A NEW STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FOR AEFI FOR THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF THE ITALIAN TRADE FAIR SYSTEM IN THAILAND
The AEFI – Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association enters a new partnership for the internationalisation of the Italian trade fair system.
After the agreements with Iran, Lebanon, Taiwan, India and the countries of Central Europe, the AEFI has identified another strategic market for the expansion of Italian trade fairs at a global level, Thailand, and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the TEA – Thai Exhibition Association, which represents all components of the trade fair sector, from the organisers to the bodies and districts, including the providers of services such as installation and logistics.
This agreement – one more result for the AEFI in supporting Italian trade fairs – was signed in recent days by Talun Theng, TEA President, and by Ettore Riello, AEFI Chairman, but the dialogue and reciprocal study between the countries began two years ago, on the occasion of EXPO Milano 2015 and in the programme of the Road Shows abroad and initiatives to select and specially invite operators within Road to Expo, the joint project of the AEFI and Italian Trade Agency.
“Internationalisation is one of the fundamental drivers for competitiveness in the sector and a major aid to the growth of our businesses. This is what makes it one of the main activities of the Association,” comments Ettore Riello, AEFI Chairman. “Thailand represents one of the markets of interest to the Italian trade fair sector, also due to the government support provided for those who choose to exhibit in the country.”
According to UFI data, Thailand occupies the top position – in the whole of South-East Asia – in terms of square metres sold in the last three years and total exhibition space of approximately 250,000 m².
The trade fair sector has grown by approximately 8% annually in Thailand in the last ten years, to the extent that 135 international trade fairs took place this year.
“Thailand is a market seeing great expansion, a strategic crossroads for the whole of South-East Asia, a strategic market, in which the spending power of the middle class is of great interest. But to ‘take on’ such a varied and culturally diverse market, it’s necessary to move appropriately and with the proper support of a local partner. Thanks to the understanding with the TEA, our members will have privileged access and great opportunities for growth,” adds Riello.
The main manufacturing sectors in Thailand are Automotive, IT & Electronics, Agriculture and packaged foods. Some exhibitions held in the country are among the most important in the whole of South-East Asia, such as Metalex Asia (machinery), Propak Asia (packaging & food processing), VIV Asia (livestock), TRAFS (franchising), Lab Asia (laboratory instruments). Of particular interest is the manufacturing technology sector, which records increasingly positive performance, in light of the fact that Thailand is the main country for manufacturing and exporting in South-East Asia. Products exported in 2016 were worth 200 million dollars.
The aim of the understanding is to exchange information on the situation and development of the two economic systems as well as the trade fair policies of the two countries, the sharing of information on products, services and partnership opportunities offered by the TEA and AEFI, reciprocal support, communication of information and promotion of the respective exhibitions, organisation and promotion of missions, meetings and seminars to promote networking and making new contacts, carrying out studies and research on issues of mutual interest and the promotion of commercial cooperation through all tools available.
AEFI – Associazione Esposizioni e Fiere Italiane, a private non-profit Association, was established in 1983 with the goal of generating synergies between the most important Italian exhibition districts. AEFI would like to be seen as a privileged partner for operators and institutions alike, and its role is to support members through the development of activities and programmes in the sphere of training, marketing, promotion and research, as well as to provide services for trade fairs through the activities of its Committees: Exhibition Hub Technical Committee, Legal-Administrative Committee, Internationalisation Committee and Trade Fairs Network Committee.
On the internationalization front, AEFI supports members thanks to agreements with strategic markets. To date, partnerships have been agreed with Iran, Taiwan, Lebanon and India, with AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy, and with CENTREX, the International Exhibition Statistics Union. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with SACE and SIMEST.
AEFI has promoted the foundation of ISFCert, the Certification Institute for Exhibition Industry Statistics which, through rigorous methodologies, enables Italian organisers to present and recognise standardised data, in the name of transparency and reliability.
AEFI represents Italian trade fairs in UFI – Union of International Fairs. Chaired by Ettore Riello, AEFI includes 35 member exhibition districts, which organise over 1,000 events a year over an overall exhibition area of 4.2 million square metres. Nearly all international and national trade fairs which take place each year in Italy are held in AEFI-member exhibition districts.
www.aefi.it/Aefi/site/en/index
TEA – Thai Exhibition Association, founded in 1996, is the national association that represents all components of the trade fair sector, from the organisers to the bodies and districts, including the providers of services including installation and logistics.
The TEA operates in the interest of its members and of the entire sector, promoting Thai events and trade fairs as an effective national and international marketing tool, as well as representing the commercial link for sector operators both within and outside of Thailand.
The TEA supports members with information and research on the trade fair sector, in addition to creating opportunities for networking between members and others.
The TEA also promotes a series of training activities helpful to the development of the sector.
www.thaitradeshow.com