Speakers

• Cinzia Zanin
• Carolin von Tippelskirch
• Fuad Musafir
• Katie Thompson
• Laura Docampo

The post UFI Next Generation Leadership Grant 2019 Presentation appeared first on UFI.

This latest edition of my newsletter brings us to the end of summer — or perhaps I should say, the end of the summer holidays.

For those of you who have children — even if yours are all grown up now — you may well remember this feeling. After 2.5 months together, I must admit I am rather pleased to be sending mine back to school! Summer holidays are not always much of a holiday for parents. Between work, travel & planning their daily activities, I seem to have taken on another unofficial title: Chief Holiday Officer.

For those who did manage to take a proper summer break, I hope it was a wonderful, quiet & recharging one — with a little less scheduling than mine!

While many trade shows also take a summer break, life at our own venue, BITEC, has been anything but quiet. The venue has been buzzing with all kinds of activity — from Boys’ Love concerts & consumer events to meaningful workshops & pop-up activities at SAMA Garden — and I suspect many venues across Asia have been just as busy. It is a good reminder that today’s venues are no longer defined by trade exhibitions alone. They are places for business, entertainment, learning & community, often all at the same time.

It has been quite fun to see such different communities coming through our doors. It is also a good reminder that venues today are no longer defined by one type of event. They are places for business, entertainment, learning & community — sometimes all in the same week.

My summer also continued in true bleisure style — business mixed with a little pleasure.

I was invited to speak for the Phuket Tourist Association on the topic, “Is a MICE Venue the Key to Phuket’s Next S-Curve?” And, as I rarely travel alone — and remain a firm believer in the wider economic impact of business events — I brought five members of my family along & somehow turned what could have been a one-afternoon trip into three nights in Phuket.

Phuket continues to have enormous potential. Yes, there are still challenges, traffic being one of the obvious ones, but we were blessed with sunshine even in the low season. I was also glad to catch up with local friends, hear first-hand what is happening on the ground & refill my brain with updated local perspectives. And, just as importantly, genuinely have a good time.

On the international front, the bleisure continued with a work trip to Seoul — and once again, my family came along. I have to admit, I had never experienced Seoul quite this hot before! But when work calls, the weather does not really get a vote. As with Phuket, I wanted to make sure we did more than simply fly in & out. We made time to experience something local & importantly for me, to reconnect with the exhibition community on the ground.

During a very short visit, I was fortunate to meet with colleagues from AKEI, COEX & EXPORUM. It was a real pleasure to catch up with so many people, exchange perspectives & hear first-hand what is happening in the local market.

These moments always remind me why local connection matters so much. Wherever work takes me, I try to use the opportunity to understand the community around me — professionally & personally — because there is always something new to learn.

And while many of us have been juggling summer schedules, the world around us has certainly not stood still.

Over the past two months, we have continued to see a mixed global picture: economic uncertainty alongside resilience, rapid developments in technology & AI, changing travel patterns and businesses continuing to balance growth ambitions with cost pressures.

For our industry, this reinforces something we already know well — exhibitions do not operate in isolation. We are closely connected to business confidence, international travel, investment & the movement of people and ideas.

Yet there is also a great deal of positive momentum within our own UFI community. As we move into the final part of the year, there is much to look forward to — from our next generation of leaders & a new governance mandate, to preparations for our global community to come together once again at the UFI Global Congress in Bahrain.

It feels very much like a season of looking forward.

Warm Regards,

Panittha Buri
UFI President

The post Letter from the UFI President: September 2026 appeared first on UFI.

Article from our Diamond Sponsor, TCEB

Is it the size of the show? The number of visitors? The square metres sold? Or perhaps, increasingly, it is what happens because the show took place in the first place.

As the exhibition industry evolves, there are some shifts worth considering. Scale is still important, but relevance may matter more. A successful event may no longer be defined only by what happens during the show, but by what it sets in motion afterwards. And perhaps the role of a destination is changing too – from providing a place to meet to creating the conditions for something meaningful to happen.

These questions are shaping how Thailand is approaching the next chapter of its exhibition industry. The focus is moving towards the value created around an event: connecting the show with relevant industries and businesses, bringing the right buyers into the room, and creating opportunities that can continue beyond the exhibition.

