Economic benefits for country from Bridex 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
A MARKET place is one to which buyers throng to meet sellers of wares, produce and items that have an economic value. In the olden days of yore, traders travelled from afar to congregate in exchange of goods and knowledge of the marketplace.
Those humble beginnings are still around today while many have transformed into what we now know as exhibitions. Exhibitions are indeed marketplaces where buyers meet sellers and where business deals worth up to millions of dollars are made.
There are two main categories of exhibitions, namely consumer exhibitions and trade exhibitions. Trade exhibitions or trade shows, as they are commonly called, provide an avenue to exhibitors to showcase their products and services to a select audience of a particular trade or industry. For example, Food & Hotel Asia or FHA in Singapore is a show held every two years where exhibitors' display products like food, beverage, equipment, products and services for buyers and traders from the food, beverage and hospitality industry.
Trade visitors to the show get the opportunity to be exposed to all kinds of products from all over the world that are relevant to the enhancement and development of their businesses, such a trade show is also an ideal platform for the initiation of contracts for the supply of capital goods, projects and joint ventures.
In Brunei, we are about to witness a highly niche trade show specifically designed for the defence and security industry for the Southeast Asian region. Companies that design, manufacture and produce equipment, products and services for the enhancement of security, in general, will exhibit their wares to buyers who are primarily governments from the region.
Bridex 2007, the inaugural Brunei Darussalam International Defence Exhibition and Forum, will take place at the International Convention Centre. It has attracted 108 exhibiting companies from 18 countries. Of these, 85 per cent are foreign entities.
In addition to the opportunity for the various governments from the region to view new equipment and technology, the show will also provide a platform for players to explore possibilities in the development of a defence industry in Brunei.
The Global Forum that will be held in conjunction with the Bridex 2007 trade show will give participants a chance to exchange ideas in enhancing defence capabilities like homeland security and the use of C4ISR and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles technologies.
Together, the trade show and the conference will see the gathering of at least 2,000 local and foreign industry players and professionals from around the world.
In the short to medium term, an event like Bridex will undoubtedly benefit all participants in addressing commercial and national defence needs of the exhibitors and countries in this region, respectively.
Just as important, if not more, is the economic impact that an event of this nature has on the host country.
In the United states of America, a 2004 study found that the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) industry generated US$122.3 billion in total direct spending supporting 1.7 million jobs within that country alone. It generated 36 per cent of the hotel industry's total operating revenue. The largest share of the Mice dollar is spent on hotels (35 per cent), followed by air transportation (24 per cent), food and beverage (14 per cent) and business services (12 per cent).
In Germany, cities built mega-sized exhibition halls catering to many of the world's largest trade shows. Each time such shows take place the entire city's economy will erupt, benefiting even homeowners who rent out accommodation to the show visitors. One such show alone can attract 100,000 visitors from all over the globe to the city within the few days that it is held.
However it is of interest to note that the size of a trade show is dependent on several factors. Firstly, it is the industry in which the show serves. A fast, developing industry in a bouyant economy will be able to catalyse the rapid development of a show. On the other hand, a show will reduce in size with a shrinking market or economy. This was clearly evident in the last Asian financial crisis where many mega regional events had shrunk by more than half their original size.
Secondly, a trade show needs time to develop. First time shows are usually not very large. They can only grow once the industry gains confidence in it and view it as the show that represents the industry's needs. Once this is achieved, the next edition will see an increase in size and keep growing with each edition. German shows have grown over time serving the global market. Buyers from all over the world come to these shows to source for capital goods, products and services of every kind of industry imaginable.
Likewise can be said of many other mega shows in Europe and the United States.
Other trade show critical success factors include hardware like infrastructure and facilities and software like industry backing, show management, business and other support services.
China is a success story where in recent years, we saw a phenomenal rise in the number of exhibitions and conventions in the country. New venues were built in record time with major cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzen, Chengdu and Kunming boasting state-of-the-art infrastructure.
In conclusion, the Mice sector is indeed a vital economic engine and a very important foreign exchange earner. Needless to say, it is imperative that every player in the Mice industry from the government to the taxi driver and the man on the street will need to work towards contributing to the development of the industry and the success of every event large and small.
