With 26 major exhibition venues in the Asian Pacific countries, local economies have become dependent on this industry for economic, political and social reasons. Developing nations have always relied on the introduction of new technology, the potential for doing business with foreign countries and the tourism revenue that exhibitions and events have afforded them. While event organizers may want to wait before launching new events, now may be the best time for exhibitors to take advantage of favorable currency rates and lower costs to establish a market presence.

While some economies have begun to improve slightly, signs of an overall recovery are not yet clearly visible. Major event organizers with well established, industry leading events are weathering the storm, while start-up events are virtually non-existent. It is incumbent upon foreign exhibitors with an established customer base to continue exhibiting through local offices or distributors while new-to-market exhibitors may temporarily re-work their participation strategies.

As in any economic or political crisis, some companies may be caught off guard, unable to anticipate the full extent of an economic downtown. Even seasoned event organizers were similarly surprised by the depth and breadth of the current Asian crisis. Margaret Cassilly, Director of International Conventions and Programs of the Personal Communications Indus-try Association based in Alex-andria, VA, USA, opened Wireless Asia ‘98 last January

To be successful in penetrating international markets, companies need to have a presence in good times as well as bad.

in Singapore at the height of the crisis. On the opening day of the event, the Thai Baht fell to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar stealing media attention away from the event inauguration. Government spending in surrounding nations was frozen so that some exhibitors from Asia were forced to cancel or restructure participation in the show. Travel budgets were also cut, affecting attendance at the event.

Despite this experience, PCIA is already planning the next Wireless Asia event in Singapore for the year 2000 and plans to stay with it, regardless of whether the crisis continues through the end of the century. As a trade association, their primary goal is to represent the interests of their members in the wireless communications industry. For them, the Asian Pacific region represents a vast untapped market for this technology. According to Margaret, "it is a young industry with constantly changing technology that is leap frogging land lines in other countries (outside the U.S.)."

PCIA has a philosophy which it imparts to its members and which it strives to heed itself. As Margaret explains, exhibitors need to "show up, show up, show up." To be successful in penetrating international markets, companies need to have a presence in good times as well as bad. They need to demonstrate their commitment to the market in order to be taken seriously by potential buyers. Her advice to her constituents and other potential exhibitors is to understand that business is moving forward. The business opportunities in the Asian Pacific region are there. Exhibitors may want to scale back participation in times such as these, but in the end they will need to make a continuous effort to be visible, with the best outlet for exposure being trade shows.

The degree to which some industries and some countries have been affected varies throughout the region. Exhibitions in market sectors which require large capital investments, such as the construction and the petroleum industry, have been the hardest hit, while many of the emerging technology shows have remained relatively stable. Cherif Moujabber, CEO of Creative Expos and Conferences, is an exhibition organizer and expert on penetrating foreign markets with several Asian Pacific computer industry events. His most recent show was on IT networking in Beijing (September 8-11). Cherif noted that "in the end there were no cancellations. The size of the exhibition actually experienced a slight increase." This is good news under the circumstances.

Drawing from his recent experience, Cherif makes several observations about the Asian exhibition market. He predicts that new event launches may experience difficulty. Several organizers with such intentions have postponed their plans for at least the next year. The top shows throughout the region, those with the size and track record to draw exhibitors and attendees, will probably grow in size while their smaller competitors' shows will contract. China seems to be better off than Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand which are the worst hit. Cherif also offers advice to potential exhi- bitors, "this is one of the best times for foreign companies to invest in Asia, while the dollar is so high. To open a new market when the economy is strong is far more expensive and in some cases, cost prohibitive."

Some industry suppliers in Asia have diversified their client bases and moved into other markets temporarily until the crisis subsides. Mulyani Ang represents a display house based in Indonesia, which also provides Octanorm shell schemes, and audiovisual and staging services to foreign clients. According to Mulyani, while their business in Jakarta was initially hard hit, they moved their staff and some equipment to their facilities in Bali and continued to operate with business coming from local companies and some foreign event managers.

The booklet contains checklists and ideas to make the international trade show experience profitable. There are sections on finding the right show, pre-show promotion, managing pre-show details and shipping information.

The booklet, which also contains a comprehensive list of addresses for web sites on specific exhibitions, markets and industry sectors, reflects the experience of ShoWorks as an organizer of U.S. pavilions. Consult the Resource Guide for contact information.

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