It also means looking differently at how a destination works with organisers. Rather than simply supporting the delivery of an event, the ambition is to work earlier and more closely with organisers around what the exhibition is trying to achieve. There may be no single formula for exhibition success. But perhaps the more interesting question is this:

What could your exhibition achieve if the destination worked with you to make it happen?

The post Is Exhibition Success Still About Size? appeared first on UFI.

Outcome of an Insight Series workshop, UFI European Conference 2026

Exhibitors are under pressure to justify every line of their marketing budget, and exhibition participation is no longer a given. The cost of showing up is rising, the outcomes they expect are shifting, and the alternatives competing for their spend have never been more numerous. In this interactive workshop, we challenged assumptions about what exhibitors truly need from a show. How do you help them prove ROI to their own stakeholders? How do you support them before, during, and after the event — not just on the floor? What does a genuinely partnership-based exhibitor relationship look like? And how will data and AI change the way you attract, retain, and grow your exhibitor base?

Workshop Facilitators

The post Worth Every Euro? Rebuilding the Exhibitor Value Proposition appeared first on UFI.

Outcome of an Insight Series workshop, UFI European Conference 2026

This session reviewed outcomes from the 2025 UFI Insight Series, where we began our journey of exploring opportunities for increasing value for our customers through inclusive and accessible experiences at our events. We’ll propose minimum inclusion standards for organizers, venues, and suppliers, and share tips for how to implement.

Workshop Facilitators

The post Inclusion Vision 2030 appeared first on UFI.

Outcome of an Insight Series workshop, UFI European Conference 2026

Visitors are harder to attract, quicker to disengage, and more demanding than ever. Registrations no longer guarantee attendance, and attendance no longer guarantees satisfaction. In this interactive workshop, we challenged assumptions about what visitors actually want from a show experience. How do you cut through the noise to reach the right audience in the first place? How do you design an on-site journey that delivers genuine value, not just footfall? What does personalisation look like at scale? And how do you turn a one-time visitor into a loyal advocate?

Workshop Facilitators

The post Built For Who Exactly? Rethinking Visitor Experience As a Commercial Asset appeared first on UFI.

Outcome of an Insight Series workshop, UFI European Conference 2026

The traditional exhibition model is under pressure. Attendees expect more, younger generations engage differently, and the industry’s environmental footprint is increasingly hard to ignore. In this interactive workshop, we challenged long-held assumptions about how events create value. How do you drive real business outcomes, not just attendance? How do you promote more effectively in a fragmented digital world? What does meaningful networking look like for a new generation? And how will AI reshape the way events are designed, delivered, and measured?

An audio recording of this workshop is available as a podcast episode.

Listen Now

Workshop Facilitators

The post Future-Proof or Fading Out? Reimagining the Exhibition Model appeared first on UFI.

This mainstage session surfaces the key debates, shared findings, and practical takeaways that emerged from each room, bringing the collective thinking of the delegate community back to the main stage.

Workshop Facilitators

• Wilbert Heijmans, Advisor – ADITUS GmbH
• Caitlin Read, CCO – Arc Network
• Raymond Rhodes, Head of Inclusion & Diversity – RX
• Céline Laukemann, Head of Partnerships – ExpoPlatform

The post Collective Wisdom – Learning From Thursday’s Insight Series Workshops appeared first on UFI.

I am writing to you from Bilbao, where I am attending the AIPC Annual Conference. Gatherings like this are always a valuable reminder of how important it is for us, as an industry, to stay connected with our community, not only to strengthen relationships, but also to keep learning from different perspectives across our global ecosystem. In a world that is increasingly complex, it is these opportunities to come together, exchange ideas and challenge our thinking that make our industry stronger. It is always a privilege to reconnect with our global community on different occasions and in different parts of the world.

I seem to have timed my arrival just after one of Europe’s more dramatic heatwaves. Fortunately, coming from Thailand, I am fairly well trained for warm weather, and like many of our venues, Bilbao offers the great comfort of air conditioning.

