UFI's recent Barometer survey found that the greatest growth is now occurring in the Americas, rather than Asia. What development is your membership seeing?
In the past four years Mexico has received leads and interest from many global organisers including Reed, UBM, Fiera Milano and Clarion Events, interested in buying shows that can help them consolidate in the global market. The reality is that Europe is in a lot of trouble with its economic issues and in Mexico the trade show industry sees an opportunity for growth. It’s the same case with the USA. With all its economic problems the show managers see an opportunity in Mexico to bring revenue and growth to their shows. With this information, Mexico is proving to many economies that we are the best place to invest, and that we have the infrastructure, knowledge, certified people and human resources to bring success for any show. Our geographical situation is better than ever, with more flights to Europe, USA, Central and South America and direct flights to China and Japan.
How are you involved with the new UFI Americas chapter, if at all? What do you most hope to achieve with the new World Meetings Forum (WMF) conference in Riviera Maya this year?
We recently heard about the formation of the UFI Americas Chapter and we will try to bring value to it. We know the Americas region will be a key player in upcoming years and I think it is the best decision UFI has made. I hope we can work together and bring more UFI benefits to Latin America.
Our expectations for the WMF are to get closer to global associations and see how can we work together and share statistics and leads for the trade show business. We’re sure the WMF will be a success; we can see that in the education programme and in the network that is building around the event. Riviera Maya is a great place to bring this show because it has the best connections in Mexico, which will help bring a lot of delegates from around the world. AMPROFEC will be one of the associations getting round a board table during the event.
What does AMPROFEC hope to achieve in the next 12 months?
We are working to become a more professional association, to help our members with educational programmes and open up more business opportunities for them. This is a very important year because we have a new government, and that means many changes. But we also think this is a great year because there are no big distractions (like the Olympics, World Cup or elections), so the budgets will be more effective for the trade show business. And also this year will be important to continue the work with global alliances.
Is there any government support for the industry in Mexico?
Yes. Mexico works really close to the Tourism Authority, the Mexico Tourism Board and with other authorities like [NGO] Economies, which has many support programmes for companies wanting to exhibit in shows. Today the relationship is really good and the past 15 years the relationship has become stronger because the Mexican Government understands the importance of this industry.
Is there any truth in claims that Mexico's exhibition service sector is not yet sufficient for international exhibitions being planned in the region?
This is not true at all. In the last 15 years Mexico has demonstrated it has all it takes to compete in the global marketplace. There are 120 CEM certified people; 77 convention centres around the country; 54 convention and visitor bureaus, and historic sites.
Every three years a Mexican delegation goes to Euroshop to study stand building and design trends. Key players like Reed have stages events here, and used Mexican suppliers with satisfactory results.
This was first published in the Issue/2013 edition of EW. Any comments? Email exhibitionworld@mashmedia.net
