Selecting an International Show Site

By Rayna Skolnik

When Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International was planning its first European event, selecting a site was difficult, says Bill Galarneau, International Director of Expositions for the Mountain View, CA, association. "There are some concentrations of our industry in Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom," he says. "We wanted a place that was convenient for everyone. We selected Switzerland because it's neutral -- we could attract people from the other countries without actually being in one of those countries and appearing to favor one over the other." Semicon Europa was launched in 1975 in Geneva and remained there until 1992, when it outgrew the facility and moved to Zurich.

Selecting a site for any show always involves answering certain basic questions: Where are the buyers? What exposition facilities exist in those areas? Which ones meet your needs? What dates are available? When and where are the competitive events? How convenient is transportation? Are the hotel accommodations adequate? How do costs compare?

But once you move outside the United States, the list becomes longer and more complicated. Cultural, economic and political factors, as well as different ways of doing business, also must be taken into account.

Whatever else might be on the list of site-selection criteria, however, the first question is always the same -- where's the market?

Choosing a market
When selecting a market, exhibitor input is key. Often, exhibitors have been researching their own potential markets and can point you in the right direction. "We ask our exhibitor advisory committee where the hot spots are," says Scott Moore, Manager of Expositions for the International Gas Turbine Institute/ASME, in Atlanta. The association puts on two shows per year, alternating between the United States and an overseas destination. Consequently, Moore is constantly seeking new venues.

Besides talking with exhibitors, show managers can tap into a number of sources for details on international markets. Contact the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Economic Policy Country Desk Officers at (202) 482-3022 for information on markets in a specific country. Another approach is to identify all the countries that could be markets for a particular product line or industry sector by contacting the department's Trade Development Industry Officers at (202) 482-1461. These programs are intended to assist U.S. companies wishing to export, but much of the information could be useful for show managers.

Another source is the Exports Hotline, (800) USA-XPORT, a faxback service offering comprehensive reports on market opportunities in 78 countries for 47 industries. It also has an international calendar of 2,100 trade shows, which is useful in identifying competing events.

In the target countries, market information, as well as support for your event, can be provided by industry associations. "We find that the key to a successful event is the cooperation of an engineering society in the host country," says Moore. That was the case with Turbo Expo '94, held last June in The Hague. "The Netherlands is a center of commerce and technology, and they have a very strong market for gas turbine technology," Moore says. "We hadn't been there since 1988. The Dutch Gas Turbine Association was instrumental in helping us get back."

Government agencies can help identify buyers or may actually be buyers themselves. For example, the Chinese Ministry of Post & Telecommunications is a major player in ExpoComm China South, which E.J. Krause & Associates Inc. of Bethesda, MD, is launching next year in Guangzhou. "Because China is still a socialist economy, the major buyer for the show is the ministry," says Joseph Flynn, International Marketing Manager for E.J. Krause. "The ministry invites the provinces."

The ministry also gives the show organizer a gentle push in the right direction. "The ministry is our partner and we want to have a lasting relationship," Flynn says. "We have to take their recommendations into consideration."

Finding a facility
Once Moore had identified the Netherlands as the site for Turbo Expo '94, he investigated several cities. "The first and foremost consideration is the capacity of the facility," he says. "Overseas, they don't build convention centers the way we do in the United States. To find exhibit space and meeting space in one place is difficult. The Netherlands Congress Center in The Hague is one of the few that really have a good combination of both."

Moore was assisted in his search for an appropriate facility by the Netherlands Convention Bureau. "It acts like CVBs in the United States," he says. In fact, most foreign tourism boards in the states can provide specifications on exposition centers and meeting facilities, descriptions and ratings of hotels, and tourist information.

However, no amount of literature can be as informative as a personal visit. Moore finds European destinations more relaxed about offering familiarization trips than are U.S. destinations. "They don't question the ethics of fam trips," he says. "In the U.S., we get right down to business. But in Europe, that's not considered polite." There, more time is spent building rapport.

When selecting a facility in Europe, there's more to consider than the building, says Galarneau. "In Europe, most facilities produce their own shows, and they select the best dates," he says. "A lot of facilities offered to manage our show for us.

But we didn't want that; we needed a place that would accept us and give us our dates."

Finding a facility for the International DB2 Users' Group, users of IBM software, is a continuing challenge. The group, which has a U.S. conference, added a European meeting in 1992. "That gave European attendees the opportunity to attend on their own continent," explains Laurie Fitzgerald, a Convention Manager with Smith Bucklin in Chicago, a multi-association management firm. "Also, the vendors were expanding their business in Europe."

Hotels are preferable for the European event, Fitzgerald says, partly because they are less expensive than convention centers. But another concern is that with just 400 attendees and a small exhibit, the group could get lost in a convention center.

The first European meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland. "It's central, it's neutral politically, and it has a good international flavor," Fitzgerald says. Because there was a huge contingent from Scandinavia in Geneva, the next meeting was in Copenhagen. Why not Oslo or perhaps Stockholm? Because neither city had a large enough hotel.

Cost considerations
This year, however, Fitzgerald is using a convention center in Nice, France, because other criteria overshadow the facility requirement. "We want to get into the French market," she says. "Paris is expensive, and Nice is a good alternative."

