India
IEIA – the future’s bright,
the future’s orange
Hitex Ltd
www.hitex.co.in
India’s economy is flourishing, but how well placed is its exhibition industry to capitalise?
Simon George headed down to the IEIA’s 2019 Open Seminar in Delhi in June to find out
Bangalore
International
Exhibition
Centre
www.biec.in
s a macro play, the
future looks bright
for India’s exhibition
industry. India is
the world’s fastest growing large
economy (c.7.5% GDP) and likely to
remain so both this year and in 2020,
according to World Bank and IMF
forecasts - exceeding even China.
Private consumption is increasing,
exports are growing, foreign direct
investment (FDI) flows are on the rise,
the demographics are favourable (the
country has a huge workforce whre
the average age is 29) and, crucially, in
re-elected Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, the country has a business-
friendly leader.
Five years ago Modi launched his
Made in India programme to expand
the country’s manufacturing base,
reduce imports and boost exports,
and introduced a number of business
initiatives. Statistics suggest that it
is paying off. Last year India leapt
23 places to 77th spot in the Ease
of Doing Business rankings and
climbed 20 places to 40th in the
Global Competitiveness ranking.
Economically, India is in a sweet-spot,
the KPIs (GDP, FDI and CPI) suggest.
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
IEIA seminar
A growing exhibition industry is key
for India’s economy. As L.C. Goyal,
Chairman and MD of India Trade
Promotion Organisation (ITPO), told
the recent IEIA (Indian Exhibition
Industry Association (IEIA) Open
Seminar in Noida, Delhi NCR: “There
is no industry that has more of a
multiplier effect than the exhibition
industry in the whole economy of the
country.”
But do event industry
fundamentals match the bullish
macro picture? The IEIA Open
seminar 2019, ‘Catalysing India’s
economic growth’, attempted to
provide some answers. Held at the
India Expo Centre & Mart in Delhi
NCR and now in its ninth year, the
conference is growing. Next year it
will be held in Bangalore.
Country associations, key
government figures and key players
from the IEIA and the industry came
together for an in-depth discussion
of industry trends, challenges and, of
course, the opportunity to network,
which included a B2B match-making
programme.
The seminar had panel discussions
on event safety, the importance of
auditing and certifying tradeshows,
business ethics, and women climbing
the career ladder in the industry.
As the IEIA’s Vice-President
Ravinder Singh told EW, the
association is working to enhance
quality audit standards as well
increasing event safety and security
awareness. It also aims to ramp up
digitalisation and technology systems
– key for the industry, according to
UFI MD and CEO Kai Hattendorf –
launch more education programmes
and introduce a more stringent code
of conduct for doing business. The
seminar also had a sneak peek into
the future and the exponential role
that technology will play from futurist
Doug Vining.
EW was also able to quiz IEIA’s
senior management about the
exhibition industry in India and the
direction in which it is heading.
IEIA President KV Nagendra Prasad
conveyed a real sense of excitement
and purpose, of a vibrant industry
that, while still nascent, is at an
India
Exposition
Mart Ltd.
www.
indiaexpomart.
com/
Bombay
Exhibition
Centre (Division
of Nesco
Limited)
www.nesco.in
Jaipur
Exhibition &
Convention
Centre
www.jecc.in
Right: Key venue members of IEIA
Issue 4 2019
37