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Friday, September 19, 2003
Espinoza: Thailand doing better
By Fred C. Espinoza
EXHIBITS. Five days ago, some of our top local exporters met with key officials of the Association of Professional Congress/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers Philippines Inc. (Apceos) at the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines office to discuss plans for promoting the country’s exhibition industry.
The first thing that caught my attention during the meeting was the fact that our country is taking a very bad beating from Thailand in terms of organizing world-class trade exhibitions not only as an effective employment generator, but also as a potential tool for promoting the economic welfare of the people in our country.
To recall, the past couple of years were difficult periods for the exhibitions industry.
Many organizers suffered from a drop in sales and a decline in buyer attendance. But in Thailand, the situation has tremendously improved over the years because the Thai government leaders and the business leaders have decided to get their act together, even to a point of offering the cheapest rates to foreign buyers and exhibitors to come to Thailand to enjoy the amenities of a world-class Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center.
I could sense what was in the mind of the discussants in the meeting. They could be hoping for government to wake up soon to make way for a shift in the paradigm for making the Philippines a hub for foreign buyers of Philippine quality products. The common observation was that the problem of the country is not about government policies, but bad politics.
Another sensitive issue that is killing the exhibition industry, it was pointed out, was that traders have discovered that it is much cheaper to ship cargo from Manila to some ports in Asia than to ship cargo from Davao to Manila.
But Apceos’ top executives including executive director Bernhard Knut Netz are determined to tap the trade potentials of Cebu’s finest entrepreneurs in the export and manufacturing sector. This will help the country turn its trade and economy around and renew buyers’ interest in locally organized trade exhibitions.
Last year, Apceos organized a “Basic Exhibition and Events Management Seminar” in Manila to help the exhibition industry “fight the battle,” so to speak.
This seminar was made available to booth contractors, freight forwarders and equipment suppliers in Cebu, who learned new techniques and innovations in the industry. It was held last Sept. 16 at the Coral Room of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel. This could be what we need to turn the economy around.
(September 19, 2003 issue)
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