First Gathering after Pandemic

Fu Bingbing

UFI， the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry， will hold its 16th UFI Asia-Pacific Conference in the charming city of Kuala Lumpur， Malaysia on 2-3 March 2023. This is the first time since March 2019 that the UFI Asia Pacific Conference is back in-person， face-to-face. UFI’s annual gathering has been on hold for three years due to the global pandemic and the travel restrictions that came with it across Asia.

Over 300 delegates from 22 countries and regions attended the 2019 edition of the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference in Tokyo， making it the biggest of its kind in the event’s history.

As the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry， UFI organises annual regional conferences in Asia Pacific， Europe， the Middle East and Latin America， as well as the UFI Global Congress. The UFI Asia Pacific Conference takes place in March and brings together industry professionals from all over Asia and beyond.

Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau （MyCEB）， our host is excited to welcome the UFI Asia-Pacific delegates in Malaysia， a land rich in culture， nature， heritage and modernity， it all makes for a compelling business events destination！

MyCEB serves as a central hub to assist meeting and event planners to bid and stage international business events in Malaysia and act as a conduit for national product development.

“MyCEB has long been a support of UFI and we are honoured to have the opportunity to bring the Asian exhibition together again after three years of unprecedented challenges due to the global pandemic. We have hosted this event before and the Malaysian exhibition industry is excited to have another opportunity to the UFI community back to Kuala Lumpur，” stated Dato’ Sri Dr Abdul Khani Daud， Chief Executive Officer of MyCEB.

“We are excited to finally be back face-to-face， and we are grateful to MyCEB for stepping up to support UFI and the Asian exhibition industry as we begin on the road to recovery. Over the years， MyCEB has organized some of our most successful and memorable UFI events including both the 2009 and 2018 editions of UFI Asia-Pacific Conference. We appreciate MyCEB’s unmatched hospitality and expertise in bringing the industry together，” remarked Mark Cochrane， UFI AsiaPacific Regional Director.

The UFI Asia Pacific Conference features two days of content， networking and learning. There will be plenty of hot topics to discuss as the Asia exhibition industry looks to shake-off the damage from COVID-19 and begins to work towards recovery and growth.

This year’s conference is our first meeting faceto-face since the global pandemic. The exhibition industry now is ready to rebound as we emerge from this unprecedented crisis.

19+ experts and industry leaders from across the world will be speaking on the optimism and activity in the UFI Asia Pacific Conference that is returning to the exhibition industry in Asia after three years of crisis and uncertainty. The topics will be discussed mainly include Will Asia Come Back from a Global Perspective？ China and the Exhibition Industry in 2023， Effective Advocacy—Lessons Learned from a Crisis， India Rising： Implications for Events and Panel Sessions—Data Insights and New Opportunities in New Customer Segments and so on.

But the world has changed in the past three years and this year’s conference will address the challenges and the opportunities head on. Join us to hear from industry experts， share your experiences and reconnect with friends and colleagues.