Price also figured into Moore's selection of The Hague. "It's a second-tier city, so it's less expensive than Amsterdam," he says. "The Hague put together a package that was difficult for anyone else to beat."

Facility costs are more complex in Europe than in the United States. "The largest cost is space rental," says Moore. "In Europe, you don't get free meeting space if you rent exhibit space."

One of the toughest parts of comparison shopping is tracking the other costs. "In Europe, the exposition and meetings industry is a la carte," Moore says. "There are separate costs for cleaning the exhibit halls and rest rooms, having uniforms cleaned and setting up and cleaning meeting rooms. Often, you even pay for pitchers of water in the meeting rooms."

Costs outside the states are further complicated by currency fluctuations. "In Geneva, we budgeted at 1.4 Swiss francs to the dollar," says Fitzgerald. "When we met, it was 1.2 francs to the dollar. Our audio-visual budget alone jumped $1,500 because of the change in the rate." Now, Fitzgerald prepares for unpredictable changes by buying foreign currency in advance. "Thus, the bottom line doesn't change," she says.

Attitudes and reputations
Another less tangible consideration that influences site selection is the perception of the locals. Nice was chosen for the DB2 Users Group conference because, "people want to go where it's easy to get around and ask for help," Fitzgerald says. "Just as in the United States, there are cities people won't go to because they're not as friendly. And it must be a place where English is easily used. Nice is a little more flexible about that than Paris."

Reed Exhibition Companies also looked beyond cost and available facilities when it planned a Middle Eastern version of World Travel Market, a show the company produces in London. The first step was, ash always, identifying the market. "We looked at travel industry trends and predictions for the next 10 to 20 years," says Tom Nutley, Director, Travel Group for REC in Richmond, England. "The Gulf region was projected to show strong growth. They had some small events, but none for the whole region."

Nutley needed a sizable, modern venue for the new show, but that wasn't enough. "The decision on a tourism event is different from, say, a computer event," Nutley says. "You must consider not only the exhibit hall, but also how the country is perceived." He needed an area interested in developing its own tourism and suitable for entertaining. "We couldn't do a travel industry event in a dry state," he says.

Personal visits as well as research narrowed his choices to Dubai and Bahrain. Both are major airline hubs, a key requirement. But Nutley also had to weigh the perceptions of each site.

Dubai is modern and open to outside influences. "Travel industry research showed that it is far better known -- it had promoted itself," he says. "But it is more aggressive and commercial and is not held in such high political esteem."

Bahrain also has fairly open attitudes, and its people are very hospitable. "Being an island population, they have always done business with other nationalities," Nutley says. "Bahrain is one of the poorer states, but it's keen to developing tourism."

Finally, the decision was made -- The Arabian Travel Market was held in Dubai the first year, and will be in Bahrain the second.

From Atlantic City to SingaporeJimmy Sunshine can't seem to stay in one place for long. Sunshine, Managing Director of show organizer R&J Associates in New York, has seen strong international attendance at ShowEast, an exposition for the motion picture industry that's now in its 10th year in Atlantic City, NJ. So, three years ago he decided to expand into Europe, selecting Brussels as the venue for Cinema Expo International. Now, to meet the needs of another burgeoning market, Sunshine is launching CineAsia in Singapore next January.

Sunshine chose Belgium for his European show because the country is politically and culturally neutral. "When people go to Belgium, they don't say, 'I'm in a French-speaking country,' or 'I'm in a Germanic country,"' he says. "Belgium is eclectic." He also found Belgium to be cost-effective when compared to the United Kingdom, Germany or Paris.

And Belgium offers another advantage for his show. "It has some of the greatest movie theaters in the world," says Sunshine. In fact, the Brussels International Conference Center is adjacent to Kineopolis, an outstanding multiplex.

Sunshine's newest sphere, the Asia/Pacific area, is a vast market. "It's bordered by Korea on the north, New Zealand on the south, India on the west and Japan on the east," he says. "Where else would I hold a show to attract all those people?"

Initially, he considered Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore -- three top exposition venues. He eliminated Tokyo because it's too far from key markets in Australia and India. As for Hong Kong, "we're waiting to see how things might change when Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule in 1997," he says. 'We think the status quo will probably be maintained, but as novices, we need to be more cautious."

Sunshine is enthusiastic about his choice. "Singapore is absolutely geared for conventions," he says. "We've received a lot of help from the Economic Development Board, a government agency that's based in Singapore and has a New York office." In addition, the New York office of the Singapore Tourist Board provided him with a list of vendors. Thus, he was able to meet with customs brokers, a shipping company and a drayage company, all on his first visit.

"The people all seem to be professional," Sunshine says. "And everyone in the convention and exposition business speaks English -- there's a real command of the language."

Sunshine anticipates a good relationship with the local labor. "There's an overriding and prevailing mind set to get the job done," he says. "They're known as a very together group of workers.

"Singapore is an ultramodern city. It's extremely clean, there's great transportation, and you can walk the streets at midnight and not worry."

That's an impressive recommendation. Will Singapore be the permanent home for his new show? "Hong Kong is the center of the Asian film industry," Sunshine says. "And it's the gateway to China, which is a vast untapped market for the motion picture industry. I wouldn't be surprised if we moved to Hong Kong after two years, once we're established."