TWO major events for exhibition and MICE travel organisers have been postponed as uncertainty reigns over Covid-19.
UFI, the global association for the exhibitions industry, has cancelled its Asia-Pacific Conference in Macau, while the IT&CMA and CTW Asia Pacific 2020 event in Bangkok has been “deferred” to 2021.
TTG Asia, which organises the IT&CMA events, had been hoping to hold a hybrid event with a mix of onsite and online attendees, but is still planning a virtual event to be held in the last quarter of the year in Bangkok.
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“The continued uncertainty placed on travel restrictions and aviation options are among the key reasons that have led to the deferment of this year’s show at this critical juncture in the event’s timeline,” a spokeswoman for TTG said.
UFI’s Asia Pacific Conference and Digital Innovation Forum were both due to the held in late August after being rescheduled from March. The association is now planning to hold the Macau event in 2022.
“Unfortunately, the travel restrictions across the region and around the world made it impossible to proceed with this event in Macau in 2020,” Mark Cochrane, UFI’s regional manager for Asia Pacific said, adding that the association had worked closely on the decision with exhibition industry leaders in Macau.
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Synthia Chan, of the Macau Fair and Trade Association, which was to host the event, said: “We understand and support UFI’s decision given the current pandemic… health and safety is our priority in order to ensure the recovery of the exhibition industry.
“We look forward to welcoming the exhibition industry back to Macau when the time is right,” she said.
Melbourne is due to host the 2021 UFI Asia-Pacific Conference, the first time the association will hold an event in Australia, while this year’s regional conference is rescheduled for 2022 in Macau.
