On behalf of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry and all our members in 73 countries, organising altogether 4,500 exhibitions and hosting events as fairgrounds all over the world, it is my great pleasure to extend our congratulations on the launch of MICE China magazine.
We welcome all contributions to the improvement of professional knowledge in our industry. In a country like China, where the MICE industries are growing so rapidly, additional sources of information and news are vitally important.
Asia remains a very high priority for UFI. We opened our first regional office in Hong Kong in January 2004 in response to the vigorous growth we see in the industry in this part of the world. That decision has proven to be a timely one as our membership has doubled in Asia since the office opened. We now have 88 members in Asia and, of those, over 40 are in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
China features at the heart of much of what we do in Asia. We hosted our first Asia/Pacific Open Seminar in Hong Kong this February and will be back in China in November for our annual Congress which is to be held in Beijing. Our Asia/Pacific Chapter is chaired by Mme. Chen Ruowei from CIEC.
UFI is proud of its status be the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry and, while we will keep a firm eye on Asia this year, we will also be expanding in other parts of the world. The next important step for us will be to strengthen our position in the Middle East. We are opening a second regional office in Abu Dhabi this year and look forward to greater ties being established between this part of the world and that fast-developing region through the opportunities presented by the exhibitions organised by UFI members and through UFI’s own activities around the world. With this, we will have the possibility of connecting people from the old exhibition world, for example Europe, with the new expanding Exhibition markets.

Tom Beyer
President
UFI