VIEWPOINT
Globally , the exhibition industry is getting back to business . There is reason for optimism , but the recovery is not expected to be linear
Kai Hattendorf UFI CEO & Managing Director
Globally , the exhibition industry is getting back to business . There is reason for optimism , but the recovery is not expected to be linear . The good news is that exhibition markets in North America , Europe , and the Middle East are clearly getting back to it . Across Asia , the power of face-to-face has been reinforced by the challenges of the global pandemic . The appeal and power of face-to-face is evident in the markets in Asia that have since lifted COVID travel restrictions and social distancing measures . Exhibitions in these markets – such as Australia , Singapore , Thailand , and Malaysia – have roared back to life . The global pandemic has offered a silver lining , once and for all , it demonstrated that in-person events cannot be replicated online and face-toface business is here to stay .
One more thing I ’ d like to mention is the Net Zero Carbon Events pledge and its importance for our industry . This pledge is the result of global collaboration throughout the events industry , presented during the Global Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow , Scotland in November 2021 . It is a commitment by organisations in the industry to make concrete changes in order to achieve net zero by 2050 at the absolute latest , and to at least halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 .
While COVID-19 has absorbed much of our attention lately , our single biggest global challenge is not the pandemic but climate change . Signing this pledge is a way of signalling an organisation ’ s commitment to getting involved in actions that will make a difference . As of the end of June 2022 , 360 companies are supporting this initiative . We are working on the fine print of a roadmap document that will show us how we can fulfil these pledges . businesschief . com 37