Steven Thong is the Exhibition Director for the Brunei Darussalam International Defence Exhibition and Global Forum 2007.
Those humble beginnings are still around today while many have transformed into what we now know as exhibitions. Exhibitions are indeed marketplaces where buyers meet sellers and where business deals worth up to millions of dollars are made.
There are two main categories of exhibitions, namely consumer exhibitions and trade exhibitions. Trade exhibitions or trade shows, as they are commonly called, provide an avenue to exhibitors to showcase their products and services to a select audience of a particular trade or industry. For example, Food & Hotel Asia or FHA in Singapore is a show held every two years where exhibitors' display products like food, beverage, equipment, products and services for buyers and traders from the food, beverage and hospitality industry.
Trade visitors to the show get the opportunity to be exposed to all kinds of products from all over the world that are relevant to the enhancement and development of their businesses, such a trade show is also an ideal platform for the initiation of contracts for the supply of capital goods, projects and joint ventures.
In Brunei, we are about to witness a highly niche trade show specifically designed for the defence and security industry for the Southeast Asian region. Companies that design, manufacture and produce equipment, products and services for the enhancement of security, in general, will exhibit their wares to buyers who are primarily governments from the region.
Bridex 2007, the inaugural Brunei Darussalam International Defence Exhibition and Forum, will take place at the International Convention Centre. It has attracted 108 exhibiting companies from 18 countries. Of these, 85 per cent are foreign entities.
In addition to the opportunity for the various governments from the region to view new equipment and technology, the show will also provide a platform for players to explore possibilities in the development of a defence industry in Brunei.
The Global Forum that will be held in conjunction with the Bridex 2007 trade show will give participants a chance to exchange ideas in enhancing defence capabilities like homeland security and the use of C4ISR and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles technologies.
Together, the trade show and the conference will see the gathering of at least 2,000 local and foreign industry players and professionals from around the world.
In the short to medium term, an event like Bridex will undoubtedly benefit all participants in addressing commercial and national defence needs of the exhibitors and countries in this region, respectively.
Just as important, if not more, is the economic impact that an event of this nature has on the host country.
In the United states of America, a 2004 study found that the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) industry generated US$122.3 billion in total direct spending supporting 1.7 million jobs within that country alone. It generated 36 per cent of the hotel industry's total operating revenue. The largest share of the Mice dollar is spent on hotels (35 per cent), followed by air transportation (24 per cent), food and beverage (14 per cent) and business services (12 per cent).
In Germany, cities built mega-sized exhibition halls catering to many of the world's largest trade shows. Each time such shows take place the entire city's economy will erupt, benefiting even homeowners who rent out accommodation to the show visitors. One such show alone can attract 100,000 visitors from all over the globe to the city within the few days that it is held.
However it is of interest to note that the size of a trade show is dependent on several factors. Firstly, it is the industry in which the show serves. A fast, developing industry in a bouyant economy will be able to catalyse the rapid development of a show. On the other hand, a show will reduce in size with a shrinking market or economy. This was clearly evident in the last Asian financial crisis where many mega regional events had shrunk by more than half their original size.
Secondly, a trade show needs time to develop. First time shows are usually not very large. They can only grow once the industry gains confidence in it and view it as the show that represents the industry's needs. Once this is achieved, the next edition will see an increase in size and keep growing with each edition. German shows have grown over time serving the global market. Buyers from all over the world come to these shows to source for capital goods, products and services of every kind of industry imaginable.
Likewise can be said of many other mega shows in Europe and the United States.
Other trade show critical success factors include hardware like infrastructure and facilities and software like industry backing, show management, business and other support services.
China is a success story where in recent years, we saw a phenomenal rise in the number of exhibitions and conventions in the country. New venues were built in record time with major cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzen, Chengdu and Kunming boasting state-of-the-art infrastructure.
In conclusion, the Mice sector is indeed a vital economic engine and a very important foreign exchange earner. Needless to say, it is imperative that every player in the Mice industry from the government to the taxi driver and the man on the street will need to work towards contributing to the development of the industry and the success of every event large and small.
Steven Thong is the Exhibition Director for the Brunei Darussalam International Defence Exhibition and Global Forum 2007.
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