Industry leaders oversee new venues and growth in India

This September, the Executive Committee of UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, met in Delhi. Industry leaders from companies such as Informa, Reed, and Fiera Milano held meetings with venue representatives and senior industry players in India, to discuss growing opportunities and venues within the country. “For many years, international organisers have been pushing for more and better exhibition space in India that meets our industry’s international standards,” said UFI President Corado Peraboni. “It is encouraging to see that projects in Pragati Maidan, at Greater Noida, and at Dwarka, among others, are now under construction.” According to predictions from the latest UFI/BSG report on the trade fair industry in Asia, venue space in India will increase by more than 10% by the end of 2019, driving growth of the exhibition industry as a whole in the country. India’s trade fair industry has been the best performing large market for the past five years. In 2017, net space sold went up by 11.4% from 1,065,000 sqm in 2016 to 1,187,000 sqm. Over the past five years, the Indian market has grown by 39%, which is far ahead of the regional five-year average of 27.3%. At Pragati Maidan Exhibition Complex in Delhi, a new conference centre is currently under construction, and they are also rebuilding three exhibition halls with a capacity of 60,000 sqm. In neighbouring Greater Noida, the India Expo Mart shared groundbreaking plans for an expansion just days before the UFI delegation visited. The new hall will provide 14,000 sqm of additional exhibition space. A few days after the UFI delegation left India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the new India International Convention & Exhibition Center (IICC) in Dwarka. The convention centre and exhibition space is scheduled for completion by the end of 2019. In the various meetings, UFI officials welcomed the ongoing projects and pledged their support, particularly in the area of education. UFI managing director/CEO Kai Hattendorf commented: “A successful venue needs great infrastructure and qualified staff. We are happy to support the development of the Indian exhibition industry through educational initiatives.”