The leadership of both associations, UFI and EEAA, signed a memorandum of understanding in Sydney outlining the scope and priorities of their planned areas of cooperation.
PARIS/SYDNEY – UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry and EEAA, the Exhibition and Event Association will strengthen their existing collaboration to create additional value for the exhibition industry in Australasia, and to connect that region better to the global community of exhibition industry professional.
The leadership of both associations signed a memorandum of understanding in Sydney outlining the scope and priorities of their planned areas of cooperation. Based on this agreement, both associations will announce the first activities at the upcoming UFI Global Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa from November 1 – 4.
Kai Hattendorf, UFI’s Managing Director/CEO welcomes the extended cooperation, remarked, “It is UFI’s mission to connect and serve the exhibition industry globally. Our collaboration with the EEAA will allow both our associations to do this more efficiently. We will collaborate on research, education, talent development, and peer to peer exchanges – working to connect industry professionals from Australia with the industry in Asia and globally.” More than 60 national and regional exhibition industry associations from all over the world are UFI members creating a unique global network. Partnerships like the one we’re announcing today go deeper based on shared projects and activities. At UFI, we look forward to bringing more of our insights and benefits to the industry in Australasia, and also on sharing best practises and initiatives from EEAA members with the UFI community.”
Joyce DiMascio, Chief Executive, Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) commented: “There is more gravitas when associations collaborate. We are delighted to formalise a stronger partnership with UFI and deepen our engagement with the global event industry. The exchange of the MoU today opens up the way for closer collaboration between our two organisations. There is a strong alignment between our associations – we both share a commitment to supporting and developing the business opportunities of our members and advocating for the value of the sector to government and the broader business community – and I look forward to working more closely with UFI for the benefit of our respective organisations and the members we serve.”
UFI is serving it’s more than 270 industry members in Asia-Pacific through the association’s regional office in Hong Kong, representing tens of thousands of exhibition industry professionals. The annual “Asia-Pacific Conference” brings together our industry’s international business leaders in the region. The 2018 edition will take place March 1-2 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. UFI is also producing annual statistics and market reports for all the major markets in Asia Pacific jointly with BSG. UFI members also benefit from educational programmes like the recently launched Venue Management School in Shanghai and Focus Meetings.
UFI’s latest research on the development of the exhibition industry in Asia/Pacific shows that Australia’s trade fair industry grew by 3.1% in 2016. Concerning future growth, Mark Cochrane, UFI’s regional Manager for Asia/Pacific commented: “We predict faster growth for the Australian exhibition market in the coming years. In 2017, Australia’s economy is forecast to grow by 3.1%. The Australian trade fair market, however, should outperform the broader economy following the opening of the new venue, ICC Sydney in December 2016.”
In addition, the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre is scheduled complete work on its expansion project in 2018 adding 20,000 m2 of event space. Those two investments in vital venue infrastructure should result in stronger growth rates over the next two to three years.
Photo caption: Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director/CEO and Joyce DiMascio, EEAA Chief Executive sign MoU.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
