Event organizer embraces creative hybrid activities

RX, the global event organizer running over 400 exhibitions covering 23 sectors in more than 20 countries on an annual basis, will embrace innovative measures including hybrid events which combine livestreaming and physical shows, and yearlong online matchmaking services to remain competitive in the Chinese market this year, a senior executive said.

Thanks to the swift recovery of China's manufacturing and services sectors, the country has emerged as a safe and stable place for global businesses, supported by the dual-circulation development paradigm, in which the domestic market is the mainstay and domestic and foreign markets reinforce each other.

"Apart from developing new infrastructure, consumption upgrading, science and technology-themed exhibition projects, we will align with the major development goals outlined in China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and the tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference held in December, while maintaining steady growth of our existing events this year," said Michael Cheng, RX's president for China.

The London-based event organizer, formerly known as Reed Exhibitions, plans to take advantage of ample opportunities presented in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as to maintain sustainable growth of its events in top-tier cities.

Take the Greater Bay Area for example. The growth plan of this area offers exciting opportunities for high-end manufacturing and related service industries, including smart equipment, new display technologies, 5G, electric vehicles, high-end medical diagnostics and treatment equipment, new health solutions, and cultural innovations, Cheng said.

He said the company will leverage its expertise as an industry collaborator and trendsetter over the long haul to promote technological advances and cross-border cooperation to contribute to the growth of the Greater Bay Area.

Eager to boost its earnings, RX further increased the size of its events in the Greater Bay Area in 2021, such as the China International Medical Equipment Fair and the China (Shenzhen) International Gifts and Home Products Fair. The latter boasted a total exhibition area of 300,000 square meters, attracting more than 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 buyers across the world.

"While the global event industry is hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, we will make full use of China's effective control of the virus within the border and focus on domestic market-oriented events, with a goal of bringing our revenue this year back to or even exceed the level of 2019," he said.

The group will actively seek opportunities in response to China's call for coordinating the development of eastern, central and western regions and organizing regional exhibitions in central and western China to expand its market presence, the executive said.

Given the fact some events were postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19, RX China launched over 300 online seminars and several standalone online shows to help its customers engage with the market. As face-to-face events gradually returned in 2021, most of its events took place in a hybrid setting.

"Digital innovation is key to our future business. We are determined to build our digital products as part of our regular services and offers available throughout the year so as to empower our customers," said Cheng. "I believe this also represents the trend of the industry."

In addition to promoting foreign trade, investment, digital economy and healthcare-themed grand events, businesses from sectors like electronics, auto, transportation, chemical and daily necessities will likely see surging demand for bookings and exhibitions this year, said Zhao Ying, a researcher at the Beijing-based Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"The exhibition industry is naturally connected to the upstream and downstream of various industries," Zhao said, adding it will not only lead the sector to a more comprehensive and higher-end development direction, but act as a bridge and a link in global industrial and supply chains.

Even though the pandemic has forced global organizers to cancel or postpone physical exhibitions, China successfully held a series of industrial exhibitions in 2021 such as the China International Fair for Trade in Services and the China International Import Expo.

This highlighted the country's willingness to further open up its market in both goods and services to the world's business community, according to information released by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.