emerging markets and diversify business moderately

Xu Zhi Celion Su

On February 15， the 29th China International Conference and Exhibition Magazine Brand Club Salon —— Overseas Exhibitions Seminar was successfully held in Beijing. The event was sponsored by Beijing New Expo International Media and Culture Co.， Ltd. and cosponsored by Beijing Seasky International Business Travel Service Co.， Ltd.

According to the latest statistics in the industry， in 2018， global economic growth slowed down and trade protectionism rose， but the overall economic situation in China remained stable， showing a positive trend of quality improvement and structural optimization. In this context， the overall growth rate of Chinas overseas exhibitions（expositions） has rebounded in comparison with that of 2017， and the overall growth has remained stable. The number of exhibition items has been increasing， the exhibition area has slightly decreased， and the number of exhibitors has remained the same as last year.

As one of the brand activities in exhibition field sponsored by Overseas Exhibitions magazine， Overseas Exhibitions Seminar has been playing a positive role in docking resources with exhibition organizers， agents and service providers and forecasting industry trends since its inception， and has been actively participated in and won recognition from the industry for many times.

The salon attracted the active participation of the industry. Yazhu Zhang， Vice President of Genertec International Advertising and Exhibition Co. Ltd.， Ai Gang， Vice President of Tianfang International Investment （Beijing） Co.， Ltd.， Ella Qing， Marketing Manager of Informa Exhibitions （Beijing） Co.， Ltd.， Shen Dahai， General Manager of Beijing Seasky International Business Travel Service Co.， Ltd， and Nina Duan， Beijing Glorious Glamour International Business Exhibition Co.， Ltd.， Zhang Jie， General Manager of Beijing Zhongjiechengshe International Exhibition Co.， Ltd.， Wang Xiaoqiang， Vice General Manager of Beijing Seasky International Business Travel Service Co.， Ltd.， Liang Dongmei， Director of International Operations of Beijing Zhenwei Exhibition Co.， Ltd.， and Zhao Wei， President of Beijing New Exp International Media Co.， Ltd；， and other delegates from the outbound exhibition field attended the event， and exchanged and discussed around the theme "Where is the outbound exhibition markets in 2019？". The participants reviewed their business development and experience in 2018， introduced some work plans for 2019， and focused on the opportunities and challenges facing the development of emerging markets.

Yazhu Zhang， Vice President of Genertec International Advertising and Exhibition Co. Ltd.， as a senior professional of the industry， said that only 20% of the worlds top 20 exhibition companies occupy the global exhibition market， and there is still 80% of the market for SMEs to share， especially in emerging markets exhibition potential is huge. " Belt and Road" is one of the manifestations of the rise of Chinas great powers， especially Chinas policy "one belt and one road" will last for a long time. This will give the exhibition industry a lot of business opportunities to lead domestic export enterprises to develop bridges， and exploit high-quality resources to open up market gaps across the country. She encourages enterprises to continue to cultivate a certain market and fully tap the local potential. But at the same time， she reminds that exhibition companies should pay attention to the local political and economic situation， diversify development， develop in different countries， innovate in display content and market choice when choosing exhibition countries. Chinese exhibition companies can also cooperate with local organizers and co-locate their own exhibition in order to utilize the trade visitors resource.

Nina Duan， General Manager of Beijing Glorious Glamour International Business Exhibition Co.， Ltd.， believes that the most profitable part of American exhibition enterprises is the conference section， while the most profitable part of British and German exhibition enterprises is the exhibition section. At present， Chinese exhibition enterprises still have huge shortcomings in the conference area. In a new exhibition destination， if the other party does not know enough about Chinese enterprises， we can hold professional and highquality meetings first， and then gradually develop exhibition projects. At the same time， we should pay special attention to the fact that we should not have many pre-formed concepts and apply Chinas development model and operation model to other countries， but should understand and abide by the local industry rules.

Ai Gang， Vice President of Tianfang International Investment （Beijing） Co.， Ltd.， emphasized that as a developing country， we should find the strengths of developed countries in Europe and the United States， abide by international rules， learn from them and constantly adjust in practice to find a suitable development model for ourselves. There is no ready-made plan to solve all the problems. The most important thing is to practice， summarize and progress again.

Zhang Jie， General Manager of Beijing Zhongjiechengshe International Exhibition Co.， Ltd.， said that in the fierce market competition environment， exhibition enterprises will have less and less development space and profit space if they only engage in the recruitment business of few industry. Therefore， they should actively develop overseas exhibitions with new themes， embracing the platform model and cross-border cooperation with open thinking and courage. Ella Qing， Marketing Manager of Informa Exhibitions （Beijing） Co.， Ltd.， said that in 2018， Informa acquired Bowen Company， and the exhibition brand and business team have entered a stage of deep integration. In 2019， while maintaining the steady development of high-quality projects in developed markets such as the United States， Informa will also vigorously expand exhibition projects in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia， in the fields of medical， energy， health raw materials， HVAC and so on. Chinese enterprises are welcome to enter the local market with high-quality products through the exhibition platform.

Liang Dongmei， Director of International Operations of Beijing Zhenwei Exhibition Co.， Ltd.， said that at present， the company mainly undertakes domestic government exhibitions， with very few exhibition business and no exclusive agent project. In 2019， it will actively explore self-organized exhibition business in Myanmar， Malaysia and other markets.

Shen Dahai， General Manager of Beijing Seasky International Business Travel Service Co.， Ltd. ， said that， as an enterprise whose main business is to provide business travel services for exhibitors to overseas exhibitions， Seasky advantageous markets includes Russia， the Middle East， Africa and other places. At present， his company is also constantly exploring how to let Chinese exhibitors to overseas enterprises participate in foreign exhibitions while gaining more business opportunities and industry information. For example， arranging exhibitors to visit local leading enterprises.

Other participants also expressed their views. It is generally believed that with the continuous deepening of the "belt and road" initiative in various countries， and the increasing of Chinas economic strength， scientific and technological strength and manufacturing capabilities continue， the professionalization， marketization and internationalization of Chinas outbound exhibition industry will continue to grow， creating new business space for Chinese exhibition companies.