UFI Asia-Pacific Conference & Digital Innovation Forum cancelled for 2020

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and the travel restrictions that remain in place in most Asian markets, UFI had to make the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 UFI Asia-Pacific Conference and the Digital Innovation Forum which were originally scheduled to be held in Macau in March and were subsequently rescheduled in late August.

“The UFI team worked closely with our hosts in Macau on this decision. Unfortunately, the travel restrictions across the region and around the world made it impossible to proceed with this event in Macau in 2020. We thank our hosts at the Macau Fair & Trade Association (MFTA) for their professionalism and understanding in this difficult situation and we look forward to bringing this event back to Macau at the earliest opportunity.” says Mark Cochrane, UFI Regional Manager Asia-Pacific.

“As the host of the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference 2020, the Macau Fair & Trade Association is saddened by this cancellation, but we understand and support UFI’s decision given the current pandemic. At MFTA, health and safety are our priority in order to ensure the recovery of the exhibition industry! Hence, we will look forward to welcoming the exhibition industry back to Macau when the time is right. Until then, stay healthy and happy!” remarks Council Chairperson, Synthia Chan.

Although this is disappointing for all involved, the UFI team is looking to the future with optimism and will return to Macau in 2022 to organize another successful edition of the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference. And before that in 2021, the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference will go to Melbourne, the first time that an UFI event will take place in Australia. More information here

In the meantime, UFI will work to facilitate meetings between members during the 2020 UFI Global Congress in a revised format. Open to more than 50,000 industry professionals globally who work for UFI member companies, UFI’s Global Congress is known as the exhibition industry’s largest global meeting of the year, combining international networking with unique content. It is an opportunity to gain insight into topics of strategic interest, as well as into the trends and challenges that the exhibition industry is currently facing. For more details on the UFI Global Congress, please visit www.ufi.org/congress2020.

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, UFI is also supporting our global community and the industry at large in many ways. A list of resources is available at www.ufi.org/coronavirus – including an overview of government support programmes in around 60 countries around the world.

UFI has as well launched “UFI connects”, a designated online programme of educational talks, panels, and sessions to provide content and dialogue while our regular events and educational programmes cannot take place as usual. More than 25 sessions are available on demand, with live sessions free to access for industry professionals taking place every week. For more information on upcoming and previous “UFI connects”, go to www.ufi.org/uficonnects.