Bilbao has also reminded me of one enduring feature of Spanish culture: dinner starts at an hour when I would normally consider the day complete. As someone who can quite happily skip a meal while travelling, I have mostly admired this tradition from a respectful distance.

Being here has also given me the chance to learn more about the story behind the so-called “Bilbao effect” and I have found it fascinating. What strikes me most is that Bilbao’s transformation was never about one iconic building alone. The Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry, may be its most recognisable symbol, but it was part of a much broader strategy of urban regeneration led by the Basque government, one that also included major investments in infrastructure and connectivity, from the metro system designed by Norman Foster to the airport and the wider public realm. It is a powerful reminder that real transformation does not come from one bold project in isolation, but from a long-term vision carried through across an entire city.

What also struck me in Bilbao is that the story of transformation is not confined to its landmark architecture or transport infrastructure; it is reflected in the venue hosting us this week. Euskalduna Bilbao stands on the site of the former Euskalduna shipyards, carrying forward a link to the city’s industrial and maritime heritage while expressing its reinvention as a place of connection, exchange and innovation. There is something fitting about the fact that a place once associated with shipbuilding is now a place where people, ideas and industries come together from around the world. It is a powerful reminder that venues are never simply functional spaces. At their best, they become part of a city’s wider regeneration story, preserving a connection to the past while creating value for the future.

There is an important lesson here for our industry. We often speak about economic impact in numbers, and rightly so, but Bilbao is a reminder that our industry’s value goes much further. Events, congresses and exhibitions can be catalysts for urban renewal, international visibility, business growth and civic confidence. They bring people, ideas and investment into a destination and in doing so, they help cities evolve.

In fact, I have seen this impact in a very personal way on this trip. I came to Bilbao for a conference, but I also brought my mini me along, together with friends and family. That means our visit extends beyond the congress venue: hotels, restaurants, transport, shopping, museums and local experiences all become part of the journey. It is a small but very real example of how business events create a wider ripple effect for host destinations, and why our industry matters so deeply to local economies and communities.

This is also why collaboration across our ecosystem matters so much. The most successful destinations are not built by one stakeholder alone. They are shaped by organisers, venues, city leaders, governments, tourism bodies and industry partners working together with a shared vision. As our sector continues to evolve, we must keep championing this broader story: not only the business generated on the show floor, but the lasting legacy our events can leave behind.

And speaking of coming together, registration for the 93rd UFI Global Congress in the Kingdom of Bahrain is now open. We are moving ahead for November and very much hope that many of you will join us. We do so, of course, with full awareness that this is a time of ongoing conflict and uncertainty in parts of the world. Yet I believe it is precisely in times like these that our global community matters most. Our congress is more than a gathering; it is a moment to reconnect, exchange perspectives, support one another and continue shaping the future of our industry together.

I hope to see many of you at the UFI Global Congress this November.

Warm regards,

Panittha Buri
UFI President

The post Letter from the UFI President: July 2026 appeared first on UFI.

Article from our Diamond Sponsor, TCEB

Trade associations do not just represent industries, they help move them forward By mobilising their members, they shape how markets connect, trade, and grow, making them a powerful driver of exhibition success.

Today, exhibition performance is defined not by visitor numbers alone, but by the quality of participation. Qualified buyers create meaningful business opportunities, attracting stronger exhibitors and reinforcing a virtuous cycle across the entire exhibition ecosystem.

Recognising this shift, the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has recently launched the Visitor Power Up initiative. The programme supports organised international buyer delegations through associations, chambers of commerce, and federations at selected B2B exhibitions in 2026. With a strategic focus on the ASEAN+6 markets, it promotes high-value participation through facilitated networking and curated business matching, ensuring more targeted and effective buyer–exhibitor engagement.

For participating associations and their members, the main value lies in connecting with qualified buyers, strengthening sourcing outcomes, and accelerating deal-making in a focused exhibition environment. Associations interested in bringing buyer delegations to Thailand are encouraged to contact Thai exhibition organisers to learn more about the special privileges available under the programme. For more information, please contact the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) at exhibitions@tceb.or.th.

The post The Association Advantage: Why Thailand Is Putting Industry Communities at the Heart of Exhibition Growth appeared first on UFI.